Transferring money to Japan

[mercutio]

I'm about to send a large chunk of change over to my future school in Japan and I'm going to bite the bullet and pay the high commisions my bank wants.

What institutions/methods are the best to send large sums to Japan and get close to the regular exchange rate? the rate today is around 118 yen to the dollar and I'm not getting close enough to the from my bank so I'd like to find one that will give me something closer to the regular echange rate. (ie i want to get close to the wholesale exchange rate rather than the retail)

Brad

[Steve Bildermann]

It depends very much on what you call a 'large amount'

There are several *much better* options before you consider Bank Transfer.

More details please. How much, when, who to.

Email direct if you don't feel comfortably discussng this in open forum.

[mercutio]

It depends very much on what you call a 'large amount'

There are several *much better* options before you consider Bank Transfer.

Cool. Thanks. This first transfer will be going to my school ASAP and will be around $7,000 US. Shortly therafter I'll send about $20,000 to set up a bank account in Japan. The plan is to then transfer about $10,000 US at a time to myself as the need arrises.

Brad

[cstaylor]

First, you write a check payable to "cstaylor", and then we go from there...

[Steve Bildermann]

It depends very much on what you call a 'large amount'

There are several *much better* options before you consider Bank Transfer.

Cool. Thanks. This first transfer will be going to my school ASAP and will be around $7,000 US. Shortly therafter I'll send about $20,000 to set up a bank account in Japan. The plan is to then transfer about $10,000 US at a time to myself as the need arrises.

Brad

First off which is your bank in US?

If you have Citibank account then Citibank in Japan will setup a Japan account, transfer the cash and pay the school with a very low fee if you maintain more than 1M in your account. Transfer will be at the spot rate for that day. Citi has reciprocal ATM facility agreements with most Japan banks.

For what you are doing you would be better served by a post office account which may sound funky but in Japan they are much more flexible than the banks. They can easily handle amounts up to 10M and they give better interest than the Banks (except if you are a member of the LDP when the banks act as interest free loan providers) and most PO has an ATM. Setting up an account is very easy. Also 'Furikomi' transfers are FASTER and CHEAPER. I have a UK PO Giro account and I can draw cash up to 350,000 yen a day (for a total of five days per month) from any Japanese PO ATM free.

Now If you want to get the *very best rate* in Japanese Yen for a large amount of US cash then visit Hong Kong on your way to Japan. I do this regularly.

Exchange rates are typically 7 points above the spot (and negotiable for more) So if your changing your $20,000 @ 123 (against 118 spot) your clearing a nice 100,000 yen profit which pays for a very nice holiday and shopping trip in HK, a one year open return ticket to Hk and a bang up lunch for me when you arrive.

Think carefully before you start in with the Japanese banks. I expect a few other here can related their experiences with them.

[tokyojoe]

Interesting tip about the HK situation, Steve. If your Japanese isn`t great I would recommend using Citibank. They don`t have a lot of atm outlets but they are actually open 24 hours a day. Imagine that.

[GomiGirl]

I use LLoyds to transfer from Japan - much better than a Japanese bank but I don't know if this is the "best". But then I don't transfer a heap at anyone time. So if anyone has better advice I am all ears (not just eyes..)

[jingai]

Mercutio,
You going to Yamasa soon?
I'm going this fall. I transfered via my bank, which had a one-time $35 fee, but the normal exchange rate.

Roger

http://www.jingai.com

[mercutio]

Mercutio,
You going to Yamasa soon?
I'm going this fall. I transfered via my bank, which had a one-time $35 fee, but the normal exchange rate.

Yeah I'm starting in october but will have to start a little late because I have to attend a wedding here in the states first.

When do you start? Have you heard yet which housing option you got?

This first transfer i did through my bank and got ganked on the exchange rate. On a day when the going rate was 118.5 they only gave me 114 to the dollar after they charged me the $35 service charge. I'm opening a citibank account to get around this next time.

Brad

[jingai]

Yeah I'm starting in october but will have to start a little late because I have to attend a wedding here in the states first.

When do you start? Have you heard yet which housing option you got?

This first transfer i did through my bank and got ganked on the exchange rate. On a day when the going rate was 118.5 they only gave me 114 to the dollar after they charged me the $35 service charge. I'm opening a citibank account to get around this next time.

Brad

Brad,
I start the first week in october. I haven't heard about housing, and am still crossing my fingers that I'll get a homestay (I studied in Japan before, but lived in an international dorm). I wonder when they'll tell us...

Your webpage is interesting. Don't become too much like Hasselhoff, as I think he's kicking it in rehab at the moment. Such is the price for success in Germany.

See you at Yamasa,
Roger
http://www.jingai.com/

[Juxtapoz]

Im in a similar money transferring situation. Perhaps it will be helpful to someone.

I am on a one year student exchange in Yashio, Japan from Canada. I use Royal Bank of Canada as my bank back home in Canada, but I can still access my funds at Citibank. The closest Citibank to my location is the one in Shinjuku near Tower Records. It allows me to access both my bank and credit card accounts. I plan to open an account at a local Asahi bank and transfer the cash to that new account, but for those looking for an easy way to withdraw cash from another country without opening an account, Citibank seems to support the most cards.


My first post BTW