Making the most of your travel money Part 1: Exchanging Money

Making the most of your money is very important during your trip. A little saved here and there can make the difference between running out of money prematurely, or getting to bring more cool stuff home than you originally planned. The following set of articles will help you make the most out of your hard earned dollars in Japan.

One of the first steps in saving money towards your trip to Japan is to make a good money exchange from Dollars to Yen. Making your exchange at the right time, and the right place can save you anywhere from a few bucks to hundreds of dollars.

Right Place

While many places both here in the US and in Japan will gladly exchange your money going to the right place is critical. The most visible place for money exchange for many travelers is at the airport. Unfortunately, like most airport businesses the rates you will get here will be ridiculous. Next time you think of exchanging at the airport think about the overpriced sandwich at the shop next door, hopefully this will keep you from exchanging here. If you are tech savvy and still think you can get a decent trade at the airport, try getting online through a free wifi spot, and looking up the current exchange rate for that day.

Another place travelers are often tempted to trade are at their hotel front desk. The rates here will be cheaper, but not cheapest. Keep in mind that they too are out to make money, so the rates won't necessarily be the lowest.

Based on your bank's policy you'll probably get the best rates here. Since we had an account at our bank we only paid a small commission based on the day's rate and amount exchanged.

Regardless price comparison is very important. Try calling different businesses and banks to see which one will get you rates closest to the fair market exchange.

Right Time

This second part is a little trickier, but in some ways just as important. Just like stocks the exchange rate between the dollar can fluctuate depending on different market pressures. Sometimes you might get more, sometimes less. You don't have to become a slave of the ticker to get a good deal, but checking once a day can give you a good idea of how much you want to spend. Head to Yahoo! Finance and check their money exchange section. From here you should check the section that shows you how much Yen one Dollar buys you. (The section is called "1 Dollar is worth"). In the last three months the Yen has fluctuated from 110 Yen per 1 Dollar to 94 per 1 Dollar. A difference of 16 Dollars per 100 exchanged.

As with most stock trading advice only you can tell how much you are willing to trade. My recommendation is to start watching the exchange market as many months in advance as possible. No matter how bad the market is doing there will be some peaks where you can buy in and get a good deal. The longer you have to watch the market the more likely you will hit that lucky peak that is bound to come.

If you feel that a price is good, but you can do better buy a small amount of the quantity you plan to take (20 to 30 percent). If the price goes up then buy more, if the price goes down then at least you got some money at a good price. Generally when the US economy does better than the Japanese economy it is a good time to buy Yen.

In our case we missed the 110 Yen mark, because I got a little too greedy. We made our trade at 106. If I would have bought half at 110 and half at 106 it would have been like I bought it all at 108. Please keep in mind that based on commissions and fees making multiple transactions may cost more in the long run. One to three transactions may be fine anything more may actually lose you money. Confused yet?

Credit Cards

Once on your trip you may decide that you want to save your cash to be used on the trains, soda machines, and vending machine restaurants. Using a credit card is acceptable in many places in Tokyo, just make sure to always keep cash just in case. When at the register when asked for payment just say "kurejitoo kaado" which literally means credit card. The clerk will immediately understand, and know what to do.

There are some considerations when using credit cards in Tokyo. First make sure that your card can be used worldwide, most major credit cards do, but its always a good idea to call and ask. While you have your credit card company on the phone it is also a good idea to let them know about your trip. You don't want to be embarrassed while shopping. The final and most important thing to do while on the phone with your credit card company is to ask if there are any charges for foreign use. We found two of our credit cards would use the daily exchange rate plus 1 percent for one and 3 percent for the other. For the truly thrifty and tech savvy you can check that day's rate plus your card's percentage to find out how much it will cost you. If you find that the rate is better than what you bought your Yen at (even with the percentage) then you may want to buy with your card.

Traveler's Checks

Many like these checks because they provide a certain level of security. Just keep some things in mind: Not all places will take them (or even know what they are), and if they do they will offer you an exchange rate worse than cash. This is because Amex charges a little extra to those who take the checks. We took some, but made every attempt possible to bring them back home. The exchange rate at home is 1 to 1 :)

Exchanging your money back:

The process of exchanging money back is pretty much the same as buying it. Try to fight the urge to trade right away unless prices are really good. In this case you want the Dollar to buy the least Yen possible. Which also means that Yen will buy the most Dollars.

If you bought at 110 and sell at 96 you will actually make money. (It makes sense trust me)

Generally if the Japanese economy is doing better than the US you will make your money on your trade back.

By following all these strategies by the time we exchanged back our money was worth around $100 more. A nice little profit considering how much fun we had.

Website for new Gundam Series online!

Don't know how recent the launch is, but Bandai has now launched a website for "Gundam00," which is currently in its second season in Japan. It will air in mid-November, (although online rumors place it on either Nov 10 or 17). This anime is currently very popular in Japan and airs on Sundays. Among some of the things we saw last week going on in Tokyo was the release of the PS2 Game based on this series, model kits available in major toy stores, and lots of buzz all around. I managed to catch one episode; and while my Japanese is close to non-existent, I could already tell that the battles are very well scripted and choreographed. Also they already hinted at ties between characters on opposing sides. (Of course both of these are to be expected of any Gundam series). Later on I will be making a full post on the general Gundam scene in Tokyo as of mid-October. For now let's just say it was everything I expected and more!

http://gundam00.bandai-ent.com/

Why getting lost is the way to travel

Two or three days into our trip as we came out of Daimon station I noticed something we here at 2lostintokyo hate: the tour leader flag. This flag stands for everything we hate about structured traveling. This particular flag drove the point home. Gathered around this flag was a group of what looked like American tourists (although to be fair they could easily have been Australian or British). Nonetheless they were walking away from a large theater hall in the area, carrying large plastic bags with the logo from Broadway version of the Lion King. The theater itself had a large image of either Simba or Mufasa on the side. It was pretty much safe to assume that these people traveled 8 to 13 hours to Japan to see a BROADWAY production of the Lion King.
That's the problem with pre-packaged tours you get stuck going to go see what your tour guides wants you to see, when they want you to see it, and how they want you to see it. Now maybe, just maybe these people paid to come to a foreign country to see an American show in a foreign language. Maybe they specifically signed up for this tour to see this one show abroad. One thing I am pretty sure of though is that even if this is what they signed up for, at some point they will get stuck doing something they don't want to do.
A couple of days before we left as we headed towards another district to get wonderfully lost, a bus pulled up. In it were all types of people, young, old, men women, children, teenagers. The side of the bus had a sign that named the tour company along with the title: Ancient and Modern Tokyo. Sounds to me like someone at some point will be bored out of their mind.
We here at 2lostintokyo feel it doesn't have to be this way. We are here to empower you and give you enough tools to get rid of the overpaid tour guide, and enable you to go out on your own. Around here getting lost is not a bad thing, its the way you discover the cool things you otherwise would not get to discover. Why eat the same crap designed for tourists, when you can stumble upon a local noodle shop and confidently get what the locals eat.
Why Tokyo is the perfect city for getting lost: Unlike other cities across the world Tokyo is actually a pleasure to get lost in. The public transportation is easy and comprehensive, good food at great prices is always available no matter where you go, and the city is safe enough to feel comfortable walking down a strange alley late at night.
You will also notice a strong emphasis on saving money. After all the more money you save on your trip the more you will have for gundam models/EGL dresses/arcades/or hello kitty paraphernalia.
So dont be afraid of getting lost, you'll be surprised of where you find yourself.

Welcome to our site!

We recently took a trip to Tokyo, Japan, and had a lot of fun. During our time there we encountered the typical obstacles tourists run across, but were overall surprised how easy to enjoy the city is with a little preparation. The goal of this blog is to aid future travelers to the city with a focus on pop culture. We will show you how to get the most out of the city through our method of getting immersed in the culture by getting lost within its streets. Along the way you will find information to fill different niches for different people. Expect tips for Anime & Manga buyers, elegant gothic and lolita boutiques, cheap dining, Hello Kitty, and many other pop culture fixtures. So please check back often as we try to load more entries and articles to make your trip easier.