It’s a crucial part of travelling you just can’t walk by.
Especially if you’re in Japan for shopping, or you tend to use up your money and need extra cash.
両替 “Ryo-gae” = Currency Exchange
Another word you may want to know is the “Currency Exchange Counter” which is 両替所 “Ryo-gae-jo”.
Although credit cards are becoming very popular in Japan, there are still some restaurants or shops that only accept cash, so it is always safe to have some bills in your wallet.
There a a couple of currency exchange counters in big cities like Tokyo or Osaka. If you need to exchange your money into Japanese Yen, ask someone “Ryo-gae-jo wa doko desuka?” = Where is the currency exchange counter?
The word “Ryo-gae” also means “cash exchange” in general. For instance, some vending machines (which there are A LOT in Japan as we have been documenting) and most of them do not accept bills larger than a 1000yen. If so, ask the employee “Ryo-gae onegai-shimasu” = “Would you change this to smaller bills?”, and they will run down to their cashier to get 1000yen bills for you.
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夏（Natsu）Fun! Japan Words vol.55
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