During this year's May Day holiday, the author found that many people in my circle of friends played in Japan. One of the most important reasons for attracting people to play in the past is the sharp depreciation of the yen. In other words, you can buy more with the same renminbi for yen. The author also had a lively time during the May Day period, and found that Japan is also quite friendly in terms of payment methods.
Convenience stores are "convenient for cash withdrawals", and cash payments are common
The culture of cash is deeply ingrained in Japanese society, and the use of cash in Japan is still very high today, especially in some small cities, small shops, street vendors, and some local traditional markets.
It is precisely because of the very high usage rate of banknotes and coins that in many stores, when cashier change, you can usually see a small plate specially used to collect cash and change, which is locally called "small dish", in short, it has a very high appearance rate at the store counter. With this plate, the money is more visible at a glance, and the coins are not scattered everywhere.
Cashier "Small Bowl"
In addition, the convenience of withdrawing cash in Japan is quite high, and many convenience stores have ATMs that can be used directly, and most ATMs can support UnionPay card withdrawals.
Japan Convenience Store "Convenient Cash Withdrawal"
The credit card acceptance environment is good, and the major card organizations compete on the same stage
The use of credit cards is equally common in Japan, especially international credit cards such as VISA, MasterCard, etc., which are very widely used in Japan. Credit card payments are often one of the most popular payment methods in large shopping malls, hotels and restaurants. For tourists from countries with high credit card usage, such as Europe and the United States, it may be more convenient and customary to pay with a credit card.
A familiar payment logo found at a glance at a nondescript ramen shop
For Chinese tourists, the coverage of UnionPay-standard credit cards in Japan can also be said to be quite sufficient, as long as you are not a heavy "Shankara" explorer. On the other hand, Chinese tourists can also apply for international credit cards, and it will become more convenient to apply for an internationally marked credit card after the first RMB card in the territory of MasterNet.
You can apply for a local digital transportation card at home
The Suica Card is one of Japan's most popular public transportation cards, and can be used on JR East lines, subways, buses, and Tokyo Monorail between Haneda Airport and the Tokyo metropolitan area. In addition to the Tokyo area, watermelon cards can also be used in the Sendai, Niigata areas, and parts of Hokkaido, Tokai, West Japan, and Kyushu.
What's more, the watermelon card can be used not only for rides, but also at most convenience stores, supermarkets, restaurants, and other places marked with the Suica icon nationwide, and has the function of an e-wallet. Nowadays, it is more convenient to apply for and top up the watermelon card.
If you are an Apple user, you only need to enter the "Wallet" app from the Add Card function in the upper right corner, find the page of the bus card that can be added in Japan, select "Suica" and follow the steps to apply for the card. In terms of card application and recharge, it is no different from the use of Apple transportation cards in China. In addition to watermelon cards, there are other transportation cards that can be added in Japan, such as ICOCA and PASMO. It is worth mentioning that in addition to Japan, Apple Wallet currently supports the addition of transportation cards in international regions such as the United States and Hong Kong, China.
Mobile payments are developing, and Chinese wallets can also be scanned
With the popularity and development of mobile payments, more and more tourists are also starting to try using mobile payment wallets in Japan. Payment service providers, including Alipay and WeChat Pay, have entered the Japanese market, which has promoted the popularity of mobile payment to a certain extent.
A Japanese vending machine that supports a variety of mobile payment methods
According to the author's naked eye observation, PayPay should be the most popular e-wallet in Japan at present. It is understood that PayPay is a Japanese company that develops electronic payment services, which was established in 2018 by SoftBank Group and Yahoo Japan's holding company Z Holdings, and as of the first half of last year, PayPay has more than 38 million users and is still growing. In addition to PayPay, LINE Pay, which was launched in December 2014, is also popular in Japan. Later, PayPay and LINE Pay also cooperated, and it was reported that the two sides intended to integrate, which can be understood in the words of the domestic payment industry, which can be regarded as "interconnected".
Scan the PayPay code with Alipay
PayPay is connected to Alipay+ to accept Chinese tourists to pay by scanning the QR code with Alipay. For Chinese tourists, it is important to pay attention to the content under the PayPay logo, if you see the words "Alipay" or "Alipay+", it means that the store's PayPay is compatible with Alipay payment. According to the author's naked eye, in some larger stores, shopping malls, and convenience store scenarios, if there is PayPay as a payment method, then Alipay can also be used directly. Otherwise, you have to pay attention, and if you swipe hard, you will also get the following answers.
未接入Alipay+的Pay商家码
Of course, if your head is very iron, you are a QR code payment fanatic, you can't swipe a card, you can't cash, and when faced with a "PayPay merchant code that is not connected to Alipay+", you have to experience an authentic "Japanese mobile payment".
It's not difficult to apply for a PayPay account, as long as you have a Japanese mobile phone number (don't ask how to get it). Go to the app store to download the PayPay app, send the verification code via SMS, and then fill in the verification code received. You do not have a Japanese bank account or credit card, so you cannot authenticate it, but you can use it by storing up PayPay at ATMs at convenience stores (711 and Lawson).