Is it better to exchange from Yen to Dollar in Japan than in the US? -

Hi, Someone told me that it is better to exchange Yen to Dollar in Japan than at a bank in the US. Is this true? Why is that? Thanks!

I found banks that charged from 0%-6% for exchanging in Japan...and paid 15% at banks here in the US

The exchange rate will likely be the same regardless of whether you exchange your dollars into yen in the US or in Japan. The difference though is that in the US you will probably have to pay your bank some service fee for the exchange. If you wait to do it in Japan, I am pretty sure you will get more yen to your dollar because the banks make exchanges without charging. Of course, that is only if you take the time to go to a Japanese bank--if you use the exchange counter in the airport you will probably be worse off. And if you aren t familiar with Japan then you might struggle to find a bank, or you might have difficulty expressing to the bank staff what you are trying to do if you don t know the language, etc. So I would say if you don t know what you are doing or if you aren t in Japan for a long time, then exchange your money in the US so you can make the most of your time in Japan.

The dollar is way down right now.