ATMs in Japan for foreign cards: which to use, withdrawal limits, fees, hours and the screens step by step

Which ATM should you use in Japan?

The Seven Bank ATM inside 7-Eleven. It is one of the two networks the Japan National Tourism Organization points visitors to, there are more than 28,000 of them, it accepts every major international brand including American Express and Diners Club, it runs 365 days a year, and its screens and receipts come in twelve languages. Nothing else in Japan combines all of those, and in a city a 7-Eleven is rarely more than a few minutes' walk away.

The back-ups cover the gaps. Japan Post Bank ATMs sit in post offices across the country and inside many FamilyMart stores, which puts them in villages that have no 7-Eleven; they accept a slightly shorter list of brands, close in the evening at post offices and charge 220 yen per use. Lawson Bank ATMs in Lawson stores and E-net ATMs in FamilyMart, Don Quijote and other chains round out the network. Between the four, a visitor with a Visa or Mastercard can withdraw cash in practically any town in Japan at practically any hour.

What often does not work is the first thing many visitors try: the ATM in the lobby of a Japanese bank. Many do not accept cards issued abroad, and a machine that spits the card back out with a Japanese-only message tells you nothing about whether your card is at fault. Head for a convenience store instead.

The four ATM networks that take foreign cards

The table is compiled from each operator's own page for overseas cards, as read in October 2026. Seven Bank and Lawson Bank add the same caveat: a card carrying one of the marks may still be refused, because the final decision is made by the bank that issued it.

Seven Bank is the only one of the four that lists American Express and Diners Club, so holders of those cards should go straight to 7-Eleven. After you insert the card the screen asks for a language and offers English, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Malay, Indonesian, Vietnamese, French, German and Portuguese alongside Japanese; the receipt is printed in the language you chose. Besides every 7-Eleven, Seven Bank lists machines at New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, Fukuoka and Naha airports, in Sogo and Seibu department stores, Ito-Yokado supermarkets and the Shisui, Gotemba and Mitsui outlet malls.

Japan Post Bank is the countryside's ATM. Post offices exist in towns too small for a convenience store, and JNTO's currency page singles out "the many Japan Post Bank ATMs located nationwide". The limits are tighter: 50,000 yen per withdrawal, a 220-yen fee on top of whatever your bank charges, and post-office hours that end at 23:00 from Monday to Saturday and 21:00 on Sundays and holidays. Its machines inside FamilyMart stores run until 23:55.

Lawson Bank machines sit in Lawson stores, at Haneda Terminal 3, Narita Terminals 1 and 3, Kansai and Naha airports and in a few shopping centres. The screen offers Japanese, English, simplified Chinese and Korean, withdrawals come in 10,000-yen notes up to 50,000 yen, and the operator notes that some machines do not take some overseas cards.

E-net is the ATM in many FamilyMart stores (others now have a Japan Post Bank machine instead) and in Don Quijote discount stores. Its brand list is the shortest of the four, but the 100,000-yen limit matches Seven Bank's, and the phone beside the machine reaches a call centre around the clock.

How to withdraw yen, step by step

The screens follow the same order at all four networks; these are Seven Bank's steps for a Visa card, which is the sequence you will meet most often.

1. Insert the card, magnetic stripe down. A chip card goes in the same slot.
2. Choose your language. The rest of the screens, and the receipt, follow it.
3. Press "Withdrawal".
4. Select the account the money comes from. A debit card draws on your bank account; a credit card withdrawal is a cash advance.
5. Enter your PIN and press "Confirm". If you are not sure of it, stop here rather than guess: repeated wrong entries can lock the card.
6. Choose the amount in yen. The Seven Bank limit is 100,000 yen per withdrawal (30,000 for a card with no chip); Lawson Bank and Japan Post Bank stop at 50,000.
7. Choose the currency you are billed in, if the machine asks. This is the Dynamic Currency Conversion screen described below. Choose Japanese yen.
8. Take the cash, the card and the receipt. Check all three before you walk away.

Fees: what you pay and to whom

Three parties can take a cut. The Japanese operator charges either a fixed fee or nothing: Japan Post Bank states 220 yen per transaction, while Seven Bank, Lawson Bank and E-net say the fee "varies" by card brand or issuing bank, which in practice means it depends on your card; Lawson Bank, for one, shows the fee on screen before you confirm. Your own bank adds its foreign-ATM fee and, on top, its currency-conversion margin; these are usually the larger cost, and they differ enormously between a card marketed for travel and a standard one. Finally, a credit card used for cash is usually treated as a cash advance, with interest from the day of withdrawal, which is why a debit card is the better tool for ATMs and the credit card the better tool for the counter.

Two habits keep fees down. Withdraw larger amounts less often, within the limits above and your daily cap, since most fees are charged per transaction, and keep the cash safe in the hotel rather than in one wallet. And compare the fee shown on the screen with your bank's published charges before confirming; if a machine quotes something that looks wrong, cancel and try another network a few doors down.

Limits: per withdrawal and per day

Lawson Bank pays out in 10,000-yen notes, so ask for a multiple of 10,000; E-net can pay part of a withdrawal in 1,000-yen notes.

The limit that bites first is usually not the machine's but your card's: the daily cash limit set by your issuer, often the equivalent of a few hundred dollars, euros or pounds. Seven Bank's advice if a withdrawal is refused for exceeding a limit is to "reduce the withdrawal amount and perform the transaction again". Ask your bank for the figure before you travel, and have it raised for the trip if you expect to pay for a ryokan or a guesthouse in cash.

Where to find an ATM: airports, stations and the countryside

At the airport. Seven Bank lists ATMs at New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, Fukuoka and Naha; Lawson Bank at Haneda Terminal 3, Narita Terminals 1 and 3, Kansai and Naha. An airport withdrawal is the easiest first test of your card: if it fails, the exchange counters JNTO describes in every major arrivals hall are a few steps away, and you still have a working day to phone your bank.

In cities. Almost every 7-Eleven, Lawson and FamilyMart has a machine, and the three chains between them are on almost every block of a Japanese city. Seven Bank also lists Sogo and Seibu department stores and Ito-Yokado supermarkets. The ATM sign is usually visible from the door; if not, "ATM wa doko desu ka?" gets you pointed to it.

In the countryside. This is where Japan Post Bank earns its place: a village without a convenience store often still has a post office, and JNTO points visitors to its ATMs nationwide. Mind the hours, since post-office machines close at 23:00 on weekdays and 21:00 on Sundays and holidays, and plan a withdrawal before an evening in a hot-spring town where the ryokan may want cash.

When the ATM says no

A refused card is more often the bank's doing than the machine's. Work through the list before assuming the worst:

• "This card cannot be used." Seven Bank and Lawson Bank both warn that cards carrying their marks may still be refused. Try a different network before trying the same machine again; a card refused at E-net may work at Seven Bank, whose brand list is the longest.
• A PIN error. Seven Bank's instruction is to contact the company that issued the card. Do not keep guessing: repeated wrong PINs can lock the card.
• Over the limit. Reduce the amount and try again. If a small amount is also refused, the block is your issuer's daily cap or a fraud hold, and only a call to the bank clears it.
• Magnetic stripe only. Cards without a chip are capped at 30,000 yen at Seven Bank and 40,000 at E-net.
• Machine out of service. Seven Bank notes that ATMs may be unavailable for system maintenance; Lawson Bank schedules about 15 minutes between 3 and 4 a.m. Another chain is usually in sight.
• Nothing works anywhere. Use the airport or hotel exchange counter for the day, and phone the number on the back of the card. This is also the moment the second card in the other bag proves its worth.

To cite or link to this page: ATMs in Japan for foreign cards: which to use, withdrawal limits, fees, hours and the screens step by step — Japan Pocket Guide, https://japanpocketguide.com/plan/atm/ Copy