Sending Money Home

When you leave Japan, you’ll probably want to convert your yen into your home country’s currency. More often than not, you’ll get a better rate if you exchange the money in Japan rather than when you get back. One of the easiest and most economical ways of doing this is through the Post Office remittance service. This can be done at any of your local post offices (however please note that you can’t send to some countries – ask at the post office or look in your JET diary for more info). Simply put, a remittance is a check made out to a designated party in a currency other than yen. The designated party can be a family member, bank, organization, etc. The post office will send your money through into the designated party’s account.

The two most popular remittance services are Shinsei Bank’s GoRemit service and TransferWise. GoRemit’s international bank transfers cost 2,000 yen (plus any intermediary and beneficiary bank fees) regardless of the amount being sent. It will take some time to make an account through GoRemit, as the paper application and supporting documents must be mailed to them. TransferWise’s rates differ based on the amount of money being sent, but go through very quickly. You can sign up and upload the appropriate documents online.

What To Do (Post Office Remittance Service 送金)

1. Go to the window of the post office and ask for a “kokusai sokin seikyuusho ken koku chisho (国際送金請求書兼告知書)” form (International Remittance Application & Declaration Form).

2. Fill out the information. You’ll also need to bring your Alien Registration Card and your inkan (name stamp).

3. Fill out the information. You’ll also need to bring your Alien Registration Card and your inkan (name stamp).

4. Fill out the information. You’ll also need to bring your Alien Registration Card and your inkan (name stamp).

5. For sending remittances to the US, you can take the check and mail it out on your own. Remittances to all other destinations will be sent directly to the designated address from the Tokyo Central Post Office by airmail.

DETAILS

Converting: You can convert yen into a number of currencies, but please note that the destination that you’re sending the money to must be made out for the same currency. (e.g., you cannot send a check to Canada made out in US dollars.

Exchange Rates: The yen-US dollar exchange rate is updated at 11AM every business day. Exchange rates between yen and all other currencies are updated at noon every business day. The post office exchange rates tend to be the best around.

Delivery Dates: For most countries, delivery varies between 7 & 14 days. However, for some reason, delivery to Canada takes an average of 14-20 days!