Japanese money: the yen (円, en)
Japanese money is the yen, written 円 (えん, en, “yen (currency of Japan)”) and read en. Today's cash is six coins (1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 yen) and four banknotes (1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 yen).
There are no cents. The yen was once split into smaller units, the sen (a hundredth) and the rin (a thousandth), but money worth less than one yen was voided in 1953. Prices in Japan are whole yen.
Exchange rates change every day, so this guide gives the facts that stay put and a method for the rest.
Why is it called yen, and why 円?
The word 円 means "circle" or "round". The Meiji government made the yen Japan's basic unit in the New Currency Act of 1871.
The Bank of Japan's Currency Museum gives three explanations and doesn't pick one. One is the round shape of the coins. Another is that Western silver coins were called Yō-en or Gin-en in China, and some Japanese people began to call ryō gold coins yen too. A third is that the first yen coins were struck on machines from the British mint in Hong Kong, and the yen was named after the one-yuan coin made there.
Why "yen" and not "en"? According to Wikipedia, Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century heard the Japanese e sound as [je] and spelled it "ye", and that became the English "yen". Treat that as the likely story, not a settled one.
The old form of the character is 圓, the same character as in the Chinese yuan. That shared root is why the yen, the yuan and the Korean won sound alike. They are three separate currencies.
The yen symbol: ¥ or 円?
There are two because they belong to two writing systems. 円 is the Japanese character, and in Japanese it goes after the number: 500円. ¥ is the sign used in Latin-alphabet writing, and it goes before the number: ¥500.
Yen and yuan share the ¥ sign. Chinese money has its own character, 元 or 圆, written after the number, so 50元 is Chinese and 50円 is Japanese. In English, writers add letters to be clear: JP¥50 for yen, CN¥50 for yuan.
Its Unicode code point is U+00A5, with a full-width ￥ (U+FFE5) for East Asian fonts. To type it, hold Alt and type 0165 on the number pad (Windows), hold Option (Alt) and press Y (Mac), or open the symbols keyboard on a phone and hold the $ key if ¥ isn't shown.
In Japan you may see both 円 and ¥ on tags and menus.
Japanese coins: 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 yen
Six coins are in use. The Ministry of Finance gives these designs and metals:
| Coin | Metal | Face design | Hole? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yen | Aluminium | A young tree | No |
| 5 yen | Brass | Rice ears, a gear and water | Yes |
| 10 yen | Bronze | The Phoenix Hall of Byōdō-in, Kyoto | No |
| 50 yen | Cupronickel | A chrysanthemum | Yes |
| 100 yen | Cupronickel | Cherry blossom | No |
| 500 yen | Bicolour (two metals) | Paulownia | No |
The 500 yen coin is a bicolour coin, first issued in a new form on 1 November 2021. The older version is still legal tender.
The 5 and 50 yen coins have holes (5 mm and 4 mm, says the Japan Mint). Wikipedia says the six coins differ so much in size, weight and edge that people with visual impairments can tell them apart.
A coin is a 硬貨 (こうか, kōka, “coin”), and small change is 小銭 (こぜに, kozeni, “small change”).
Japanese banknotes: the 2024 designs and who is on them
The Bank of Japan began issuing a new series of notes on 3 July 2024, the first new design since 2004. The three new notes carry a portrait and, on the back, a scene:
| Note | Portrait | Back |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 yen | Shibusawa Eiichi | The Marunouchi building of Tokyo Station |
| 5,000 yen | Tsuda Umeko | Japanese wisteria (fuji) |
| 1,000 yen | Kitasato Shibasaburō | Hokusai's Under the Great Wave off Kanagawa |
The Ministry of Finance describes them this way:
- Shibusawa Eiichi: a business leader involved in founding around 500 businesses.
- Tsuda Umeko: a pioneer of higher education for women, who founded one of the first private women's colleges.
- Kitasato Shibasaburō: a pioneering microbiologist who developed a serum therapy for tetanus and discovered the plague bacillus.
The 2,000 yen note, first issued in 2000 with the Shureimon gate on the front, is still on the Bank's list of notes in use. Wikipedia says many Japanese people treat it as a novelty, and that it wasn't redesigned because so few circulate. You may rarely see one.
Do old notes still work? Yes. The Bank of Japan says a banknote, once issued, stays legal tender unless a special law says otherwise, and the 2004 series is still in use. You can be handed either design. The 2004 notes show Fukuzawa Yukichi (10,000), Higuchi Ichiyō (5,000) and Noguchi Hideyo (1,000). Paper money is 紙幣 (しへい, shihei, “paper money”), and a note is also お札 (おさつ, osatsu, “banknote”).
How to read prices in Japan: 万, 税込 and 税抜
万 (man): the 10,000 unit
Japanese counts in groups of four digits, not three, and 万 (まん, man, “10,000”) is the unit for 10,000. So 10,000 yen is 1万円 (ichiman en), 100,000 yen is 10万円, one million is 100万円, and 10 million is 1,000万円. Then comes 億 (おく, oku, “hundred million”), 100 million. Below 10,000, prices use 千 (せん, sen, “thousand”) and 百 (ひゃく, hyaku, “hundred”): 3千円 is 3,000 yen. Our guide to counting in Japanese covers the numbers.
税込 and 税抜: with tax and without
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 税込 | ぜいこみ | zeikomi | including tax (of a price); pretax (income or profits); before tax | The price includes consumption tax: what you pay |
| 税抜 | ぜいぬき | zeinuki | tax excluded; excluding tax | The price before tax: tax is added at the till |
| 税別 | ぜいべつ | zeibetsu | excluding tax (of a price); not including tax; before tax | Also before tax; the same meaning as 税抜 |
| 消費税 | しょうひぜい | shōhizei | consumption tax (incl. sales tax, VAT, excise duty, etc.) | Japan's sales tax |
A temporary exception that let shops show prices without tax ended on 31 March 2021, so shops must show the total price with tax (総額表示). The Ministry of Finance says a tax-excluded price may be shown beside it, so many tags show both. A tag with 1,100円 (税込) and 1,000円 (税抜) means you pay 1,100 yen.
The consumption tax is 10 percent, with a reduced 8 percent for food and drink (not alcohol, and not eating out) and for newspapers by subscription, according to the National Tax Agency. Takeaway food is taxed at 8 percent and a meal eaten in at 10 percent, so a price can differ by how you eat.
A food tax change may be coming
On 5 August 2026 the cabinet adopted a basic policy to cut the tax on food and drink from 8 to 1 percent for two years from April 2027. It is not law until the Diet passes it: the bill was due before an autumn session. Check the current rate before relying on this. Facts on this page last checked on 2026-10-02.
Money words you will see and hear
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| お金 | おかね | okane | money | The general word for money |
| 現金 | げんきん | genkin | cash; ready money; money on hand | Cash, as opposed to a card |
| 財布 | さいふ | saifu | wallet; purse; coin purse | Where you keep it |
| 値段 | ねだん | nedan | price; cost | What a tag shows |
| お釣り | おつり | otsuri | change (for a purchase) | The change you get back |
| 両替 | りょうがえ | ryōgae | change; money exchange | Changing one currency for another |
| レジ | レジ | reji | checkout (counter); cashier | The till or checkout counter |
| 領収書 | りょうしゅうしょ | ryōshūsho | formal receipt (of payment; oft. hand-written) | A formal receipt, for expenses |
| 割引 | わりびき | waribiki | discount; reduction; rebate | A discount, on signs and stickers |
| 無料 | むりょう | muryō | free (of charge); gratuitous | No charge |
| ドル | ドル | doru | dollar | The dollar, as in 1ドル (one dollar) |
For polite requests at the till, see please in Japanese.
Practise the shopping and money phrases
Prices, paying, change and the phrases you will hear at the till, with their sound, in a short quiz.
Questions about Japanese money
What is Japanese money called?
Japanese money is called the yen, written 円 and read en. Its sign is ¥, and in Japanese the character 円 goes after the number.
How much is $1 in Japanese?
One US dollar is written 1ドル in Japanese, and its value in yen changes every day. At an example 150 yen to the dollar, $1 is 150円.
How much is $100 US in yen, and in Japan?
$100 is worth 100 times that day's exchange rate, so check a live rate. At an example 150 yen to the dollar, it is 15,000 yen.
How much is 1,000,000 yen in US dollars?
One million yen (100万円) is 1,000,000 divided by that day's rate. At an example 150 yen to the dollar, it is about $6,700.
Is 1000 yen a lot in Japan?
No, 1,000 yen is not a lot: it is less than an hour of work at the national average minimum wage. That wage is set to be 1,176 yen an hour from fiscal 2026, with 1,281 yen in Tokyo and under 1,100 in a number of prefectures. At an example 150 yen to the dollar, it is about $6.70.
Is 10,000 yen a lot in Japan?
10,000 yen is a moderate amount: about eight and a half hours of work at the average minimum wage, or about $67 at an example 150 yen to the dollar.
Is 20,000 yen a lot in Japan?
20,000 yen is a sizeable amount: about 17 hours of work at the average minimum wage, or about $133 at an example 150 yen to the dollar.
Is 50,000 yen enough for a week in Japan?
Probably not, going by averages: 50,000 yen is about a fifth of the 229,000 yen the Japan Tourism Agency put as average spending per international visitor in 2025. The figure doesn't say how long visitors stay, so it is a rough yardstick, not a budget.
Is $2000 enough for 1 week in Japan?
$2,000 can be enough for a week in Japan, but it depends on where you stay and how you travel. At an example 150 yen to the dollar it is 300,000 yen, above the 229,000 yen average per international visitor in 2025 (for stays of unknown length).
Do yen and yuan have the same symbol?
Yes, the yen and the Chinese yuan share the ¥ sign, but each writes its name in its own character: 円 for yen and 元 or 圆 for yuan. In English you can write JP¥ or CN¥ to be clear.
Why are there two symbols for yen?
There are two yen symbols because ¥ is the Latin-alphabet sign and 円 is the Japanese character. 円 goes after the number and ¥ before it, and you may see both in Japan.
Sources
- Readings and meanings: JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0).
- The name yen, the 1871 act and the spelling "yen": Bank of Japan Currency Museum, FAQ Japanese Currency; Wikipedia, Japanese yen and 円 (通貨).
- The ¥ sign, U+00A5 and U+FFE5, and 元 for yuan: Wikipedia, Yen and yuan sign; how to type ¥: Wise, Typing the yen symbol.
- Coins: Ministry of Finance, currently issued coins; Japan Mint, coins presently minted; Bank of Japan, Notes and coins issued; Bank of Japan, New series of banknotes.
- The 2024 notes: Bank of Japan, Governor Ueda's remarks; Ministry of Finance, New notes and 500-yen coin; the 2,000 yen note, Wikipedia, Banknotes of the Japanese yen.
- Old notes and the voiding of sen and rin: Bank of Japan, Are old-design notes still valid?
- Consumption tax rates: National Tax Agency, Consumption tax rates; the tax-inclusive price rule: Ministry of Finance, 総額表示 FAQ; takeaway and eat-in rates: Time Out Tokyo, Price tags in Japan; the food-tax plan: Sakigake (Kyodo), 消費税1%を閣議決定 and Adnkronos, Consumption tax cut plan. Facts on this page last checked on 2026-10-02.
- Minimum wage: nippon.com, Minimum wage for fiscal 2026; visitor spending: Travel Voice, reporting the Japan Tourism Agency, Visitor spending in 2025. Facts on this page last checked on 2026-10-02.
- Reviewed independently; the points about 税込 and 税抜 tags, ¥ against 円 on menus, and the 2,000 yen note are waiting for a native speaker's check.