Key Money

[DavidPC]

CLAIR recommends in the GIH (http://jetprogramme.org/e/current/pubs/gih.html) that you bring at least 250,000 yen to cover possible expenses until your first paycheck and that you ask your contracting organisation if you will need to bring more or less, since they will know if you have to pay key money/deposit and rent or purchase furnishings or other amenities. If your PA has that information, great! But it is possible they will not know about those things, so asking your contracting organisation once you are in touch with them might be your best choice.

[bittersweet]

I would recommend not bringing all that money in a fanny pack on the plane...and especially with these exchange rates. Just bring SOME and leave the rest in USD to withdrawl at your post office if you are pressed for cash.

[miami_coordinator]

While I'm never happy when someone says "ignore your local coordinator back home," it is true that situations do vary from person to person. When I first started out as a coordinator, I barely mentioned the recommendation that JETs bring about $2500 with them. However, I started advocating bringing (or having access to) about $2500-$3000 after I realized that a number of my new JETs actually did have to pay key money.

At least you're prepared to admit you were intially wrong Miami_coordinator, and adjusted the figure. There are many coordinators out there with their tatemae still stuck firmly in place insisting that 200 000yen is enough for anyone. This creates confusion since the person is being told one thing by the coordinator at home and a different thing by the PA in their new home prefecture. Then the person gets here and they hit serious problems because they trusted the wrong person.

Frankly the advice coordinators should be giving should be, "Plan on a minimum of 200 000yen, but your local Prefectural Advisor and successor will give you more accurate figures based on your indivual posting once that information becomes available.".

Oh, I'm definitely in favor of advocating bringing (or having access to) cash. The $2000 figure was accurate when I was a JET, but I don't think it is now, or, at least, it may not be accurate for all JETs. I boosted my money recommendations to $2,500-$3,000 after hearing from my JET who said that he needed $3,000 to secure a place. The first couple of months in a new location are always the most expensive, no matter where you move to. Moreover, JETs won't be getting their first paycheck until the end of their first month of work. On top of that, many are expecting to immediately set up transfer funds to pay off student loans. That certainly is doable, but I'd recommend JETs wait 2-3 months before setting that up (if they can) just to have a chance to stockpile a small savings cushion in Japan. That may mean having some funds left back home to cover those few months' payments.

I have heard a lot of JET alumni tell new JETs "oh, don't worry about the money thing; I didn't need it and you won't either." That may have been accurate for their situations, but there's no guarantee that a new JET will have that same experience. Even if a new JET is going to the exact same contracting organization as a JET alum who didn't have any housing expenses, Japan's economic situation is such that contracting organizations may not have available funds to help with start-up costs for their incoming JETs.

[SakuraHoshi]

Do you get a better exchange rate if you change money when in Japan rather than at home from a travel agents? Our weak pound against the strong yen means we just get robbed by the exchange rate and I was wondering if there was anything that could be done about it.

[Cliodhna]

Do you get a better exchange rate if you change money when in Japan rather than at home from a travel agents? Our weak pound against the strong yen means we just get robbed by the exchange rate and I was wondering if there was anything that could be done about it.

After the 2008 crashes, it doesn't really matter how you get your exchanging on because you're always going to lose money. I think the main thing to keep in mind is that you're going to need to have cash on hand immediately once you land- mostly because you'll be paying for your bags to be shipped at the airport, and later on for food. I would recommend, from experience, to exchange your money at a booth in the last airport you'll be in before you leave your home country for Japan. That way, you'll have plenty of yen as soon as you get on the plane to japan and you'll be off and running once you land. After you're settled, if you want to exchange more money in Japan, Akihabara has booths with pretty good rates that you could visit one evening during orientation. Otherwise I wouldn't recommend trying to change out money in Narita. Narita's design is a bit of a logistical nightmare anyway, and you don't want to get lost and never meet up with the JET reps waiting for you.

[Loerian]

Just a note for some of the Irish applicants if you have a student bank account with AIB they usually exchange currency for you with no banking charge so that might save some people a couple of euro as I have been previously been ripped off changing money in Dublin airport

[bittersweet]

i wouldn't change money at an airport, they are known for having terrible rates. you probably won't have time to do this anyway. Just get it done at a bank beforehand. If your bank doesn't do it, call around and find one that does.

[Cliodhna]

i wouldn't change money at an airport, they are known for having terrible rates. you probably won't have time to do this anyway. Just get it done at a bank beforehand. If your bank doesn't do it, call around and find one that does.

I think this one might be ESID. My bank actually told me NOT to exchange with them because it would cost more with them and then would take a month or something because the money would have to be shipped to the bank from Japan. They told me I should do it at the airport.

For those wondering, this was with BoA. It could be different with other banks or in other countries.

[Jax]

i wouldn't change money at an airport, they are known for having terrible rates. you probably won't have time to do this anyway. Just get it done at a bank beforehand. If your bank doesn't do it, call around and find one that does.

I think this one might be ESID. My bank actually told me NOT to exchange with them because it would cost more with them and then would take a month or something because the money would have to be shipped to the bank from Japan. They told me I should do it at the airport.

For those wondering, this was with BoA. It could be different with other banks or in other countries.

I can't remember what the rates were, but I used Harris and it was pretty fast.