Right i am under the impression it is best to take yen with me to niseko due to lack of bank machines etc etc. Can anyone in the UK or anywhere advise the best place to buy yen before i go/ when i arrive. i can get about 186yen to the pound from the AMEX shop in my town, i got that quote today. Is the airport in tokyo a good option? Any advice would be great, cheers!

(2 weeks and counting!!! wooop woooop!!)

I would avoid the airports al, surely they rip you off all those last minute people who have no choice.

We went round the banks in town and compared the rates in each. Suggest you do the same!

See if the bank where you have an account will do the exchange - sometimes they waive any service fees for their own customers. Definitely do it at home if at all possible.

Hotel front desks in Japan seem give better rates than the airport concessions (at home or in Japan) or Japanese banks. I think the worst rate I got was at a Japanese bank in Sapporo.

If you have a Maestro debit card you can use the ATM in the post offices and in 7Eleven shops.

7Eleven also takes a range of credit cards for cash withdraw (incl. AMEX)

PS: I used my EC Card (=Maestro) in the Hukuba 7/11. Maximum is 50,000 per withdraw. And you can do at least 2 withdraws in a row.

only 186 yen to the pound??!!! Really? What bank are you Al, they should convert it without charging a fee. Stay away from any of the tourist money converters (although keep a small eye on Thomas Cook, cos sometimes they do good deals). RBS and BoS should be very competitive. Stay away from the Airport ones unless its just chump change you're changing.

I sent money the opposite way on Friday and it 212 yen for the pound.

7/11 shops accept VISA cards I'm sure BUT its select ones and there is no way to know which ones. Doesn't Niseko have a Post Office nearby? Post Office machines accept bank cards from home as long as they have the Maestro sign

Al, meet up with TB and he'll give you a good rate.

I'll take 1% for suggesting that.

The best thing to do is to take yen out from a cash machine in Japan. Some banks, e.g. RBS don't charge you for taking money out abroad. Even if they do, it'll definitely be cheaper than trying to exchange it anywhere. The only problem is tho that hardly any cash machines take UK bank cards in Japan (trust me! me and my friends have wondered EVERYWHERE looking for places that work). Machines in airports tho work 100%. I know UK bank card have this annoying policy of can't-take-out-more-than-2or300 quid a day-policy, so what I tell my friends to do when they come out here is to take out yen in the airport as soon as they arrive and pay other expenses (food, trains) by card.
P.S. One last tip, cash is still mainstream in Japan and rather remote places in Hokkaido may not take cards. So best to take cash out any time you're using an airport or in a big city where they have banks like citibank!

In Niseko, some places take cards but most prefer cash. The Post Office cash machine in Kutchan will take "foreign" cards - not sure of what other kinds, we had Mastercard that worked. Seven11 have a gig with an atm in the stores. Trouble is, Hirafu doesn't have one, just a SeikoMart (AFAICR)

I know it might be slightly different for UK residents, but I found it easier to use my ATM card (hole-in-the-wall) at 7-11. Provided your visa card is linked to your savings account, or it has Sirus or something on the back, you should be able to do it. What I would suggest is changing some money to yen before you, so you can get your transfers/buses and stuff, but going to the nearest 7-11 when you get there.. Also most banks don't rape you in charges to transfer money, as opposed to travel exchanges.

My bro had hassles with card limits (OZ side)
You can ring your bank and arrange for a higher limit while you are away.

decent, cheers everyone!

Post Office is A-OK for UK bank cards