In Japan, you'll use a Suica (or Icoca) card for local transport and most small purchases, and a credit card for big purchases (hotels etc). But you still need Japanese cash for places that don't take cards.
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Total Spending Money in JapanSo, for an 8-day trip, we recommend $640 dollars of spending money, which breaks down to about $80 dollars per person per day. Keep in mind that this does not include your airfare, hotels, land transportation, travel insurance, luggage transfers, or pocket Wi-Fi.
That being said, I would say you should bring enough cash so that you have at least 10,000 yen of spending money per day. This will be enough to cover any transportation fees and cash-only establishments you visit, provided you also have your debit/credit card to cover the rest of your expenses (e.g. accommodation).
In general, a meal at a local eatery or fast food chain can range from 500 to 1,000 yen (approximately $5-$10 USD), while a meal at a mid-range restaurant can cost 1,000 to 3,000 yen (approximately $10-$30 USD), and a high-end restaurant can cost upwards of 10,000 yen (approximately $100 USD) per person.
Budget-Friendly Travel PlanningYou should plan to spend around ¥18,967 ($128) per day on your vacation in Japan, which is the average daily price based on the expenses of other visitors. Past travelers have spent, on average, ¥4,590 ($31) on meals for one day and ¥2,856 ($19) on local transportation.