JPY Japanese Yen
Buy and sell Japanese Yen in Sydney
Yen notes for Japan, sold and bought back at one counter - Suite 202A on Level 2, 60 York Street, NSW 2000. Live rates each way, 0% commission, and the doors are open Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 5pm.
How to get your yen
Rate first, counter second, cash third - no account and no appointment.
Check today's JPY exchange rate
Use the calculator to see the yen your Australian dollars buy today, and separately what we pay in A$ for yen you bring back after the trip.
Visit our store
Find us at Suite 202A, Level 2, 60 York Street, NSW 2000, four minutes from Wynyard station - or phone (02) 8014 4222 first and your yen can be set aside before you arrive.
Get your cash
Every note is counted where you can see it and handed over there and then; unspent yen come back to the same window.
Key information about the Japanese yen
Notes, coins, the 2024 redesign and where the yen actually spends.
Japan's currency since 1871, the yen is issued by the Bank of Japan and is the third most traded currency in the world behind the US dollar and the euro. It has no working subunit: the sen and rin survive only in financial quotes and accounting, so every price you see is a whole number of yen.
Three notes were redesigned in July 2024 - ¥10,000 (Shibusawa Eiichi), ¥5,000 (Tsuda Umeko) and ¥1,000 (Kitasato Shibasaburo) - and the 2004 series they replaced stays legal tender, so a mixed wallet is normal. The ¥2,000 note exists but is rare outside Okinawa, and some older vending machines still refuse the 2024 designs, so keep a few coins handy.
Japan is one of the busiest overseas destinations for Australians, and yen sit among the 22 currencies traded at our York Street counter. If you are buying Japanese yen in Sydney, bring photo ID and walk in, or call ahead to have an amount put aside; when you return, unspent yen sell back here at the live buy-back rate.
Japanese Yen details
- Currency
- Japanese Yen
- Code
- JPY
- Symbol
- ¥
- Subunit
- none in everyday use - the sen (1/100) and rin (1/1000) were retired in 1953
- Central bank
- Bank of Japan
Japanese Yen in use
- Banknotes
- ¥1,000, ¥2,000, ¥5,000, ¥10,000 (the 2024 series and the 2004 series both circulate; the ¥2,000 is rarely seen outside Okinawa)
- Coins
- ¥1, ¥5, ¥10, ¥50, ¥100, ¥500 (the ¥500 has been a two-tone coin since 2021)
- Used in
- Japan
- Also used
- Nowhere else - the yen is spent in Japan only, although it is widely held as a reserve currency
Break a ¥10,000 note early at a convenience store or station, because coin-fed ticket machines, lockers, laundromats and older vending machines take ¥1,000 notes and coins only - and a few still reject the 2024 designs altogether.
Today's yen exchange rate in Sydney
Below is the live AUD to JPY rate at our York Street counter in both directions - the yen your dollars buy, and the dollars your leftover yen earn when sold back. Every amount below is worked out from the rate the calculator shows this minute.
Buying yen in Sydney
A$1 = ¥108.83
Hand over A$, walk out with yen notes.
- What the calculator quotes is what you pay - 0% commission and no fee added at the counter
- Settle in cash - the counter does not accept cards at present
- Yen come in four note sizes only, so ask for plenty of ¥1,000s - they are what ticket machines, lockers and small shops handle without fuss
Selling yen back in Sydney
¥100 = A$0.89
Yen notes in, Australian dollars out - same counter.
- Once the count is agreed you are paid in Australian dollars straight away, before you leave the counter
- Bring notes that are whole and clean - anything torn, taped or heavily worn may be turned away
- Both the 2024 series and the earlier 2004 series remain legal tender in Japan, and the rarely seen ¥2,000 is still a current Bank of Japan note
Counter rates move with the market through the day. The time stamped on the calculator is the time these tables were last refreshed, and whatever rate the counter confirms at the moment you exchange is the rate you get.
Japan travel money tips
Japan is more cash-friendly than its reputation suggests - here is how to carry it.
Cash still runs the small places
Cards and IC cards such as Suica cover trains, konbini and department stores, yet a large share of Japan still runs on notes and coins: family restaurants, ramen counters, shrine offices, hot-spring towns, markets and countless ticket machines. Arrive with yen and the airport train and your first meals are covered; top up later at 7-Eleven or Japan Post ATMs, which take foreign cards for a ¥110-220 fee plus whatever your own bank adds.
Things to see in Japan
From Tokyo's neon to Kyoto's temples and a quiet onsen town - and a pocket of yen coins keeps the shrine offerings, street snacks and lockers simple.
Why exchange yen with us
Stocking up before Japan or cashing in what came home - one registered CBD counter handles both, at rates that are live and shown to the minute.
0% commission, no fees on top
There is no commission on yen and no fee added afterwards: the AUD to JPY rate you agree at the counter is the complete price, so the figure you read in the calculator is the figure that changes hands.
Live, timestamped counter rates
Our yen rates are set at the counter, refreshed through the trading day and stamped with the minute they last moved - the rate for buying yen and the rate we pay for yen you sell back, side by side.
Registered, reviewed, guaranteed
An AUSTRAC registered exchange trading as ABN 18 675 798 302, rated by 59 Google reviewers, and backed by our written Best Price Guarantee.
Rated on Google by 59 customers
Every one of these was left on our Google profile by someone who came up to Level 2. We cannot edit them or take them down.
"Nice attention, customer service and good rate"
"Great people. Great rates. Great location. Sunil is the best."
"Thanks sunil. Great service and great rates"
"Pretty good rates, the place is clean and comfortable to wait in."
See what customers across Sydney say about our rates and service.
Read them all on Googlearrow_forwardCommon questions about Japanese yen
Anything else about yen? Call (02) 8014 4222 on a weekday and ask the counter.
The calculator at the top of this page carries today's live counter rate for yen in both directions - what you pay per yen when buying, and what we pay when you sell yen back. It updates through the trading day and the time it was last set is shown beside it. The rate confirmed at the counter when you exchange is the one applied.
Our counter is at Suite 202A, Level 2, 60 York Street, NSW 2000, in the Sydney CBD - upstairs, about four minutes on foot from Wynyard station. Hours are Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 5pm, and no appointment is needed: bring photo ID and walk in. To have yen waiting for you, phone (02) 8014 4222 before you come.
Scroll to the conversion table on this page: it lists A$1,000 alongside the other common amounts, all worked out from the same live rate the calculator is showing, so the yen figure moves with the market during the day. The figure the counter confirms at the time you exchange is the one that counts.
No. Yen are exchanged at 0% commission in both directions, with no service fee or handling charge added at the counter. The rate you agree is the whole price: multiply it by your amount and that is exactly what you pay for yen, or exactly what you receive when you sell yen back.
Yen are one of the 22 currencies on our board, and for a major currency like this the usual answer is yes - come in on any weekday. If you need a larger sum, or you want a particular mix of ¥1,000, ¥5,000 and ¥10,000 notes, phone (02) 8014 4222 first so we can confirm it and set it aside for you.
Mostly ¥1,000 notes, with the balance in ¥5,000s and ¥10,000s. Yen has only four denominations and shops break large notes without complaint, but ticket machines, coin lockers, laundromats and many vending machines take ¥1,000 notes and coins only. Skip the ¥2,000: it is legal tender but so rare that some machines and staff outside Okinawa hesitate over it. Both the 2024 and 2004 designs are legal tender at every till.
Yes. Bring your unspent yen notes to the same counter and we pay Australian dollars at the live buy-back rate shown in the calculator, on the spot once the count is agreed. Notes need to be in good, resaleable condition - clean and intact - because torn, taped, heavily marked or water-damaged notes may be declined; every note bought back has to be fit for the next traveller.
Arriving with yen already in your wallet means the airport train, a taxi and your first meals are covered before you have found an ATM, and you have seen the exact rate before committing. Japanese ATMs at 7-Eleven and post offices do accept foreign cards, typically for a ¥110-220 machine fee on top of whatever your own bank charges for overseas withdrawals, with a ¥100,000 cap per withdrawal on many machines.
Yes - bring current photo identification. Currency exchange is a designated service under Australia's AML/CTF laws and we are AUSTRAC registered, so identification is required for certain transactions whether you are buying yen or selling them back.
Need a different currency?
Yen are one of 22 currencies on our board - the full rate board lists today's buy and sell rate for every one of them.
