The 10,000 Yen Note
When I sent off the second draft of The Daydreamer Detective Finds Her Calling to readers, I got it back with a few Japan-specific questions that I thought would be fun to answer in a blog post. My reader remarked, after reading a passage where Mei mentions spending "a few ten-thousand yen," — "Why 10,000 yen? Is that a normal denomination?"
Yes it is! Let's break down the bills of Japan.
The Bills of Japan
In the United States, the most commonly used bill from an ATM is the $20. In Japan, the most popular bills are the 10,000 yen note (roughly equivalent to about $65–70 USD at current rates) and the 1,000 yen note. So think of them as the hundred and the ten.
The 2,000 yen bill exists but is extraordinarily rare — it was only issued in the year 2000 to commemorate the Kyushu-Okinawa Summit. It's so uncommon that people sometimes think they're counterfeit when they receive one. Change machines and vending machines often don't accept them. It has become something of a collector's item.
Bank notes in circulation in Japan are in denominations of 10,000, 5,000, 2,000 (rarely seen), and 1,000 yen. The 10,000 yen note features a portrait of Yukichi Fukuzawa (1835–1901), the Meiji Period scholar who founded Keio University, on the front, and an illustration of the famous Phoenix from Byodo-in Temple in Uji, near Kyoto, on the reverse.
A Cash Society
Japan is largely a cash society, and people use cash every single day. So 10,000 yen can go pretty fast when you're paying for groceries, dinner, a cab, and a convenience store snack. Almost no one uses a credit or debit card for everyday purchases unless it's a large purchase, and plenty of places in Japan are cash-only.
When I was last in Japan, I pulled 80,000 yen out of the ATM on my second to last day — I did the calculation wrong and thought I was getting $80 when I was really getting $800! I freaked out because I didn't want to have to exchange it back to dollars. Would you believe I spent all but USD $120? Between souvenirs, train tickets, duty-free goods, and food, it was all gone pretty quickly. Bills were flying out of my wallet.
The 10,000 Yen Note in Japanese Life
The Japanese think very naturally in this denomination. Cash wedding gifts are traditionally given in odd numbers of 10,000 yen bills (and preferably brand new — some people actually go to the bank to exchange for fresh notes). Apartment deposits are typically multiples of 10,000 yen. Convenience stores won't bat an eye at giving change for a 10,000 yen note even if you just want an onigiri and a bottle of green tea.
In The Daydreamer Detective, Chiyo gave Mei a gift of 60,000 yen in crisp 10,000 yen notes. The 10,000 yen note is truly the bill of choice in Japan!