ATMs That Accept Foreign Cards in Japan: Seven Bank & Japan Post Guide

Quick answer (30 seconds): The two easiest ATMs for an overseas card in Japan are Seven Bank (inside almost every 7-Eleven, open 24/7) and Japan Post Bank / Yucho (at post offices and some FamilyMart stores). Both accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB, UnionPay and more, with English menus. You will usually pay a small ATM fee plus whatever your home bank charges, so withdraw a larger amount less often rather than many small amounts.

Why this matters: Japan is still a cash country

Japan has modernized fast, but cash still rules at small restaurants, local shops, temples, festivals, and many clinics. If your foreign debit or credit card gets declined at a regular Japanese bank ATM, do not panic — most domestic bank machines simply are not set up for overseas cards. The trick is knowing which ATMs are built for international cards. Two networks cover the whole country.

General guidance only. Fees, limits, and hours change and vary by your card issuer. Confirm exact figures on the official Seven Bank and Japan Post Bank pages (linked below) and with your own bank before you rely on them.

The two ATMs that reliably take foreign cards

1. Seven Bank (セブン銀行, Seven Ginko) — inside 7-Eleven

This is the go-to for most travelers and new residents.

• Where: Inside nearly every 7-Eleven convenience store, plus major airports, big stations, and shopping centers. There are over 28,000 machines nationwide.
• Hours: Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at most locations.
• Cards accepted: Visa, Plus, Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus, UnionPay, American Express, JCB, Discover, and Diners Club. (Some individual cards carrying these marks may still be refused — that is your issuer's call, not the ATM's.)
• Language: Full English menu, plus Chinese, Korean, and several others. Press the language button before you insert your card.
• Per-withdrawal limit: Up to 100,000 yen per transaction for overseas cards. Older magnetic-stripe-only cards are capped at 30,000 yen per transaction.

A few brands have a short nightly maintenance gap (roughly a few minutes around midnight) — Visa and Mastercard run a true 24 hours, while UnionPay, JCB, American Express, Discover, and Diners pause briefly around 23

–00. In practice this almost never affects a normal withdrawal.