Credit cards such as American Express, VISA, Diners Club and MasterCard are accepted at many places in urban areas, but are not so commonly accepted in some areas, even at hotels and restaurants.

Foreign credit cards can be used to withdraw cash from Post Office ATMs, but not from most bank or convenience store ATMs (with the exception of Citibank, which only has a few branches, in big cities).

Keep in mind that it may not always be easy to get a Japanese credit card. You might want to get a credit card in your home country before coming to Japan.

RIKEN employees may be eligible to apply for a Japanese credit card through RIKEN.