お金
O-kane
(Noun: Money)
I thought you guys might be interested in how money works in Japan.
The currency in Japan is called the "yen". The exchange rate is hovering right around 100 yen to a dollar right now, so it also makes it pretty easy to convert and figure out what the prices are when you want to be something. If your meal is 480 yen, it's $4.80. Easy, simple, very, very nice.
It's also pretty easy to catch on to how much each coin is worth. Since, you know, the number are printed right on.
The biggest amounts come in paper format. This is a 5,000 yen bill, so $50. I've also seen 1,000 and 10,000 yen bills, but I don't have any right now to take a picture of.
There are lots of coins to keep track of. This is a 500 yen coin. You think a Sacagawea coin is valuable? This baby is worth a good $5. Finding one of these is like finding a goldmine in your pocket. It's a good feeling.
And then there's the 100 yen coin. This is probably one of the most valuable ones to have on hand. You have to have exact change for bus fare (it was enough of a pain that I ended up doing what everyone else did and buying a bus pass--I've got it until the $30 I put on it runs out, and based on how often we rode the bus and train just in the first week, it probably will).
The 50 yen coin has a hole in the middle. (:D) Once you get under the 100 yen mark, things get even easier deciding how much money is worth. The 50 yen coin is worth 50 cents. Simple.
The 10 yen coin. Since bus fare is about 240 yen (the cost depends on how far you go), these ones are also very, very important to have when you don't have a pass.
My 5 yen coin is pretty dingy. Sorry about that. It also has a hole in the middle. It's also distinguishable as the only coin I've seen thus far that has its yen amount only in Japanese letters, and not in Western numbers.
And then, finally, there's the useless little 1 yen coin. Yeah, 1 yen. This thing is a penny, except it's made of aluminum instead of copper.
So that's the tutorial on Japanese money. I hope you found it interesting.
~Amanda
Well, that was ,I have to say, a little boring but good to know. Love you lots too. Soooo very exited for the end of the month. You will have to bring home a five yen so I can actually understand what they look like.
ReplyDeleteYou should bring home three, then I can make yen earrings and a necklace to match. But nice ones, not dingy like that one. I can even pay you back the 15 cents for them when you come back.
DeleteDad said they were probably heavy, how heavy are they? And is the 50 yen one lighter? whichever is lighter is what I want, though I would prefer the 5 yen since it doesn't have the western numbers on it.
DeleteThe 5-yen are lighter than the 50-yen, but might be heavy hanging from your ears. They're maybe about the weight of a penny, only MAYBE a touch lighter. I don't get 5-yen coins very often, but I'll keep an eye out for some nice, shiny ones.
DeleteThank you! And if I don't wear them all the time I should be fine. Mom said so.
DeleteAmanda, I was looking at Icanhascheezeburger, And i found a new brainsucker cat. You have to go and check it out, its called scratches cause cat to malfunction. It should be on page four! love ya lots.
ReplyDeleteopps page 14
DeleteWhy don't you e-mail it to me? I'm not sure I have the time to go searching for it.
Delete