RadioRoryI wasn’t running late. In fact, you could say I was right on time, but that didn’t keep me from getting into big trouble in little Japan.
I went to the lobby of my Kyoto hotel to grab a coffee and some cash before taking the bullet train to Hiroshima. As I ranted before, the lobby cafe opens late and I wasn’t dropping $30 on a breakfast buffet, regardless of the view. Turns out, a hotel shuttle to the train station was about to depart anyway so I hit the road on an empty stomach. I hopped the train that took me to the OTHER train station where I bought my bullet train ticket and made my way to the platform. As luck would have it, there’s a McDonald’s in the station (don’t judge) and I grabbed a coffee and Egg McMuffin with the few yen I had in my pocket.
Again, I’m not late but I’m not early at this point either so I make my way rather deliberately to my platform. It’s just me and my backpack so it’s easy to get to my train with a minute or two to spare.
As I settle into my seat I say to myself for about the fifth time now, “You really need to find an ATM.”
At this point, I’ve gotten cash all over China, in Tibet, and Hong Kong and even a few times in Japan with no problem. I guess I lucked out with the ATMs I used in Tokyo because when I arrived in Hiroshima it was the end of the line. Three different bank ATMs at the Hiroshima train station denied me money. Debit card, credit card(s), it didn’t matter. They would only work with Japanese bank accounts. The bank across the street from the station wouldn’t give me a cash advance either. Everyone suggested I use the post office ATM since it was “international” but I was declined there too. I tried to get cash back with a purchase at a pharmacy but there was a language barrier.
It’s now about 11-am, my return ticket is 6:30-pm, and I’ve got about 600 yen in my pocket. That’s the equivalent of five-dollars. I ditch my plans to take a bus to see the Itsukushima Shrine because I don’t have the cash. Instead, I walk to the atomic bomb memorials. At least they’re free.
Along the way, I try bank after bank trying to get money from the ATMs. They simply don’t do international transactions.
Now it’s a hot summer day (REALLY hot) and I decide to spend my last few yen on bottles of water. I think I’ll just grab them at the next convenience store.
That store is a magnificent, glorious, stupendous 7-Eleven.
Normally, I don’t like seeing the spread of American corporations in foreign places (McDonald’s, KFC, Subway), but with 7-Eleven I’ll make an exception. Their ATMs worked just fine with my debit card and a few beeps later I had cash in hand.
Cash: Don’t leave your Japanese hotel room without it.