The Answers
· checked 2026-09-19
Where you still cannot pay by card
Japan pays by phone now, until it does not. On 12 of the 39 scenes we have written down, you have to turn up with notes already in your pocket: the place runs on cash, or there is no machine there to get any.
The shape of it
Counted over the 39 scenes where we have written the cash situation down. The rest are blank, and say so.
- Turn up with notes
- 12of 39 written down: the place runs on cash, or has no machine
- Some of it is cash
- 26a bus, a bath, a stall. Cards take the big things
- Bring, where a page says so
- ¥10,000–¥20,000in notes, per person, for a night
- No machine at the place
- 11draw the money before you set off
It is the small, local half of the day that wants notes. The shinkansen takes your phone and
most inns take your card. The bus from the station, the bath till, the fee box on the trail and the
stall in the arcade do not, and the box by the driver will not break a ¥10,000.
The second trap is the IC card. A Suica works across most of the country and then stops, and the line that refuses it rarely says so in English until you are standing at the gate. Where a scene's page has recorded that, it is quoted in the table.
Every view on the list
The note is the scene page's own wording, not a summary of it. The badge is ours: it says only whether something on that route is cash-only, which is the question you need answered before you leave the station with an ATM.
| No. | Scene | Our reading | Bring in cash | What the page says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ginzan Onsen | Some of it is cash | No figure given | The ¥1,000 bus from Oishida is cash only, and takes no IC cards. The ¥1,000 bus from Oishida is cash only, and takes no IC cards. |
| 02 | Zao Juhyo (Snow Monsters) | Some of it is cash | No figure given | The public bathhouses want cash; the city bus (¥1,200) takes cash or IC cards. The ropeway and the larger inns take cards. Withdraw at Yamagata Station; assume the village is cash-first. |
| 03 | Tsurui Crane Sanctuaries | Some of it is cash | No figure given | Kushiro city takes cards; Tsurui's small shops, buses and viewing-site stalls prefer cash. |
| 04 | Shiretoko Drift Ice (Utoro) | Some of it is cash | No figure given | Small diners and shops in Utoro still prefer cash; ATMs are the post office and the convenience store. The bus can be bought online. |
| 05 | Gokayama Gassho Villages | Arrive with notes | No figure given | Cash only, effectively. The inns, the fee box, the little shops. No ATM in either village. Withdraw in Takaoka. No cash machine where you are going |
| 06 | Adachi Museum of Art | Not recorded yet | We have not written this one down, and we will not guess. It comes with the scene's next check. | |
| 07 | Oki Islands | Arrive with notes | No figure given | Island-grade cash-first. ATMs exist at post offices; assume small businesses take cash only. |
| 08 | Iya Valley | Arrive with notes | No figure given | The valley has effectively no ATMs. Bridge toll, bus fares, boat: coins and small bills. Load up in Okayama or at Awa-Ikeda. No cash machine where you are going |
| 09 | Takachiho Gorge | Some of it is cash | No figure given | Kagura offerings, small eateries, local buses: cash. The 7-Eleven ATM in town is the safety net. |
| 10 | Kannawa District, Beppu | Some of it is cash | No figure given | ¥100 coins are infrastructure here: bath boxes, steam pots, lockers. The hells take cards unevenly; carry paper backup. |
| 11 | Oirase Gorge (Ishigedo) | Some of it is cash | No figure given | The JR buses take passes, cash and IC cards; fares are paid as you get off. Bike rental is cash. Ishigedo's rest house has a small shop and snacks; the hotels take cards. There is no ATM in the gorge or at the lake's Nenokuchi end. No cash machine where you are going |
| 12 | Asahidake, Daisetsuzan | Arrive with notes | No figure given | The bus wants cash (¥1,650 from the airport, ¥2,300 from the city; local IC cards only, so assume your Suica won't help). The ropeway and the inns take cards. There is no ATM past the airport, and the onsen hamlet has no shops. No cash machine where you are going The mountain buses take local IC cards only. Assume your Suica will not help. |
| 13 | Gujo Hachiman (Gujo Odori) | Some of it is cash | No figure given | The buses take cards online; the yukata rental, the food stalls, the lesson fee and most guesthouses want cash. The museum and the castle take cards. Withdraw in Nagoya or at the post office a few minutes from the plaza. |
| 14 | Heavens Sonohara, Achi | Some of it is cash | No figure given | The tour and the tour bus are paid online by card, and the highway bus can be. The morning market, taxis and the footbath cafes want cash. Withdraw in Nagoya; the spa town has a post office ATM with post-office hours. |
| 15 | Chichijima, Ogasawara Islands | Arrive with notes | No figure given | The tours, the bikes, the buses and many inns want cash, and the island's ATMs keep post-office and bank hours. Bring the week's cash from Tokyo; the ship's shop and restaurant take cards, most of the village does not. |
| 16 | Sada Chinkabashi, Shimanto River | Some of it is cash | No figure given | The bicycles, the canoe operators and the houseboat want cash. The inns take cards. Withdraw in Kochi or at Nakamura Station's post office; the upstream villages have one ATM each and it keeps post-office hours. |
| 17 | Kumano Nachi Taisha & Nachi Falls | Some of it is cash | No figure given | The bus is cash only (¥480 up, ¥630 down; the driver's box breaks ¥1,000 notes). The one-day Nachi Area pass, ¥1,260 from the bus office at the station (PayPay accepted) or the Jorudan app, costs ¥150 more than the two fares and lets you hop off at the falls stop as well. The falls platform and the pagoda are cash too, at ¥300 and ¥500. Inns take cards; the market stalls mostly don't. |
| 18 | Shimanami Kaido (Onomichi) | Some of it is cash | No figure given | The public terminals take cards and IC cards since 2023; island cafés, the ferry and the roadside stalls are cash. Withdraw at Onomichi Station. There are ATMs on the islands but not where you'll be when you need one. |
| 19 | Kusasenri, Mount Aso | Some of it is cash | No figure given | The mountain bus is cash, ¥1,000 each way, with change from notes. The museum and the inns take cards; the horse ride and the meadow's snack stalls want cash. Withdraw at the airport or Aso Station; there's nothing on the mountain. No cash machine where you are going |
| 20 | Murodo, Tateyama (Snow Corridor) | Arrive with notes | ¥10,000 | Ticket counters and terminal restaurants take cards; the luggage service is cash only, and the lodge shops and day-use bath prefer it. Bring ¥10,000 or so in notes; the nearest ATM is in the valley. No cash machine where you are going |
| 21 | Himeji Castle | Cards work | No figure given | Tickets are sold online by card in English, or at the gate by card or cash. The garden, the loop bus and the food stalls along the avenue are happier with coins; the city's banks and convenience stores are a block from the station. |
| 22 | Kenrokuen Garden, Kanazawa | Some of it is cash | ¥10,000 | The garden gate takes cards and IC cards, and so does the bus. The market stalls and the small teahouses in the garden prefer cash, and the crab counters at Omicho quote by the crab, so carry ¥10,000 in notes if a whole one is in your plans. |
| 23 | Karasawa Cirque, Hotaka | Arrive with notes | No figure given | Yen notes for everything above Kamikochi: the trail huts, the tent fee, the rented gear, the hut's beer and oden, and the hut itself if you booked by phone. Web bookings through Yamatan take cards. The last ATM is in Matsumoto. No cash machine where you are going |
| 24 | Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima | Some of it is cash | No figure given | Cards work at the ferry, the shrine, the ropeway and the bigger inns. The arcade's oyster grills, momiji-manju stalls and small restaurants are still cash in places. The last reliable ATM is at Miyajimaguchi; the island has a post office with post-office hours. |
| 25 | Nyuto Onsen (Tsurunoyu) | Arrive with notes | ¥10,000 | The yumeguri pass and every day-bath till are cash only, so arrive with ¥10,000 or so in notes; the last ATM is in Tazawako. Tsurunoyu takes Visa and Mastercard for the room itself, and the local bus takes contactless cards. No cash machine where you are going |
| 26 | Eiheiji Temple | Some of it is cash | No figure given | The Liner takes contactless cards and IC; carry cash for the temple's counters, the monzen shops and the local bus alternative. There's no ATM up the hill, and Fukui Station is your last reliable machine. No cash machine where you are going |
| 27 | Tadami River, No.1 Bridge | Arrive with notes | ¥10,000 | IC cards die at Aizu-Wakamatsu; every station beyond is paper tickets and cash, and several are unstaffed (pay the driver, country-bus style). Carry ¥10,000 in small notes for tickets, taxis and roadside-station lunches. No IC cards past Aizu-Wakamatsu. Buy the paper ticket the night before. |
| 28 | Taketomi Island | Arrive with notes | ¥15,000 | Bring it from Ishigaki. The island runs on cash for cycles, carts, lunch and the entry ticket, vending machines are scarce, and there is no ATM to rescue you. ¥15,000 in notes covers a comfortable night. No cash machine where you are going |
| 29 | Funaya of Ine | Some of it is cash | ¥15,000 | Improving but mixed: the cruise boat and buses take cards and IC, sea taxis and some inns and shops prefer cash. ¥15,000 in notes covers a night comfortably; the nearest reliable ATMs are around Amanohashidate. |
| 30 | Shukunegi, Sado Island | Some of it is cash | ¥20,000 | Ports, mine and bigger inns take cards; rural lunch counters, boat sheds and the smaller museums prefer cash. ¥20,000 in notes for two days is comfortable, and ATMs live in Ryotsu, Sawata and Aikawa, not in the hamlets. |
| 31 | Ozegahara Marshland | Arrive with notes | No figure given | The huts are cash-only almost without exception, and every toilet in the park runs on ¥100 goodwill coins, so arrive with a pocketful. The one contrarian is LUCY at Hatomachi Pass, which is cashless-only. There is no entrance fee to the park itself. |
| 32 | Yufuin Onsen | Not recorded yet | We have not written this one down, and we will not guess. It comes with the scene's next check. | |
| 33 | Owara Kaze no Bon, Yatsuo | Some of it is cash | No figure given | The JR Takayama Line to Yatsuo takes no IC cards. Carry the ¥330 in cash. The JR Takayama Line to Yatsuo takes no IC cards. Carry the ¥330 in cash. |
| 34 | Kusatsu Onsen | Some of it is cash | No figure given | Small bills, odd hours. The yumomi show is ¥700, six shows daily, no reservations, tickets sold on site from 30 minutes before, cash or PayPay only. The three-bath pass (¥2,100, never expires) covers Sainokawara's giant rotenburo (¥800 alone), Otakinoyu (¥1,200) and Gozanoyu (¥900). Yubatake parking is ¥700 per two hours; the town loop bus is ¥100. |
| 35 | Kamikochi | Some of it is cash | ¥10,000 | Small notes, coins for doors. The railway and buses run on cash and card at windows, the toilets run on ¥100 tips, and the further you walk from the terminal the more cash-only the counters get. ¥10,000 in change covers a night comfortably; there is no ATM in the valley. The Alpico mountain railway takes cash tickets only, no IC cards at all. |
| 36 | Yakushima | Not recorded yet | We have not written this one down, and we will not guess. It comes with the scene's next check. | |
| 37 | Koyasan | Not recorded yet | We have not written this one down, and we will not guess. It comes with the scene's next check. | |
| 38 | Jigokudani Monkey Park, Yamanouchi | Some of it is cash | No figure given | Cards at the gate, coins in the town. Park entry takes cards and e-money but not QR pay; the day-visitor bathhouse in Shibu Onsen (O-yu, ¥800, 10:00–17:00, from 13:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) takes cash only; the express bus from Nagano wants tickets bought at the machine, not on board. Winter park hours are 9:00–16:00. Bath keys in Shibu work 6:00–22:00, and most inns want you checked in by six or seven if you expect dinner. |
| 39 | Kinosaki Onsen | Not recorded yet | We have not written this one down, and we will not guess. It comes with the scene's next check. | |
| 40 | Takeda Castle Ruins | Not recorded yet | We have not written this one down, and we will not guess. It comes with the scene's next check. | |
| 41 | Kurokawa Onsen | Arrive with notes | No figure given | No cash machine in the village, and most of it takes cash only. The nearest ATM is fifteen minutes away by car, so draw money in Fukuoka. Day baths come without towels (inns sell them, around ¥300), and several have no shower, soap or shampoo on purpose: you soak, you do not wash. Lockers beside the tourist office take hundred-yen coins only, ¥100 and ¥500; whether the office holds bags we could not confirm. The village yukata-rental shop has been suspended since May 2026, so the yukata is your inn's. No cameras in any bath. Shops close by five or six, many on Tuesdays; the only convenience store is a corner of the liquor shop by the bridge. No cash machine where you are going |
| 42 | Dogo Onsen Honkan, Matsuyama | Not recorded yet | We have not written this one down, and we will not guess. It comes with the scene's next check. | |
| 43 | Gero Onsen, Gero | Not recorded yet | We have not written this one down, and we will not guess. It comes with the scene's next check. | |
| 44 | Nageiredo, Mitokusan Sanbutsuji | Some of it is cash | No figure given | Bus 71 to Mitokusan is ¥700 in cash, and IC cards are not accepted on the Chizu Express section of the Super Hakuto. IC cards are not accepted on the Chizu Express section of the Super Hakuto. |
| 45 | Naruto Strait, Tokushima | Some of it is cash | No figure given | The buses take no IC cards. The machine takes ¥100 and ¥500 coins and ¥1,000 notes, and will not break a ¥5,000 or a ¥10,000. The buses take no IC cards, and the machine will not break a ¥5,000 note. |
| 46 | Naoshima, Kagawa | Not recorded yet | We have not written this one down, and we will not guess. It comes with the scene's next check. | |
| 47 | Osorezan Bodaiji, Mutsu | Some of it is cash | No figure given | Shimokita Kotsu states its Osorezan bus takes cash only, and no IC cards. Shimokita Kotsu states its Osorezan bus takes cash only, and no IC cards. |
| 48 | Sakurajima, Kagoshima | Not recorded yet | We have not written this one down, and we will not guess. It comes with the scene's next check. | |
| 49 | Matsushima Bay, Miyagi | Not recorded yet | We have not written this one down, and we will not guess. It comes with the scene's next check. | |
| 50 | Matsumoto Castle, Matsumoto | Some of it is cash | No figure given | The timed ticket for the keep is bought online by Visa, Mastercard, JCB or PayPay; we could not confirm what the counter at the gate takes, so carry enough for ¥1,300. The loop bus from the station is ¥200 by IC card or touch payment and ¥220 in cash, the city says some cards including Mastercard do not work on it, and its ¥500 day pass is cash only on board. |
| 51 | Ise Jingu Naiku, Ise | Not recorded yet | Carry some cash. Mie Kotsu, the bus company, accepts Suica, ICOCA and the other national IC cards inside the area covered by its own regional card, and its pages do not draw that area on a map. Treat the ¥520 as a cash fare and be pleased if the machine takes your card. You cannot top an IC card up on a Mie Kotsu bus or at a Mie Kotsu counter. | |
| 52 | Gunkanjima (Hashima), Nagasaki | Not recorded yet | We have not written this one down, and we will not guess. It comes with the scene's next check. | |
| 53 | Bikan Quarter, Kurashiki | Not recorded yet | We have not written this one down, and we will not guess. It comes with the scene's next check. | |
| 54 | Rebun Island | Not recorded yet | We have not written this one down, and we will not guess. It comes with the scene's next check. | |
| 55 | Hachijojima | Not recorded yet | We have not written this one down, and we will not guess. It comes with the scene's next check. | |
| 56 | Mount Fuji | Not recorded yet | One thing runs against the grain. The sightseeing loop buses take cash or an IC card only, not credit cards , while the taxis, the parking lots and the railway all take cards. The railway reads IC at all eighteen stations but tops up at only nine, and at Shimoyoshida, the stop for the pagoda, that window closes at 17:50. Arrive with the card already loaded. | |
| 57 | Asuka Village, Nara | Not recorded yet | Some, yes. The mural viewings and Shijin no Yakata cost nothing, so there is nothing to pay at either. Everything else is a small operation and we have not established which gates and shops take cards, so treat the ¥500, ¥500 and ¥300 entries as cash. | |
| 58 | Akiyoshidai and Akiyoshido | Not recorded yet | We have not written this one down, and we will not guess. It comes with the scene's next check. |
How we counted
- The wording is the scene page's, where it was checked against the operator or written after standing at the machine. This page collects those notes; it does not restate them.
- The reading is a judgment, made by hand, one scene at a time. “Turn up with notes” means the page says the place runs on cash or has no machine. “Some of it is cash” means specific things do, and the expensive ones take cards. We changed this after an outside check found the first version, which keyed off the words “cash only”, marking an island with no ATM as fine and a single ¥800 bath as a warning.
- 19 scenes are blank. We have not written their cash situation down, and we would rather leave a hole than fill it with a guess.
- This changes faster than most things here. Operators add card readers every year, and a note from last season can be out of date in the direction of good news. The date on each scene's page is the one that counts.
- Where the reading says “turn up with notes”, break them in a city first. Rural machines and driver's boxes rarely change a ¥10,000, and post-office ATMs keep post-office hours.
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One of The Answers: a series that takes one practical question and works through every place on the list.