ATM withdrawal limits in Japan in 2026: bank, card, and tourist limits explained

⚡ 30-Second Answer: Japan ATM per-withdrawal cap: 7-Eleven ¥100K, Aeon ¥50-100K, Japan Post ¥50K, Lawson Bank ¥100K. Daily total cap depends on your issuing bank (typically $300-1,000 equivalent). Wise/Revolut: ¥200K/month free, then 2% fee. Multiple ATMs bypass per-withdrawal caps, but massive single-spot withdrawals trigger fraud alerts = freeze risk.

Quick Reference	Value
7-Eleven per-withdrawal	¥100,000
Aeon per-withdrawal	¥50-100K
Japan Post per-withdrawal	¥50,000
Lawson Bank	¥100,000
Daily total	Per card
Last verified	June 2026

Three different limits stack when you withdraw yen at a Japanese ATM — the machine's per-transaction cap, your card's daily limit, and a rare-but-real annual tourist AML threshold. For most tourists, the binding constraint is the card-side daily limit (typically ¥30,000–¥100,000 depending on your home bank), not the ATM itself. Seven Bank caps ¥100,000 per transaction with no formal daily ceiling on the machine side, so the practical question is: have you raised your card's daily limit before flying? On a 2-week trip, the most common failure mode is hitting your card's home-bank daily cap on day 1, then being stuck waiting 24 hours for the limit to reset.

TL;DR

• Seven Bank: ¥100,000 per single transaction, no rigid daily cap from the machine — you can withdraw twice in a row if your card allows
• Your card's daily limit: typically ¥30,000–¥100,000 — this is usually the binding constraint
• Wise / Revolut: app-controlled daily limit, can be raised mid-trip for free
• Tourist AML threshold: cumulative ¥1,000,000+ in a year triggers ID-verification on some networks (rare for typical trips)
• The fix: raise your card daily limit in your home-bank app before flying

The three limits explained

1. ATM (machine-side) per-transaction limit

• Seven Bank: ¥100,000 per single withdrawal
• Japan Post: ¥50,000 per single withdrawal (foreign cards)
• AEON Bank: ¥100,000 per single withdrawal
• FamilyMart e-net: ¥100,000 per single withdrawal
• Lawson Bank: ¥100,000 per single withdrawal

These are the limits the ATM screen enforces. Nothing to do with your card.

Trick: at Seven Bank, you can normally do two consecutive ¥100,000 withdrawals to get ¥200,000 out, as long as your card limit allows. The machine doesn't refuse you between the two; only your card's daily cap might.

2. Card (issuer-side) daily limit — this is usually what stops you

Your home-bank card has a daily international ATM withdrawal limit. Typical values:

This is almost always the binding constraint for foreign tourists. If your bank's app shows a $300/day limit on international ATM withdrawals, that's what you'll hit at Seven Bank — not the ¥100,000 machine cap.

Action item before flying: open your home-bank app, find the international ATM limit, raise it to the maximum your bank allows. For some US banks this means a phone call before you fly. Do it.

3. The cumulative-trip AML threshold (rare)

Japan's AML (anti-money-laundering) framework includes a soft threshold around ¥1,000,000 cumulative per foreign person per year for "no-ID-needed" cash transactions. In practice this affects:

• Currency exchange at staffed counters: cumulative exchange over ¥1,000,000 → photo ID + paperwork
• ATM withdrawals: theoretically tracked but rarely enforced for foreign cards
• Large hotel cash payments: paperwork over ¥1,000,000

For a typical 2-week trip spending ¥200,000–¥500,000 in cash, you'll never see this threshold. For business travelers and digital nomads spending months in Japan, it can become relevant — keep withdrawals spread across multiple cards / networks.

How to plan a 2-week trip without running out

Goal: typical 2-week trip wants ¥150,000–¥300,000 of yen access (cash for ryokan, cash-only restaurants, taxis, ATM-based card-trip top-ups).

Path A: Raise your home-bank daily limit (free, recommended)

1. Before flying: log into your bank's app, find "international ATM withdrawal limit" or "daily ATM limit", raise to max (typically ¥100,000–¥150,000 equivalent)
2. In Japan: withdraw ¥50,000–¥100,000 every 3–4 days as needed from any Seven Bank ATM
3. Cost: your bank's standard international ATM fee + FX margin (typically 1–3% total)

Path B: Wise / Revolut card (often the cheapest)

1. Before flying: load $500–$1,000 USD into Wise — get JPY at mid-market rate
2. In Japan: withdraw JPY at any Seven Bank ATM, paying only Seven Bank's fixed fee (~¥220 per transaction)
3. Daily limit: Wise raisable to £3,000/day in-app for free
4. Total cost: ~0.5% below mid-market (matches Dollar Ranger's best rate, see article #98)

Path C: Multiple cards, one per day

If you can't raise the limit, rotate cards: Card A on day 1, Card B on day 2, repeat. Each card hits its own daily limit independently. Useful if you have a backup card you weren't planning to use.

The day-1 cash plan

Practical recipe for landing in Japan with empty pockets:

1. At the airport: withdraw ¥30,000 from any 7-Eleven (in arrivals or just outside the terminal — both Narita and Haneda have them) with your primary card
2. Day 2 morning, in town: withdraw another ¥50,000 from a downtown 7-Eleven to get to typical cash float
3. Mid-trip, day 6–8: top up ¥50,000 once
4. End of trip, last 2 days: keep withdrawals minimal, draw down existing yen so you don't end with a large pile

This pattern keeps each withdrawal well under most home-bank daily limits, so you almost never hit the constraint.

What if you're declined at the ATM?

Common scenarios and fixes:

"Transaction declined" with no other info

• Most likely cause: your card's daily limit was hit. Try again after midnight your home-bank time (not Japan time — your bank's clock matters).
• Less likely: your card's foreign-ATM lock is on. Open your bank app and check "international transactions enabled".
• Rare: your card is in a fraud-hold. Some banks freeze cards on first foreign use. Call them.

"Card not accepted" before PIN entry

• The ATM probably doesn't accept your card's network. Try another ATM (Seven Bank accepts more networks than Japan Post, etc.)
• Or try changing the card type at the Seven Bank language menu — sometimes it auto-detects wrong.

Multiple ATMs decline you

• Almost certainly a card-side block. Use your backup card. Call your bank.

Hidden caps you may not have known about

• Some US banks (Bank of America, in particular) apply a 30-day rolling cap on international withdrawals — typically $2,000–$3,000. Hit this and the card is locked until next month.
• Travel cards (Revolut Standard, Wise free tier) have monthly free withdrawal allowances — going past triggers a per-transaction fee (1–2%).
• Pre-paid travel cards (Travelex Money Card, etc.) have per-card lifetime caps that almost no traveler hits but are documented in the T&Cs.

For a 2–3 week vacation, none of these usually matter. For a multi-month stay, all of them do.

Related

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• #80 ATM fees in Japan
• #81 Why some Japanese ATMs close at night
• #15 Wise vs Revolut vs bank card
• #13 How much cash to bring

Last verified 2026-05-18. Bank daily-limit policies change frequently; confirm your specific card's current cap in your bank app before flying.