Chapter 6 Banks and Delivery Services

6.01 Changing Money

6.02 At the Bank

6.03 Opening an Account

6.04 At the Post Office

6.05 Mailing Money

6.06 Wiring Money Abroad

6.07 Delivery Services

6.08 Words and Expressions

Chapter6

Banks and Delivery Services

Banking within Japan is very efficient. From ATM machines, either at the banks or at the thousands of convenience stores dotted around the country, you can withdraw and deposit cash, make payments, pay bills, set up direct debits, update your passbook and get a new one. The machines even have virtual bank staff, cartoon characters who bow politely to thank you for each transaction.

It’s a different story when it comes to international banking. At the time of this writing one hears of much frustration in this area. You may find that ATMs do not accept your overseas credit card, as you would expect when travelling abroad. So before you leave home, find out exactly where you will be able to use your card. As a general rule, stick to the major national banks, and if you’re travelling outside the main tourist areas, take cash or have some other backup means of finance. Similarly, overseas remittances and receiving funds from abroad can be time-consuming and expensive. Again, go only to the major national banks or to the post office, which has very reasonable charges.

The Japan Post Bank, or Yūcho Ginko, is the financial arm of the Japanese post office and holds the majority of the nation’s private savings. It offers a good service for sending and receiving funds from abroad, and it may be worth opening an account not only to avail yourself of this service, but also to have access to ATMs in post offices nationwide.

Japan Post is in charge of traditional mail services. It has a good web-site in English so this chapter will just introduce a few special services which may be new to you.

Regular mail is fast and reliable but you can pay a small extra fee to have special next-day delivery (sokutatsu) which delivers every day of the year, including Sundays and holidays. If you’re not at home to sign for registered mail or there’s a parcel that doesn’t fit in the mailbox, a notice will be left. To have the mail redelivered, phone the call center within two weeks with the relevant details. Or, you can take the notice and some form of ID to the post office and pick it up yourself.

Money orders do exist but you can also send cash by registered mail. It saves the recipient a trip to the bank or post office, and it’s used for sending special envelopes of money (see the chapter on Gifts).

The post office offers attractive postcards for sending at New Year’s and in midsummer. New Year cards are delivered all together on New Year’s Day (more in the last chapter on Letters).

Finally, when you move, the post office will forward your mail free of charge for one year. Pick up a form from the post office or print one out from the website.

Delivery services, which transport all types of parcels, provide an alternative to the postal service. They are prompt, reliable, and very popular. To send a parcel, take it to a nearby takkyūbin or takuhaibin pick-up point. For heavy items like skis, suitcases, or golf clubs, you can call for them to be picked up from your home. Sending fresh food is no problem, either: choose the “chilled” option and your parcel will be transported by refrigerated truck and stored in refrigerated warehouses. You can choose what time of day to have the item delivered, choose to pay on delivery, and request confirmation that the goods have arrived.

6.01 Changing Money

Kim says she wants to change South Korean won to Japanese yen. To use this phrase, be sure to pronounce clearly the “e“ in kaetai (換えたい I’d like to change). Or you could just put the cash on the counter and say en o kaitai (買いたい I’d like to buy yen).

KIM:

Kankoku won o Nihon en ni kaetain’ desu ga. Kyō no rēto wa ikura desu ka?

韓国ウォンを日本円に換えたいんです力\今日のレートは いくらですか。

I’d like to change some Korean won into Japanese yen. What’s today’s rate?

TELLER:

Kankoku won no kai-ne wa zero ten zeronana-en to natte orimasu.

韓国ウォンの買値は0.07円どなっております。

We’re buying won at 0.07 yen.

KIM:

Mata sagatchatta! Komatta na. Kore dake kaemashō.

また下がっちやった。困ったな。これだけ換えましょう。

It’s down again! Oh, no! I’ll just change this much then.

TELLER:

Koko ni sain, o-negai shimasu. Sore kara pasupōto o misete kudasai.

ここにサインお願いします。 それからパスポートを見せてく ださい。

Please sign here. And show me your passport, please.

6.02 At the Bank

Bank staff will show you how to use the machines.

• Sumimasen. ATM no tsukai-kata o oshiete kudasai.
すみません。ATMの使い方を教えてください。
Excuse me. Could you show me how to use the ATM?

• Genkin o furikomitai desu / Kōza kara furikomitai desu.
現金を振り込みたいです/口座から振り込みたいです。
I’d like to make a payment from cash/from my account.

• Denwa-dai o jidō furikae ni shitai desu.
電話イ弋を自動振り替えにしたいです。
I’d like the telephone bill deducted automatically from my account.

• Kichō shitai desu.
記帳したいです。
I want to print the transactions (in my passbook).

6.03 Opening an Account

When you make your first deposit, the bank will show its appreciation by giving you a small gift.

LIN:

Kōza o hirakitain’ desu ga.

口座を開きたいんですが。

I’d like to open an account.

TELLER:

Inkan o o-mochi deshō ka?

印鑑をお持ちでしょう力、。

Do you have a name stamp?

[note: a name stamp can be used in place of a signature. More about these in the chapter on Officialdom]

LIN:

Motte imasen keredo.

持っていませんけれど。

No, I don’t have one.

TELLER:

Ja, sain de kekkō desu no de, go-jūsho to o-namae to kyō i re- ru kingaku (ikura demo yoroshii desu keredo) o-kaki kudasai. Sore kara honnin kakunin dekiru mono ga hitsuyō desu.

じや、サインで結構ですので、ご住所どお名前ど今日入れる 金額（いくらでもよろしいですけれど）お書きください。そ れから本人確認できるものが必要です。

Then a signature will do. Please fill in your address, your name, and how much you will deposit today (it doesn’t matter how much). And we need some form of ID.

LIN:

Hai.

はい。

All right.

TELLER:

De wa, kochira ni yon keta no anshō bangō o kinyū shite kudasai. Kādo wa isshūkan naishi tōka no uchi ni go-jitaku no hō ni todokimasu.

では、こちらに4ケタの暗証番号を記入してください。力一 ドは一週間ないし10日の内にご自宅に届きます。

And, will you please write a four-digit PIN number here. The card will be delivered to your home within a week or ten days.

LIN:

Yoroshiku o-negai shimasu.

よろしくお願いします。

Thank you.

6.04 At the Post Office

Here are some basic phrases for when you go to the post office.

• Hyaku-en kitte ni-mai kudasai.
100円切手２枚ください。
Two one-hundred-yen stamps, please.

• Amerika made no e-hagaki wa kōkūbin de ikura desu ka?
アメリカまでの絵葉書は航空便でいくらですか。
How much is it to send a postcard to America by airmail?

• Kore wa sumōru paketto de ikimasu ka?
これはスモールパケットで行きますか。
Will this go at the small-packet rate?

6.05 Mailing Money

You can send cash to addresses in Japan by registered mail. Ask at the post office for the special double envelope, which you seal and re-seal with your initials or a name stamp. You can send up to five hundred thousand yen, and you’ll receive full compensation if it goes astray.

EMILY:

Genkin kakitome no fūtō o ichi-mai kudasai. O-iwai o okurimasu.

現金書留の封筒を1枚ください。お祝いを送ります。

One registered money-mail envelope, please. I’m sending (some money for) a celebration.

CLERK:

Hai. Dōzo.

はい、どうぞ。

OK. Here you are.

EMILY:

Sokutatsu de o-negai shimasu.

速連でお願いします。

By express delivery, please.

CLERK:

Ikura haitte imasu ka?

いくら入っています力、。

How much is in it?

EMILY:

Gosen-en.

5,000 円。

¥5,000.

CLERK:

Nanahyaku nanajū-en ni narimasu ne. Dashite okimasu kara.

770円になりますね。出しておきますから。

That’ll be ¥770. I’ll send it from here.

EMILY:

O-negai shimasu.

お願いします。

Thank you.

6.06 Wiring Money Abroad

Max goes to a post office to see if he can wire money abroad. You can send and receive money between bank accounts or send a money transfer to a certain address. The charge (at the time of writing) is the same for any amount and for all countries.

MAX:

Igirisu no haha ni o-kane o okuritain’ desu ga, koko kara dekimasu ka?

イギリスの母にお金を送りたいんですが、ここからできます力、。

I want to send money to my mother in the UK. Can I do it from here?

CLERK:

Kokusai sōkin dekimasu yo. Hōhō mittsu arimashite, kōzakan no sōkin, kōza-ate no sōkin, soshite jūsho-ate no sōkin ga arimasu.

国際送金できますよ。方法三つありまして、口座間の送金、 口座あての送金、それから住所あての送金があります。

Yes, you can do an overseas remittance. There are three ways: transfer between accounts, payment to an account and payment to an address.

MAX:

Naruhodo. Yūcho no kōza kara Igirisu no haha no ginkō kōza ni jūman o sōkin shitai desu.

なるほど。ゆうちょの口座からイギリスの母の銀行口座に 10万を送金したいです。

I see. I want to send 100,000 from my Post Bank account to my mother’s bank account in England.

CLERK:

Sore de wa, yōshi wa kochira ni narimasu.

それでは、用紙はこちらになります。

Well, here’s the form.

MAX:

Sumimasen. Chotto oshiete kudasai. Uketorinin to iu no wa mukō no haha no koto desu ka.

すみません。ちょっと教えてください。受取人どいうのは向 こうの母のこどです力、。

Excuse me. Can you help (lit. teach) me? Does “Payee” mean my mother abroad?

CLERK:

Sō desu ne. Uketorinin wa okāsama desu ne. Okāsama no onamae to o-tokoro o koko ni kaite kudasai.

そうですね。受取人はお母様ですね。お母様のお名前どお どころをここに書いてください。

Yes, The payee would be your mother. Write you mother’s name and address here.

MAX:

Hai. Ikura ni narimasu ka?

はい。いくらになります力、。

All right. Here you are. How much will it be?

CLERK:

Tesūryō wa nisen gohyaku-en desu no de, zenbu de jūman nisen gohyaku-en ni narimasu.

手数料は2，500円ですので、全部で102,500円になります。

The charge is ¥2,500 so the total is ¥102,500.

6.07 Delivery Services

An alternative to sending parcels through the post office is to use a private delivery service. Takuya, who’s recovered from his illness, wants to do some sightseeing before catching the train back to Tokyo, so he decides to have his luggage delivered to his home.

TAKUYA:

Chotto o-kiki shimasu. Chikaku ni nimotsu o okuru to koro wa arimasu ka?

ちよっどお聞きします。近くに荷物を送るどころはあります力、。

Can I ask you something? Is there somewhere nearby where I can send luggage?

HOTEL RECEPTIONIST:

Hai, baiten ni takuhaibin ga gozaimasu.

はい、亮店に宅配便がございます。

Yes, there’s a delivery service in the hotel shop.

TAKUYA:

Sumimasen. Kono nimotsu o Tōkyō no jitaku e okuritai desu.

すみません。この荷物を東京の自宅へ送りたいです。

Excuse me. I’d like to send this luggage to my home in Tokyo.

HOTEL SHOP ASSISTANT:

Hai. Tōkyō wa nimotsu hitotsu ni tsuki sen-en ni narimasu. Soshite fukuro ga hyaku gojū-en desu ga.

はい。東京は荷物一つにつき1,000円になります。そして袋 カヾ'150円ですが。

Fine. For Tokyo, it’s one thousand yen per bag. The (protective) bags are one hundred and fifty yen each

TAKUYA:

Sore ja, hitotsu ni matomete ii desu ka?

それじゃ、一つにまどめていいです力、。

Then may I put everything in one bag?

HOTEL SHOP ASSISTANT:

Hai, hitotsu ni dekimasu. Ashita todokimasu ga, shitei jikan wa nanji goro shimasu ka.

はい、一つにできます。明日届きます力\指定時間は何時ご ろします力、。

Yes, you can [put into one]. It will be delivered tomorrow. What time of day do you want it delivered?

TAKUYA:

Kaeranai uchi ni todoku to ikenai no de, yūgata, o-negai shimasu.

帰らないうちに届くどいけないので、夕方、お願いします。

It mustn’t arrive before I get home, so in the evening please.

HOTEL SHOP ASSISTANT:

Sore de wa, yūgata shichi-ji to ku-ji no aida.

それでは、夕方7時ど9時の間。

So, (it will be delivered) between 7 and 9 p.m.

TAKUYA:

Hai. Yoroshiku o-negai shimasu.

はい。よろしくお願いします。

Fine. Thank you.

6.08 Words and Expressions

FOREIGN EXCHANGE
gaika ryōgae	外貨両替	foreign exchange
kawase rēto	為替レート	exchange rate
tsūka	通貨	currency
tesūryō	手数料	commission, handling fee
en ni kansan suru	円に換算する	to convert into yen
POST OFFICE
yūbinkyoku	郵便局	post office
posuto	ポスト	mailbox
kitte	切手	stamp
tegami	手紙	letter
kansei hagaki	官製はがき	prestamped postcard
nengajō	年賀状	New Year postcard
kozutsumi	小包	parcel; small package
sumōru paketto/kogata hōsōbutsu	スモールパケット•小型包装物	small package
kōkūbin	航空便	airmail
kakitome	書留	registered mail
sokutatsu	速達	express mail
tenkyo todoke	転居届け	change-of-address
Kurisumasu mēru no sashi-dashi kigen	クリスマスメールの 差出期限	last mailing date for Christmas
BANK
ginkō	銀行	bank
yokin/ yokin suru	預金•預金する	deposit/ to make a deposit
hikidashi	引き出し	withdrawal
genkin o orosu	現金を下ろす	to take cash out of the bank
futsū kōza	普通口座	current account
teiki yokin	定期預金	time deposit
yokin tsūchō	預金通帳	bankbook, passbook
sōkin/furikomi	送金•振込み	remittance, bank transfer
jidō furikomi	自動振込み	direct debit
yūshi/rōn	融資.ローン	loan
rishi	利子	interest
furikome sagi	振込め詐欺	A fraud committed by swindlers who telephone victims (especially the elderly) and trick them into sending money through ATMs