It’s a common problem when travelling. You keep collecting small change because you’re not sure what it’s worth and by the time you go to leave the country, you’ve got a pocket full. While you can search for the UNICEF box at the airport, you might want to try and use up some of your small change before you go.
Japan has the answer with Pocket Change kiosks, which offer a practical solution for your leftover change.
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01
About Pocket Change
One easy way to get rid of your change is at a Pocket Change kiosk, which are located at Japanese airports and the downtown areas. It will instantly exchange your leftover bills and coins from a variety of currencies into electronic money and vouchers that you can use in your home county.
Pocket Change kiosks currently accept bills and coins for Japanese Yen, United States Dollars, Euros, South Korean Won and Chinese Renminbi. They will also accept bills of Hong Kong Dollars, Thai Baht, New Taiwan Dollars, Singapore Dollars and Vietnamese Dong.
Your change can be transformed into electronic money and vouchers for Japanese transport smart cards, the iTunes Store and Amazon, as well as e-gift cards for shopping at Target, Dominos and Barnes & Noble in the US. You can also add the change to your WeChat Pay account in China or your Korean T-Coin account or spend it through your global Uber app. If you prefer that your leftover change supports a global cause, you can also contribute it to UNICEF through the Pocket Change kiosks.![Pocket Change at the MEGA Don Quijote Shibuya]()
Pocket Change at the MEGA Don Quijote Shibuya
There are 24-hour Pocket Change kiosks at Haneda Airport’s International Terminal 2F and Narita Airport Terminal 1’s Central building 1F, as well as at the MEGA Don Quijote Shibuya Honten 1F.
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02
How to use Pocket Change kiosks
Simply collect your coins and banknotes that you want to change and take them to the Pocket Change kiosk that’s most convenient for you.
This is the Pocket Change kiosk at Shibuya Don Quijote.![Pocket Change]()
Pocket Change
1. First, select your home country and the electronic money/voucher that you want to exchange your bills and coins into.
![Pocket Change]()
Pocket Change
You can also check the exchange rate if you want before making a decision.
![Pocket Change]()
Pocket Change
2. After selecting your preferred option (in this case a Suica card to be used in Japan), simply insert the money.
![Pocket Change]()
Pocket Change
Insert your notes first, then the coins, ensuring they are entered smoothly. If the notes are damaged, they may not be accepted by the machine.
![Pocket Change]()
Pocket Change
![Pocket Change]()
Pocket Change
You can put different currencies in at the same time, which is very convenient!
![Pocket Change]()
Pocket Change
In some cases, the coins may be too small to be handled or counted towards exchange credit. In this situation, they will be returned to you or you can choose to donate them.
![Pocket Change]()
Pocket Change
3. If you’re charging an existing card, you can simply scan it at the designated spot.
![Pocket Change]()
Pocket Change
![Pocket Change]()
Pocket Change
At the final step of the process, you will receive a receipt for your money exchange.
So if you want to lighten your wallet and turn your leftover foreign change into something useful, why not try Pocket Change!
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