Is Japan still cash only? What 96 official payment notices told us

We read the payment information on 96 official sightseeing pages. Most take cards or other cashless payment, but temples, shrines, hot-spring baths and remote spots are where cash still rules. Here is what we found and how to plan.

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"Bring cash to Japan" is advice you will read everywhere. Is it still true? Rather than guess, we looked at what official sightseeing pages actually say about payment.

What we looked at

Base: the 96 published spots on this site whose official page (or local-government tourism page) states how you can pay. We checked them between September 24 and 27, 2026.
Method: we read each note and sorted it by hand on 2026-09-29.
Limit: most official pages do not mention payment at all, so these 96 are not a random sample of Japan. They are the places that chose to say something.

What we found

19 of the 96 say the main payment is cash only, or that cards are not accepted.
Many others accept cards, transit IC cards and QR-code payments, but often not everywhere on site. Car parks, ticket machines, special exhibitions and small stalls are the usual exceptions.

Where cash still rules

Temples and shrines. Of the 8 temples and shrines in this set, 5 say cash only for the entry fee or offerings:

Todaiji, Nara: tickets are cash only (no credit cards).
Yamadera (Risshakuji), Yamagata: entry fee cash only.
Yushima Tenmangu, Tokyo: cash.
Uesugi Jinja, Yonezawa: no e-money; prayer fees, charms and treasure-hall admission are cash only.
Sefa-utaki, Okinawa: cash only on the day.

Even where cards are accepted, parts may be cash only. Byodoin takes cards, e-money and QR payments, but the Phoenix Hall interior desk and the goshuin (temple seal) office are cash only. Zuihoden in Sendai, on the other hand, takes cards, transit IC cards, Alipay and WeChat Pay.

Todai-ji Temple (Great Buddha) — key facts

Opening hours

Great Buddha Hall 7:30-17:30 (April-October), 8:00-17:00 (November-March); Hokke-do and Kaidan-do 8:30-16:00.

Checked 26 Sept 2026 on the official site

Admission

Each hall (Great Buddha Hall, Hokke-do, Kaidan-do) charges adults (junior high and up) 800 yen, elementary 400 yen; combined Great Buddha Hall and Todai-ji Museum ticket 1,200 / 600 yen.

Checked 26 Sept 2026 on the official site

Getting there

City loop bus from JR or Kintetsu Nara Station to Todaiji Daibutsuden/Kasuga Taisha-mae, then 5 minutes on foot.

Checked 26 Sept 2026 on the official site

Parking

No parking; use nearby car parks.

Checked 26 Sept 2026 on the official site

Payment

Tickets are cash only (no travel-agency coupons or credit cards).

Checked 26 Sept 2026 on the official site

Accessibility

Accessible toilets (e.g. west of the Great Buddha Hall entrance) and a wheelchair ramp inside the hall; wheelchairs lent without reservation.

Checked 26 Sept 2026 on the official site

Not yet confirmed

Closed

we have not confirmed this on an official source yet. Check with the spot before you go.

Hot-spring baths. Several onsen sell bath tickets from a cash machine. Furofushi Onsen is cash only; day bathing at Goshogake Onsen is cash only; at the Zao Onsen public baths you put the fee in a box at each bath.

Islands, markets and remote spots.

Tashirojima: cash only, with no cards, smartphone payments or e-money.
Shikisai-no-oka, Hokkaido: rides, restaurants and the car park take cash only, and the page says there is no ATM nearby.
Tsukiji Outer Market: many shops take cash only.
Tobishima Island: no bank ATMs on the island (use the post office).

Where cashless is normal

Many of the museums, aquariums, observation towers and ropeways in this set accept cards, transit IC cards and QR payments. Examples include the Nara National Museum, the Tohoku History Museum and the Sapporo TV Tower.

How to plan

Carry some cash every day, especially for temples, shrines, onsen, markets, islands and car parks.
Carry small notes and coins. Some machines take only certain notes. One car park in our data takes only 1,000-yen notes for cash.
Top up a transit IC card if you have one; it works at many ticket desks and shops in our data.
Check the payment line on the official page for anything remote. If a page says "no ATM nearby", believe it.

Sources

Payment information for each spot: the official or local-government tourism page linked in each fact table (checked 2026-09-24 to 2026-09-27)
Counts in this article: Verified in Japan fact tables, 96 published payment entries read and sorted by hand on 2026-09-29