International Exchange

When I left Chicago to come to Okinawa, the exchange rate between the dollar and the yen was around $1:¥125. So let's see what happened to the $2,500 I exchanged before departing for Tokyo:

$2,500 x 125 = ¥31 2500

(While in the US, we split numbers into thousands (000), Japan splits them into man (0000)).

Today, the rate listed by my money transfer service was $1:¥88. Let's see what happens if the exchange rate, at the time I left for Japan, had been what it is today:

$2,500 x 88 = ¥21 8250

Then: ¥31 2500
Now: ¥21 8250

That's a difference of ¥9 4250! Let me put that in perspective for you. I would have lost out on the following:

- 18 months of rent; or,
- 23 tanks of gas (at today's current price); or,
- 3-4 months worth of groceries (food is expensive); or,
- 22 round trip bus trips from Nago to Naha (it's ridiculously expensive!); or,
- 2-3 round trip flights from Okinawa to mainland Japan (depending on the season).

As you can see, it's not a trivial amount of money. Granted, the change has taken place over the course of two years. How about sending money the other way, from Japan to the US? I'll show you (using the same amount of money that I started with in Japan):

Then: ¥31 2500 / 125 = $2,500
Now: ¥31 2500 / 87.3 = $3,580

Sending money from Japan to the US is much more beneficial now than it was two years ago. It's a perfect opportunity for me to focus on paying off my loans in large amounts, as other friends are now considering doing. The exchange rate would also be beneficial if I was in a situation where I would be returning to the US to live or travel.

Day to day, however, the drop of the exchange rate really hasn't affected me all that much. My salary is the same as it was when I first got here (in fact, there has never been a salary adjustment since the start of the JET Programme 21 years ago). For those with intentions to visit Japan from the US, you're money won't go as far. But if you know someone that lives here, at least you won't have to worry about accomodation costs.