Japanese Money: Denominations, Coins, and Counting by Tens of Thousands
Japanese money consists of six coins and four banknotes, along with a special counting system: Japanese divides numbers into groups of four, not three, so "ten thousand" is a single word, 万. This rule is the source of all the confusion English speakers have with prices. And from the design of the coins come the holes in two denominations and the 1-yen coin that stays on the surface of water due to surface tension, not because it is lighter than water.
Let's break down what Japanese money is made of: six coins, four banknotes, and a new series with a hologram issued in 2024. We'll explain why two coins have a hole, where the 万 — "ten thousand" — unit came from, and how it makes all large sums sound different. And we'll explain why cash in Japan holds on more firmly than you might expect from a high-tech country, and what gets placed on a tray instead of being handed back as change.
Six Coins and Four Banknotes
Japan currently has six coins and four banknotes in circulation. The coins are 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 500 yen; the banknotes are 1000, 2000, 5000, and 10,000 yen. The 2000-yen banknote formally exists but is rarely seen: its print run was limited and it is almost never reprinted. In July 2024, the Bank of Japan updated the design of three major banknotes — 10,000, 5000, and 1000 yen — for the first time in twenty years, changing the portraits. The three-dimensional hologram that rotates when the bill is tilted became the world's first such security technology on paper money.
The 5-Yen Coin and the Word 御縁
| Denomination | Metal | Feature |
|---|---|---|
| 1 yen | Aluminum | Floats on water due to surface tension, even though the metal itself is heavier than water |
| 5 yen | Brass | Has a hole in the middle; by folk belief, its name sounds like the word for "connection, fate" |
| 10 yen | Bronze | The only bronze coin — hence its color |
| 50 yen | Cupronickel | Also has a hole — to distinguish it from the 10-yen coin by touch |
| 100 yen | Cupronickel | Standard mid-denomination coin |
| 500 yen | Two-tone alloy | Since 2021, a brass ring and white core, with diagonal ridges on the edge |
Counting in Groups of Four
The main difficulty for an English speaker is not the exchange rate but the counting itself. English divides numbers into groups of three: thousand, then "ten thousand," "hundred thousand." Japanese divides them by four: after thousand (千) comes a separate word 万 (man) — "ten thousand" — and it behaves as an independent counting unit, not as "ten" multiplied by "thousand." Beyond that, 万 is multiplied just like thousand in English: 二万 — "two man," that is, twenty thousand. The next unit, 億 (oku), is already a hundred million, not a million as you might expect by analogy.
How a Sum Is Pronounced Aloud
- 10,000 yen — 一万円 (ichiman en), "one man yen," not "ten thousand yen" by place value.
- 35,000 yen is read as "three man five thousand yen" (三万五千円): the man unit and the thousands unit are named separately, just as in English "thirty-five thousand" names the tens and the units of thousands.
- 250,000 yen is "twenty-five man" (二十五万円): the four-zero unit shifts the count so that the familiar English "hundred" and "two hundred" no longer appear in this reading.
- The one-place shift is a constant source of errors for those who mentally convert Japanese prices through familiar thousands: counting in man has to be done separately.
Why Cash Still Holds On
Cash in Japan holds on far more firmly than you might expect from one of the world's most technologically advanced countries. According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the share of cashless payments in 2023 was 39.3% — meaning more than half of transactions still go through bills and coins. There is an everyday side to this: ATMs are found not only in banks but also in 24-hour convenience stores. And tipping does not exist in Japan at all — payment is always for the amount shown on the receipt, with no surcharge.
A Tray Instead of a Hand
- At the register, money is usually placed not into a hand but onto a tray — カルトン (karuton, from French carton) or simply a "money tray"; the cashier takes the bill or coin from the tray and returns change to the same place.
- The word カルトン entered Japanese in the early Showa era and has since been used alongside the more descriptive name 金銭トレー.
- The habit of not passing money from hand to hand predates registers with trays and is found not only in shops but also in some institutions when handing over documents.
円: Why Money Is Called a "Circle"
円 — значение: circle, round, yen — онъёми: エン — кунъёми: まる.い、まる、まど、まど.か、まろ.やか — 4 штрих(ов). 円 means "circle, round": in modern language the same character became the name of the currency — "yen" in Japanese is 円.
From the Shape of a Coin to the Name of a Currency
お金 (okane) is the most general word for "money," while the character 円 in its old form looked different — 圓 — and primarily denoted shape: "circle, round." Coins were round long before 円 became the name of the currency in 1871, when the Meiji government introduced a new monetary unit to replace the previous coins and ingots of various shapes — and named it precisely after its shape. The same reform introduced a smaller unit, 銭 (sen), one hundredth of a yen: it was withdrawn from circulation in 1953, but the name survives in currency exchange rates and in talk about percentages.
| Japanese | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| お金 | okane · okane | Money — the most general word |
| 円 | en · en | Yen — the monetary unit and "circle" |
| 一万円 | ichiman en · ichiman en | Ten thousand yen in one word |
| 銭 | sen · sen | One hundredth of a yen, withdrawn from circulation in 1953 |
| お釣り | otsuri · otsuri | Change |
| カルトン | karuton · karuton | Money tray at the register |
Write 円 along the guides — the character for "circle" that became the name of the Japanese currency.
FAQ
- What coins and banknotes are there in Japan?
- Six coins — 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 500 yen — and four banknotes: 1000, 2000, 5000, and 10,000 yen. The 2000-yen banknote is formally in circulation but rarely seen: its print run was limited. In July 2024, the Bank of Japan updated the design of three major bills for the first time in twenty years.
- Why do Japanese coins have holes?
- The 5- and 50-yen coins have holes. The hole in the 5-yen coin appeared during the 1949 recoinage and saves about six percent of metal per coin; at the same time, the two holed coins are easier to distinguish by touch among other small change.
- What Japanese word means "money"?
- The most general word is お金 (okane). The name of the currency, 円 (en, "yen"), originally meant simply "circle" — after the shape of the coin, not the properties of money. The historical small unit 銭 (sen) — one hundredth of a yen — was withdrawn from circulation in 1953 but remains in currency exchange rates.
- Why do Japanese people count in tens of thousands?
- Because Japanese counting divides numbers into groups of four, not three as in English: after thousand comes a separate word 万 (man) — "ten thousand" — and beyond that you count in man. That is why 35,000 yen in Japanese sounds like "three man five thousand," not "thirty-five thousand" as a single number.
- Why does Japan still pay so much in cash?
- The share of cashless payments is growing but slowly: in 2023 it reached 39.3% according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry — meaning more than half of transactions still go through cash. ATMs, meanwhile, are found not only in banks but also in 24-hour convenience stores.
- Do people tip in Japan?
- No, tipping does not exist as a practice in Japan: the amount on the receipt is final, and adding anything to it is not customary. Payment at the register often goes through a tray — カルトン (karuton) — onto which bills and coins are placed instead of being passed from hand to hand.
Sources
Updated: 2026-09-22