Originally Posted By Mr X Well, here we go. Yen and dollar virtually at parity now (1 dollar equals 100.23 yen at the moment to be exact). So, keep that in mind when planning trips to the land of the rising sun, you're gonna need to bring a lot more money than "usual". On the bright side, knowing exactly how much you're paying for stuff just became VERY easy.
Originally Posted By Malin Makes no difference to me as my currency is still the British Pound. Any idea how thats going against the yen at the mo.
Originally Posted By Mr X At the moment 100 Japanese yen will buy just under a half of one British pound. 0.48989 pounds to 100 yen, to be exact. Don't know how that works out historically though.
Originally Posted By Mr X Wow...just got an email alert that the dollar slipped UNDER 100 yen at some point! First time since 1995. Historically, the yen has been stronger though. Sometime in the 1980's, I think. If we get to THAT level (which is pretty much what is happening with the pound and Euro right now), watch out below!
Originally Posted By MagicalNezumi During my first extended Japan stay in 1995, the US dollar was at 80yen!!!! -- MagicalNezumi
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 Put this into perspective for me... Like how many yen for a Disneyland Japan ticket. How many yen for a soda How many yen for a Big Mac? Just curious...
Originally Posted By MagicalNezumi Well, a one-day passport would be about $58.00. (5800yen) A soft drink from a vending machine is about $1.20. (120yen) A Big Mac is $3.50. (350 yen...I think) -- MagicalNezumi
Originally Posted By Mr X So easy now, eh Nezumi! Wow, 80 yen...some of the more pessimistic folks are saying this will be coming soon. Good for those of us that earn yen, but not good at all for anyone coming to visit TDR from America! Does anyone know the all-time low (I'm assuming in the 70's someplace...I had no idea it was as low as 80 back in 1995!)?
Originally Posted By MagicalNezumi April 1995 was when it hit 80yen for the dollar the same week I arrived here. OUCH! The link is too long to include here but check: <a href="http://www.wikipedia.org" target="_blank">http://www.wikipedia.org</a> search: yen section: Plaza Accord -- MagicalNezumi
Originally Posted By MagicalNezumi Duh... better link: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yen" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y en</a>
Originally Posted By Mr X Thanks, Nezumi! (long time no chat, eh?) I'm afraid we might be running up against something similar! (hopefully not!)
Originally Posted By Mr X Actually a big mac is ¥290 at my local store (anything for the cause *urp*).
Originally Posted By SuperDry I remember the yen in the 80's in 1995. Ouch! With it at 100 now, it's hard to believe that it was 115 just 3 weeks or so ago.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss According to the history, when I was there in 2001, the dollar was bringing 119.29 yen. I remember just thinking 1-2-1 though. My previous trip in 1993 it was 111.10, and in 1986, 162.20.
Originally Posted By Mr X 86 must have been nice, Russ! The highest I recall was in 98, when it was at 146. That was great for me, as I was in Japan but earning U.S. dollars. I would change a thousand bucks at a time, and it felt like I was getting an "extra" 500 bucks each time! Then the U.S. bailed Japan out, bought tons of yen, and the price crashed. That sucked.
Originally Posted By Gone4Good "Well, a one-day passport would be about $58.00. (5800yen)" It's still cheaper than Disneyland in Cailfornia!
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< It was MUCH cheaper though (in dollars) even a few weeks ago. >>> That would have been a good time to move some dollars into yen - one could have made a handsome profit in a short period of time.
Originally Posted By The Goddess Mara I can add for beans, so I simply put the tip of my thumb over the last two digits and assume that what I can still see is the dollar amount. Works fine.
Originally Posted By Mr X I do that too Mara. lol. With the yen today at around 97 to the dollar, that works out quite well. If it dips much below 95 though, unfortunately you might find yourself overspending using that calculation. If it dips all the way to 80 or lower, which is what some are projecting, something that you think is 10 bucks is actually closer to 15 bucks, and that could lead to paying too much for something you thought was reasonably priced (relative to the dollar, of course). Ugh...yikes. I MISS $1 = ¥140!!!!
