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I will arrive at Haneda Airport at 19:00PM and depart from Narita Airport at 17:25PM the day after. Hence, the time spent staying in Japan will probably be around 20 hours, including one overnight stay.

I am preparing the required documents to apply for a transit visa as my itinerary requires me to change airport. According to the Japanese Embassy website, there is one requirement:

If stay in Japan exceeds one night: Proof of sufficient funds (e.g. most recent U.S. bank statement, travelers' checks or letter of guarantee from friend/relative in Japan).

I don't have my own bank-account or a credit card yet as I am currently a student and my stay in Japan is less than one day, how should I present the "proof of sufficient funds"? It is my plan to bring about 20,000 Yen in cash to cover any cost that may arise during my transits.

Edit: I am applying for the transit visa in my home country and the "proof of sufficient funds" is one of the mandatory documents. What I fear is that my visa application might get rejected, and if it happens, it will happen in my home country, not in Japan. Hence, the problem is not with the Immigration Officials in Japan, but with the Japanese Embassy in my home country. If I could get hold of the transit visa, I don't think there will be any reason for Immigration to deny my entry into Japan.

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  • You'll need to ask the double-entry transit visa as a separate question (see help center - one question per post on SE). Good questions though!
    – Mark Mayo
    Commented Apr 3, 2014 at 14:05
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    Thank you. I have edited my question and asked another one regarding the double-entry visa matter.
    – IcySnow
    Commented Apr 3, 2014 at 17:59
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    "If stay in Japan exceeds one night" - you're staying for only one night, so you shouldn't have to provide proof of sufficient funds. You would only need it if you stayed 2+ nights.
    – Doc
    Commented Apr 3, 2014 at 21:32
  • These are all answers for short-term visits. My wife is trying to obtain a Child of Japanese National visa and they are asking for 18,000 in show money! Really unfair. She has a relative as a sponsor and they are still insisting on this amount? Why?
    – user32691
    Commented Aug 9, 2015 at 20:13

3 Answers 3

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¥20,000 cash, plus a credit card, is lots for an overnight and a transit to Narita (I live in Tokyo). Where you are from and what you look like is usually a much bigger factor with Japanese immigration than how much cash you have - in 15 years of travel they have yet to ask me a single question at immigration.

FYI, you won't be able to do much in Tokyo. Arrival at your Tokyo hotel will be 9-10pm depending on where, you will need to be at Narita by 3:30 and it takes 2 hours to get there. Published times of 55 minutes are platform-to-platform times of a limited express train that runs twice an hour. Find station, buy ticket, find platform etc. etc.

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  • I don't have a credit card as well. In other words, I don't have any financial proof at hand to show the Embassy that I have sufficient funds for my transits. I fear that my transit visa application may get rejected due to such reason.
    – IcySnow
    Commented Apr 3, 2014 at 14:02
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    Paul mentioned that what you look like is a factor. Don't dress like a hobo when dealing with customs/immigration officials, and don't be carrying suspicious stuff like commercial quantities of items or stuff for busking if you can avoid it.
    – Spehro 'speff' Pefhany
    Commented Apr 3, 2014 at 15:43
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The point of the 'sufficient funds' test is to see if you will risk getting into financial strife during your time in the country. Many countries test this, and there's no hard or fast rule for how much cash you'll need.

When considering your access to funds, the officer will take a number of factors into account:

  • how much money you have access to
  • how long you have in the country (time is money, so the longer you're there, the more money you'll need)
  • whether you have accommodation pre-paid or not (that'll cost more too) or if you're staying with friends
  • what you plan on doing while there (you may have unrealistic expectations - eg travelling the country for 3 weeks with $200 cash)
  • when you plan on leaving, and how - and whether you've bought your ticket already (ie it'd cost more money again)

They'll then weigh those into consideration, or possibly ask you more questions about your activities. They don't want tourists needing bailing out, basically.

So we can't really answer a specific $$$ figure. But if you're confident you won't need more than that money to cover yourself, and can show you've done the calculations and can explain that to an officer, you are unlikely to have any problems. There's a good chance they won't even ask if you're basically just transiting through.

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I've been to Japan many times and have never been asked anything like this. In any case, in the extremely rare chance that they do say something, a copy of your flight itinerary (which shows you're leaving Japan the next morning) and your 20,000 Yen should be totally fine. Where are you staying? If you are staying with a friend, make sure you know their address. If not, have you pre-booked a hotel? If so, bring confirmation of that. But still I would be shocked if they asked you anything about it.

I would not worry about this at all.

That said, you don't have a credit card or an ATM card, and you're going on (what sounds like) a reasonably long trip? What are you doing for money on the rest of the trip?

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  • The rest of the trip, which takes place in Canada, is fully sponsored. I have to take care of myself until I reach Canada though. I am applying for the transit visa in my home country and one of the required documents is "proof of sufficient funds". Because I will bring 20,000 Yen in cash, I don't have any such "proof" to show the Embassy and I am afraid my visa application might get rejected.
    – IcySnow
    Commented Apr 3, 2014 at 17:39
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    I think the cash itself will be your "proof." Bring proof (your flight itinerary) that you'll only be in the country for one night, and it will be clear that you have enough money to survive for 20 hours. And again, I'd be very surprised if they said anything. I've been through Japanese immigration 7 or 8 times and don't think I've ever been asked a single question about anything.
    – Jer
    Commented Apr 3, 2014 at 18:10

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