Get more for your yen with a 2000 yen bill

Posted on 17. Apr, 2008 @ 12:36 am by in Crazy Consumers, Society Views: 890

Asahi Shinbun is reporting that at certain shops in Hokkaido, you can buy close to 3000 yen worth of goods if you use the rare 2000 yen bill.

Some of you may remember that back in the year 2000, a 2000 yen bill was released in Japan. The creating of the 2000 yen bill was simply a gimmick for the Summit that was held in Kyuusyu and Okinawa that year, and after printing about 800 million bills, printing was completely stopped in 2003. As of 2006 there were only about 160 million in circulation, according to The Bank of Japan. As you can imagine, vending machines were not adapted to support this new tender, so the bills never caught on and were forgotten as little more than a collectors item.

I know I saw one in 2000, I think. But I certainly didn’t end up keeping it. Any readers have any?

Now,  the G8 Summer is going to be held this summer in Hokkaido, so they’re bringing back the 2000 yen bill!

At pharmacies and random okonomiyaki stores in Sapporo you can exchange 2000 yen for a 2000 yen bill, and then spend them at other shops for bonus points. Bonus points? For example, apparently at one Chinese restaurant there, you can buy three 700-900 yen dishes and a drink with only one 2000 yen bill. Savings!

What fun what fun.

Any readers living in Hokkaido who can report on this incredible phenomenon first hand?

- Harvey

Source – Asahi Shinbun

  • Mark

    I picked up two 2000-yen notes while travelling in Japan back in 2006 and they were in mint condition so I kept them. Now I seem to have amassed a collection of notes from various travels – it’s strangely addictive once you get a few together!

    Haven’t seen any more since moving to Japan last June though…

  • bingobangoboy

    even in 2003, when I came to Japan, they were pretty uncommon. I saved one but lost it (I think I left it in a book which I lent to an ex-girlfriend). I haven’t seen one in the past 5 years.

  • Janiel

    How cool is this, today i went to the post office and got not 1 but 4, but I live in the Chugoku area so the Hokkaido promotion doesn’t apply to me. lol

  • http://flickr.com/photos/nacente スロ５５５

    I have a pair…

  • Jake Schmitt

    I have one! I went to Japan last summer (From July 23-Aug 4 2010) on an exchange program. I was given one of these. I was about to spend it to buy something(Probably food) and our translator/photographer/guide said “Keep that, it’s rare, and it’s supposed to mean good luck”

    So I kept it and I still have it today. I’m not sure exactly where it is, but my parents probably do :P

    Jake

JapanNewbie
    Twitter Feed

Welcome to JapanNewbie.com! My goal is to get you excited about Japan and the Japanese language. Love it! This blog has been around for more than five years now, so be sure to dig into the archives and use the search. You never know what you might find!

Recent Comments:




  • Photos on flickr