Japanese paper money, like money in many countries outside the United States, features different sizes, with notes getting larger as the denomination increases. The yen notes also have raised bumps in the lower left corners of the front to identify each denomination for people who are visually impaired. Likewise, the coins are of different sizes and metals to make them easily distinguishable.
Japanese money in gold, silver and copper traces its history back to the 8th Century A.D. During early Japanese eras, coins were valued mainly by their weight. According to the financial website ADVFN.com, Japanese coinage weights were standardized in the 15th Century under the Tokugawa Shongunate government. Coin shapes included square, rectangular and oval as well as round.
Japan instituted a European-style monetary system in 1871 as part of a modernization campaign by the Meiji government that took power in 1867. The goal was to simplify and centralize monetary administration, according to ADVFN.com. The new monetary system was a decimal system based around the rin, sen and yen. It was 10 rin to the sen, and 100 sen to the yen. The Meiji government began uniformly round yen coinage in gold, silver and copper to replace earlier coins, and issued paper money. Japan centralized its banking system in 1882, merging 153 regional banks into the single Bank of Japan, which took over the issuing of coinage and paper money.
The cost of some things in Japan is very high, particularly food. For instance, according to Tanutech.com, milk costs 230 yen per liter (equivalent to about $9 per gallon), ground round is 252 yen for 240 grams (equivalent to about $5.00 a pound), a head of cabbage is 105 yen, and 10 kilograms of rice costs 2,280 yen (equivalent to around $1.30 per pound).
Prices for other everyday items range from cheap to expensive. According to JapanVisitor.com, batteries are cheap at 98 yen for two AA alkalines. Gasoline is 107 yen per liter (around $4.30 per gallon), cigarettes are 300 yen for a pack of 20, a local phone call is just 10 yen for three minutes, a bath in a public bathhouse is 350 yen for adults, a men's haircut is 1,600 yen and a subway ride in a major city is around 220 yen. A night in the Tokyo Hilton runs about 46,000 yen.
