Mostly, Japanese. However, at AIU campus and other cities, like Akita City, people speak English! Japan also has different dialects for different prefectures, so words are sometimes said completely differently. Think of it like Americans saying "Elevator" while people from the UK say "Lift!" Many of the international study abroad students at AIU also speak other languages, like French, Spanish, Arabic and German. I'm learning lots of new words.
Fun fact: Did you know that other languages, have completely different names for characters in books? For example: Draco Malfo is "Drago" in French, which is closer to the French word for dragon! It's so cool how words are translated in order to ensure that literature is understood through the context of each language!
The currency is called "yen" (the symbol is ¥, think of the U.S. $, while the written kanji for the word is 円). Though cards are accepted, cash is pretty popular here. Most people pay for things in only cash, especially at local food stalls and restaurants.
