Japanese is the main language spoken here. You can still get around using only English in Tokyo, especially in popular tourist spots, because the city is becoming more international with many visitors every day. However, over 99% of people here speak Japanese.
Japanese yen (¥) is used here. For paper bills, there are 1,000, 2,000 (rare), 5,000, and 10,000 yen notes. For coins, there are 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 500 yen. Nowadays, cashless payment like credit cards or mobile QR-code payments are becoming more common.
A 500 mL bottle of water costs around 100 yen (about 0.65 USD) in a convenience store. It can be a bit cheaper at a supermarket and more expensive at a vending machine. I usually buy a 2 L bottle of water from the supermarket, which costs around 80 yen (about 0.52 USD).
The best meal this week was the carbonara udon I had for lunch today. It was rich and creamy, and the noodles were chewy. The Japanese hamburger steak lunch box I had on Tuesday was also very good. It wasn’t anything incredibly fancy, but it reminded me of the taste of home.
