<Anchor> This
is a friendly economic time.
Reporter Han Ji-yeon is here.
Is free travel in Japan possible from today (11th)?
<Reporter>
Yes, it's been 2 years and 7 months.
Visa-free travel to Japan, which was suspended from March 9, 2020 due to the spread of Corona, is now possible, and you can stay in Japan for up to 90 days.
In addition to package tours, individual free tours are also available.
The number of inbound travelers, which was limited to 50,000 per day, has also been lifted.
Just think that all restrictions have been lifted.
What I'm more curious about is the corona quarantine procedure.
If you say you have been vaccinated three times, you will have to test negative, and you do not need any of these, just bring the vaccine certificate.
Then, you are worried about what if you only get the vaccine. In this case, you can submit a negative test within 72 hours before departure.
<Anchor>
But the ticket price is too expensive?
<Reporter>
Yes, the demand for Japanese travel has exploded so much that bookings for accommodation in Japan by a travel agency jumped 2,500% in just one month.
Considering that the price of a one-way ticket dropped to 20,000 won during the boycott of Japan before the pandemic, the difference is too big.
The exchange rate in Japan these days is around 900 won for 100 yen.
As the value of the yen has fallen to its lowest level in 24 years, it is a very good condition to travel to Japan, but many people are hesitant because of the price of planes.
So, the most curious is when the price will drop a little bit.
The airline's winter schedule starts on October 30th.
After this, there is the possibility of a significant increase in supply, so it will be cheaper than it is now.
However, the industry view is that it should be early next year for the route to recover as much as before Corona.
<Anchor> We
'll have to wait a while for the ticket price to be adjusted.
till now.
You said that if you exchange money for coins, you can exchange it cheaper than when you exchange money for paper money?
<Reporter>
Yes, coins are usually heavy and cumbersome to calculate, so I often exchange them for bills, but foreign currency coins can be bought at two-thirds the price of bills.
It's pretty hilarious.
Banks buy foreign currency coins left over from travelers at 50% of the trading standard and sell them again at 70% of the trading standard, so you can buy foreign currency coins 30% cheaper than paper money.
It's not like the bank is selling something cheap.
This is because coins cannot be exported or imported due to cost problems such as transportation costs and insurance premiums, so only bills can be traded in foreign exchange.
There are things that cannot be considered insignificant as coins, and there are things that are more valuable than our 1,000 won coins, so if you are traveling for a short time, they are very useful.
Two euros and two francs are about 3,000 won.
Also, 500 yen is currently close to 5,000 won in Korean money.
Three or four coins is enough for one meal.
<Anchor>
That's right.
To be honest, I don't think I've ever thought of exchanging money for coins.
However, after listening to the explanation, I think that it is not bad to exchange money for coins.
(It's so salty.) I think it'll be fun, really.
So how can I get this service?
<Reporter>
Yes, not all banks are available.
Even if it is possible, I do not always have foreign currency coins that I want to change, so I must check the stock quantity by phone before visiting.
First of all, you can find a bank branch where you can exchange money on the website of the Federation of Banks. Just type foreign currency exchange service on the portal to enter.
Hana Bank, which acquired Korea Exchange Bank, has the most variety of foreign currency coins, and all branches handle coins from a total of 8 countries.
Also, there must be quite a few foreign currency coins rolling around at home without changing money right away after traveling. If you find it difficult to go to the bank to exchange money, just go to a large mart with currency exchange kiosks to exchange points or gift certificates.