Best Place to Exchange your Australian Dollars for Japanese Yen in Sydney

As you know or do not know, I am from Sydney. You could say we have plenty of options for exchanging money, but those money exchange booths are usually expensive in the respect that their exchange rates aren't very desirable in comparison to what you see on Google's exchange rate stats.

Japanese society is still very much cash based and you will read this over and over again on many travel sites and blogs. Large companies - such as Bic Camera, Yamada Denki etc. however do accept credit cards - which make perfect sense because that is probably where you will be making your big ticket purchases from. If you are savvy enough, you will also be able to score extra discounts for using the right credit card, in addition to any tax exemption you may be entitled to. Anyway, that's for another post - back onto topic.

I am very particular when it comes to going on holidays and I like to make sure that I have one credit card with a low transaction/ exchange fee (I can use this to pay for my hotel room, or have it as a spare when I go shopping and run out of cash - one trip I did bring extra cash and paid in cash for the hotel room as they do require upfront payment), a second credit card or debit card just in case - and plenty of cash for food, transport and purchases.

I exchange my money at KVB Kunlun, located in the city. You will need a visitor pass (just collect one from the reception) and you may need to buzz at the door to enter.
There are a particular set of lifts that will take you to the floor they are on - in case if you were wondering why not all lifts make it to that floor (is anyone interested in this or? Anyway, let's go with this side track), it is because of peak hour rushes and lift servicing. You wouldn't want to rush to work or rush to leave work to have the whole building wait for the same set of lifts - but you would compromise and share this set of lifts between maybe ten or fifteen floors for instance. In terms of lift servicing, lifts can only service a certain maximum amount of floors (I cannot imagine how a single lift can go like thirty floors, imagine that huge void and a huge bunch of servicing and structural headaches). Digression over. Hope you learned something new!

Moving on - you then get a ticket from the machine and wait in line. There are maybe 20 seats or so available and from memory a water dispensing machine which may or may not have cups available. I'd bring a bottle with me.

My experience is to generally go with the English/ Japanese speaking queue, because all they needed was my driver's licence and were quite hassle free. Once I went with the Chinese queue because it had a shorter waiting time (it ended up being longer because a guy was practising his Chinese with the lady at the counter...), and they made me fill in a weird form and asked for my email and phone (maybe also address? I don't recall) and all this information I never had to provide them in the past. So I'll probably stick to the English queue in the future.

Anyway, their rates are quite good, and as for any processing fees... there are none. I heard there is a minimum or else they charge like $35 or something, but you can just ask them/ call them up to check. I have always exchanged in excess of $2000 each time, so I wouldn't have a clue.

They will ask you if you want to round up or down because they do not have any coins and can only give out notes (so you might need to pay or get back a few dollars). I always opt to round up - I overheard another person rounding up (their friend asked them why they didn't round down, but I'll get onto that for another moment), and you wait maybe 10 minutes for the funds to be released, and they'll ask you to come down and collect the Yen once it's ready.

I would round up because you will probably need the extra Yen at some stage - even if it's just to top up your Suica card or to buy drinks or snacks at a vending machine - which is something you might really need to do at the airport when you are coming home - I personally keep my Yen as an excuse to have another trip back, and they make (I keep saying this again and again) great momentos.

When leaving the building, simply drop your visitor pass into the slot at the gate.

I haven't tried exchanging my money anywhere else because they need to order in the Yen and usually don't have stock so it is a pain. This place is fairly convenient and well known to be a good place to exchange Yen, so why not - I would also recommend going early or at not-so-busy times (use your own judgment for this) to minimise your wait, because when they are busy, they are really busy. They usually only have about 3 people at the counter, so be prepared.

So do bring:

• Photo ID such as a driver's licence
• Cash - USD, AUD, RMB are generally accepted, make sure you have some loose change in case you want to round up - otherwise your only option is to round down and usually that will be tricky in any other currency other than AUD I would imagine
• Anyone who is traveling with you - because you have someone to keep you company, and you can both exchange money at the same time - win win.
• And always remember to ask what the rate is before you decide to exchange - you do have a choice to exchange if you want, and make sure it is the right rate (eg. same rate as what they quoted you on the phone or on their website) so you are happy!

Disclaimer

I was not sponsored in any way to write this post. Please see my Disclaimer page for more information. Please note this post is solely based on my own personal experience and if you have any feedback for this particular company to kindly direct it at their team.

Do you know of another alternative or perhaps better place to exchange AUD to JPY? Please let me know in the comments below. I'd love to know!

Yours,

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Kose Sekkisui Basic Skincare Range Review

The Kose Sekkisui range has a special place in my heart as I remember reading about the launch of this range and told myself I would go and buy it, which I did. I felt a great sense of accomplishment for this as you could imagine!

The coveted, premium range of Kosé's Sekkisei 雪肌精 has been around for a long time, with its simple yet classic blue bottle packaging. Most products are in the ¥5000+ range, which is a price point I would like to avoid. Their selling point is literally "sekki", which translates to snow-like-skin (or skin-like-snow if you want it to make more sense), something generally most Asian cultures embrace.

Kosé introduced this new line (not so new anymore, it's been around for a few years now, but it was new at the time) called Sekkisui and marketed it as the "affordable" range, and for good reason, that being that their full sized products are not as large as their Sekkisei counterparts. This range is exclusively available for purchase at 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan.

The main "ingredient' appears to be hawthorn essence 山査子, which apparently helps with moisturising. I'm not sure how much research was gone into it, but from my personal experience, I tend to choose products based on natural ingredients, and this fits this category well. Why? Because they tend to be more effective, and I feel that my skin absorbs it well.

This review is centred mainly on the travel sized set, and their corresponding full sized products no more than about 80ml. Having said that, it is still an affordable, pretty and great gift, considering it is a Japan exclusive, readily available (you don't need to trek specifically, but maybe not all 7-Eleven stores carry it), and made in Japan. 🇯🇵This means quality products, but at drugstore prices - not department store prices, which is exciting!

The travel set's resealable semi-clear, and rather pretty, zip lock bag ready for carry-on sets you back at just about ¥1000 plus tax, and has your standard "white washing cream" cleanser (20g), "medicated whitening lotion" toner (35ml) and "pure" emulsion (35ml). The trial package also tells you that the travel sizes last for about 15 uses (about a week on holiday), for good measure. You'll need to decide whether or not around $13AUD for a week of skincare is worth it or not, but if you use it sparingly or cut open packaging to get every dollop out, you can stretch this further.

The deal is further sweetened by some 7-Eleven stores offering Tax-Free shopping for foreigners if you purchase over ¥5000, so you can stock up on your snacks or more of these Sekkisui products to claim the tax-free price.

Cleanser

I bought a facial cleanser in its full size, and it worked well (I've already finished it so I don't have a photo, nor do I remember the actual price), which is affordable, but a bit expensive compared to your usual cheapo Japanese cleanser you can grab from the local drug store (by this I mean like ¥300, but well yeah). 

After washing the skin feels clean, soft and not tight or try, which is a real plus. I would definitely repurchase as it is a high quality cleanser. In fact, it is an excellent cleanser. The extra cost completely justifies its price and actually makes this product an absolute bargain.

Lotion

The lotion is always the first to be finished regardless of whatever set you decide to purchase, but from memory this lotion size was not larger than the emulsion, so you will need to purchase more units or else you will run out.

The effect is a marshmallowy soft finish, which I really like. Personally though I rather spend my money on a cheaper lotion that "just does the job" and invest in a serum/essence that I can apply pre-moisturiser. That's just my personal opinion though, and I have tried purchasing expensive lotions/toners in the past if they are just really that good. 

For me, the Sekkisui toner is not really in the that good category but it is in the very good category. If I was feeling generous and wanted to complete the set, I would certainly repurchase. For now though, I would still apply my previous theory about skin care and would hold off for another product instead as I think this is the product out of the three you could easily swap for something else.

Emulsion

The Pure Emulsion full size is 80ml and costs ¥1200 +tax, and comes in a really pretty plastic square bottle and metallic finish card packaging almost too pretty to dispose of. The texture of the emulsion is quite watery (be careful as it does have a large opening and you might tip too much out) - I would say the consistency is between a gel and liquid, and when you rub it into your skin it kind of "foams" up and whitens. The packaging has a diagram of how much product to use, and specifically asks you to apply it in a circular motion into the skin.

I'm not sure if it's an illusion or to prove a point it is working, but it does a great job moisturising and making your skin feel soft. You will feel a bit of stickiness but it is only slight, and I don't mind it. Maybe if I use even less that sensation will go away. The circular motion certainly helps your skin to absorb and reduce the sticky feeling to a minimum.

During the winter months and my stay in Japan, the emulsion felt like it was a little bit short of moisturising for my skin, perhaps I needed something a bit heavier like a cream. My verdict is that this product is likely aimed for those who have normal skin, and not dry skin trouble. If you had a higher budget, you would definitely be able to get something a bit more moisturising. Everyone's skin is different and at the end of the day, it really depends on your budget and being able to find something that works best for you within that budget! So in my case, yes, definitely, I will be able to find something that suits me better than this emulsion - taking into account this product is not that expensive to begin with.

As for any whitening effect, I did not particularly find there was any significant difference. I do wear sunscreen and I am quite pale to begin with, but if there were any whitening effects as such, I did notice a "tone up" or brightening effect. I think this effect will be good for the top layer of skin and with prolonged use you should be able to enjoy this effect. But I don't really know for sure as I didn't try it out for long enough to know. 🤷‍♀️

The fragrance of these products are quite consistent across the three and smells somewhat powdery yet somewhat floral. There's nothing funky herbal about it, it's just a pleasant, slight smell. If I had to really describe it, it would be fresh laundry smell - that's probably the closest I would describe it.

Overall these make fantastic souvenirs and are so well made. The downside is that they have the pricing marked on them so the recipient will know the price, but there is an advantage to this, particularly when shopping in Japan, is knowing you will be charged the same price regardless of wherever you go. This was the case for me when I was in Japan as I noticed different branches of the same chain (be it a pharmacy or electronics etc) would have different pricing for the same products, based on the demographic of its location.

As for personal use, I would repurchase as they are beautiful and look amazing. However there are a bunch of other amazing products that work better for me, so this is just one of those I would tick off the list, but again, they would make wonderful gifts.

Do you have any thoughts about the Sekkisui range? Do let me know in the comments below.

Yours,

Again, I do apologise for the weird truncated post some of you may have come across. I have never used this blogging platform, and why they don't keep blog drafts or autosave is beyond me.

I am also aware that there are more products in this range since its launch - I will need to simply purchase them in my 2020 trip so I can trial them out. Stay tuned!

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