But could you leave the fucking ATMs open?!?
I’m sure ever expat in Tokyo has bitched about this before, so I’m sorry if you’re hearing this again.
But I need to vent a bit, so bear with me.
I understand that banks close for national holidays. I don’t have a problem with that. Most countries do this.
Japan just takes it to excess.
Not only do they close the banks, but they also shut down the ATMs. And not just the ones at the bank branches. You see, they also kill access to accounts from outside ATMs.
Like the ones at convenience stores.
Yup. You take your ATM card to 7-Eleven to get some cash, only to get told by the machine, “Oops! You can’t get any money for two more days! Please come back anytime after 6:30 in the morning on the 4th. Thanks!”
Ain’t that some shit?
It’s not a life-threatening issue (I had taken money out on Saturday, and it oughta be enough to last me through the holidays.), but it is an unreasonable annoyance. I’ve never seen this in any other country. (Have you?) Why do they have this practice here?
Anybody know?