big coins!

Carrying cash is something I don't enjoy. I expected that Japan would be similar to the US in that you can pretty much use a credit card everywhere. It doesn't seem to be that way however. I have been walking around with a bunch of coins in my pocket everywhere now since reasonable currency amounts are in coins here. I was very surprised to see that coin money extends up to 500円. That is the equivalent of about $5! Well, at current exchange rates, it is worth $5.57. Here is the Japanese coin lineup:It isn't until the 1,000円 mark that paper money starts being used. This is a big change for me coming from a country where you could practically forget about change unless you were going to the vending machine or the tollway. I guess it is time to get a coin purse...