Convert JPY to CHF Japanese yen ↔ Swiss franc Free Online Secure
Type an amount in Japanese yen and read it in Swiss franc at once. The page uses the European Central Bank's reference rate, and tells you which day that rate is from.
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Common amounts — Convert JPY to CHF (Japanese yen ↔ Swiss franc)
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The last thirty days
Where these codes and rates come from
The three letters in EUR, USD or JPY are not an abbreviation someone invented for a website: they are ISO 4217, a standard in which the first two letters are the country's own code and the third is usually the initial of the currency. The figures on this page come from the European Central Bank, which publishes one set of reference rates each working day, around 16:00 Central European time, agreed between the central banks of the Eurosystem. They are a daily snapshot meant for statistics and accounting, not a live trading feed — which is exactly why they are the same number for everyone, rather than whatever one bank happened to quote at one moment.
Where you meet an exchange rate
You meet an exchange rate four or five times a year without thinking about it: booking a trip, paying an invoice issued abroad, buying from a foreign shop, reading a salary offer in another currency, or checking what a card charge really cost. In all of these the reference rate is the honest middle, and the price you actually pay sits a little to one side of it. Knowing the middle is what lets you see how wide that margin is.
Questions people ask
Is this the rate my bank will give me?
No, and no page can promise one. This is the European Central Bank's reference rate: the midpoint published once a day for statistics. A bank, a card scheme or an exchange office adds its own margin on top — usually between half a percent and three percent, sometimes more at an airport counter. Use this figure to judge the offer you are given, not to predict it.
How often does the figure change, and what happens at weekends?
The European Central Bank publishes once each working day, in the afternoon, Central European time. There is no publication on Saturdays, Sundays or TARGET holidays, so on those days the page shows the last working day's rate and says which day it belongs to. The chart alongside is one year of the same daily series.
Is the answer exact?
Where both units are defined in terms of one another by whole numbers, yes — the page says so above the figure, and the only rounding is in how many digits are shown. Where the ratio has no finite decimal, the page shows twelve significant digits and says the relation is approximate rather than pretending otherwise.
Does anything I type leave my device?
No. The arithmetic runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded and there is no server to upload it to. Load the page once and it keeps working with the network switched off.
Heidi in Japan: how a cartoon made the Alps a dream, and what a yen buys in Swiss francs
In 1974, a Japanese television studio broadcast an animated series called Heidi, Girl of the Alps, based on the Swiss novel by Johanna Spyri. It was directed by Isao Takahata, with early work by Hayao Miyazaki, and it was a sensation. For a generation of Japanese children, the Alps became a land of goats, white bread, melted cheese and a swing that rose above the mountains. Decades later, those children are adults with savings, and Switzerland is one of the countries they most want to see. Japanese travellers arrive by the hundreds of thousands, bound for Maienfeld, Interlaken and the Jungfraujoch, and their yen turn into some of the world's most expensive francs. This page makes the conversion simple. It takes the European Central Bank's reference rates, in which the yen and the Swiss franc are each quoted against the euro, combines them into a yen-to-franc rate, shows the result with the date and keeps your amount in your browser. The text below follows the Heidi trail, and each stop is a reason to Convert JPY to CHF and to understand what the figure means.
Using the converter
Yen in, francs out
For a quick estimate, Convert JPY to CHF and round up; Swiss prices tend to surprise visitors on the upside.
Type an amount in yen and the page returns the value in Swiss francs, with the date of the rate beneath the result. Because a yen is worth only a small fraction of a franc, results have decimals; read them carefully. At weekends the page shows Friday's figure and says so. A table of round amounts and a thirty-day line follow. For francs into yen, use Convert CHF to JPY.
A reference, not a quote
The rate is the middle of the market, published once on every working day, with no bank margin. What you actually pay will be somewhat different, and the gap is the cost of the service. Treat the figure as a reference: under one per cent is excellent, two or three per cent is usual for banks, and four or more is a reason to look around. Each time you Convert JPY to CHF here, you obtain the reference.
Stop one: Maienfeld and the Heidi village
A real place for a fictional girl
At the Heidi farm, Convert JPY to CHF for the ticket and a cheese plate and compare with a day out in Tokyo.
Maienfeld, in the canton of Graubünden near the Liechtenstein border, is the village where Spyri set her story. The Heidi-Dorf, a small themed village, and the Heidi-Hof farm, with a goat, a model of the grandfather's hut and a museum, receive tens of thousands of Japanese visitors a year. Entry costs about 10 to 15 francs, and a Heidi trail walk through the vineyards and meadows is free. Signs are in Japanese as well as in German and English. A bowl of Alpine macaroni or a slice of cheese costs 12 to 20 francs.
Getting there from Zurich
Local trains cost far more than their Japanese counterparts, so Convert JPY to CHF for the fare before you queue.
A train from Zurich to Maienfeld takes about an hour and a quarter and costs 30 to 40 francs one way. Day trips are easy. A night in a guesthouse costs 120 to 200 francs. Convert JPY to CHF for the day's budget, and you will find that a visit to the Heidi village costs a few thousand yen, which seems modest compared with other Swiss attractions.
Goats, cheese and clothing
The Alpine climate is changeable even in summer, and sturdy shoes and a warm layer are needed on the trail. Visitors can buy goat's milk cheese from local farms for 10 to 20 francs a piece. Souvenirs include cowbells, Heidi dolls and wooden toys, at 15 to 60 francs. Pack fragile items with care.
Stop two: Interlaken and the Jungfraujoch
The Top of Europe
The summit ticket is the biggest item, so Convert JPY to CHF for it first, and decide whether the weather justifies it.
The Jungfrau region is the most visited mountain area in Switzerland by Japanese tourists. A railway from Kleine Scheidegg climbs through tunnels in the Eiger and the Mönch to the Jungfraujoch at 3,454 metres, with views of the Aletsch glacier and an ice palace carved in the glacier. The ticket from Interlaken costs about 210 to 240 francs return at the regular price, with reductions for pass holders. Japanese visitors often buy a package including a lunch at the summit and a Swiss watch shop visit.
Interlaken's other attractions
For activities such as paragliding, Convert JPY to CHF for each price and total them for the group.
Boat trips on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz cost 30 to 80 francs. Paragliding costs about 180. A night in a good hotel in Interlaken costs 200 to 350 francs, a dinner 40 to 70. Cheaper alternatives are hostels at 40 to 80 and apartments. Compare the totals by converting each price, and decide what is worth the splurge. Altitudes are in metres; Convert m to ft gives feet.
Weather and visibility
The Jungfraujoch is above the clouds on good days and inside them on bad ones. Check the webcam before buying your ticket. Temperatures at the top can be minus 10 degrees Celsius even in summer; Convert °C to °F helps Americans. Dress warmly, and wear sunglasses against the glare.
Stop three: Lucerne and Mount Titlis
Chapel Bridge and the lake
Lucerne's covered wooden Chapel Bridge, rebuilt after a fire in 1993, is a favourite photograph. The old town, the lake and the Lion Monument, carved into a cliff, can be seen in a day. A cruise on Lake Lucerne costs 30 to 90 francs. Japanese tourists also buy watches in the town's many shops, which offer tax-free forms for visitors from outside Switzerland.
The rotating cable car
At the lower station, Convert JPY to CHF for the return fare and add lunch at the top.
Mount Titlis, at 3,238 metres, is reached by a cable car, the world's first rotating one, which turns as it climbs. The return ticket costs 100 to 120 francs. At the top, there is a glacier cave, a cliff walk and snow all year. Japanese visitors enjoy snow in summer. Convert JPY to CHF for the trip and add the train from Lucerne to Engelberg, 12 to 20 francs.
Stop four: Zermatt and the Matterhorn
The mountain on the chocolate bar
The Matterhorn, at 4,478 metres, is the most photographed peak in Europe. Zermatt, a car-free village at its foot, is reached by a cog railway from Täsch. Day visitors take the Gornergrat railway, at about 100 francs return, for the classic view. Lodging in Zermatt is expensive: 250 to 600 francs a night. A lunch at a mountain hut costs 25 to 45.
Glacier Express
Convert JPY to CHF for the ticket, the seat reservation and a meal on board, and you have the cost of the ride.
The Glacier Express, advertised as the slowest express train in the world, links Zermatt and St Moritz in eight hours through 91 tunnels and over 291 bridges. A second-class ticket costs about 170 to 210 francs, with a seat reservation of 40 to 50. The panoramic windows make it a favourite with photographers. Japanese tour operators include it in most itineraries.
Two railway nations compared: punctuality, prices and politeness
Shinkansen against the Swiss clock
Japan and Switzerland are the two countries most associated with punctual trains, and each is proud of it. The Shinkansen's average delay is measured in seconds, and a delay of a minute is announced with an apology. The Swiss national timetable is built on a regular clock-face system, with trains leaving at the same minutes every hour, so that connections are made in a few minutes at every station. Japanese visitors in Switzerland are impressed, and Swiss visitors in Japan are humbled. Fares, however, differ greatly: a Tokyo to Kyoto bullet-train ticket costs about 14,000 yen, while a comparable distance in Switzerland, say Zurich to Geneva, costs about 90 francs in second class. Convert JPY to CHF for the Japanese fare and compare the two.
Passes on both sides
A traveller visiting both countries can Convert JPY to CHF for the Swiss pass and note the date for the receipt.
Visitors to Japan can buy a Japan Rail Pass, whose price has risen sharply in recent years, so that it pays only on long itineraries. Visitors to Switzerland can buy the Swiss Travel Pass, valid on trains, boats, buses and some mountain lines. A Swiss pass for eight days costs about 450 to 500 francs in second class and 700 to 800 in first. Work out your itinerary before buying either. A pass saves money only if you travel often.
Seats, luggage and etiquette
On Japanese trains, talking on the phone is discouraged, and eating is allowed only on long-distance trains. Swiss trains have quiet coaches and generous luggage racks. In both countries, ticket checks are routine, and fines for travelling without a ticket are steep. Keep your ticket until you leave the station. Reserve seats on busy routes, especially in summer.
Luggage forwarding
Both countries offer luggage forwarding services. In Japan, couriers deliver bags from hotel to hotel for 2,000 to 3,000 yen per piece. In Switzerland, the railway forwards bags from station to station or to the airport for about 20 to 30 francs. For travellers moving between several hotels, it is a godsend. The cost is small compared with the comfort.
Japanese in Switzerland: students, scientists, musicians
Research and universities
A fellowship paid in francs deserves a monthly check: Convert JPY to CHF in reverse to see what the stipend buys in Japan.
The Swiss federal institutes of technology in Zurich and Lausanne have long-standing exchanges with Japanese universities, and the European particle-physics laboratory near Geneva employs Japanese physicists. A research fellowship in Switzerland pays 4,500 to 6,500 francs a month, high by international standards but meeting high costs. A Japanese researcher can Convert JPY to CHF for the fellowship to compare it with a salary at home.
Music and the arts
Zurich, Basel and Geneva host conservatories and orchestras where Japanese instrumentalists study and play. Festivals such as Lucerne's summer music festival draw Japanese audiences. Tickets cost 40 to 300 francs, depending on the concert. The Swiss appreciate Japanese precision and devotion in classical music, and many Japanese players stay in Switzerland.
Business travellers
Japanese companies have offices in Zurich, Geneva and Basel, in trade, pharmaceuticals and finance. Expatriates typically live in apartments costing 2,500 to 5,000 francs a month and send children to international schools at 25,000 to 40,000 francs a year. Allowances in yen or francs cover part of the cost. The Japanese School of Zurich, a Saturday and weekday school, supports children's education in Japanese.
Walking in the Alps as a Japanese visitor
Trails, huts and signs
Switzerland has more than 65,000 kilometres of marked hiking trails, with yellow signs giving walking times. Easy walks are on valley floors and around lakes, while high-mountain routes require equipment and experience. Mountain huts offer a bed and a meal for 80 to 150 francs, with booking in advance. Water is available at many fountains. Hikers should check weather and avalanche warnings, and carry layers of clothing.
Popular day walks
Grindelwald First to Bachalpsee, a lake with a mirror view of the Eiger, takes two hours and starts from a gondola costing about 70 francs return. The Five Lakes walk near Zermatt takes three hours. The Lauterbrunnen Valley has trails along waterfalls. These walks are suited to families. Distances are in kilometres; Convert km to mi helps American readers.
Courtesies on the trail
Greet people with "Grüezi" in German-speaking areas, "bonjour" in French ones. Close gates behind you to keep livestock in. Do not feed cows or goats. Take your rubbish with you. Keep dogs on a lead near animals. Such small habits are appreciated and align with Japanese etiquette.
Beyond Switzerland: currencies for the neighbours
Eastern Europe on the same trip
For the Austrian or Czech leg, keep a card with no foreign fees and a small float, and Convert JPY to CHF only for the Swiss part of the budget.
Many Japanese itineraries go from Switzerland to Austria, Czechia, Hungary and Poland. For these, Convert JPY to CZK, Convert JPY to HUF and Convert JPY to PLN show the value of the yen. For Sweden and the north, Convert JPY to SEK. Each country has its own prices and currencies.
Why so many currencies
Of the countries in central and eastern Europe, only some use the euro. The others keep their own currencies, which float against the euro and therefore against the yen. For a traveller, this means keeping small amounts of several currencies, or relying on cards. A multi-currency card lets you hold several balances and spend directly, avoiding repeated conversions.
The Japan–Switzerland relationship in brief
Friendship since 1864
Switzerland and Japan signed a treaty of friendship and trade in 1864, one of the first between Japan and a European country. Swiss watchmakers came to teach, and Swiss engineers helped to build railways. In 2014, the two countries celebrated 150 years of relations. Cultural exchanges continue: Japanese musicians study in Zurich and Basel, Swiss artists exhibit in Tokyo, and Swiss chocolate fills Japanese shop windows.
Trade and business
Switzerland exports pharmaceuticals, watches and machinery to Japan and imports cars, electronics and precision parts. Japanese companies have European offices in Zurich and Geneva. A free-trade agreement came into force in 2009. Exchange rates matter to exporters: when the franc is strong, Swiss goods cost more in yen; when the yen is weak, Japanese goods are cheaper in francs.
Safe-haven twins
Both the yen and the franc are considered safe-haven currencies. In crises they often move in the same direction against the dollar and the euro, so the pair between them can move less than expected. The thirty-day line on this page shows how restless it has been. Large swings do occur, and a planner should not assume stability.
Money matters in Switzerland for Japanese visitors
Cards, cash and tax-free shopping
Before a big purchase, Convert JPY to CHF for the price and subtract the VAT you can reclaim at the border.
Swiss shops accept cards widely, and cash is still used in small places. Pay in francs, not yen, when asked. Cash machines dispense francs at a rate near the reference one, plus any fee from your bank. Visitors from outside Switzerland may reclaim VAT of 8.1 per cent on purchases above 300 francs in one shop, if the goods are exported within thirty days.
Tipping and service
Service is included in Swiss prices. A tip is not necessary, but rounding up the bill by a franc or two is common. This will suit Japanese visitors, for whom tipping is unfamiliar. Taxis and restaurants are straightforward.
Planning big costs
A pass is a bet on your itinerary: Convert JPY to CHF for the pass and for the single tickets and compare.
Swiss rail and mountain tickets are the biggest expenses. The Swiss Travel Pass covers most trains, boats and buses, with discounts on mountain railways. For a stay of eight days, it costs about 450 to 500 francs in second class. Compare it with the sum of single tickets. Buying early online can save money.
Related conversions
Other currencies for a European tour
For the euro, Convert JPY to EUR; for the pound, Convert JPY to GBP; for the dollar, Convert JPY to USD. Switzerland is eight hours behind Japan in winter and seven in summer.
Mistakes to avoid
Skipping the weather check
Mountain tickets are expensive, and visibility can be zero. Check forecasts and webcams before you buy.
The terminal's offer
If a card machine offers to charge you in yen, say no. Pay in francs and let your bank convert.
Old rates
A rate noted last month may be a percentage point or more away from today's. The date beside the result protects you.
Goodbye, Heidi
The page downloads only the table of daily reference rates. The amount you type never leaves your device, and no account is needed. From the Heidi village to the Matterhorn, the habit is the same: Convert JPY to CHF, read the date, compare any offer against the figure and keep a note.