Bitcoin ATMs in Japan: what really exists in Tokyo and Osaka

Does Japan have crypto ATMs at all?

Search for "crypto ATM Japan" and you will still find news stories from years ago, some of them saying that Japan has no bitcoin ATMs to speak of. The honest answer today is: it has a few, and they are real, licensed machines. They just aren't on every street corner the way they are in parts of North America.

The operator you can actually verify is Gaia (株式会社ガイア), a crypto exchange registered with Japan's Financial Services Agency and based in Osaka. Gaia calls its machines BTMs and lists four of them on its official map. Three are working: one in Akihabara and two in Osaka. The fourth, at Tokyo Tower, is marked as temporarily suspended. A second registered company, COINHUB, has announced a national network and a first machine in western Japan at Tennoji in Osaka, but we could not confirm that it is running.

Outside Tokyo and Osaka we could not find a working crypto ATM anywhere: not in Kyoto, Fukuoka, Sapporo or Nagoya. If you are travelling around the country, treat an ATM as something you plan a visit around on a weekday, not something you stumble across.

Where are the crypto ATMs in Tokyo and Osaka?

These are the machines that appear on the operators' own pages or press releases. Gaia notes that hours can change to match the host location, and every machine is closed on weekends and Japanese public holidays.

Tokyo. The working machine sits on the fifth floor of an office building in Iwamotocho, a short walk from the Akihabara electronics district. It is not a street kiosk, so arrive inside office hours. Akihabara also hosts the BITCOIN JAPAN 2026 conference on 27–28 November 2026. For exchange offices, bitcoin-friendly bars and meetups, see our Tokyo crypto guide.

Osaka. Gaia's machine at Travel Hub Namba is the most visitor-friendly of the lot, in the busy Namba area. The second Osaka machine is in Gaia's own office in Shinmachi, Nishi-ku. (Gaia's registered head office is elsewhere in Nishi-ku, at Edobori; the customer office and BTM are at Shinmachi.) If COINHUB's Tennoji unit goes live, Osaka will have more crypto ATMs than Tokyo. Our Osaka crypto guide covers the rest of the local scene.

Who runs them, and are they legal?

In Japan, exchanging crypto for yen as a business requires registration as a registered crypto-asset exchange providerA crypto exchange service provider (暗号資産交換業者) registered with the Financial Services Agency. Only these firms may legally serve Japan residents. under the Payment Services Act. An ATM operator is no exception. Both companies here appear on the FSA's official register, which you can also browse in English-friendly form on our FSA-registered exchanges list.

Gaia

Kinki Local Finance Bureau No. 00004, registered 18 June 2021. One of only two registered exchanges headquartered outside Tokyo. Handles BTC, ETH and ADA, and also runs a web exchange service alongside its machines.

COINHUB

Kanto Local Finance Bureau No. 00013, registered 26 December 2017, head office in Higashi-Nihonbashi, Tokyo. The register lists bitcoin only. Announced plans for 3,000 two-way ATMs nationwide in September 2025, then first machines in Shinjuku and Nagoya and a unit at Tennoji MIO in June 2026.

Do not confuse COINHUB in Japan with Coinhub, a US bitcoin ATM operator. Trade press has reported that the two are not connected, but the identical name muddles search results.

Fees and limits: how expensive is 10%?

Gaia's published fee notice sets the exchange fee at 10% of the yen amount, in both directions. Its English disclosure for guest users (revised June 2026) walks through the maths for a sale: take the cash you want, add 10%, and divide by the rate on the screen to get the crypto you must send. Want ¥50,000 in banknotes? You send ¥55,000 worth of bitcoin. The calculator at the top of this page shows the same effect on a purchase.

For comparison, Coincheck publishes a spreadThe gap between the buy and sell price at the same moment. On app-style dealer desks it is the real cost, even when trading is advertised as fee-free. of 0.1–5.0% on its app-based dealer deskDealer desk (販売所, hanbaijo): the exchange sells to you directly at its own quoted price. Simple, but the spread is the cost., and charges 0% on bitcoin trades on its order book. In other words, an ATM is the most expensive way to touch crypto in Japan by a wide margin. You are paying for speed and cash.

One more cost is easy to miss. If you use Gaia's web exchange and choose to receive yen by bank transfer, or you don't collect the cash from a machine within three business days, a ¥550 transfer fee applies. Network fees for sending crypto are also on you.

Can tourists use a bitcoin ATM in Japan?

Yes, with a catch: as a guest, you can only sell. Gaia's machines let unregistered users turn BTC or ETH into yen banknotes. Buying crypto requires a registered account, and the user card you need is posted to your address. On a two-week holiday that is not realistic.

To sell as a guest you need three things. First, an ICAO-compliant IC-chip passportA passport with an embedded chip that meets International Civil Aviation Organization standards. Most modern passports have the chip symbol on the cover.; residents of Japan use a My Number card instead. Second, a phone number that can receive an SMS code, since the machine texts you a six-digit code. A data-only eSIM may not work for this. Third, a self-custody walletA wallet where you control the keys yourself, such as a phone app or hardware device, rather than an account at an exchange. on your phone holding the coins. Gaia asks that machine transactions use a personal wallet; exchange wallets are only accepted for its web service. If you haven't set one up, our guide to crypto wallets in Japan explains the options.

1. Start as a guest

   Pick the option for users without a user card. Confirm you don't live in any of the countries listed on screen and that you are not a foreign politically exposed person, then accept the terms.

2. Verify your phone and ID

   Enter your country code and number, type the SMS code, scan your passport and complete a face check.

3. Choose the coin and amount

   Select BTC or ETH and how much yen you want, up to ¥100,000. The machine adds the 10% fee to the crypto you must send.

4. Send and collect

   Confirm that the wallet is yours, scan the on-screen QR code with your wallet, send the exact amount and take your cash once the transfer is confirmed.

Before you do this, ask whether you need crypto at all. If you just need yen, withdrawing with your home bank card at a Seven Bank ATM (found in 7-Eleven stores) is usually cheaper; Seven Bank accepts overseas-issued Visa, Mastercard, JCB, UnionPay and other cards, though not every card works. If you want to pay with crypto, overseas Binance Pay users can pay at PayPay merchants nationwide since 30 September 2026, and a few places accept bitcoin directly. Our guides to spending crypto in Japan and crypto for foreigners go through the options.

Crypto ATM scams: the one rule to remember

Abroad, crypto ATMs have become a favourite exit for fraudsters. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center counted more than 13,400 complaints involving crypto kiosks in the US in 2025, with losses above $388 million, up 58% on the year before. The script is almost always the same: someone posing as police, a government office or tech support tells the victim to withdraw cash, find a crypto ATM, feed in the notes and send the coins to an address they provide.

Japan sees the same pattern through social media. National Police Agency data for 2024 show that crypto was the payment method in about 12% of social-media investment scams and about 21% of romance scams. In August 2026 the FSA and the police asked the crypto industry to tighten anti-fraud controls, including holding periods before newly deposited funds can be sent out and pre-registered withdrawal addresses.

Gaia's own flow includes a check that the wallet belongs to the person at the machine, which is designed to catch exactly this kind of third-party instruction. Use that moment to think again.

Living in Japan? Skip the ATM

If you have a residence card and an address in Japan, an FSA-registered exchange will be far cheaper than any ATM. You can open an account from your phone with eKYCElectronic know-your-customer: verifying your identity online by photographing your ID and your face, often with an IC-chip read., fund it by bank transfer and buy from as little as ¥1 at some exchanges. Our step-by-step guide on how to buy bitcoin in Japan covers the residence card and My Number questions expats usually hit.

Prefer cash? Coincheck, BitTrade and Zaif accept convenience-store (konbini) deposits; at Coincheck it costs ¥770 under ¥30,000. You can also pay cash into your exchange account from a bank ATM, as long as the sender name matches yours. All the options are compared in ways to pay for crypto. Going the other way, selling on an exchange and withdrawing to your bank is the normal route; see how to cash out crypto to yen.

For tax residents of Japan, selling at an ATM is a taxable disposal just like selling on an exchange. The gain over your cost basis counts as miscellaneous incomeMiscellaneous income (雑所得, zatsu shotoku): added to salary and taxed at progressive rates, up to about 55% including resident tax.. Don't count on an annual transaction report from an ATM operator: keep the receipt, the date, the amount and the rate. Our Japan crypto tax guide explains the calculation; for your own situation, ask the tax office or a licensed tax accountant.

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