Money in Japan

One of the biggest adjustments to life in Japan is getting used to the money culture here. The exchange rate is quite easy at the moment. A yen is about equal to a penny, so you just remove 2 zeros to figure out the cost. For example, you can get 2 large apples at my local store for 400 yen (that's right--4 bucks for 2 friggin apples!) At the same store, however, I can get a bottle of local wine for 295 yen ($2.95). This is not necessarily lending itself to healthy eating on my part.
What is difficult, however, is my own money habits. In Fort Collins, I used to carry $10 or $20 in my wallet and conduct most transactions with my debit card. Japan is still a cash society, however. A few touristy places like hotels and expensive restaurants take foreign credit cards, but almost everyone uses cash all the time. I have taken to carrying 2 and 3 hundred dollars with me now. I have a cash card to use at the bank ATM's to withdraw money. These atm's are a little picky, however. They're not open all the time (my local one doesn't open till 8) so if I want money before I go to an early class, too bad. What really gets me is that if you go in on weekends, they charge you extra for the transaction. (These ATM's have to get home to their families too.)
When I first got to Japan, I figured it would be like Europe--atm's everywhere that would take my US debit card and deliver money. Not so. The only place that would take a foreign card was 7-11 stores. Thank God for them anyway. Prices are interesting. Restaurants are not that different from the US. There are cheap ones and expensive ones just like home. At first glance, the price for lunch looks a little high in a normal restaurant. But it isn't really because there is NO tipping in Japan. The price listed is the price you pay. It's very refreshing, and makes going out to eat a lot simpler than it is when you're trying to figure the tax and tip etc. Prices at the grocery stores seem high, particularly when you have foreign tastes as I do. But produce seems over the top here. I don't care--I bite the bullet and buy those expensive apples and strawberries. A lot of the produce here is dressed up in little bonnets. I've seen that at home also, but it gets ridiculous here. I want to eat the melon, not take it to church. One thing that amazed me when I first got here was the price of rice. I figured I should get a bag of rice since my place comes equipped with a rice cooker. I think I paid $16 for a bag of rice(maybe 2 pounds)--maybe about twice the size of a bag I would buy at home. Not cheap at all, particularly considering it is the staple here. Anyway, I'm getting used to all of this, and I can almost understand what they're saying when they tell me the cost. Luckily, I have the cash register to look at to be sure. All a learning process.