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Bic Camera tax-free shopping from 1 November 2026

Bic Camera is where many visitors buy cameras, appliances, cosmetics and medicines. From 1 November 2026 you pay the tax in the store and get it back after the customs check when you leave Japan. Here is what is confirmed and what has only been reported, as of 21 October 2026.

By Mikako Yoshida ·Published 21 October 2026

Bic Camera tax-free shopping from 1 November 2026
Shibuya, Tokyo · Photo: Syced (CC0)

What is known (as of 21 October 2026)

TopicWhat appliesSource
Refund feeReported to be free for refunds to a card. Cash at the airport may cost the counter’s own fee.News reports, 7–19 October 2026; not yet on Bic Camera’s website
Refund systemReported to be J-TaxRefund, run by J&J Tax FreeNews reports
Minimum spend¥5,000 before tax at the same store on the same dayJapan Tourism Agency
PassportShow your passport when you payBic Camera coupon page on LIVE JAPAN
AlcoholPaid at a separate, designated checkoutBic Camera coupon page on LIVE JAPAN
Coupon from NovemberNot published yet. LIVE JAPAN says it will post it on the same page.LIVE JAPAN, 9 October 2026
Bic Camera in Yurakucho, Tokyo
Bic Camera in Yurakucho, Tokyo · Photo: Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan (CC BY 2.0)

Refund fee and J-TaxRefund

Several news outlets in Taiwan and Hong Kong reported in October 2026 that Bic Camera will pay the refund fee itself, so a refund to your credit card costs you nothing. Taking the refund as cash at the airport may still cost the airport counter’s fee, and the amount you receive can change with card fees and exchange rates. Bic Camera has not published this on its own website yet, and the reports say the offer can change without notice.

The same reports say Bic Camera uses J&J Tax Free’s J-TaxRefund system, which Tsuruha drugstores and Takeya in Ueno also use. Its website for travellers had not opened by 19 October 2026, so follow the instructions on your receipt or from the staff.

The visitor coupon

  • Until 31 October 2026, Bic Camera’s coupon on LIVE JAPAN gives 7% off appliances, cameras, watches, toys and contact lenses, 5% off medicines, cosmetics, daily goods and food, and 3% off Japanese sake, on purchases of ¥5,000 or more before tax.
  • Purchases from 1 November are not covered. LIVE JAPAN says the new coupon will be posted on the same page: Bic Camera coupon on LIVE JAPAN.
  • Show the coupon on your phone before you pay. It cannot be combined with other discounts.
  • Excluded items include Apple products, game consoles and games, and some watch, camera and drone brands. The English and Japanese pages list slightly different exclusions, so check on the day.
  • It works at Bic Camera and Kojima stores across Japan, with a few exceptions listed on the page.

Big stores visitors use

In Tokyo: the Ikebukuro Main Store, BicCamera AKIBA in Akihabara, Yurakucho, Shinjuku East Exit, Shinjuku West Exit and Shibuya. In Osaka: Namba. Larger stores have their own tax-free tills, often on one floor, so ask where to pay before you queue.

Useful before you fly

eSIM for Japan, installed before you leave home

Airalo Saily Yesim

JR Pass and Shinkansen tickets

Klook KKday

Airport transfer when you have a lot of shopping bags

Klook Trip.com Welcome Pickups

Luggage storage in Tokyo for the hours before an evening flight

Radical Storage

Hotels in Japan

Klook Trip.com

Coupons

Expensive cameras and watches

From 1 November, for any single item of ¥1,000,000 or more the shop records extra details, and for watches and similar goods the serial number. Customs may check that the item you show matches the record.

Before you leave the store

  • Keep the receipt and register your refund method the way the staff explain.
  • Keep everything from one receipt together until the customs check.
  • Do not open and use medicines or cosmetics before you leave Japan.
  • At the airport, do the kiosk check before you check in any bag.

For your departure day

Related guides

Visitor couponsOfficial coupons from electronics stores, drugstores and department stores.Refund methods and feesHow the money comes back, and the fees shops have announced.At the airportWhere the kiosks are and what green and red mean.

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