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Japan's new tax refund system from November 1, 2026
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What you can and cannot buy tax-free in Japan

Almost any goods you take out of Japan qualify, as long as you buy them at a licensed tax-free shop and spend at least ¥5,000 before tax there on the same day. The exceptions are few, and two of them changed on 1 November 2026.

By Mikako Yoshida ·Published 18 October 2026

What you can and cannot buy tax-free in Japan
Tax-free sign, Okinawa · Photo: Naha Mama Pavilionz (CC0)

Common questions

ItemTax-free?Notes
Clothes, shoes, bags, cosmetics, electronicsYesFood, drinks and cosmetics must not be used up in Japan.
iPhone and other smartphonesYesNo special rule: a phone is treated like other goods. Items of ¥1,000,000 or more before tax need extra details recorded.
Gold or platinum bullionNoExcluded by law.
Gold or platinum coinsNoExcluded for purchases from 1 November 2026.
Jewellery made of gold or platinumYesFinished products made from gold or platinum qualify.
Restaurant meals, hotel stays, servicesNoThe system covers goods you take out of Japan, not services used in Japan.
Gift cards and prepaid cardsNoThey are not subject to consumption tax in the first place.
Goods for your business or to resellYes, from 1 November 2026The business-use exclusion was removed. You can buy only as much as you can carry out yourself.
Skincare on a Japanese drugstore shelf
Skincare on a Japanese drugstore shelf · Photo: 毒島みるく (CC0)

It has to be a tax-free shop

Only shops licensed by the tax office as tax-free shops can sell tax-free. The licence is given shop by shop, so one branch of a chain may offer it and another may not. Look for the tax-free sign or ask before you pay.

The Japan Tourism Agency publishes the number of tax-free shops in each prefecture, but no official list of individual shops.

The ¥5,000 minimum

You need to spend at least ¥5,000 before tax at the same shop on the same day. General goods and consumables now count together. There is no upper limit, except that you must be able to take everything out of Japan yourself.

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

Not sure about a shop?

Ask before you pay whether the shop sells tax-free, which refund method it uses and whether there is a fee. The answer can differ between branches of the same chain.

Sake bottles at Hirome Market, Kochi
Sake bottles at Hirome Market, Kochi · Photo: NevinThompson (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Related guides

Who qualifiesVisitors, Japanese citizens living abroad, documents to show.Refund calculatorHow much tax is in the price, and what you get back.Refund methods and feesHow the money comes back, and the fees shops have announced.

Read this next

US customs allowance when you return from JapanReturning to the US from Japan: US$800 duty-free per person, a 3% flat rate on the next US$1,000, 1 liter of alcohol, 200 cigarettes and USDA food rules.Can you open, use or check in tax-free items?Yes, you can open them. Clothes, bags and electronics may be used in Japan; food and cosmetics must not be used up. Do the customs check before checking bags.Luxury watches, bags and jewellery over ¥1,000,000: getting the tax backFrom 1 November 2026, items of ¥1,000,000 or more before tax need extra details on the tax-free record: what the shop records and what you should keep.Don Quijote tax-free shopping from 1 November 2026Tax-free shopping at Don Quijote (Donki) from 1 November 2026: no refund fee except airport cash, the 5% and 7% visitor coupon, passport and card rules.

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