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What taxes do visitors pay in Japan in 2026, beyond the price of things?

By Gallivanting GadaboutResearched, not travelledSources: National Tax Agency, Japan Tourism Agency, MIC, and the Kyoto and Tokyo ordinances, checked 24 Sep 2026
TL;DR

Almost everyone leaving Japan by air or sea pays the International Tourist Tax, which rose from ¥1,000 to ¥3,000 per departure on 1 July 2026 and is normally added to the ticket. Some cities also charge an accommodation tax: in Kyoto it is ¥200 to ¥10,000 per guest per night, depending on the accommodation charge.124 Check the latest: National Tax Agency, No.7195 国際観光旅客税のあらまし

Check the latest before you rely on it. Rates, limits and rules change, and some figures on this page may be out of date. Each amount links to the official page it comes from: check the current figure there before you travel, pay or declare anything. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice, and to the extent the law allows we accept no liability for any loss or problem arising from its use.

What is the International Tourist Tax, and how much is it?

The International Tourist Tax is charged on passengers leaving Japan by ship or aircraft, whatever the purpose of the trip: tourism, business, official duties, work, study or medical treatment all count.1

The rate is ¥3,000 per departure. It went up from ¥1,000 on 1 July 2026, and the Japan Tourism Agency says the money goes to three areas: making travel smoother and more comfortable, making information on Japan's attractions easier to find, and developing tourism resources based on local culture and nature.123 Check the latest: National Tax Agency, No.7195 国際観光旅客税のあらまし

As a rule, the airline or shipping company collects the tax, for example by adding it to the ticket price, and pays it to the state. If you leave on a private jet, you pay it yourself at the customs office of the port of departure before boarding.1

Does a ticket bought before 1 July 2026 still pay ¥1,000?

Usually yes, under a transitional rule. A departure on or after 1 July 2026 pays the old ¥1,000 rate if the travel contract was made before that date and the departure date was already fixed then.2 Check the latest: National Tax Agency, 国際観光旅客税に関するＱ＆Ａ

The new ¥3,000 rate applies instead if the ticket was open-dated and you set the departure date on or after 1 July 2026, if you change the departure date on or after that day, or if the tax is collected separately from the fare.2 Check the latest: National Tax Agency, 国際観光旅客税に関するＱ＆Ａ

Who does not pay it?

  • Children under two.13
  • Some transit passengers travelling by air. The conditions are set out in question 12 of the National Tax Agency's Q&A on the tax (in Japanese).12
  • Ship and aircraft crew.1
  • Passengers who return to Japan without calling anywhere abroad because of the weather or other unavoidable reasons.1
  • Diplomats and consular officials posted to Japan (on official business), state guests and some others listed by the National Tax Agency.1

How much is Kyoto's accommodation tax?

Kyoto City charges an accommodation tax on each guest for each night in hotels, inns and registered private lodgings. The amount depends on the accommodation charge (宿泊料金), which the ordinance leaves to be defined separately.4

Kyoto City accommodation tax per guest per night, under Article 5 of the city's ordinance
Accommodation chargeTax
Under ¥6,000¥2004
¥6,000 to under ¥20,000¥4004
¥20,000 to under ¥50,000¥1,0004
¥50,000 to under ¥100,000¥4,0004
¥100,000 or more¥10,0004

Amounts in this table change. Check the latest: Kyoto City, 京都市宿泊税条例

These rates apply to stays from 1 March 2026, under an amendment to the ordinance.4 The accommodation collects the tax from guests.4

Pupils on school trips run by their school (but not university students), certain preschool children on trips run by their nursery, and the adults leading these trips are exempt.4

How much is Tokyo's accommodation tax?

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government charges guests in hotels and inns ¥100 per person per night when the accommodation charge is under ¥15,000, and ¥200 when it is ¥15,000 or more. Stays under ¥10,000 per person per night are not taxed.57 Check the latest: Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 東京都宿泊税条例

Tokyo has amended the ordinance, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications consented to the change on 30 June 2026. The amendment was not yet in force when we checked, so the rates above are the ones then in force.58 Tokyo's amended accommodation-tax ordinance takes effect on 1 April 2027, according to the supplementary provisions in the official ordinance text (in Japanese); it changes the tax rate and the accommodation charge below which stays are not taxed, and the ministry's one-page summary of the Tokyo change (PDF, in Japanese) gives the new figures.69

Check the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's current rates before you travel.

Which other places are adding an accommodation tax?

On 30 June 2026 the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced that, after consultation by the local governments concerned, it had consented to new accommodation taxes in Tomakomai, Kitahiroshima, Wakkanai, Yamagata City, Fujiyoshida, Fujikawaguchiko and Nago, and to the change in Tokyo.8

The ministry's announcement links a one-page summary for each place, in Japanese, which gives among other things the tax rate and the date its ordinance is due to take effect. Apart from Tokyo's start date, we do not repeat them here; check the summary for the place you are visiting, and the local government's own ordinance, before you travel.89

What this page cannot tell you

  • Only places we could source properly. We give rates only for Kyoto and Tokyo, from the ordinances in their official ordinance databases. For the places in the ministry's June 2026 announcement, see its summaries, linked above; for anywhere else, check with the local government.
  • Rates change. The ministry consented to seven new accommodation taxes and one change on a single day in June 2026. Check the local government's ordinance before you travel.
  • How the accommodation charge is measured (for example, whether meals are included) is left to Kyoto's and Tokyo's own rules, which we did not summarise.
  • Not tax advice. We summarise the official texts; the tax office or city decides individual cases.

Related: How does Japan's tax-free shopping change on 1 November 2026? · When is Kyoto quietest? Guest nights by month · Kyoto or Osaka? When each is busy and quiet.

Key takeaways

Sources

The departure tax comes from the National Tax Agency's outline and Q&A (revised April 2026) and the Japan Tourism Agency's leaflet; the accommodation taxes come from the Kyoto City and Tokyo ordinances as published in their ordinance databases, and from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' press release of 30 June 2026. All were read in Japanese on 24 September 2026; the ministry's release and its attached summaries, and the Tokyo ordinance's 2027 start date, were read on 28 September 2026. See how we research.

  1. National Tax Agency, No.7195 国際観光旅客税のあらまし (outline of the International Tourist Tax), as of 1 July 2026. Read it. Accessed 24 September 2026. 出典：国税庁ホームページ（https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/taxanswer/inshi/7195.htm）
  2. National Tax Agency, 国際観光旅客税に関するＱ＆Ａ (Q&A on the International Tourist Tax), April 2018, revised April 2026 (PDF). Read it. Accessed 24 September 2026. 出典：国税庁ホームページ（https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/kansetsu/kanko/pdf/01.pdf）
  3. Japan Tourism Agency, leaflet 日本から出国される方へ (to people leaving Japan) on the tax rise (PDF). Read it. Accessed 24 September 2026. 出典：「日本から出国される方へ」（観光庁）（https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/content/001996464.pdf）
  4. Kyoto City, 京都市宿泊税条例 (Kyoto City Accommodation Tax Ordinance, 2018 Ordinance No. 20, as amended), in the Kyoto City ordinance database linked from the city's ordinances page. Read it. Accessed 24 September 2026. Ordinance text; under Article 13 of Japan's Copyright Act, laws and local ordinances are not subject to copyright.
  5. Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 東京都宿泊税条例 (Tokyo Metropolitan Accommodation Tax Ordinance, 2002 Ordinance No. 111, as amended), Tokyo ordinance database. Read it. Accessed 24 September 2026. Ordinance text; under Article 13 of Japan's Copyright Act, laws and local ordinances are not subject to copyright.
  6. Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 東京都宿泊税条例, supplementary provisions of the 2026 amendment (令和八年条例第七一号), with the database note that Rule No. 128 of 2026 brings it into force on 1 April 2027 (令和八年規則第一二八号で令和九年四月一日から施行). Read it. Accessed 28 September 2026. Ordinance text; under Article 13 of Japan's Copyright Act, laws and local ordinances are not subject to copyright.
  7. Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Ordinance on Lodging Tax, bilingual Japanese and English text (PDF). Read it. Accessed 24 September 2026. Ordinance text and its official translation; under Article 13 of Japan's Copyright Act these are not subject to copyright. The Japanese text is the authoritative one.
  8. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, press release 「宿泊税」の新設・変更 (new and changed accommodation taxes), 30 June 2026. Read it. Accessed 24 September 2026; re-checked 28 September 2026. 出典：総務省ホームページ（https://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/01zeimu02_02000463.html）
  9. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, one-page summaries attached to the press release 「宿泊税」の新設・変更 of 30 June 2026 (PDFs, in Japanese): Tomakomai City, Hokkaido, Kitahiroshima City, Hokkaido, Wakkanai City, Hokkaido, Yamagata City, Yamagata, Fujiyoshida City, Yamanashi, Fujikawaguchiko Town, Yamanashi, Nago City, Okinawa, Tokyo Metropolitan Government (change). Accessed 28 September 2026. 出典：総務省ホームページ（https://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/01zeimu02_02000463.html）

Changes made. We translated the Japanese texts into English, summarised them in our own words and arranged Kyoto's rates into a table. 「No.7195 国際観光旅客税のあらまし」（国税庁）（https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/taxanswer/inshi/7195.htm）を加工して作成。「国際観光旅客税に関するＱ＆Ａ」（国税庁）（https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/kansetsu/kanko/pdf/01.pdf）を加工して作成。「日本から出国される方へ」（観光庁）（https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/content/001996464.pdf）を加工して作成。「「宿泊税」の新設・変更」（総務省）（https://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/01zeimu02_02000463.html）及び同別紙を加工して作成。Edits by Gallivanting Gadabout. The ordinance texts are outside copyright under Article 13 of Japan's Copyright Act; we did not use the Kyoto City or Tokyo tax bureau web pages, whose terms reserve all rights. Not tax advice.