Handbook · leaving Japan · 出発

Your last 24 hours

Tax-free changes on 1 November 2026, the suitcase can go to the airport without you, and the IC card has a deposit to collect. The way out, from the people who run it.

01 · Tax-free, from 1 November 2026

Pay the tax, get it back at the airport

For purchases made on or after 1 November 2026, Japan switches to the Refund Method: you pay the price with tax in the shop, and the tax comes back after customs at your departure airport confirms the goods are leaving Japan.

  1. ¥5,000
    In the shop

    Purchases of ¥5,000 or more (before tax) in one shop on one day are eligible. You pay the tax-inclusive price; show the documents the shop asks for.

    Japan Tourism Agency, the Refund Method page for travelers ↗checked 1 October 2026

  2. 90 days
    At the airport, before you check in

    Within 90 days of the purchase, scan your passport at a tax-free procedure terminal in the international departure lobby. The terminals and the customs area are before baggage check-in, and you must have all your tax-free goods with you: it cannot be done once the bags are checked.

    Japan Tourism Agency, the Refund Method page for travelers ↗checked 1 October 2026

  3. Green or red

    Green on the terminal: done. Red: take the tax-free goods to the customs inspection area. At Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, New Chitose and Naha you can also do it in Visit Japan Web over the dedicated Wi-Fi in the departure lobby, up to security.

    Japan Tourism Agency, the Refund Method page for travelers ↗checked 1 October 2026

  4. Who pays the money back

    Each tax-free shop, or a refund service it has appointed. Ask the shop how it pays when you buy.

    Japan Tourism Agency, the Refund Method page for travelers ↗checked 1 October 2026

  5. Already eaten it?

    If you have used up some of what you bought (food or drink) and no longer have it, do not do the tax-free procedure: report it to a customs officer.

    Japan Tourism Agency, the Refund Method page for travelers ↗checked 1 October 2026

  6. Bought before 1 November?

    Purchases until 31 October 2026 stay under the old rule: the tax is taken off in the shop.

    Japan Tourism Agency, the Refund Method page for travelers ↗checked 1 October 2026

  7. Posting it home yourself

    Since 1 April 2025, items you send overseas yourself by international parcel are not tax-free. If the shop ships them directly, they can be.

    JNTO, Japan's Tax Exemption ↗checked 1 October 2026

02 · The suitcase

Send it ahead, fly with a small bag

The airport delivery companies pick up from the hotel or a shop counter and hand the case back at the airport on the day you fly.

  1. 2 days
    Yamato Airport TA-Q-BIN: when

    Drop the bag off by two days before your departure (three in some areas), by the counter's own sending deadline; it is at the airport by the day before, and you collect it at the counter on the day. Parcels over 30 kg are not accepted.

    Yamato Transport, Airport TA-Q-BIN (English) ↗checked 1 October 2026

  2. ¥660
    Yamato: the airport fee

    Yamato's rates to the airport already include this fee for sending a parcel to the airport.

    Yamato Transport, Airport TA-Q-BIN (English) ↗checked 1 October 2026

  3. ¥2,700
    JAL ABC: Tokyo area to Narita, a size 120 case

    A driver picks the case up at your hotel at the booked time and gives you the slip you need to collect it at the airport. Size 160 is ¥3,580.

    JAL ABC, Sending luggage to the airport ↗checked 1 October 2026

03 · The IC card

The deposit, and what is left on it

  1. ¥500
    A regular Suica: return it

    The deposit for the card itself comes back if you return the card.

    JR East, official English site ↗checked 23 September 2026

  2. TOURIST PASMO

    The visitors' card sold at the airport has no deposit to get back: spend what is on it before you go.

    PASMO Committee press release, 17 April 2026 ↗checked 23 September 2026

04 · To the airport

The way in, run the other way

  1. Trains and buses to Narita, Haneda, Kansai and New Chitose

    Every way in on our first-24-hours page runs back to the airport too, from the same stations, with each operator's own page.

    The ways in and out
  2. Leaving from Shibuya late?

    The last JR trains from Shibuya, from JR East's own timetable.

    The last trains

The rules are the operators' and the government's, in their words; when they change, this page changes. Every line names where it comes from; the newest was checked 1 October 2026.