Nakamise-dori, Asakusa · Photo: Maarten Heerlien from Voorschoten, The Netherlands (CC BY 2.0)

About this guide

An independent, free guide to Japan’s tax refund system for visitors, written in Japan.

We are not the Japanese government, Japan Customs, a tax-free shop or a refund company, and we do not process refunds. If your refund is late or missing, contact the shop or the refund company named on your receipt.

Every page is checked against the official guidance published by the Japan Tourism Agency and the Visit Japan Web service. The date of the last check is shown at the bottom of each page. Each shop chooses its own refund methods and fees, so details there can differ from what we describe.

Found a mistake or have a question that is not covered? Email hello@jptaxrefund.com.

Photo credits

Photos from Wikimedia Commons, cropped and resized. Each is used under the licence shown.