What to do at the airport to get your tax-free refund

The customs step takes seconds when it goes well. It must come before baggage drop, with every tax-free item in your hands.

Checked against official sources on 11 October 2026.

Before you leave for the airport

Keep the tax-free goods and their receipts out of your suitcase for now, so you can reach them. Have your passport ready. If you bought tax-free goods on an earlier passport, bring both passports.[source]

The deadline is 90 days after the purchase date. Use the checker to see the last day for each receipt.[source]

Step by step

Go to the international departure lobby of the airport where you leave Japan for good. If you fly a domestic leg first and connect, you do this at the international departure airport.[source]
Do not check your bags yet. The tax-free terminal (免税手続用の端末, menzei tetsuzuki-yō no tanmatsu), either a kiosk or an electronic terminal, sits in the lobby before baggage drop. Once a bag is checked, you cannot complete the step.[source]
Have every tax-free item with you. All items from a receipt, or none of that receipt counts.[source]
Scan your passport at the terminal. The terminal reads it and shows a result within seconds.[source]
Green result: you are done. Red result: go to the customs inspection counter and show the goods. Officers may ask to see your receipts, so keep them together.[source]
Then check your bags and carry on to security and boarding.

If you leave an inspection early to catch your flight, the confirmation does not count. Missing a flight because of the wait is not compensated by the airline or by Customs.[source] The sources give no standard waiting time, so leave more room than you think you need.

If you used up some of the goods

Do not use the terminal for that receipt. Tell a customs officer at the counter instead.[source] Because confirmation works per receipt, a receipt with a consumed item is not confirmed.[source]

Confirming on your phone at seven airports

At Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, New Chitose, Fukuoka and Naha, you can confirm online with Visit Japan Web instead of the terminal. You must be inside the departure lobby's dedicated Wi-Fi area, before the security check, and you must have registered in Visit Japan Web first.[source] The online route also shows your purchase records, which the terminal does not.

Cruise passengers

On a cruise that starts or ends outside Japan, do the step at the last Japanese port of call before you leave. If you fly in and out of a Japan-based cruise, do it at the airport and not during the cruise.[source]

Items worth ¥1 million or more

Keep the certificate or warranty with the item. Customs may ask for it.[source]

After you leave Japan

Goods that Customs confirmed must leave the country. If they stay in Japan, the exempted tax is collected from you, and a penalty can apply.[source] The refund comes from the shop or its provider, by a method the shop chooses.[source]