Tax-free customs check on departure day (airport or port)

Before you leave for the airport

• •Make sure you leave Japan within 90 days, counting from the day after purchase. The calculator shows your deadline.
• •Keep your tax-free items together and easy to take out, so you can show them to customs right away if an inspection is required.
• •If you plan to use Visit Japan Web, register your passport details in advance.
• •If you ate or used any tax-free items before leaving, you must report it at the customs counter instead of using the terminal. Leave plenty of time.

At the airport or port

1. 1Go to the international departure lobby. The tax-free terminals and the customs inspection area are in the area before baggage check-in.
2. 2Scan your passport at a tax-free terminal. The result appears within a few seconds.
3. 3At 7 airports (Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, New Chitose and Naha), you can use Visit Japan Web instead of a terminal. Do it in the departure lobby, within range of the dedicated Wi-Fi, before the security checkpoint.
4. 4If no inspection is needed, the customs check is done. If an inspection is required, show your tax-free items to a customs officer.
5. 5After the customs check, check in your bags at the airline counter, then go through security and immigration.
6. 6Once the store receives the customs confirmation, the refund is paid by the method you registered when you shopped.

Special cases

• •Connecting from a domestic flight to an international flight: do the check at the last airport you leave Japan from.
• •Leaving on a cruise ship that started or ends outside Japan: do the check at the last port in Japan, before handing over your luggage.
• •Fly & cruise departing Japan: do the check at the airport you leave from, before checking in your bags. No check is needed when you leave at a port of call during the cruise.
• •You ate or used some tax-free items: you can't use the terminal. Report it to a customs officer at the counter. If even one item from a purchase is missing, that whole purchase is not refunded.
• •Items costing 1 million yen or more each (before tax): you may be asked to show a certificate of appraisal or a warranty.