Japan changed how tax-free shopping works on November 1, 2026: you now pay the tax at the shop, and get it back after a customs check at the airport or seaport when you leave. This guide covers the steps, tips for anime shoppers, and which shops in our city guides are tax-free.
In short:
- Pay the price with tax at the shop, and show your passport.
- When you leave Japan, scan your passport at the airport’s tax refund kiosk.
- Keep everything you bought tax-free with you, and do this before you check in your bags.
Table of Contents
What changed
| Before November 1, 2026 | From November 1, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Tax was taken off at the till | You pay the price with tax, and get it back after a customs check when you leave Japan |
| Minimum spend | 5,000 yen (about US$32) before tax, same shop, same day | Same |
| Food and cosmetics | Separate rules, a 500,000 yen (about US$3,200) limit and sealed bags | No separate rules, no sealed bags |
Japan’s official leaflet calls the new system the Refund Method. We checked the Japan Tourism Agency, Japan Customs and National Tax Agency pages from Japan in November 2026. Dollar amounts are approximate, at the November 6, 2026 exchange rate.
Who can use it
- Foreign visitors with “Temporary Visitor” status (and a few other statuses) who entered Japan less than six months ago.
- Japanese citizens only if they have lived outside Japan for two years or more, with documents to show it.
At the shop
- Check each shop. Each shop needs its own permit, so one shop in a building may be tax-free and the one next to it may not.
- Some shops do it at the till. Others send you to a tax-free counter. If it’s a counter, go there on the day you buy.
- Show your passport. You need to spend 5,000 yen (about US$32) or more before tax at the same shop on the same day.
- Ask how the refund works. The steps differ by shop, so ask when you pay.
When you leave Japan
- Within 90 days of buying. Do it at the airport or seaport you leave from.
- Before you check in your bags. Scan your passport at the tax refund kiosk. Bags you have already checked in can’t be taken back out for this.
- Green or red. Green means you’re done. Red means you go to the customs inspection area and show your goods.
- Online at some airports. At Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, New Chitose and Naha, only visitors with “Temporary Visitor” status (and diplomats and officials) can use Visit Japan Web on their phone instead of the kiosk. Do it before the security check, and before you check in your bags.
- Flying out via another Japanese airport? Do it at the airport where your international flight leaves. Carry your tax-free goods as hand luggage on the domestic flight, or collect your checked bags there.
- Every item on a receipt counts. If one item from a receipt is missing, you get nothing back for that whole receipt.
- Food, drinks and cosmetics you used in Japan don’t get a refund.
If you don’t take the goods out of Japan after the customs check, the tax is charged back.
The Japan Customs English guide has the full steps.
For anime fans
- Big figure boxes too. Everything you bought tax-free has to be with you at the kiosk. After the customs check, you can put them in your checked bags or carry them on.
- Don’t post tax-free goods home before you leave. If you send them separately before the customs check, you get no refund.
- Small buys add up only in the same shop. The 5,000 yen is per shop, per day. But if several shops use the same tax-free counter, your buys from them on the same day can be added together there.
- Shipping from the shop is different. If a shop sends your order straight to your home outside Japan, it’s an export and Japanese consumption tax isn’t charged. See Which Japanese Anime Stores Ship Internationally?
Which anime shops are tax-free
These are the shops in our city guides that mark tax-free shopping on their own page, or that their building’s list marks. We checked from Japan in November 2026. Marks can change, so ask at the shop.
| Area | Marked tax-free |
|---|---|
| Akihabara | animate, MELONBOOKS, Lashinbang and Bic Camera (store pages). SURUGA-YA’s three stores in the guide (SURUGA-YA’s list of tax-free stores). Tax-free help: akimoba, a tourist center |
| Ikebukuro | animate, Lashinbang Ikebukuro Character Palace, MELONBOOKS and Bic Camera (store pages). SURUGA-YA Ikebukuro Character Goods Store. In Sunshine City: ONE PIECE MUGIWARA STORE, the Crayon Shin-chan store and Donguri Republic (Sunshine City’s list) |
| Tokyo Station | Most shops on Tokyo Character Street (official shop list), not GASHAPON BANDAI OFFICIAL SHOP. A Tax-free Counter on First Avenue Tokyo Station 1F. Bic Camera Yurakucho Store (store page) |
| Odaiba | Lashinbang (store page). A PIE VAT Station counter in each of DiverCity Tokyo Plaza, DECKS Tokyo Beach and AQUA CiTY ODAIBA, for the mall’s partner shops |
| Tokyo: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Nakano and more | animate Shinjuku, animate Shibuya, MELONBOOKS, Lashinbang and Bic Camera (store pages). SURUGA-YA Shinjuku Marui Annex Store. Shibuya PARCO: Pokémon Center SHIBUYA, CAPCOM STORE TOKYO, THE GUNDAM BASE SHIBUYA, RADIO EVA STORE. MAGNET by SHIBUYA109: ONE PIECE MUGIWARA STORE, MEDICOS SHOP, the Crayon Shin-chan shop and Bandai Namco Cross Store; the building has a tax-free counter on B2F. Shinjuku Marui Annex: tax refund floor on 8F |
| Osaka and Kyoto | animate Osaka Nippombashi, MELONBOOKS, Lashinbang, Bic Camera Namba Store and Joshin Super Kids Land Main Store (store pages or ads). SURUGA-YA’s four stores in the guide. Shinsaibashi PARCO and Daimaru Shinsaibashi mark it shop by shop. At Kyoto Takashimaya S.C. T8, Kyoto IP Shoten and Mandarake Kyoto Store handle it in the shop |
We didn’t find a tax-free mark for the Nintendo stores, Mandarake (except the Kyoto store), Yodobashi Camera, or animate in Odaiba, Umeda and Kyoto. Ask at the shop.
What we haven’t verified
We live in Japan, so we can’t go through the departure check or receive a refund ourselves. We haven’t verified:
- How refunds reach you, and how long they take (this depends on the shop)
- Whether shops without a tax-free mark offer tax-free shopping
- Whether the shop marks above are still the same after November 2026
- How long the airport check takes
If something here has changed, please tell us through the Contact page.
Keep exploring
- Where to Buy Anime Merch in Japan: Anime Stores City by City
- Akihabara Anime Shops: Where to Go, Building by Building
- Ikebukuro Anime Stores: Sunshine City and the East Exit
- Tokyo Character Street: Anime and TV Shops Inside Tokyo Station
- Odaiba Anime Stores: Three Malls by the Bay
- Anime Shops in Tokyo: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Nakano Broadway and More
- Anime Shops in Osaka and Kyoto: Den Den Town, Umeda and the Nintendo Museum
- Which Japanese Anime Stores Ship Internationally? We Checked 20 Online Shops
