Japan's Tourist Taxes in 2026

Japan remains relatively affordable for international visitors, helped by a weak yen — but in 2026 two kinds of tourist tax are rising and spreading. There's a one-off departure tax you pay on the way out, and a growing patchwork of per-night accommodation taxes levied by individual cities and prefectures. Neither will break a trip, but they add up over several nights and across a group, so it's worth folding them into your budget.

The departure tax (rising July 2026)

Everyone leaving Japan pays an International Tourist Tax. From July 2026 it triples to ¥3,000 per person (up from ¥1,000), regardless of age or nationality. You rarely pay it directly — it's almost always bundled into your airline or ferry ticket price, so you may not even see it as a separate line. Budget ¥3,000 per traveller for the trip home.

Accommodation taxes, city by city

Accommodation (or "lodging") taxes are charged per person, per night, and they're expanding nationwide in 2026 — increasingly including licensed private lodging (minpaku), not just hotels. Rates and brackets vary by destination and usually scale with your room price.

Destination	What to expect
Kyoto	Japan's highest, from March 2026: roughly ¥1,000–4,000 per person per night for mid-range stays, up to ¥10,000 at luxury hotels.
Tokyo	A per-night accommodation tax that now also applies to licensed private lodging (minpaku).
Osaka	A per-night accommodation tax, likewise extended to licensed private lodging.
Hokkaido	A sliding scale that varies with the nightly rate.
Okinawa	A 2% rate on accommodation from FY2026.
Hiroshima	Adding an accommodation levy, joining a growing list of regions.

These taxes are normally collected by your hotel or host at check-in or check-out and aren't always shown in the headline room price you booked online. Ask, or read the booking conditions, so you're not caught out — especially in Kyoto, where the top brackets are steep.

What to budget

For a typical mid-range trip, a sensible rule of thumb:

Departure: ¥3,000 per person, once (from July 2026).
Per night: anywhere from a few hundred yen to several thousand, depending on city and room class — most in Kyoto.
Worst case to plan for: a multi-night luxury stay in Kyoto, where the lodging tax alone can reach ¥10,000 per person per night.

For two people on a week-long trip split between Tokyo and Kyoto, expect the combined accommodation taxes to run somewhere from a modest sum to a meaningful one if you're staying upmarket — small relative to the trip, but not nothing. See our Kyoto guide for the city's specifics.

FAQ

Do children pay these taxes? The departure tax applies to all travellers. Accommodation tax rules on children vary by city, so check the local policy where you're staying.

Will I be asked to pay the departure tax at the airport? Almost never — it's typically collected as part of your airfare. You won't queue to pay it separately.

Is the accommodation tax per room or per person? Per person, per night. A family or group will pay it for each traveller, which is why it adds up faster than a single room rate suggests.

Are these taxes refundable or avoidable? No. They're government levies, not optional fees, and aren't part of the tax-free shopping refund scheme for goods.