Receipts pile up quickly
Paper receipts are easy to crease, lose, or mix together during a busy trip. If you shop in several places, it gets hard to remember what belongs to which store.
🐾 Your Japan Refund Companion🐾
Plan well.
Travel lucky.
Shopping in Japan can be fun and fast, but tax refund
prep not so much.
Don’t Lose Your Refund!
Tabikin helps you keep receipts, purchase details and QR images in one easy-to-manage place for an organized calm refund experience.
Join the early access listJapan refund method
Pay tax at the shop. Customs checks the goods when you leave.
The minimum is ¥5,000 before tax at the same store on the same day. The limit is what you can carry out yourself. Gold and platinum bars and coins are not eligible. At the store, choose your refund and set it up then: card, bank transfer, an app, or cash at the airport.
The customs check is due within 90 days of each purchase, counting from the next day. Do it before bag drop, at your final departure airport only, and keep the goods with you until you have the kiosk result. Checked bags cannot be retrieved after a red result. A kiosk passport scan, or Visit Japan Web on the airport tax-free Wi-Fi, can show green or red. Green finishes the customs check for a card, bank, or app refund. If you chose cash, go on to the refund machine. Red means the customs counter. Used any consumables? Skip the kiosk and see an officer. If any item is missing or used, the whole receipt fails.
Card, bank, and app refunds are paid after departure by the store or its refund company. There is no official timeline. A refund-company fee may be deducted, and a store may set its own claim deadline. The government does not charge a fee. Same-day cash is available at Self Tax Refund machines at Haneda, Narita, and Naha, after the customs kiosk. For an item of ¥1,000,000 or more before tax, customs may ask for a certificate of authenticity or warranty.
THE PROBLEM
Items need to stay traceable
When purchases may need verification later, travelers want a clean record of what they bought, where they bought it, and whether those items are packed and easy to locate.
Departure day is stressful
The customs check is before bag drop, at the final airport. Green finishes that check for a card, bank, or app refund. Cash continues to a refund machine. Organized receipts, deadlines, and a simple checklist make that stop calmer.
THE SOLUTION
Tabikin is your cheerful travel companion!
Helping you stay organized without feeling intimidated.
Capture as you go
Save receipt photos, reference numbers, purchase details, and QR images while you are still in the shop or right after you leave.
Understand what’s at stake
Track tax-inclusive totals, estimated refund amounts, and purchase status so you have a clearer idea of what to bring and what to expect later.
Stay calm and enjoy your trip
Instead of trying to reconstruct everything at the airport, travelers can keep their shopping records in one place and focus more on enjoying Japan.