Japan refund method

How the Japan refund method works

You pay the tax-inclusive price at the shop and set up the refund there. Customs confirms the goods are leaving Japan. Card, bank, and app refunds are paid after that check by the store or its refund company. Cash can be the same day at an airport machine. Tabikin does not promise a payment method or a date.

The rules that apply

One method for every purchase you track in Tabikin.

Refund method

What to know before you shop

Minimum: ¥5,000 before tax at the same store on the same day.
The limit is what you can carry out of Japan yourself.
Gold and platinum bars and coins are not eligible.
Do not open or use the items. If any item on a receipt is missing or used, the whole receipt fails. Used any consumables? See an officer instead of the kiosk.
At the store, choose card, bank transfer, an app, or cash at the airport, and set that method up before you leave the counter.
A refund-company fee may be deducted. A store may set a claim deadline. The government does not charge a fee.
An item of ¥1,000,000 or more before tax: customs may ask for a certificate of authenticity or warranty.

Step by step

From the shop to your final departure airport.

Shop and pay the tax-inclusive price

At a participating shop, show your passport. You pay the price including Japanese consumption tax, and the shop records the purchase. Ask how you will get the refund and set it up then: card, bank transfer, an app, or cash at the airport. Keep the receipt, the refund company name, and any fee or claim deadline they give you.

Leave the items unopened

Do not open or use them in Japan. One receipt is all-or-nothing. Used any consumables? See an officer instead of the kiosk.

Watch each receipt’s 90-day deadline

The customs check is due within 90 days of purchase, counting from the next day. A November 1 purchase is due by January 30. If your departure is after a receipt’s deadline, that receipt cannot be checked on this trip.

Check before bag drop, at the final airport only

Do this at the last airport where you leave Japan, before you drop checked bags, with the goods on hand. Scan your passport at a kiosk, or use Visit Japan Web on the airport’s tax-free Wi-Fi. That Wi-Fi is at Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, New Chitose, and Naha. Keep the goods with you until you have the kiosk result. Checked bags cannot be retrieved after a red result.

Green finishes customs. Cash still has a stop.

A green result finishes the customs check. For a card, bank, or app refund, that is the customs step. If you chose cash, go to the airport refund machine after green. A red result means the customs counter, before any cash machine. Used any consumables? Skip the kiosk and see an officer.

Card, bank, and app: paid after you leave

Customs does not hand you the refund. Those methods are paid after departure by the store or its refund company. There is no official timeline. A refund-company fee may be deducted, and the store may set a claim deadline. The government does not charge a fee. If a refund method is never registered, the store still keeps its exemption.

Cash: a Self Tax Refund machine after the kiosk

Same-day yen cash is available after the customs kiosk at Haneda Terminal 2 (3F after immigration, 6:45–1:30), Haneda Terminal 3 (3F after immigration, 24 hours), Narita Terminal 1 (Central Building 4F before security, 6:00–24:00), Narita Terminal 2 (Main Building 3F before security, 6:00–24:00), and Naha (2F after immigration, 6:00–21:00). Register with the refund company first. One passport per transaction, so a group cannot combine passports. A service fee is deducted. The kiosk result can take a few minutes to reach the machine. If the kiosk is red, see the customs counter first.

At a glance

The points that matter on departure day.

¥5,000 before taxSame store, same day.

Carry it yourselfOnly what you can take out of Japan.

90 days from the next dayNovember 1 is due January 30. Each receipt has its own deadline.

Final airport, before bag dropKiosk passport scan, or Visit Japan Web on the airport tax-free Wi-Fi.

Whole receiptOne missing or used item fails the receipt. Used any consumables? See an officer instead of the kiosk.

Set it up at the storeCard, bank, app, or cash at the airport. A fee may be deducted. A store may set a claim deadline.

Green, then cash if you chose itGreen finishes customs for card, bank, and app. Cash still goes to the machine.

Goods stay with youChecked bags cannot be retrieved after a red result.

¥1,000,000 or moreCustoms may ask for a certificate of authenticity or warranty. The amount is before tax.

Keep each transaction together

The customs check is tied to the whole receipt. Keep that receipt and every item from it together. Keep the goods with you until you have the kiosk result. Checked bags cannot be retrieved after a red result.

How Tabikin helps

Scan and organize receipts, keep each store and purchase date together, and see the customs deadline on every receipt.

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