How much is Japan's departure tax in 2026?

3,000 yen per departure for departures on or after 1 July 2026, up from 1,000 yen. Tickets issued on or before 30 June 2026 keep the 1,000 yen transitional rate.

Do I pay the departure tax at the airport?

No. The airline or shipping line is the special tax collector and adds it to the ticket price, so it is already inside the fare you paid and there is no counter or cash payment involved.

Who is exempt from Japan's departure tax?

Children under two, transit passengers who leave Japan within 24 hours of entry, ship and aircraft crew, deportees, departures on official or government aircraft, diplomatic personnel, US and UN force personnel, and passengers who leave after a weather diversion.

Does the departure tax apply to domestic flights in Japan?

No. It is charged on departure from Japan, so a domestic flight inside the country is not taxed, and a flight out of Japan is.

Is the tax included in the ticket price?

Yes. The carrier collects it on top of the fare and remits it, so it disappears into the total you pay rather than appearing as an airport fee.

Can the Chureito pagoda and Lake Kawaguchi be done in one day from Tokyo?

Yes, and they sit on the same railway line. The 07:30 Fuji Excursion from Shinjuku stops at Shimoyoshida at 09:13, which is the pagoda's station, and reaches Kawaguchiko at 09:28. The two stations are 310 yen and fifteen minutes apart, so the day is the pagoda in the morning, lunch by the lake, and the northern shore in the afternoon. The last express back to Shinjuku leaves Kawaguchiko at 17:41.

Which station do I get off at for the pagoda?

Shimoyoshida, on the Fujikyu line. The Fuji Excursion calls there, and so does every local train, so you do not have to ride to Kawaguchiko and come back. It is a ten-minute walk to the foot of the stairs, 398 steps up, and the city's own figure is twenty-five minutes on foot from the platform to the tower. Honcho street, the shopping street with the mountain at the end of it, is five minutes from the same platform on the other side.

Is the pagoda free, and does it close?

Sengen Park is free and open around the clock, with toilets on site. The observation deck was rebuilt in 2022 and looks over Fujiyoshida towards the mountain. From 17:00 to 21:50 in October and November the park is lit, but the last express leaves Kawaguchiko at 17:41, so the light-up belongs to a night at the lake rather than a day trip. If you drive, the four city car parks cost 1,000 to 1,500 yen for six hours; buses and microbuses cannot enter the street at all.

How much is the Lake Kawaguchi ropeway, and when does it shut?

A return ticket is 1,000 yen for adults and 500 yen for children, and it rises to 1,200 yen and 600 yen on 1 November 2026. The line runs 8:30 to 17:00 with the last car down at 17:20, and to 18:00 from 20 July to 31 August. From 1 December to 28 February the last car up is 16:20. The swing and the lookout tower beside the summit station open 9:30 to 16:00 and close in rain or wind.

Do I need the bus day pass?

The one-day pass is 1,500 yen for adults and 750 yen for children, 2,000 yen for two days, and single rides start at 180 yen. It covers the red line, which runs from Kawaguchiko Station to the ropeway entrance in 11 minutes and to Oishi Park in 27. The pass turns on the third ride, so it pays for the ropeway and the lake in one afternoon. It is sold at the station window and on the bus itself, one-day tickets only.

What happens if the mountain is in cloud?

The pagoda is the safer half of the day, because the deck looks over the town whatever the summit is doing, and the morning is the clearest part of it. The ropeway publishes a live camera and the day's operating notices at the top of its own site, so check before you ride the bus out. Strong wind stops the gondola altogether, and then the deck at Sengen Park is the fallback rather than the summit.

Train or bus from Tokyo?

The Fuji Excursion is 4,010 yen to Shimoyoshida and 4,200 yen to Kawaguchiko, all seats reserved, four round trips a day, and it never sits in traffic. The highway coach is about 1 hour 45 minutes for 2,200 yen at the counter or 2,000 yen booked online, also reserved, and it stops at Chuo-do Shimoyoshida, five minutes on foot from the station. Its weakness is the way home: the Chuo Expressway into Tokyo on a Sunday afternoon is a queue.

Home/Transport/Departure tax 2026

RULES

Japan departure tax 2026: the ¥1,000 to ¥3,000 jump

Published 16 OCTOBER 2026 · 6 MIN READ

¥3,000

A tax you never see on a receipt, taken at the airport by the airline, and tripled in July 2026.

Shape One charge per departure from Japan, collected by the carrier and built into the ticket, at the rate in force on the day you leave rather than the day you booked.

From 1 July 2026: ¥3,000
Before that: ¥1,000
Under-2s and transit: exempt

1What the tax is, and what tripled in 2026

The International Tourist Tax — 国際観光旅客税, the sayonara tax — is charged on each departure from Japan. It took effect on 7 January 2019 at ¥1,000, and rose to ¥3,000 for departures on or after 1 July 2026. A ticket issued on or before 30 June 2026 keeps the ¥1,000 rate, which is why the same flight can carry two different amounts depending on when it was bought.

2Who collects it, and where it sits on your ticket

Not the airport and not immigration: the carrier is the special tax collector. Airlines and shipping lines add it on top of the fare and remit it to the tax office, so on a normal ticket the ¥3,000 is already inside the total you paid and there's nothing to settle at the gate.

Passenger	The 2026 position
Leaving Japan on a normal ticket	¥3,000 per departure for departures on or after 1 July 2026
Ticket issued on or before 30 June 2026	¥1,000, the transitional rate, whenever you actually fly
Children under 2	Non-taxable
In transit under 24 hours	Non-taxable if you leave Japan within 24 hours of entering
Crew, deportees, official aircraft, diplomatic and US/UN force personnel	Exempt, along with passengers who leave after a weather diversion

3What it means for a trip's budget

For a family of four flying home from Tokyo, the tax is ¥12,000 rather than ¥4,000, inside the ticket price and therefore invisible in the fare breakdown most airlines publish. But a Hong Kong–Tokyo return in 2026 therefore carries ¥6,000 of departure tax in total at the new rate, on the Japanese departure only — Japan taxes the departure from Japan, not the arrival.

4What I would do

Nothing, and that's the point: there's no form, no counter and no cash. Do check the rate on the ticket if you bought the flight before 30 June 2026, because a ticket issued then keeps the ¥1,000 rate and an airline that has reissued or re-priced it may have moved you onto the new one.

Keep reading

A power bank and cable in a departure lounge

Power banks on flights to Japan: the 2026 rule

Luggage forwarding: same-day bags from the airport

Sources

National Tax Agency — the International Tourist Tax leaflet: who pays, the exemptions and the on-ticket collection method (nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/kansetsu/kanko/index.htm)
National Tax Agency — the original 1,000 yen rate from 7 January 2019 (nta.go.jp/english/taxes/indirect/pdf/leaflet1.pdf)
Japan Tourism Agency / MLIT — the increase to 3,000 yen for departures on or after 1 July 2026, with the transitional rate for tickets issued on or before 30 June 2026 (mlit.go.jp/kankocho/content/001996464.pdf)

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