From July 1, leaving Japan costs a little more — and two other 2026 money changes worth knowing

Nobody plans a holiday around taxes and fees. But a few of the small numbers behind a Japan trip are shifting this year. Two of them land on the same day, July 1; a third follows in November. So before you book, here's a calm rundown of what's changing in 2026, and, more usefully, what each one actually means for your plans.

Let me start with the pair that's almost here.

First up: the departure tax (from July 1)

From July 1, 2026, Japan's departure tax goes from 1,000 yen to 3,000 yen per person, every time you leave the country. Its formal name is the International Tourist Tax, but almost everyone just calls it the departure tax. The new amount applies to departures on or after July 1 — that's set in the country's tax plan for the year, as of June 23, 2026.

Here's the part that puts most people at ease: you don't queue up and pay this at the airport. It's folded into the price of your plane or ferry ticket and collected quietly when you buy. Most travellers never see it as a separate line.

There's also a transitional rule worth knowing if you've already booked. According to the current guidance, if you bought your ticket on or before June 30, 2026, you still pay the old 1,000 yen — even if you actually fly out in July or later. The catch: change that flight after ticketing it, and the new 3,000 yen kicks in. So if your dates are settled, locking the ticket in before the end of June is the tidier path.

A couple of long-standing exceptions still hold. If you're only transiting through Japan and leave within 24 hours, you're not charged. Neither are children under two.

What's it for? The government says the revenue goes toward easing overtourism and spreading visitors out to regional areas. We'll leave it at that.

Visa fees: only if your passport needs one

The second change is the fee to get a visa to enter Japan, and whether it touches you at all comes down to your passport.

If you're from somewhere that already visits Japan visa-free — the US, the UK, EU countries, Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and many others — this one doesn't apply to you. Short-stay visa exemptions stay exactly as they are, so you'll keep coming visa-free, no change. But if your nationality does need a visa to visit, Vietnamese travellers among them, here's what to know.

This one is now settled. On June 19, 2026, Japan's cabinet approved a partial amendment to the relevant order, so the increase is confirmed. From July 1, 2026, a single-entry visa goes from 3,000 yen to 15,000 yen, and a multiple-entry visa from 6,000 yen to 30,000 yen. That's roughly five times the old fee, and the first revision in about 48 years, going back to 1978. Japan's foreign minister tied the change to rising prices.

The detail that actually helps you is the timing. The new fee applies to applications submitted on or after July 1; file before then and you pay the old amount. So for Vietnamese travellers especially — a single-entry visa is 3,000 yen now and 15,000 from July 1 — getting your application in before July would save you the difference, if your plans are far enough along. Nothing to worry about, just something good to know before you file.

And in November: tax-free shopping

One more, briefly, since we've written about it in full already. From November 1, 2026, tax-free shopping switches to a refund system: you pay the full tax-included price in the shop, then get the consumption-tax portion back at the airport once customs confirms you're taking the goods home. If you do much shopping, the details are worth a read — we walk through them in our piece on the tax-free changes.

So, what does it add up to?

Honestly, not much that changes the shape of a trip to central Japan. A couple of thousand yen more on the way out, a bigger visa fee if your passport needs one, a different moment for your tax refund. The thing that helps most is simply knowing before you go, so nothing catches you off guard at the counter.

If you're planning a 2026 trip around Nagoya and want a hand thinking any of this through, just ask. We're always happy to. See you out here.