KYOTO–Desperate to thin out tourist crowds here, the city government will slap visitors with an accommodation tax of up to 10,000 yen ($63.80) per person per night, starting March 1.
The levy, an increase from 1,000 yen, will be used to improve city infrastructure and measures to ease congestion.
Officials explained that the 10,000-yen levy will apply to hotel stays costing 100,000 yen or more per night under the staggered tax system.
The minister of internal affairs and communications approved the city’s revised proposal on Oct. 3. Ministry officials said the tax levy will be the highest in Japan.
City officials have been at their wits’ end trying to mitigate the impact of out-of-control tourism. This ranges from packed municipal buses to street scenes as well as historic sites.
City authorities applied to the ministry in March to raise the lodging tax, stating, “Tourists also must bear the cost of countermeasures against overtourism.”
It marks the first increase since the accommodation tax was introduced in October 2018.
The new tax rate per person per night will remain at 200 yen for stays under 6,000 yen. For stays ranging in price from 6,000 yen to less than 20,000 yen, the levy will increase from 200 yen to 400 yen.
For stays ranging in price from 20,000 yen to less than 50,000 yen, the levy will increase from 500 yen to 1,000 yen. For stays of between 50,000 yen and less than 100,000 yen, the rate will jump from 1,000 yen to 4,000 yen. For stays costing 100,000 yen or more, the levy will go up from 1,000 yen to 10,000 yen. School trip students and chaperones will remain exempt as before.
After the revision, the city’s lodging tax revenue is projected to roughly double, from approximately 5.91 billion yen this fiscal year to 12.6 billion yen next fiscal year. Both figures are estimates.
High-end hotels are opening one after another in Kyoto. Tokyo-based Imperial Hotel Ltd. plans to open Imperial Hotel, Kyoto, in Higashiyama Ward, in March 2026. The building will utilize the exterior of Yasaka Hall, a nationally registered tangible cultural property in the capital’s Gion district that is the home of geisha culture.
Accommodation rates will start at 164,500 yen per room.
(This article was written by Miu Yamada, Rika Hayashi, Shintaro Kiko)
AloJapan.com