Japan has Changed: 5 NEW Rules You Must Know for 2026
Japan travel in 2026 is changing forever. From a massive 300% tax hike to a total overhaul of tax-free shopping, here are the 5 new rules you MUST know to save your budget.
Planning a trip to Japan this year? The “cheap” Japan you’ve seen on social media is officially evolving. In this video, we break down the reality of traveling to Japan in 2026, including the shocking $1,800 “Kyoto Tax” spike and the new digital tax-free shopping system. But it’s not all bad news—I’m also sharing a 7-Eleven luggage hack that will save your commute!
Key Chapters:
00:00 The Reality of Japan Travel in 2026
00:41 Rule #1: The Triple Departure Tax (July 2026)
02:32 Rule #2: The End of “Instant” Tax-Free Shopping
04:07 Rule #3: The 7-Eleven Luggage Storage Hack
06:06 Rule #4: Kyoto’s $1,800 “Hotel Tax” Spike
08:16 Rule #5: Mount Fuji’s ¥4,000 Entry Fee & New Restrictions
🎒 Resources Mentioned:
Ecbo Cloak: Book your 7-Eleven luggage storage
https://cloak.ecbo.io/en
Sakura Mobile: Stay connected with reliable data in Japan http://www.ninjasaru.com/sakura
📝 Important 2026 Dates to Watch:
March 1, 2026: Kyoto’s new accommodation tax begins.
July 2026: International Tourist Tax triples to ¥3,000.
November 1, 2026: New “Tax-on-refund” shopping model starts.
If you found this realistic breakdown helpful, SUBSCRIBE for more boots-on-the-ground Japan travel tips and alternative itineraries!
#JapanTravel #Japan2026 #VisitJapan #JapanBudget #Kyoto #MtFuji #japantraveltips
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17 Comments
Claiming tax once you leave is ridiculous, at the moment the money I save when I'm buying things in Japan, gets spent in Japan, if I get the money back at the airport or later then I'll spend it somewhere else. It's a shoot yourself in the foot moment for Japan
3000 yen exit tax is less than $20 USD as of right now. In the whole scheme of things that's pretty insignificant.
The fee being applied when you leave japan is so funny to me, like are they trying to tell you to stay 🤣 it makes more sense if they charged this for incoming flights, but i guess it doesnt make a difference for tourists
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Thank you for this video. Folks, if you watch, subscribe, because this channel never disappoints and it’s one of the few that will give you advice, insights and information that will make all the difference in your trip to japan.
Since I'm more on the budget side most of the fees won't really be noticeable. But governments have a tendency to kill the golden goose then complain there are no more golden eggs.
When I was going through our receipts from November, I had one tax refund from Loft, where we paid a processing fee for using that service. So for 7€we paid around 1,7€ fees. We had to wait in line for around 15 minutes, so combined with the fee I would probably have skipped tax free for this small amout of return in comparison to a fee and time spent to wait for it. If everything is reimbursed in one transaction at the end of the trip, that might even be a bit more convenient, as many stores require you to go to a special counter for the processing…. Not sure it is such a bad change, but then again I am not a hight value spender…
Oh great news, increased taxes for clearly more tourist services such as rubbish bins lol.
Really this is a cash grab from tourists to feed the Japanese consolidated revenue
Luxury travellers don’t care how much tax on theirs accommodation 5 stars hotel .😊
I would never visit Japan. One of the few places Ive never.been. The whole country will be bankrupt within 5 years and US will pull out as well. We only need their new founded REE.
got a trip coming up to book in 2 days for april 30th. looking forward to it. i tried once a taxfree counter in Donki once but the line was too long. too much of a hassle to bother recuperating the taxes. its sort a a sense of legal tipping they wont be disturbed by not getting refunded the taxes upon purchase of items there.
Glad that costs are offset by the fact that is still a cheap place to travel to when you get there. When compared to the US or Europe it still makes a great destination
thanks for keeping us up-to-date nathan 🥳
Great update Ninja 🐒
Im looking for a good internet E-Sim or Pocket wifi that allow me to upload at least 100GB per day.
Do you have any tips on learning Japanese? I leave for Japan in 5 months. I should probably start learning some lol
Can this man ever stop being so attractive??