Japan raises tourism taxes: new ¥3,000 departure levy and Hokkaido lodging charge

Effective July 2026 Japan’s International Tourist Tax, commonly known as the Sayonara Tax, will increase threefold from ¥1,000 to ¥3,000 per departure. The fee applies to all travelers leaving the country, including Japanese nationals, with exemptions for children under two, transit passengers departing within 24 hours, and airline or ship crew. The Ministry of Finance projects annual revenue to climb from about ¥50 billion to ¥120 billion, funding crowd‑management infrastructure at major airports, facial‑recognition gates, self‑service bag drops, multilingual assistance, and promotion of rural destinations and cultural sites.

From 1 April 2026 Hokkaido will begin collecting a separate lodging tax on hotel stays. The tax is levied per person per night: ¥100 for rooms under ¥20,000, ¥200 for stays between ¥20,000 and ¥50,000, and ¥500 for rooms above ¥50,000. The charge is collected by the accommodation provider at checkout and is not included in the quoted room rate.

Both measures aim to address the strain from a surge in visitors—Japan welcomed over 42 million international tourists in 2025—by generating additional revenue and managing congestion in popular destinations.