<h2>Six Fee Changes. One Year. All Hitting Foreigners in Japan Simultaneously.</h2>

<p>2026 is an unusual year in Japan's relationship with foreign visitors and foreign residents. Multiple significant cost increases are taking effect in the same calendar year, after decades during which Japan maintained some of the lowest tourism and immigration fees in the developed world. Understanding which fees affect you, by how much, and when is not just useful — for some families, it means budgeting tens of thousands of yen more before their next trip or the next time they fly home.</p>

<p>This guide compiles every major fee change affecting foreigners in Japan in 2026 into one complete reference: what each fee is, how much it is changing, and who actually bears the cost.</p>

<h2>The 2026 Fee Stack at a Glance</h2>

<table border="1" style="border-collapse:collapse;width:100%;margin-bottom:1.5em;">

<tr style="background:#003399;color:white;">

<th style="padding:10px;">Fee</th>

<th style="padding:10px;">Old Amount</th>

<th style="padding:10px;">New Amount</th>

<th style="padding:10px;">Effective Date</th>

<th style="padding:10px;">Who Pays</th>

</tr>

<tr>

<td style="padding:8px;">Tourist visa (single-entry)</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">¥3,000</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">¥15,000</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">July 1, 2026</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">Visa-required country visitors</td>

</tr>

<tr style="background:#f5f5f5;">

<td style="padding:8px;">Tourist visa (multiple-entry)</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">¥6,000</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">¥30,000</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">July 1, 2026</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">Visa-required country visitors</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td style="padding:8px;">Departure tax (per person)</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">¥1,000</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">¥3,000</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">July 1, 2026</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">Everyone leaving Japan internationally</td>

</tr>

<tr style="background:#f5f5f5;">

<td style="padding:8px;">Tax-free shopping system</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">Instant discount at register</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">Pay full price, refund at airport</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">November 1, 2026</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">Foreign tourists shopping in Japan</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td style="padding:8px;">Mount Fuji climbing fee</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">¥2,000 (Yoshida Trail only)</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">¥4,000 (all 4 official trails)</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">2026 climbing season</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">Everyone climbing Fuji</td>

</tr>

<tr style="background:#f5f5f5;">

<td style="padding:8px;">PR application fee</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">¥8,000</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">¥100,000-¥300,000 (cap raised)</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">Late 2026 (TBD by Cabinet Order)</td>

<td style="padding:8px;">Permanent residency applicants</td>

</tr>

</table>

<p>The accommodation tax increases in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka are also active in 2026 (covered in detail below) and are not shown in the table above because the amounts vary by city and room rate.</p>

<h2>Fee Change 1: Tourist Visa Fee — ¥3,000 to ¥15,000 (July 1, 2026)</h2>

<p>Cabinet approved a 5x increase to Japan's tourist visa fees on June 19, 2026, effective July 1. This is the first visa fee increase since 1978 — 48 years of unchanged fees, ending in a single revision.</p>

<p><strong>Single-entry tourist visa:</strong> ¥3,000 → ¥15,000 (~$20 to ~$100 at current exchange rates)</p>

<p><strong>Multiple-entry tourist visa:</strong> ¥6,000 → ¥30,000 (~$40 to ~$200)</p>

<p>Important context: this fee does not apply to citizens of 70+ countries that have visa exemption arrangements with Japan for short stays. US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, all EU member states, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and many others enter Japan without needing to purchase a tourist visa, so the July 1 price increase does not affect them at all for short-stay tourism.</p>

<p>The fee increase affects citizens of countries not on the exempt list — most significantly China (the largest source of visa-required tourists by volume), India, Russia, most of the Middle East, and most of Africa. Japan projects ¥116.1 billion in additional annual revenue from this change, driven primarily by Chinese tourist visa volume.</p>

<p>If you need a Japan visa and have a trip planned in the coming months: apply before July 1. An application filed before July 1 is processed at the old ¥3,000 rate even if the visa is issued after that date. An application filed on or after July 1 is subject to the new ¥15,000 rate. The only variable is the date you submit your application.</p>

<p>For full details on who is exempt and step-by-step application guidance, see the dedicated article: <a href="/blog/japan-visa-fee-increase-july-2026">Japan Visa Fees Jump 5x on July 1, 2026</a>.</p>

<h2>Fee Change 2: Departure Tax — ¥1,000 to ¥3,000 (July 1, 2026)</h2>

<p>The International Tourist Passenger Tax (国際観光旅客税), also called the departure tax, triples from ¥1,000 to ¥3,000 per person per international departure, effective July 1, 2026. This is its first increase since the tax was introduced in January 2019.</p>

<p>Unlike the tourist visa fee, this affects everyone departing Japan internationally — Japanese nationals, foreign tourists, and foreign residents living and working in Japan. You pay it every time you fly out of the country. It is collected by airlines and embedded in your ticket price, not paid separately at the airport.</p>

<p>Who is exempt: transit passengers who do not clear immigration, children under 2, and diplomatic staff.</p>

<p>The departure tax change is small per trip but material over time for foreign residents who travel frequently:</p>

<ul>

<li>A worker who flies home once per year: ¥2,000 more per year (¥1,000 → ¥3,000)</li>

<li>A worker who flies home twice per year: ¥4,000 more per year</li>

<li>A family of 4 flying home once per year: ¥8,000 more per year</li>

<li>That same family over 5 years: ¥40,000 more in departure taxes vs the previous rate</li>

</ul>

<p>For international tourists, the departure tax combines with the visa fee increase to create a material entry-and-exit cost increase in the same July 1 revision. A Chinese tourist who previously paid ¥3,000 for a single-entry visa + ¥1,000 departure tax = ¥4,000 in fees now pays ¥15,000 + ¥3,000 = ¥18,000 — a 4.5x increase in fees before buying a plane ticket.</p>

<p>For the full breakdown on the departure tax, see: <a href="/blog/japan-departure-tax-tripled-july-2026">Japan Departure Tax Tripled July 2026</a>.</p>

<h2>Fee Change 3: Tax-Free Shopping System Overhaul (November 1, 2026)</h2>

<p>Japan's consumption tax refund system for tourists is undergoing a complete structural change on November 1, 2026. The old system — show your passport at the register, pay the tax-free price immediately, walk out — ends on October 31, 2026. From November 1, tourists pay the full price including 10% consumption tax at the store, then claim a refund at self-service kiosks at the departure airport before going through passport control.</p>

<p>The November 1 changeover is a hard cut — not a gradual transition. October 31 = old system. November 1 = new system.</p>

<p>The new system introduces airport processing time that tourists need to plan for: 45-60 minutes minimum at the airport for the refund procedure. Kiosks are in the non-restricted pre-immigration area, so the process must be completed before passing through passport control. During peak travel seasons, allow 60-90 minutes.</p>

<p>There is a genuine benefit in the new system that many travelers miss: the artificial distinction between "general goods" (electronics, clothing) and "consumables" (cosmetics, food, medicine) is abolished. Previously, these categories had separate minimum thresholds — you could not combine ¥3,000 of cosmetics with ¥3,000 of clothing to reach the ¥5,000 minimum. Now all items at one store can be combined. The sealed packaging requirement for consumables is also abolished.</p>

<p>This fee change does not add a cost — it changes when and how you receive the refund. But it does require keeping 10% more cash or credit headroom during the trip, and careful receipt management for airport processing.</p>

<p>For the full step-by-step guide to the new system, see: <a href="/blog/japan-tax-free-shopping-november-2026-new-system">Japan Tax-Free Shopping Is Changing November 1, 2026</a>.</p>

<h2>Fee Change 4: Accommodation Tax — Rising in Major Cities (2026)</h2>

<p>Japan does not have a national accommodation tax — instead, major tourism cities set their own. Multiple cities have revised their rates upward in 2025-2026:</p>

<p><strong>Tokyo:</strong> The Tokyo accommodation tax now applies from ¥0 for rooms under ¥10,000/night up to ¥200/night for rooms ¥10,000-¥15,000, scaling up to ¥1,000/night for rooms above ¥50,000/night. Budget hotel guests pay little or nothing; luxury hotel guests pay meaningfully more.</p>

<p><strong>Kyoto:</strong> Kyoto's accommodation tax is now tiered up to ¥10,000 per night for luxury rooms (defined as rooms with a nightly rate above ¥50,000). This is by far the highest accommodation tax of any Japanese city and significantly affects high-end Kyoto stays — which are already expensive.</p>

<p><strong>Osaka:</strong> Osaka has increased its accommodation tax rates and is also enforcing collection more strictly through registration requirements for Airbnb-style short-term rentals.</p>

<p>For budget travelers staying in hostels or mid-range business hotels, the accommodation tax is minimal. For travelers staying in ryokan or high-end hotels — particularly in Kyoto — the accommodation tax is now a meaningful line item in the trip budget.</p>

<h2>Fee Change 5: Mount Fuji Climbing Fee — ¥2,000 to ¥4,000 (All 4 Trails, 2026)</h2>

<p>From the 2026 climbing season, all four official Mount Fuji climbing trails charge a ¥4,000 per-person climbing fee. Previously, only the Yoshida Trail (the most popular, handling approximately 60% of all Fuji climbers) charged ¥2,000. The other three trails (Subashiri, Gotemba, Fujinomiya) were free.</p>

<p>The change doubles the fee on the Yoshida Trail and introduces fees on the other three for the first time. The revenue goes toward trail maintenance, safety management, and — in part — overtime tourism management at the mountain, which has become one of Japan's most visible overtourism flashpoints.</p>

<p>For context: a ¥4,000 climbing fee on a mountain that takes 6-10 hours to climb round-trip, in comparison to European mountain entry fees, is still not expensive. But it is a symbolic change — the Fuji fee alongside the visa fee increase, departure tax increase, and accommodation tax increases signals a deliberate policy direction: Japan is repricing access in ways that reflect the actual management costs of hosting record numbers of visitors.</p>

<h2>Fee Change 6: Permanent Residency Application Fee — Major Increase Coming (Late 2026)</h2>

<p>This change is on the horizon but not yet finalized. The statutory caps on residence-related fees were revised by the Diet (Japan's parliament) in 2026: the legal maximum for status-of-residence renewals and changes was raised from ¥10,000 to ¥100,000, and the legal maximum for permanent residency (PR) applications was raised from ¥10,000 to ¥300,000. These are statutory caps — the actual fees will be set by separate Cabinet Order, which is expected in late 2026.</p>

<p>The current PR application fee is ¥8,000 — one of the lowest in the world for any developed nation's permanent residency process. The new fee, when finalized, is expected to be significantly higher, though the exact amount has not been set at the time this article is published.</p>

<p>For foreign residents working toward PR: the timeline you file on matters. If you expect to become PR-eligible in late 2026 or 2027, monitor the Cabinet Order announcement. Filing before the new fee takes effect could save a significant amount. The qualification window (10 years standard, 5 years with Highly Skilled Professional points) does not change — only the application cost.</p>

<h2>Who Feels Which Fees</h2>

<h3>Foreign Tourists from Visa-Required Countries (e.g., China, India, Vietnam)</h3>

<p>This group faces the sharpest cumulative impact in 2026. A single trip to Japan now involves:</p>

<ul>

<li>Visa fee: ¥15,000 per person (up from ¥3,000)</li>

<li>Departure tax: ¥3,000 per person leaving Japan (up from ¥1,000)</li>

<li>Tax-free shopping refund: pay 10% upfront, recover at airport</li>

<li>Accommodation tax: ¥0 to ¥10,000 per night depending on hotel and city</li>

<li>Fuji climbing: ¥4,000 per person if visiting Fuji</li>

</ul>

<p>For a Chinese couple on a 10-day Japan trip in late 2026 climbing Fuji and staying in mid-range Kyoto accommodation: the fee stack above the trip itself (excluding hotels, transport, food, shopping) is easily ¥50,000-¥70,000 compared to approximately ¥10,000-¥15,000 two years ago.</p>

<h3>Foreign Tourists from Visa-Exempt Countries (e.g., US, UK, EU, South Korea, Australia)</h3>

<p>The tourist visa fee increase does not apply to this group at all — they do not need visas for short stays. Their 2026 fee increase exposure is:</p>

<ul>

<li>Departure tax: ¥3,000 per person (up from ¥1,000) — real but modest</li>

<li>Tax-free shopping refund: process change but no net cost difference</li>

<li>Accommodation tax: same as above</li>

</ul>

<p>For visa-exempt tourists, the 2026 changes are comparatively minor. The departure tax increase is a ¥2,000 per-person impact. The tax-free shopping change is an operational change, not a cost increase.</p>

<h3>Foreign Residents Living and Working in Japan</h3>

<p>Foreign residents are not paying tourist visa fees (they already have residence visas). Their 2026 exposure:</p>

<ul>

<li>Departure tax: ¥3,000 per trip home (every time they fly internationally)</li>

<li>PR fee increase: material if filing in late 2026 or 2027</li>

<li>Accommodation tax: same as everyone staying in hotels</li>

</ul>

<p>The tourist visa fee change and tax-free shopping change have essentially no direct impact on daily life as a foreign resident. The departure tax and coming PR fee are the relevant items.</p>

<p>The 2026 fee stack has two key timing opportunities. First: if you are from a visa-required country and have a Japan trip planned before end of year, apply for your visa before July 1 — same visa, 5x price difference, only the application date matters. Second: if you are a long-term resident working toward PR and your 10-year (or 5-year HSP) anniversary falls in late 2026 or 2027, monitor the Cabinet Order that will set the new PR fee. The statutory cap was raised to ¥300,000 but the actual fee has not been set yet. Filing immediately when you become eligible — rather than waiting — could save you a significant amount if the new fee is set between your eligibility date and when you were planning to file.</p>

<h2>What to Do Right Now</h2>

<p>Based on your situation, here are the highest-priority actions in June-July 2026:</p>

<p><strong>If you need a Japan visa for an upcoming trip:</strong> Apply now, before July 1. Old rate is ¥3,000. New rate is ¥15,000. There is no other action that saves you ¥12,000 in 30 minutes.</p>

<p><strong>If you are planning to climb Mount Fuji this summer:</strong> Budget ¥4,000 per person for the climbing fee on any of the 4 official trails. Do not assume any trail is still free.</p>

<p><strong>If you are a foreign resident who travels internationally frequently:</strong> Factor ¥3,000 per outbound flight into your annual travel budget instead of ¥1,000 from July 1 onward.</p>

<p><strong>If you are shopping in Japan after November 1:</strong> Carry extra budget headroom for the 10% consumption tax you will pay at the register and recover at the airport. Allow 45-60 extra minutes at the airport. Keep all receipts organized.</p>

<p><strong>If you are approaching PR eligibility:</strong> Monitor the Cabinet Order announcement for the new PR application fee. If you become eligible before the new fee takes effect, filing immediately could matter.</p>

<h2>まとめ（Japanese Summary）</h2>

<p>2026年に外国人に影響する主な費用変更のまとめです。①観光ビザ料金：3,000円→15,000円（シングル）、6,000円→30,000円（マルチ）、7月1日から。②出国税：1,000円→3,000円、7月1日から、日本を出国するすべての人が対象。③免税制度：11月1日から「レジで即時免税」→「全額支払い後、空港で還付」に移行。④宿泊税：東京・京都・大阪等で値上げ中。⑤富士山登山料：全4ルートで2,000円→4,000円（2026年登山シーズン）。⑥永住許可申請料：法定上限を10,000円→300,000円に引き上げ済み、実際の新料金は2026年後半に政令で決定予定。ビザ必要国からの観光客が最も大きな影響を受け、ビザ免除国からの観光客や在留外国人への影響は限定的です。</p>

<h2>Related Articles and Tools</h2>

<ul>

<li><a href="/blog/japan-visa-fee-increase-july-2026">Japan Visa Fee Increase July 2026 — Full Guide</a></li>

<li><a href="/blog/japan-departure-tax-tripled-july-2026">Japan Departure Tax Tripled — Full Guide</a></li>

<li><a href="/blog/japan-tax-free-shopping-november-2026-new-system">Japan Tax-Free Shopping System Overhaul November 2026</a></li>

<li><a href="/visa-pr-guide">Japan Visa and PR Guide</a></li>

<li><a href="/blog/japan-accommodation-tax-by-city-2026">Japan Accommodation Tax by City 2026</a></li>

</ul>