Where to Get Your Tax Refund at the Airport: Counter Locations and Opening Hours at Narita, Haneda, Kansai (and Beyond)
AWritten byOur team in Japan
✓Checked against17 official sources
This page may contain affiliate links. If you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Last checked 2026-11-01. Rules and prices change — always confirm on the official pages linked below.
In this guide
Short answer
- Everywhere, the order is the same: scan your passport at a customs terminal before you check your bags, within 90 days of purchase. (Kobe Customs (Takamatsu Airport), Osaka Customs)
- When you buy, register how the refund comes back (e.g. card, bank transfer, airport cash) through the steps the shop gives you, usually online. (Japan Tourism Agency FAQ, Narita Airport) Want cash? Choose it before the customs check. Picked a card or transfer? You may not be able to switch at the airport. (JPrefund, Cash Japan)
- Which cash machine pays you depends on the refund company named on your receipt (or the shop's refund leaflet). Match it below. (Japan Duty-Free Shops Association)
- What comes back is the consumption tax you paid — 10%, or 8% on food and drinks other than alcohol and dining out — in yen, after fees (example below). (National Tax Agency)
How you "declare" it at the airport
- Find the customs terminal in the departure lobby; hold your passport to it. At seven airports, including Narita and Haneda, you can use Visit Japan Web in the customs Wi-Fi area instead. (Japan Tourism Agency, Kobe Customs (Takamatsu Airport))
- Read the result. Green: done. Red: show the items at customs inspection. (Osaka Customs)
- Check your bags only after that. Checked bags can't be pulled back out for inspection. (Narita Airport)
- Collect the refund — at a cash machine if you chose airport cash; otherwise by the method you registered.
Connecting from a domestic flight? Do it at your final departure airport. (Japan Tourism Agency FAQ)
Narita: terminal by terminal
| Terminal | Customs check (before security, 05:30–23:00) | Cash: before security (06:00–24:00) | Cash: after security (24 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Central Building 4F | Self Tax Refund, Central Building 4F | Cash Japan, North Wing 3F and South Wing 3F |
| T2 | Main Building 3F | Self Tax Refund, Main Building 3F | Cash Japan, Main Building 3F (two spots) and Satellite 3F |
| T3 | Main Building 2F | — | Cash Japan, Main Building 3F |
Customs Wi-Fi for Visit Japan Web is on the same floors, before security only. Some shops don't support airport cash; the machines before and after security pay for different refund companies (Narita Airport):
- Self Tax Refund (T1/T2, before security) pays if your receipt shows J&J (J-TaxRefund), JPrefund or Global TaxRefund (Planet), plus three others (full list); register with it in advance.
- Cash Japan (after security) pays only if your receipt shows Global Blue, J&J (J-TaxRefund) or JPrefund. (Cash Japan)
Haneda: Terminals 2 and 3 only
| Terminal | Customs check (before security) | Cash refund (after security) |
|---|---|---|
| T2 | 3F, 6:00–26:00, 8 terminals | Self Tax Refund, 3F, 6:45–25:30, 5 machines |
| T3 | 3F, 24 hours, 13 terminals | Self Tax Refund (T3 CENTRAL), 3F, 24 hours, 5 machines |
Terminal 1 has neither. 26:00 means 2:00 a.m. Some tax-free shops aren't covered by Self Tax Refund. (Haneda Airport)
- Haneda's only cash machine takes the same names as Narita's Self Tax Refund — not Global Blue. (Self Tax Refund)
Kansai and the other airports
- Kansai: customs terminals and Wi-Fi on Terminal 1, 4F; 4 terminals in Terminal 2. Osaka Customs recommends Visit Japan Web, as terminals can get crowded. (Osaka Customs) Cash at Kansai and Kobe comes after departure immigration, reports the news site Aviation Wire.
- Cash Japan is at Kansai T1/T2, Kobe T2, Fukuoka and New Chitose international 3F, and Chubu T1/T2, rolling out from 2026-11-01 (planned). Check hours on its airport list. Same three names as at Narita. (Cash Japan, Cash Japan via PR TIMES)
- Naha: Self Tax Refund, from 2026-11-01. (Haneda Airport release)
How much cash you actually get: a worked example
Say you bought clothes or electronics (taxed at 10%) for 33,000 yen (≈ $210) in one shop on one day: 30,000 yen plus 3,000 yen tax. (National Tax Agency) Dollar figures are approximate, at the Federal Reserve's 156.87 yen per dollar (Oct. 23, 2026).
| Your case | You get back |
|---|---|
| The tax you paid (the most possible) | 3,000 yen (≈ $19) |
| Your shop covers the refund company's fees | 3,000 yen (≈ $19) |
| Your shop charges the highest main fee, 20% of the tax | 2,400 yen (≈ $15) |
| You take that as airport cash (10% off) | 2,160 yen (≈ $14) |
- This example follows one refund company, JPrefund, whose receipts Cash Japan pays out. Its main fee is 0–20% of the tax, varying by shop; shops may also cover it. A second fee of up to $2 or 5% of the tax per refund may apply; this example assumes none. (JPrefund)
- Cash Japan's 10% (with a minimum and maximum) comes on top of those fees. At Haneda and Naha's Self Tax Refund, JPrefund lists 1.1% of the tax-excluded price instead. (Cash Japan, JPrefund)
- Your own amount appears when you register. (JPrefund, JapanRefund)
What the official sources don't say yet
- How early to arrive: no official number of minutes. Terminals take seconds, Self Tax Refund about a minute; lines and red-result inspections vary, so stop at the customs terminal before joining the check-in line. (Japan Tourism Agency FAQ, Haneda Airport release)
Official sources
- Narita International Airport (company) — Tax refund — https://www.narita-airport.jp/ja/service/exchange/taxrefund/ (retrieved 2026-11-01)
- Haneda Airport (company) — Tax refund — https://tokyo-haneda.com/service/facilities/tax_refund.html (retrieved 2026-11-01)
- Haneda Airport / Glory (company) — Self Tax Refund release (PDF) — https://tokyo-haneda.com/site_resource/whats_new/pdf/000017830.pdf (retrieved 2026-11-01)
- Glory (company) — Self Tax Refund — https://www.glory.co.jp/selftaxrefund/en/ (retrieved 2026-11-01)
- Cash Japan (company) — Get your refund — https://www.cashjapan.com/ja/get-your-refund/ (retrieved 2026-11-01)
- National Tax Agency — Consumption tax rates — https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/zeimokubetsu/shohi/keigenzeiritsu/01.htm (retrieved 2026-11-01)
- Japan Tourism Agency — Traveler page — https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00021.html (retrieved 2026-10-31)
- Japan Tourism Agency — Traveler FAQ — https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00023.html (retrieved 2026-10-31)
- Osaka Customs — Kansai Airport procedures (PDF) — https://www.customs.go.jp/osaka/about/images/kix_tax%20refund_jp.pdf (retrieved 2026-10-31)
- Kobe Customs Takamatsu Airport Branch / Kagawa Prefecture — Press release (PDF) — https://www.pref.kagawa.lg.jp/documents/64303/houdouteikyou20261027.pdf (retrieved 2026-10-31)
- Cash Japan (company) — PR TIMES release — https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000001.000192941.html (retrieved 2026-10-31)
- Cash Japan (company) — FAQ — https://www.cashjapan.com/faq/ (retrieved 2026-11-02)
- JPrefund (company) — FAQ — https://jprefund.com/ (retrieved 2026-11-02)
- Japan Duty-Free Shops Association (industry body) — Refund service providers — https://zenmenkyo.jp/refund-top/refund-method/ (retrieved 2026-11-02)
- JapanRefund (Japan Tax Free) — Refund registration — https://refund.jptaxfree.net/ (retrieved 2026-11-02)
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System — Foreign Exchange Rates (H.10) — https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h10/current/ (retrieved 2026-11-03)
- Aviation Wire (news) — Article — https://www.aviationwire.jp/archives/352751/print/ (retrieved 2026-10-31)
Updated
Updated 2026-11-03 · Sources retrieved 2026-10-31 to 2026-11-03
Disclaimer
This article is general information, not tax or legal advice, and we can't answer individual tax or legal questions. Confirm details with the official sources, the shop, or its refund operator.
Spotted a mistake?
We check every report against the official source and update the page. See how on our Corrections.
J
About us
A small team living in Japan. We write from official sources and say so when something hasn't been confirmed.
A small team living in Japan. We write from official sources and say so when something hasn't been confirmed.