Refund JapanThis page is written for English-speaking travellers going to Japan.
How the money actually reaches you
Four routes are listed by the industry body. What each one costs you, and how long it takes, is not yet published by anyone.
The routes the money can take
The Japan Tax-free Shop Association lists four: cash, a credit card, a smartphone payment app, and a transfer handled by an approved operator. Which one applies to you is settled at the shop when you buy, not at the airport when you leave.
| Route | Status | What to do about it |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | Availability not published | Do not plan around it. Ask the shop whether it offers cash at all. |
| Credit card | Listed | Use a card in your own name. Name-mismatch handling has not been published. |
| Smartphone payment app | Listed | Check which apps your shop supports before you pay. |
| Approved operator | Listed | Note the operator named on your receipt. That is who you chase. |
The fee nobody can quote you
Whether a handling fee is deducted, and at what rate, has not been published. Every amount on this site is therefore the maximum. Pages elsewhere that give you a percentage are giving you a guess dressed as a figure.
The exchange rate is your bank's, not Japan's
The refund is a yen amount. If your card settles in dollars, euros, pounds or anything else, what arrives is that yen amount after your issuer converts it — on its date, at its rate, with whatever it charges for doing so.
This is why we publish yen and only yen. When you check what you received, compare the yen figure on the receipt with the yen figure your statement shows, before conversion.
How many days it takes
Not published. We will measure it from November 1, 2026 and publish what we observe.