--- title: "On a Cruise, Where Do You Get Japan's Tax-Free Customs Check?" description: "On a cruise that starts and ends abroad, the tax-free customs check is at the last port in Japan; on a fly-and-cruise trip, it is at the airport you fly out from. Below: landing permits, bags, the 90 days, the online route and what the sources leave open." lang: en canonical: https://refund-japan.com/articles/cruise-passengers published: 2026-11-09 updated: 2026-11-09 author: "Hiroto Kusabayashi (CEO, APORON Inc.)" publisher: "RefundJapan (APORON Inc.)" --- # On a Cruise, Where Do You Get Japan's Tax-Free Customs Check? > On a cruise that starts and ends abroad, the tax-free customs check is at the last port in Japan; on a fly-and-cruise trip, it is at the airport you fly out from. Below: landing permits, bags, the 90 days, the online route and what the sources leave open. Last checked: 2026-11-09 Responsible: Hiroto Kusabayashi, CEO of APORON Inc. (drafted by AI from primary sources, checked by a person) From purchases made on November 1, 2026, you pay the tax-included price in the shop, and the consumption tax is refunded after customs confirms at departure that the goods are leaving Japan with you. That check happens at a terminal in the departure airport or seaport, within 90 days of the purchase date ([Japan Tourism Agency](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00021.html), checked November 9, 2026). A cruise makes the question of "which departure" less obvious: the ship may call at several Japanese ports, or leave Japan and come back before you fly home. The official sources answer both cases, and this article sets out what they say and where they stop. ## Can cruise passengers buy tax-free in Japan at all? Yes, if they are eligible buyers. The National Tax Agency's list of eligible foreign nationals includes people staying under a port-of-call landing permit or a cruise-ship sightseeing landing permit, alongside short-stay visitors ([National Tax Agency Q&A, July 2026](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf), Q3, checked November 9, 2026). What you show at the till depends on the permit. With a port-of-call landing permit, it is the passport with the landing-permission stamp. With a cruise-ship sightseeing landing permit, it is the passport together with the landing permit, and for this permit the passport may be a copy (same Q&A, Q16). This is the only case in that table where a copy is named, so do not treat it as a general rule; [whether a photo of your passport works](https://refund-japan.com/articles/passport-original-only) covers everyone else. The sources do not say which permit a given cruise passenger receives. Look at the document you were handed when you went ashore, and bring it with your passport to the shop. ## My cruise starts and ends outside Japan. Where is the customs check? At the last port of call in Japan. When the cruise leaves Japan from its final Japanese port, you do the procedure there, before your baggage is handed over, using a tax-free procedure terminal ([National Tax Agency Q&A](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf), Q34). The Tourism Agency's traveler FAQ says the same and names the electronic terminal for this case ([Japan Tourism Agency FAQ](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00023.html), checked November 9, 2026). So a ship that calls at Fukuoka, then Osaka, then leaves Japan from Tokyo is checked once, at Tokyo. Goods bought in Fukuoka and Osaka are carried on until that last port, and the check covers them there, as long as each purchase is still within its 90 days. ## I took a cruise from Japan and fly home afterwards. Where is the check? At the airport you fly out from. On a cruise that departs from Japan, calls at a foreign port and returns to Japan, followed by a flight home (a "fly and cruise" trip), the customs check for the whole stay is done when you leave Japan from a Japanese airport, at the departure airport, before baggage drop, using a kiosk or electronic terminal ([National Tax Agency Q&A](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf), Q34). No procedure is needed when the ship leaves Japan to call at the foreign port (same Q&A; [Japan Tourism Agency FAQ](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00023.html)). That matters for the shopping you do before boarding the ship. Goods bought in Yokohama before the cruise are not checked at the cruise terminal; they wait for the airport at the end of the trip. ## Does the 90-day limit change on a cruise? The sources do not describe any change. The customs check has to take place at departure within 90 days of the purchase date, and the 90 days are counted from the day after the purchase date ([National Tax Agency Q&A](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf), Q36). Nothing in the sources pauses the count while you are at sea. On a long fly-and-cruise trip, count from the earliest purchase to the day you fly out; [which day is day 1](https://refund-japan.com/articles/counting-90-days) explains the count. ## Can I hand my bags to the ship first and do the check later? No. You must have every tax-free item with you at the terminal, and baggage already handed to the ship or airline cannot be taken back for the procedure ([Japan Tourism Agency](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00021.html)). The check also works per receipt, so one missing item stops every item on that receipt ([National Tax Agency Q&A](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf), Q37): keep every item from each receipt in the bag you carry yourself. [Checking in a bag before the terminal](https://refund-japan.com/articles/checked-bag-before-terminal) and [one item lost before departure](https://refund-japan.com/articles/lost-or-broken-before-departure) cover both rules in more detail. ## What happens if the terminal at the port shows red? With a green result, the customs check is finished. With a red result, the goods are checked at the customs inspection area ([Japan Tourism Agency](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00021.html)). The whole check, including any inspection, must be finished before boarding or embarkation procedures. Leave time for a red result at the port as you would at an airport; [what green and red mean](https://refund-japan.com/articles/green-or-red) has more on the two results. ## Can I do the procedure online on my phone at the port? The sources list the online procedure, through Visit Japan Web, only for some busy airports: Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, New Chitose, Fukuoka and Naha. It is used in the area connected to the procedure's dedicated wireless network in the international departure lobby, up to the security checkpoint ([Japan Tourism Agency FAQ](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00023.html); [National Tax Agency Q&A](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf), Q33). No seaport is on that list, so at a cruise port plan on using the terminal. On a fly-and-cruise trip that ends at one of those airports, the online option may apply there. The Tourism Agency page also limits the online route to people on short-term stay, diplomatic or official status; port-of-call and cruise-ship sightseeing landing permits are not on that list ([Japan Tourism Agency](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00021.html)). ## How does the refund reach me after a cruise? The same way as for any other traveler. Refunds are made by the shop after the customs check at the airport or seaport. The Tourism Agency gives bank transfer, credit card, app payment and cash at the departure airport or seaport as possible methods, and says the method differs by shop, so ask the shop ([Japan Tourism Agency FAQ](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00023.html)). Whether cash is offered at a particular cruise port is not stated; [how the refund reaches you](https://refund-japan.com/articles/refund-methods) compares the methods. ## Which situations does this come up in? A round trip from Shanghai that calls at Nagasaki and Fukuoka. You shop ashore at both ports. The ship leaves Japan from Fukuoka, so the check is done there, before your baggage goes back aboard, with every item from both ports in hand. A cruise from Yokohama to Busan and back, then a flight out of Haneda. You shop in Tokyo before boarding. Nothing is done when the ship leaves for Busan. The check for all your purchases happens at Haneda before baggage drop, within 90 days of each purchase. A cruise that ends in Japan and a flight home from a regional airport after a domestic connection. The procedure is done at the last airport you leave Japan from ([Japan Tourism Agency FAQ](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00023.html)), not at the cruise port; [a domestic connection](https://refund-japan.com/articles/domestic-connection) walks through that route. ## What do the sources not cover? Japan Customs publishes a map of the tax refund kiosks and customs inspection areas at airports and seaports. Its seaport list includes cruise terminals such as Osanbashi in Yokohama, Kobe Port Terminal, Hakata Port and Naha Cruise Terminal, and international ferry terminals as well; the same page says some ports have no map and some have no permanent kiosk ([Japan Customs map](https://www.customs.go.jp/kaigairyoko/taxrefund/map.htm), checked November 10, 2026). What the sources we checked do not say is how the check is timed for passengers who stay on board at the last port, or which landing permit a given cruise gives. Ask the cruise line and the customs office at the port; they apply the procedure on the day. ## What do readers ask most? ### Do I have to do the check at every Japanese port the ship visits? No. On a cruise that starts and ends abroad, the check is done at the last port in Japan ([National Tax Agency Q&A](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf), Q34). ### Do I need to do anything when my cruise from Japan leaves for a foreign port? No. On a fly-and-cruise trip, the check is done at the airport you fly out from, and no procedure is needed when the ship first leaves Japan (same Q&A, Q34). ### Can I show a copy of my passport at the shop? Only the cruise-ship sightseeing landing permit case names a copy, and it is shown with the landing permit (same Q&A, Q16). ### Can I do the check after my luggage has gone aboard? No. You must have all the goods with you at the terminal, and checked baggage cannot be taken back for the procedure ([Japan Tourism Agency](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00021.html)). ### Is there an online procedure at cruise ports? The sources list it only for certain airports, and no seaport is named ([Japan Tourism Agency FAQ](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00023.html)). ## What should I do before the last port or the flight? 1. Work out where you leave Japan: the last Japanese port, or the airport after the cruise. 2. Keep every tax-free item and its receipt in a bag you carry yourself, and do not hand it to the ship or airline before the check. 3. Bring your passport and, if you have one, the landing permit you were given ashore. 4. Check that each purchase is still within 90 days on that departure day. 5. Ask the cruise line when the terminal at the last port can be used, and leave time for a red result. ## Sources - [Japan Tourism Agency, page for travelers (checked November 9, 2026)](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00021.html) - [Japan Tourism Agency, traveler FAQ (checked November 9, 2026)](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00023.html) - [National Tax Agency, Q&A on the refund system, July 2026, Q3, Q16, Q33, Q34, Q36 and Q37 (checked November 9, 2026)](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf) - [Japan Customs, locations of tax refund kiosks and customs inspection areas (checked November 10, 2026)](https://www.customs.go.jp/kaigairyoko/taxrefund/map.htm) RefundJapan confirmed this as of November 9, 2026. Rules and services may change. ## Sources - [Japan Tourism Agency](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00021.html) - [National Tax Agency Q&A, July 2026](https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf) - [Japan Tourism Agency FAQ](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00023.html) - [Japan Customs map](https://www.customs.go.jp/kaigairyoko/taxrefund/map.htm)