Japan customs allowances: 3 bottles, 200 cigarettes and the ¥200,000 rule
Japan's allowances are famously clean numbers: three bottles of alcohol, 200 cigarettes, ¥200,000 for everything else — plus one shopper-friendly rule most guides miss: individual items priced under ¥10,000 don't count toward the ¥200,000 at all. Here is the full allowance table from Japan Customs' official guidance.
Data verified as of 2026-10-29
Every number on this page was checked against Japan Customs (customs.go.jp) official English FAQ and passenger clearance pages on the date above, with source links at the bottom. Re-check the official page before you travel; ask Japan Customs about individual cases.
Key takeaways
- Alcohol and tobacco concessions apply only to travellers aged 20 or older — Japan's age of majority dropped to 18, but drinking/smoking stayed at 20.
- Alcohol: 3 bottles, with 760 ml counted as one bottle.
- Tobacco: 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, or 250 g of other tobacco, or 10 packs of heated tobacco — mixed tobacco totals capped at 250 g.
- Perfume: 2 ounces (about 56 ml).
- Other goods: total overseas market value under ¥200,000; items under ¥10,000 each are duty-free and excluded from the total; no allowance for a single item over ¥200,000.
- Cash plus payment instruments over ¥1,000,000 (or equivalent) must be declared, on entry and exit.
Allowance table
| Item | Allowance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol | 3 bottles (760 ml each) | Age 20+ |
| Cigarettes | 200 sticks | Age 20+; mixed tobacco capped at 250 g total |
| Cigars | 50 | |
| Other tobacco | 250 g | |
| Heated tobacco | 10 packs | |
| Perfume | 2 oz (~56 ml) | — |
| Other personal effects | Overseas market value under ¥200,000 | Items under ¥10,000 each excluded; single items over ¥200,000 get no allowance |
The ¥10,000 rule, explained
Japan Customs splits your shopping into two tracks:
- Items each worth under ¥10,000 overseas retail (a box of matcha sweets, a towel) are duty-free and don't consume the ¥200,000 allowance — buy twenty of them and nothing changes.
- Items over ¥10,000 (electronics, brand bags, watches) count toward the ¥200,000 total; and any single item over ¥200,000 cannot use the allowance at all — duty applies in full.
Children under 6 receive no allowances except obviously child-oriented items such as toys.
Cash: the ¥1,000,000 threshold
Entering or leaving Japan with cash plus payment instruments (cheques, traveller's cheques, promissory notes, securities) totalling over ¥1,000,000 (or the equivalent in foreign currency) requires declaration to Customs. Gold bullion of 90%+ purity worth over ¥1,000,000 must also be declared. The declaration is part of the customs declaration form and can be pre-filed via Visit Japan Web.
Don't confuse the two "tax-free" systems
Tax-free shopping in Tokyo (consumption tax waived at the till for tourists) is a different regime from the arrival allowance on this page: one governs what you buy duty-free inside Japan, the other what you bring into Japan. Japan's tax-free shopping system has seen recent adjustments — check Japan Customs and Visit Japan Web for the current rules before relying on it.
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See plans →Duty-free shop bottles count too
Alcohol bought at your departure airport's duty-free shop counts toward the 3-bottle allowance on arrival in Japan — including purchases made during a layover. This page is an information summary, not legal advice; ask Japan Customs about your case.
Official sources
- Japan Customs: Duty-free allowance for accompanied personal effects (C-Answer 7105)
- Japan Customs: Procedures of passenger clearance (payment instruments declaration)