- Visa
- Not needed for up to 90 days
- Passport
- Valid for your whole stay, one blank page
- Visit Japan Web
- Optional, free — speeds up arrival
- JESTA (e-authorisation)
- Not in force — planned for 2028
- Departure tax
- ¥3,000, included in your air fare
Do UK citizens need a visa for Japan?
No. On a British passport you can enter Japan as a Temporary Visitor for up to 90 days for tourism, visiting friends or short business trips. The UK government describes this as a visa on arrival — you get a landing permission sticker in your passport at immigration, and there is nothing to apply for or pay in advance.
- No paid work of any kind is allowed on Temporary Visitor status.
- Staying longer: UK nationals are one of a handful of nationalities (with Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Mexico) who can apply to extend to six months. You apply in person at a Regional Immigration Bureau in Japan before your 90 days run out; approval is not automatic.
- Other passports: if anyone in your group travels on a different passport, check their status on Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa-exemption list.
Passport rules
Japan is relaxed here compared with many countries. Your passport must be valid for the length of your stay — no extra six months of validity is required — and the UK government advises having at least one blank page for the landing sticker.
Immigration officers can ask how long you are staying, where, and how you are leaving. Have your return or onward booking and your first night's accommodation to hand on your phone; it makes the conversation a short one.
On arrival you will be fingerprinted and photographed at the immigration desk or kiosk. Everyone aged 16 and over goes through this.
Visit Japan Web
Visit Japan Web is the government's free online pre-registration service, run by Japan's Digital Agency. It is optional, but worth doing a few days before you fly:
- You enter your passport, flight and customs details once and get a single QR code that covers both immigration and customs (combined since January 2024).
- At Haneda, Narita, Kansai and Fukuoka you scan that code at joint kiosks; electronic customs gates at seven airports then let you out without filling in the paper form.
- From 1 November 2026 it also handles the customs check for tax-free shopping refunds at Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, New Chitose (Sapporo), Fukuoka and Naha. See how the new tax-free system works.
Watch out for copycat sites
Visit Japan Web is free. Japan Customs has warned about look-alike sites charging "application fees" or "assistance fees". Start from the official link above, not from a search ad.
JESTA: Japan's coming travel authorisation
Japan is building an electronic travel authorisation, similar to the US ESTA or the UK's own ETA, called JESTA. The law creating it was passed in May 2026. It must start by 31 March 2029 at the latest, with the government aiming for the 2028 financial year. The fee has not been set.
As of October 2026 JESTA is not in force and there is nothing to apply for. It could launch earlier than the 2029 deadline, so check its status before any future trip. Until an official application site opens, any website taking money for a "Japan ETA" or "JESTA" is a scam. We will update this page when it does.
Customs allowances
Each traveller aged 20 or over can bring in the following free of duty. Anything above has to be declared.
| Item | Duty-free allowance |
|---|---|
| Alcohol | 3 bottles (760 ml each) |
| Tobacco | 200 cigarettes, or 50 cigars, or 10 packs of heated-tobacco sticks, or 250 g of other tobacco |
| Perfume | 2 oz (about 56 ml) |
| Other goods | Up to ¥200,000 in total overseas value. A type of item whose total value is ¥10,000 or less (for example, two ties at ¥4,000 each) doesn't count towards it. A single item worth more than ¥200,000 is taxed in full. |
Older guides that quote 400 cigarettes are out of date. Meat products (including sandwiches and jerky), fresh fruit and plants are restricted by Japan's animal and plant quarantine rules — finish them on the plane.
Bringing medicines into Japan
This is where UK travellers most often get into trouble. Japan's drug laws are strict, and several medicines sold over the counter in British chemists are controlled substances there.
Ordinary medicines: how much you can bring without paperwork
| Type | Without any paperwork |
|---|---|
| Prescription medicines | Up to 1 month's supply |
| Over-the-counter medicines | Up to 2 months' supply |
| Over-the-counter creams, patches and other external-use items | Up to 24 per item (prescription creams count as prescription medicines) |
| Disposable contact lenses | Up to 2 months' supply |
Above those amounts you need an Import Confirmation (it replaced the old "Yakkan Shoumei" in 2020). Apply online through the Ministry of Health's system with your prescription or a doctor's note and your arrival details. Processing usually takes a few working days, so apply at least two weeks before you travel. Carry the medicine in its original packaging with a copy of your prescription.
Controlled medicines: get permission first
- Pseudoephedrine — the decongestant in Sudafed Decongestant and some cold and flu tablets. Products containing more than 10% pseudoephedrine are a "stimulant raw material" in Japan and need advance permission, and Japanese consulates list Sudafed among products travellers shouldn't bring. Unless you have checked your exact product, leave it at home and buy a local cold remedy if you need one.
- Codeine and strong opioids (for example oxycodone and morphine) are narcotics in Japan. For codeine it depends on the strength of the exact product: preparations with 1% codeine or less are exempt, stronger ones are controlled. Bringing in a controlled product needs advance permission from the Ministry of Health's Narcotics Control Department — apply at least 14 days ahead, with a doctor's certificate, and carry the medicine yourself.
- ADHD medicines: amphetamine-based medicines (Adderall, dexamfetamine) are banned even with a prescription. Lisdexamfetamine (Elvanse) needs advance permission. For methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta), up to 2,160 mg of the active ingredient in total needs no paperwork under the psychotropics rules; above that, carry a doctor's certificate — and, as with any prescription medicine, more than a month's supply also needs an Import Confirmation.
- Taking leftovers home: if you bring a controlled medicine in with permission and leave Japan with some unused, you need permission to take it back out too. Apply for both at the same time.
Check your own prescription
Rules depend on the exact ingredient and strength. If you take anything stronger than paracetamol or ibuprofen, check it against the Narcotics Control Department's guidance well before you book, and talk to your GP about alternatives if it's on the list.
Departure tax
Japan's International Tourist Tax rose from ¥1,000 to ¥3,000 (about £14) per person for departures from 1 July 2026. You don't pay it separately: airlines add it to the ticket price. Tickets issued on or before 30 June 2026 kept the old rate. Children under two are exempt.
Entry checklist
- Passport valid for the whole trip, with a blank page.
- Return or onward booking and first-night address saved on your phone.
- Visit Japan Web completed a few days before departure; QR code saved offline.
- Medicines checked against Japan's rules; prescriptions and doctor's letter packed.
- Travel insurance that covers medical treatment — healthcare in Japan is excellent but expensive for visitors.
- The UK government's travel advice for Japan read in the week before you fly.