What to Declare at Japanese Customs: Limits and Phrases
Choose the green channel only if you carry nothing dutiable, prohibited, or restricted. Otherwise use the red channel. Japan Customs sets the rules, and the figures below are from its passenger clearance page, as of October 2026. Rules change, so check the page before you fly.
1. Green or red channel
Japan Customs describes two channels:
- Green: for passengers with no goods subject to duty or tax, and no prohibited or restricted goods.
- Red: for everyone else. Duties and taxes are paid at the bank in the Customs inspection zone.
If the value of dutiable goods exceeds 300,000 yen, commercial cargo procedures are required.
2. Duty-free allowance for an adult
| Item | Allowance |
|---|---|
| Alcoholic beverages | 3 bottles (about 760 cc each) |
| Cigars | 50 |
| Cigarettes | 200 |
| Heat-not-burn tobacco | 10 individual packages |
| Other tobacco | 250 grams |
| Perfume | 2 ounces (one ounce is about 28 ml) |
| Other articles | 200,000 yen total overseas market value |
For tobacco, if you bring more than one kind, the combined allowance is the equivalent of 250 grams. Customs also lists examples for heat-not-burn products: 200 pieces for IQOS, 200 for glo, and 50 capsules for Ploom TECH.
For "other articles," items worth under 10,000 yen each are free and not counted toward the 200,000 yen total. An item or set worth more than 200,000 yen has no duty-free allowance at all. Commodities and commercial samples are not treated as personal use, so they are taxed.
3. What happens if you go over
Customs applies simplified rates to the amount over the allowance in most cases:
| Item | Rate |
|---|---|
| Whisky, brandy | 800 yen per liter |
| Rum, gin, vodka | 500 yen per liter |
| Liquor | 400 yen per liter |
| Distilled alcoholic beverages | 300 yen per liter |
| Wine, beer and other liquor | 200 yen per liter |
| Cigarettes | 15 yen each |
| Heat-not-burn tobacco (stick products such as IQOS, glo) | 15 yen per stick |
| Heat-not-burn tobacco (capsule or cartridge sets such as Ploom TECH) | 50 yen per capsule or cartridge |
| Other articles | 15% |
Two examples using those rates. Four 760 ml bottles of whisky means one bottle over, or 0.76 liters, so 0.76 x 800 = 608 yen. Bringing 250 cigarettes means 50 over, and 50 x 15 = 750 yen. These are illustrations of the published rates, not a quote for your case.
4. Cash and other items to declare
- Cash or payment instruments worth more than 1 million yen (or its equivalent) must be declared on a separate form, entering or leaving Japan. That covers foreign currency, checks, travelers checks, promissory notes, and securities. Gold bullion of 90% purity or more over 1 kg is included.
- Any gold bullion or gold products must be marked "Yes" on the declaration form, regardless of amount.
- Prohibited items include narcotics, firearms and ammunition, explosives, counterfeit currency, obscene materials, child pornography, and goods that infringe intellectual property.
- Restricted items need permits or inspection. Plants and animals go through quarantine first. Medicine and cosmetics have quantity limits: Customs gives examples of a two-month supply for pharmaceutical products and quasi-drugs, and 24 applications for cosmetics.
- No hunting guns, air guns, or swords without a permit to possess.
5. Unaccompanied baggage
Anything you ship separately must be listed, and you submit two copies of the declaration. A Customs officer returns one copy with a seal. The goods must be in your custody within six months of arrival, and you show the sealed copy at clearance. Parcels sent by mail should be marked "unaccompanied baggage."
6. Phrases
| English | Japanese | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| I would like to use the red channel. | 赤の通路を使います。 | Aka no tsuuro o tsukaimasu. |
| I have three bottles of whisky. | ウイスキーが3本あります。 | Uisukii ga san-bon arimasu. |
| I have prescription medicine. | 処方薬を持っています。 | Shohou-yaku o motte imasu. |
| How much is the duty? | 税金はいくらですか。 | Zeikin wa ikura desu ka. |
| Where do I pay? | どこで払えばいいですか。 | Doko de haraeba ii desu ka. |
| May I pay by card? | カードで払えますか。 | Kaado de haraemasu ka. |
Japan Customs says mobile payment apps and credit cards are now accepted for customs duties paid by passengers, and its cashless payment page links to the details for each method. Duties are paid at the bank in the Customs inspection zone, so confirm there which methods that counter takes.
7. Key takeaways
- Green channel means nothing dutiable, prohibited, or restricted; otherwise red.
- Allowance highlights: 3 bottles of alcohol, 200 cigarettes, 2 ounces of perfume, 200,000 yen of other goods.
- Declare cash or securities over 1 million yen and any gold.
- Medicine and cosmetics have quantity limits.
- Ask a Customs officer if you are unsure; Customs invites the question.