What’s changed
Rules, prices and dates that change a trip to Japan, with the article that covers each one.
Each line links to the article where I checked it against the official source. Dates still ahead come first, with a countdown; once a date passes, it moves to the list of changes.
Coming up
- 5daysTax-free shopping: the tax comes back only after a customs check when you leave Japan
- 5daysTeshima Yokoo House starts its weekend night tours, on 17 evenings until 27 December
- 5daysJapan's tax-free shopping switches to a refund method: pay tax-inclusive prices, then get the tax back after a customs check when you leave.
- 31daysWinter Seishun 18 Kippu goes on sale, for use 11 December to 11 January
- 35daysTeshima Ferry’s winter timetable drops the 10:45 from Takamatsu to Ieura
- 38daysLast day of the Togakushi sightseeing express timetable (planned)
- 54daysJapan Post starts accepting 2027 New Year cards on 20 December, later than the 15 December start of the 2026 cards.
- 63daysGovernment offices close for New Year, until 3 January
- 63daysSagano Romantic Train's current cars make their last runs; a new train is due in spring 2027.
- 65daysBank counters close for New Year, until 3 January
- 155daysLast day to start the current Kansai Railway Pass Lite
- 156daysTokyo’s hotel tax becomes 3% per person per night, minpaku included
Already changed
- JR Hokkaido’s passport-reader machines at Sapporo and New Chitose Airport start selling rail passes
- The 7-day Japan Rail Pass rises to ¥53,000 from overseas agents (¥50,000 online, for now)
- Employers across Japan must have customer-harassment measures in place
- Last day to buy JR West’s Kansai Area Pass
- Osawa Onsen's guest shuttle from Shin-Hanamaki Station now costs ¥100 per person each ride.
- Tokyo’s sento price rises to ¥600, up from ¥550
- Buses back into Nagano Station now set down at stop 9
- Cashew joins the allergens packaged food must show
- One JR EAST PASS replaces JR East’s two regional passes
- Last day JR East sold round-trip tickets, and their discount
- Tokyo’s customer harassment ordinance comes into force
Dates checked against each article’s sources on 17 October 2026.