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Japan's Accommodation Tax, City by City
Japan accommodation tax is not one national charge but a set of city-by-city taxes that stack on top of your room rate.1 The practical consequence is simple: budget a small per-night line item for each city on your route, and expect to pay it at the property rather than inside the booking headline price.1
Fees, rules, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Taxation, the Osaka Prefecture tax pages, Kyoto City tourism and tax pages, the Fukuoka Prefecture, Kanazawa City, and Kutchan Town tax pages, and JNTO-linked official sources before you book.
Overview
There is no single Japanese lodging tax that covers the whole country. Each prefecture or city adopts its own ordinance with its own bands, thresholds, and exemptions.1
The charge is calculated per night on top of the room rate, in most cities as a flat amount per person.1 Tokyo is scheduled to switch to a percentage of the room charge in April 2027, and Kutchan in Hokkaido already uses one.23
In most levying municipalities the tax applies across hotels, 旅館 (ryokan, "traditional Japanese inn"), and licensed 民泊 (minpaku, "private lodging"), and the property collects it at the stay.145 Tokyo is the current exception on coverage: its tax covers hotels and ryokan, and simple lodgings and minpaku come into scope only with the 2027 revision.2
Revenue stays local and funds visitor-related spending in each levying municipality; the city-by-city uses are covered in the next section.1
How the Tax Works Nationwide
The national picture is a shared mechanism with local numbers. The mechanism is stable across cities; the amounts are not, so never carry one city's rate into another city.1
Prefectures and municipalities both hold independent authority to levy. A single stay can therefore attract a combined prefectural plus municipal total, collected together at the property.1
Per person, per night, on top of the room rate
The tax base is the per-person, per-night room charge before tax. For a shared room, divide the room-only total by guests first, then read the band for that per-person figure; each guest pays the band amount.1
Room charge for tax purposes generally means room-only fees plus related service and mandatory cleaning charges. It excludes meal charges, consumption tax, bath tax, and the accommodation tax itself.45 Exact inclusions differ by municipality, which is why the city sections below state their own base where the source gives one.1
The accommodation tax is also separate from Japan's 10 percent consumption tax on lodging.6 Treat them as two different lines: consumption tax inside the stay economics, accommodation tax as the municipal add-on.
The key term is 宿泊税 (shukuhakuzei, "accommodation tax"), sometimes rendered as hotel tax or lodging tax.1 The base it applies to is the 宿泊料金 (shukuhaku ryokin, "room charge").4
Collected at the property, rarely in the booking headline price
The property collects the tax together with the room charge as special collector for the city or prefecture.457 Tokyo's own guidance notes that front desks collect it separately from travel charges.7
Even a prepaid booking-platform rate often leaves the tax payable separately on site.1 Read the booking confirmation and expect a separate line at check-in or check-out.17 Kyoto City adds one qualifier: amounts paid to a reservation site or travel agent sometimes already include the tax, so confirm with the facility itself.8
What the revenue funds
Each city earmarks the revenue for visitor-related spending rather than its general budget. Tokyo funds visitor-environment measures such as public Wi-Fi, digital signage, and tourist information centers (as of 2026-04; confirm current uses with each municipality).1 Osaka funds traveler safety measures and multilingual signage (as of 2026-04).1
Kyoto funds tourism promotion and sustainable urban development (as of 2026-02).9 Kanazawa funds projects that build the city's appeal through its history, tradition, and culture while promoting sustainable tourism (as of 2026-04).1
Fukuoka funds tourism-resource appeal, reception-environment improvement, multilingual and barrier-free support, and grants for municipal projects (as of 2026-04).10 Kutchan introduced its tax as revenue for town development driven by growing visitor numbers (as of 2026-04).3
The shared logic is the same across these cities. Visitors who benefit from tourism share the cost of congestion, crowded transport, litter, and site wear instead of leaving it to residents.1
Tokyo: Tiered Per-Night Tax
Tokyo runs its own tiered per-night system, and only Tokyo's numbers apply in Tokyo. Tokyo introduced the tax in October 2002.1 It currently covers hotels and ryokan only.2
Tokyo's current bands are narrow: stays under 10,000 yen per person per night are exempt, stays of 10,000 yen or more and under 15,000 yen incur 100 yen, and stays of 15,000 yen or more incur 200 yen per person per night (as of 2026-06; confirm current figures with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Taxation).7
| Tokyo band (per person per night, room charge) | Tax per person per night | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10,000 yen | Exempt | 2026-06 | 7 |
| 10,000 yen or more and under 15,000 yen | 100 yen | 2026-06 | 7 |
| 15,000 yen or more | 200 yen | 2026-06 | 7 |
A budget business-hotel night under the threshold legally incurs no Tokyo tax. A mid-range or luxury night above it incurs the flat 100 or 200 yen amount for that band. Tokyo judges the band on the room-only rate excluding meals, pre-tax, per person per night (as of 2026-07).11
Tokyo's system is scheduled to change from April 1, 2027 to a flat 3 percent of the room charge for stays of 13,000 yen or more per person per night, with stays below that exempt (as of 2026-06).27 That scheduled system would also extend coverage to simple lodgings and minpaku alongside hotels and ryokan.2 The revision received ministerial consent on June 30, 2026.2
Tokyo rate bands and exemption
Tokyo handles school trips through the price threshold rather than a separate listed exemption: the metropolitan government expects the higher 2027 threshold to exempt more than 70 percent of school-trip room rates (as of 2026-06).2 Ordinary leisure and business travelers should assume the bands above apply to them and check the current threshold before assuming an exemption.
Tokyo applies the tax to overnight stays with no distinction by nationality or residence.2 A foreign visitor and a Japanese resident in the same room band pay the same amount.
Osaka: Tiered Per-Night Tax
Osaka's tax is a prefecture-wide system, and only Osaka's numbers apply in Osaka. The prefecture has levied it since January 1, 2017.14
Osaka's current bands, in force for stays from September 1, 2025, are: under 5,000 yen exempt, 5,000 yen or more and under 15,000 yen 200 yen, 15,000 yen or more and under 20,000 yen 400 yen, and 20,000 yen or more 500 yen per person per night (as of 2026-04; confirm current figures with Osaka Prefecture).45
| Osaka band (per person per night, room charge) | Tax per person per night | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 5,000 yen | Exempt | 2026-04 | 4 |
| 5,000 yen or more and under 15,000 yen | 200 yen | 2026-04 | 4 |
| 15,000 yen or more and under 20,000 yen | 400 yen | 2026-04 | 4 |
| 20,000 yen or more | 500 yen | 2026-04 | 4 |
For stays through August 31, 2025 the earlier bands were under 7,000 yen exempt, 7,000 yen or more and under 15,000 yen 100 yen, 15,000 yen or more and under 20,000 yen 200 yen, and 20,000 yen or more 300 yen (as of 2026-04).4 That history matters only if you are reconciling an old receipt; new bookings use the current table.
Osaka rate bands and exemption
Osaka's taxpayer definition expressly covers licensed hotels, inns, and simple lodgings plus special-zone private lodging and residential-accommodation minpaku facilities in the prefecture.45 School-excursion students and their leaders staying in the prefecture are exempt.5
Osaka's accommodation tax is levied prefecture-wide by Osaka Prefecture. A stay in Osaka City uses the same prefectural bands above, not an additional city layer.4
Kyoto Structure Without the Full Detail
Kyoto City runs its own structure, and only Kyoto's numbers apply in Kyoto. The city has imposed the tax on all overnight guests in the city since October 1, 2018 to fund tourism promotion and sustainable urban development.98
From March 1, 2026 Kyoto uses a five-tier system ranging from 200 yen at the bottom band to 10,000 yen at the top luxury band per person per night (as of 2026-02; confirm current figures with Kyoto City).9 The top tier applies at room charges of 100,000 yen or more per person per night, which puts Kyoto's luxury tier far above the flat-band amounts elsewhere in this guide.9
Unlike Tokyo, Osaka, and Kanazawa, Kyoto has no exempt price band for general guests; even the cheapest night incurs the bottom-tier amount.911
Before March 1, 2026 the tiers were under 20,000 yen 200 yen, 20,000 yen to 49,999 yen 500 yen, and 50,000 yen or more 1,000 yen (as of 2026-02).9 Participants in school trips and their chaperones are exempt.8
Why Kyoto gets its own article
Kyoto's tier math, luxury-tier impact, and revenue-for-crowd-management framing deserve a dedicated explanation. For full band-by-band budgeting and the policy rationale, read the dedicated Kyoto accommodation-tax article; this city-by-city guide carries only the summary above so the two articles do not duplicate figures that move on different schedules.
Other Municipalities That Levy a Tax
Beyond the big three, a growing set of prefectures and cities levies its own tax, each with its own bands. The implemented set described here reflects sources compiled in spring 2026 and keeps growing, so check each stop on your route individually (as of 2026-04; confirm current figures with each municipality).1
| Municipality | Band summary | Tax per person per night | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kanazawa City | Under 5,000 yen exempt; 5,000 yen or more and under 20,000 yen; 20,000 yen or more | Exempt; 200 yen; 500 yen | 2026-04 | 12 |
| Fukuoka City (combined prefectural plus municipal total) | Under 20,000 yen; 20,000 yen or more | 200 yen (150 city plus 50 prefectural); 500 yen (450 city plus 50 prefectural) | 2026-04 | 10 |
| Kitakyushu City (combined total) | Per person per night | 200 yen (150 city plus 50 prefectural) | 2026-04 | 10 |
| Rest of Fukuoka Prefecture | Per person per night, prefectural tax | 200 yen, plus any municipal tax the locality adopts | 2026-04 | 10 |
| Hiroshima Prefecture | Under 6,000 yen exempt; 6,000 yen or more | Exempt; 200 yen | 2026-04 | 1 |
| Miyagi Prefecture and Sendai City | 6,000 yen or more | 300 yen | 2026-04 | 1 |
| Hokkaido Prefecture plus listed municipalities | Varies by municipality, layered with prefectural tax | Varies; both can apply on one stay | 2026-04 | 1 |
| Kutchan Town, Niseko area (combined town plus Hokkaido total) | All stays, percentage of room charge | 3% of the room charge | 2026-04 | 3 |
Kanazawa City has levied its tax since April 2019.112 Since October 1, 2024, stays under 5,000 yen per person per night (tax-excluded) are exempt, with the 200 yen and 500 yen bands in the table above (as of 2026-04).12 The base is the room-only rate plus service charges, excluding consumption tax, bathing tax, meal costs, and incidental advances.12
Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka City, and Kitakyushu City have levied since April 1, 2020, and the layers are collected together as a single total at the property.10 The Fukuoka City and Kitakyushu City figures in the table already include the 50 yen prefectural share (as of 2026-04).10
Fukuoka's coverage is broad. Guests of hotel businesses, special-zone lodging, and residential-accommodation minpaku facilities are all covered, and any guest generating a room charge is taxed regardless of age.10
Hokkaido Prefecture started its tax in April 2026, layered with municipal taxes in listed municipalities including Sapporo, Otaru, Kutchan, Niseko, Hakodate, Asahikawa, and Furano-area and eastern municipalities (as of 2026-04).1 In layered areas such as Hokkaido municipalities, Fukuoka, and Miyagi with Sendai, prefectural and municipal amounts are collected together as a single total, so one stay can attract both (as of 2026-04).1
Kutchan Town, home to the Niseko ski area, runs a percentage model rather than flat bands. Its own town tax predates the prefectural layer: Kutchan introduced it on November 1, 2019.3
From April 1, 2026 the combined town-plus-Hokkaido total in Kutchan is 3% of the room charge, up from a 2% town rate before that date (as of 2026-04).3 Inside that 3%, the Hokkaido prefectural portion is 100 yen under 20,000 yen, 200 yen at 20,000 yen or more and under 50,000 yen, and 500 yen at 50,000 yen or more, with the town keeping the remainder (as of 2026-04).3 The change received ministerial consent on July 31, 2025.3
Kutchan's 3% already includes the Hokkaido prefectural portion. Adding the prefectural bands on top of the 3% double counts the tax.3
Hiroshima Prefecture started in April 2026 with a simple threshold of 200 yen at 6,000 yen or more (as of 2026-04).1 Miyagi Prefecture and Sendai City started in January 2026 at 300 yen for 6,000 yen or more, with the Sendai City figure including 200 yen of prefectural tax (as of 2026-04).1
Established levying cities and the growing list
New levies also started through 2025 and early 2026 in places such as Tokoname, Takayama, Atami, Gero, Hirosaki, Matsue, Gifu City, Yugawara, and Toba. Nagano Prefecture and its municipalities followed in June 2026 and Kumamoto City and Miyazaki City in July 2026, with further starts introduced in Morioka City and Nasu Town (October 2026), and scheduled for Okinawa prefecture-wide (February 2027) and Fuji-area municipalities (April 2027) (as of 2026-10).1 The table above covers the highest-traffic examples; treat any city not listed here as check-before-you-go rather than tax-free by default.
Estimating Your Multi-City Lodging-Tax Total
The arithmetic is per person, per night, per city. Look up each stop's band, multiply by guests and nights, then add the city totals together.1 The same four steps apply on any route:
A two-adult, six-night Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka route at mid-range rates shows the scale. Tokyo nights at 15,000 yen or more incur 200 yen each (as of 2026-06; confirm current figures with each city's tax office), Kyoto nights at 6,000 yen or more and under 20,000 yen incur 400 yen each (as of 2026-02), and Osaka nights at 5,000 yen or more and under 15,000 yen incur 200 yen each (as of 2026-04).479
| Leg | Band assumption | Tax per person per night | As of | Two adults, two nights per city |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo, two nights | 15,000 yen or more | 200 yen7 | 2026-06 | 800 yen |
| Kyoto, two nights | 6,000 yen or more, under 20,000 yen | 400 yen9 | 2026-02 | 1,600 yen |
| Osaka, two nights | 5,000 yen or more, under 15,000 yen | 200 yen4 | 2026-04 | 800 yen |
| Total | Per person, per night, added per city | Snapshot | 2026-06 | 3,200 yen |
At these mid-range bands the tax adds 3,200 yen across the whole trip for two people. For a percentage system such as Kutchan's, multiply the room charge by the rate instead of reading a flat band.3
Good to know
Budget it per city, not once for Japan
Add the tax stop by stop. Tokyo's 100 or 200 yen bands tell you nothing about Osaka's 200 to 500 yen bands, Kutchan's 3%, or Kyoto's wider range, and Fukuoka's combined prefectural-plus-municipal total is its own arithmetic (as of 2026-06; confirm current figures with each municipal tax office).347910
For a mid-range multi-city trip the total is usually a small fraction of lodging cost. At Kyoto luxury tiers it becomes a real line item, so run that city's math before locking a high-end Kyoto booking.9
A cheap night can be exempt in one city and taxed in the next
Tokyo exempts stays under 10,000 yen per person per night, while Osaka and Kanazawa exempt stays under 5,000 yen (as of 2026-06).4712 Kyoto taxes every band from 200 yen up with no general exemption (as of 2026-02).9 A budget night that escapes the tax in Tokyo can still incur it in Kyoto.
Assume it is not in the headline price
Even a prepaid booking-platform rate often leaves the accommodation tax payable on site.1 The property then collects the tax separately at check-in or check-out, which is why the charge surprises travelers who assumed the prepaid total was final.1
Check the confirmation message for a lodging-tax line. If none appears, assume a separate payment at the property rather than assuming no tax applies.
Fukuoka and Kutchan totals already include the prefectural layer
Fukuoka City and Kitakyushu City totals already include the 50 yen prefectural share (as of 2026-04).10 Kutchan's 3% already includes the Hokkaido prefectural portion (as of 2026-04).3
In layered areas the property collects one combined total. Adding a separate prefectural amount on top double counts.
Tokyo's 2027 rates follow the stay date, not the booking date
Tokyo's 3% system with the 13,000 yen threshold takes effect for stays on or after April 1, 2027 (as of 2026-06).2 A reservation made earlier does not lock in the current bands for a later stay, so confirm with the property for stays that straddle the revision.
Licensed minpaku pays the same city tax in most cities
A licensed private lodging inside a levying municipality collects the same city tax as a hotel on the same street.145 Osaka's ordinance names special-zone and residential-accommodation facilities as taxpayers alongside hotels and inns, and the pattern holds across almost all taxing municipalities.145
Tokyo is the current exception: its tax covers hotels and ryokan, and minpaku come into scope with the April 2027 revision.2
Unlicensed listings are not a way to avoid the tax: Kyoto, for one, taxes guests at unregistered lodgings as well. Book licensed minpaku and expect the same per-person, per-night line as a hotel stay.8
The list of taxing cities keeps growing
The list of taxing cities keeps growing, with starts in January, April, June, and July 2026 and more scheduled into 2027.1 A city that had no tax on your last trip may have one on your next trip.
Check the official page of each municipality on your route shortly before booking. Municipal pages carry the current bands and any threshold change faster than general guides.1
See also
- Extra Fees When Visiting Japan: Destination and Activity Charges
- Japan's International Tourist Tax: The Departure Tax Every Visitor Pays
- Ryokan Cost Tiers: What You Actually Get at Each Price Point
- Vacation Rental Platforms in Japan: Airbnb, Vrbo, and Domestic Alternatives
- Kyoto's New Tiered Accommodation Tax: What You'll Actually Pay