How to use Visit Japan Web for arrival in Japan

What you need before you start

• Your passport. To use the customs e-Gates you need an IC (chip) passport.
• An email address for your account.
• Your planned arrival date, airline and flight number.
• Your contact address in Japan, such as your hotel.
• Your purpose of travel and planned length of stay.
• Details of the goods you are bringing in, for the customs declaration.
• A smartphone or tablet. You can register on a computer, but the QR code must be shown on a smartphone or tablet at entry.

Step by step

These steps follow the Digital Agency's operating manual from 2022. The screens and their names may look different in the current version, so follow what you see on the official site.

1. 1Open the official site at vjw.digital.go.jp and create a new account.
2. 2Agree to the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy, then enter your email address and choose a password.
3. 3Enter the confirmation code sent to your email to verify your address.
4. 4Register yourself as a user. Enter your passport details: name, date of birth, nationality, sex and passport number. A contact address in Japan is optional here.
5. 5If you travel with family members who cannot complete the procedures on their own, such as infants, add them to your account.
6. 6Register your trip. Enter your planned arrival date, airline, flight number and contact address in Japan, and select the family members travelling with you.
7. 7Complete the immigration section (the disembarkation card). Enter your current address, purpose of travel and planned length of stay, and answer the questions. Japanese nationals and re-entry permit holders skip this section.
8. 8Complete the customs declaration. Answer the declaration questions and list the goods asked for. Personal items with an overseas market value of 10,000 yen or less per item do not need to be listed.
9. 9Display your QR codes. If you added family members, switch between each person's QR code on the same screen.
10. 10On arrival, show the immigration QR code on screen together with your passport. At customs, hold your IC passport and the QR code over the scanner of the electronic declaration terminal.

When to register

Register in advance, before you leave home. You can do it from abroad.

Creating an account, logging in, registering yourself and adding a new trip all need an internet connection. If you have logged in online before your trip, you can open the immigration and customs sections and your existing QR codes offline. You can add the site to your phone's home screen.

Cost

Visit Japan Web is free. Japan Customs says the service is free and that it charges no fee for the electronic declaration procedures on arrival.

The Digital Agency says Visit Japan Web does not require you to enter your credit card information. Use only the official site on vjw.digital.go.jp.

Families and children

• According to the Digital Agency's 2022 manual, you must complete your own user registration before adding family members.
• Up to 10 accompanying family members can be registered under one account. This is intended for people, such as infants, who cannot complete the procedures on their own.
• Each person still has their own entry record and their own QR code. You choose each person's code from the QR code screen.
• At customs e-Gates, every traveller, including family members, completes the terminal procedure individually. Children under 100 cm tall can pass the gate with a family member.

Who it is for

• Visit Japan Web is optional. JNTO says registration "is not required, but advance registration makes procedures like tax-free shopping more convenient."
• It can be used by foreign nationals entering Japan and by Japanese nationals returning to Japan.
• Japanese nationals and foreign nationals with a re-entry permit do not fill in the disembarkation card section.
• Japan Customs says the paper Customs Declaration Form can still be used. You can print it in advance on A4 paper, and it is available in many languages.
• Customs e-Gates that read the Visit Japan Web code are at 7 international airports: New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Chubu Centrair, Kansai, Fukuoka and Naha. You need an IC passport to use them.
• Integrated immigration and customs kiosks at Haneda, Kansai and Narita need prior registration on Visit Japan Web.
• The tax-free shopping function is for foreign nationals with Short-Term Stay, Diplomat or Official status. Tax-free shopping changes on 1 November 2026. Until 31 October 2026, the tax is taken off at the shop. For purchases from 1 November 2026, you pay the full price including consumption tax in the shop, and the tax is refunded after customs confirms on departure that the goods are leaving Japan. You present your passport at a tax-free procedure terminal at your departure airport or seaport within 90 days of purchase. At major airports, you can complete this step online in Visit Japan Web instead.

Fake websites: how to spot them

The real Visit Japan Web is on the Japanese government domain digital.go.jp. Japan Customs warns that websites overseas are impersonating Visit Japan Web, and that private sites charge fees for "assistance" with customs declarations. Travellers have been sent to unofficial sites and asked for fees or personal information, and some paid third-party sites that claimed to generate Visit Japan Web QR codes.

• Use only addresses on digital.go.jp: vjw.digital.go.jp for the service and login, and services.digital.go.jp or vjw-lp.digital.go.jp for information pages.
• Visit Japan Web is free and does not ask for your credit card number. A site or app that asks for a fee or card details is not the official service.
• The Digital Agency has warned about a suspicious app imitating Visit Japan Web that asks for credit card information. If you installed a suspicious app, uninstall it immediately.
• Fake websites copying the Digital Agency's own site have also been reported, and opening them may infect your device. The Digital Agency's official site is www.digital.go.jp.

Common mistakes

• Email confirmation code not working: log in again with the same email and password to have it resent. If you typed the wrong email address, create a new account.
• Wrong name or date of birth on the disembarkation card: change it in your user registration, not on the card.
• Editing offline on one device: the changes may not appear on your other devices, and data saved only offline cannot be recovered if deleted.
• Using an old Customs Declaration App QR code. These stopped working on 25 January 2024. Use Visit Japan Web instead.
• Expecting to skip baggage inspection. An electronic declaration does not exempt you, and you may be sent to an inspection desk.
• Wearing a mask, sunglasses or face covering at a customs e-Gate. The gate takes a face photo, which is deleted right after you pass.
• Assuming every tax-free shop accepts the Visit Japan Web tax-free QR code. Look for the Visit Japan Web mark and check first. The code contains your personal information, so handle it carefully.