Is Visit Japan Web free?

Official and free

Start from the Digital Agency Visit Japan Web page. It links to the live service and its operating instructions.

Treat a search advertisement, app-store result or similar-looking domain as unverified until it matches that official route. Japan Customs has reported both fake sites that impersonate Visit Japan Web and private application services that charge for assistance. The warning does not establish that every third-party service is fraudulent.

The Digital Agency describes Visit Japan Web as a service for online arrival procedures, including immigration and Customs, as well as a tax-free shopping function.

For Customs, you can register declaration information and present the generated 2D code at the airport. Arriving passengers still need to declare their belongings, and completing the electronic route does not guarantee that baggage will not be inspected.

Worked example

You fly London–Haneda, landing 14:05 on 12 November 2026, with one suitcase and nothing to declare.

1. A few days before: open Visit Japan Web from the Digital Agency page (official service address: vjw.digital.go.jp). Create an account with an email address and password. Cost: ¥0.
2. Register yourself: scan or type your passport details (number, names, nationality, date of birth, expiry date), then your occupation and home city.
3. Register the trip: arrival date (12 November 2026), airline and flight number, and where you boarded. Your address in Japan and a phone number are optional.
4. Complete "Immigration clearance and customs declaration": answer the Customs questions honestly (for example, alcohol over 3 bottles, cash over ¥1,000,000 or any gold). One QR code now covers both immigration and Customs (unified since 25 January 2024).
5. On arrival at Haneda: show the QR code at immigration. After baggage claim, scan the QR code and your IC passport at an electronic declaration terminal, then walk through the e-Gate. Haneda is one of the 7 airports with Customs e-Gates.
6. If the app or your phone fails: take a paper "Declaration of Accompanied Articles and Unaccompanied Articles" (form C-5360) from the aircraft or the Customs area and fill it in. Paper is still accepted.

Result: Total cost ¥0. If anyone asks you to pay for a "Visit Japan Web QR code", you're not on the official service.

Our judgement: register a few days ahead rather than at the gate. That leaves time to fix a passport typo, and the QR code then works offline as a saved screenshot or in the open app. Keep the passport itself handy; the QR code doesn't replace it.

Choose your route

If columns are cut off, scroll sideways. Keyboard: focus the table, then use Left/Right Arrow keys.

Next step

1. Open the Digital Agency's Visit Japan Web page and follow its link to vjw.digital.go.jp. Don't use a search ad or a QR code sent by a third party.
2. Have your passport, flight number and arrival date ready; registration takes one sitting.
3. Once you see your QR code, take a screenshot and keep the paper form as your backup option.

Key facts

If columns are cut off, scroll sideways. Keyboard: focus the table, then use Left/Right Arrow keys.

Visit Japan Web is not the JAPAN eVISA system and does not decide whether you may enter Japan. Visa requirements depend on details such as passport nationality, residence, purpose and length of stay.

Travelling on a British, French or German passport? See entry conditions for UK, French and German passports for stay length, extensions and the departure tax.

Check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa information or the Japanese embassy or consulate responsible for your place of residence. A completed Visit Japan Web registration does not prove visa eligibility.

It is also not a paid fast-track product. A third party may sell assistance, but that does not turn the government service into a paid requirement.

Japan Customs recommends electronic declaration through Visit Japan Web. Its current declaration guide also says that the existing paper Declaration of Accompanied Articles and Unaccompanied Articles can still be used.

For quantity limits, permits and banned medicines, see medicines that need an import confirmation.

If the electronic route is unavailable or fails, that does not remove the declaration duty. Fill in paper form C-5360, available on the aircraft or in the Customs area, and follow current airport and Customs instructions instead of paying an unknown site. Japan Customs operates electronic declaration terminals and e-Gates at 7 airports (New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, Fukuoka and Naha). Customs can still inspect your bags: completing the electronic route does not prevent an inspection.

The Digital Agency lists an airline ticket, passport and email address as the basic items needed to register. Before relying on the electronic route:

• Check the passport details you entered.
• Register the correct arrival schedule.
• Finish the relevant immigration and Customs sections.
• Keep the 2D code available on the device you will carry.
• Keep the passport itself accessible.
• Leave time for the ordinary arrival process.

Open the Digital Agency page again if:

• your arrival date or airport changes;
• the service announces maintenance or an updated procedure;
• You completed your registration well ahead of departure
• you're unsure if you need a visa; or
• A site requests payment or details outside the official process.

• Check off the full Japan arrival checklist
• Choose a connection for live arrival checks
• Check transit options from your arrival airport
• See how official claims are checked and updated