PLAN THE TRIP
When to Go to Japan if You Are Going to Shop
The date that matters most right now
1 November 2026. Tax-free shopping changes from a discount taken at the till to a refund collected when you leave the country. The sealed bag rule goes at the same time, which means you can open and use what you buy before you fly home. If your trip straddles that date, expect the process at the till to be unfamiliar to staff for a few weeks.
| Until 31 October 2026 | From 1 November 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| How you get the money | Taken off at the till | You pay it, then claim it back on the way out |
| The sealed bag | Consumables sealed. Do not open before you fly | Gone. Open it and use it on the trip |
| Time at the airport | Nothing extra to do | Leave more time. The refund happens on exit |
| The threshold | 5,500 yen in one shop, same day | Unchanged |
| Passport | The booklet itself, not a photograph | Unchanged |
The threshold is the part people get wrong: it is 5,500 yen in one shop on the same day, so splitting the same list across two visits throws the exemption away. At the till, large shops have a separate tax-free desk while drugstores usually process it at any register, and the slip they staple into your passport is collected when you leave the country. The tax-free section covers what is and is not eligible.
Weeks to avoid
- New Year, roughly 29 December to 4 January. Many independent shops close entirely. Hotel prices peak. Department stores open late and sell fukubukuro lucky bags, which is either the reason to come or a reason to stay away.
- Golden Week, late April to early May. The whole country travels at once. Rooms cost roughly double and the trains are full.
- Obon, mid-August. Similar, plus heat and humidity that make carrying shopping unpleasant.
Quiet and cheap
- Early December. Winter packaging is already on the shelves, the New Year rush has not started, and rooms are at their cheapest.
- Late January and February. The winter sales run through January. Cold, but the shops are empty on weekdays.
- Late September and early October. Between the summer holidays and the autumn colours. Comfortable weather and normal prices.
Every public holiday, November 2026 to October 2027
Japanese holidays move: several fall on the third Monday of their month, and the equinoxes shift by a day. These are the dates for the next twelve months, and what each one actually does to the shops.
| Date | Holiday | What it means for shopping |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 3 Nov 2026 | Culture Day | Single day. Shops open as usual. |
| Mon 23 Nov 2026 | Labour Thanksgiving Day | Long weekend. Domestic travel, but the shops stay open. |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | New Year's Day | New Year. Independent shops close, rooms peak. |
| Mon 11 Jan 2027 | Coming of Age Day | Long weekend. Domestic travel, but the shops stay open. |
| Thu 11 Feb 2027 | National Foundation Day | Single day. Shops open as usual. |
| Tue 23 Feb 2027 | Emperor's Birthday | Single day. Shops open as usual. |
| Sun 21 Mar 2027 | Vernal Equinox | Long weekend. Domestic travel, but the shops stay open. |
| Mon 22 Mar 2027 | Substitute Holiday | Long weekend. Domestic travel, but the shops stay open. |
| Thu 29 Apr 2027 | Showa Day | Golden Week. Independent shops close, rooms peak. |
| Mon 3 May 2027 | Constitution Day | Golden Week. Independent shops close, rooms peak. |
| Tue 4 May 2027 | Greenery Day | Golden Week. Independent shops close, rooms peak. |
| Wed 5 May 2027 | Children's Day | Golden Week. Independent shops close, rooms peak. |
| Mon 19 Jul 2027 | Marine Day | Long weekend. Domestic travel, but the shops stay open. |
| Wed 11 Aug 2027 | Mountain Day | Obon. Independent shops close, rooms peak. |
| Mon 20 Sep 2027 | Respect for the Aged Day | Long weekend. Domestic travel, but the shops stay open. |
| Thu 23 Sep 2027 | Autumnal Equinox | Single day. Shops open as usual. |
| Mon 11 Oct 2027 | Sports Day | Long weekend. Domestic travel, but the shops stay open. |
The pattern worth planning around: a single holiday mid-week barely registers, but anything that joins a weekend moves the whole country. The quiet windows above are the mirror image, and they are the ones where the cheaper rooms are still available. Rakuten Travel prices Japanese hotels and ryokan in yen at the domestic rate, which is the number to compare these dates against.
Sales
Department stores run two main sale seasons, from the start of January and from the start of July. Drugstores and 100-yen shops do not really discount; their prices are the same all year, which is part of why they are worth the suitcase space.
Seasonal packaging
Snack flavours and stationery designs rotate roughly every six weeks, and regional editions do not travel between prefectures. If you see something you want, buy it there rather than planning to find it again at the airport.
Booking
Hotel prices in Japan move with demand rather than with how far ahead you book, so there is little advantage to booking a year out. The exception is the weeks listed above, where the cheaper rooms genuinely do sell out. Rakuten Travel shows the domestic rate in yen, which is the number to compare against.
Next: where to stay in Tokyo and Osaka and Kyoto.