Tokyo changes its accommodation tax on 1 April 2027, from small change to a percentage
Feesstarting April 1, 2027
Reviewed on 2026-10-28. This information expires: confirm it close to your travel dates.
Tokyo has charged a very small, flat accommodation tax for years: nothing if the night costs under ¥10,000 per person, ¥100 between ¥10,000 and ¥15,000, and ¥200 above that. It is low enough that most travellers never notice it — a line worth a few cents on the hotel bill.
On 1 April 2027 that system goes and a percentage replaces it: 3% per person per night, with nights under ¥13,000 exempt. What counts is the date you stay, not the date you book, so a booking made today for after that date already falls under the new system.
The change is of a different order. A room at ¥20,000 per person per night pays ¥200 today; under the new system, if the 3% applies to the whole amount, it would be ¥600. Over four nights for two people, that moves the trip total from ¥1,600 to ¥4,800.
The revision also widens which accommodation is covered. Until now Tokyo's law reached only licensed hotels and ryokan, so private short-term rentals — minpaku, which is where much of Airbnb's listing stock sits — were exempt. From 1 April 2027 that exemption goes.
And this is Tokyo only. Kyoto, Osaka and the other cities with an accommodation tax each have their own, with their own bands and their own dates, so a trip across several cities does not follow a single rule.
What it means for your trip
If your trip falls before 1 April 2027 it does not affect you: you pay the usual ¥100 or ¥200. If it falls after, and you sleep in Tokyo above ¥13,000 per person per night, budget around ¥600 per person per night on a ¥20,000 room, and proportionally more above that.
The ¥13,000 threshold is per person, not per room, which changes the sum for anyone travelling with company. A ¥20,000 double split between two people is ¥10,000 each, below the threshold. The same room for one person, at ¥20,000, is well over it. Worth checking how your booking splits the price before assuming you pay.
It is not paid separately at the airport or online: the property collects it, usually at check-out, and it appears as its own line on the bill.
Questions
When does Tokyo's new tax start?
1 April 2027. What counts is the night you stay, not the day you book: a booking made today for May 2027 pays under the new system.
How much is it exactly?
3% per person per night, with nights under ¥13,000 per person exempt. Which amount that 3% applies to has two published readings; see what is still unclear, above.
What is charged now, before the change?
A flat amount per person per night: nothing under ¥10,000, ¥100 between ¥10,000 and ¥15,000, and ¥200 from ¥15,000 up.
Does it affect apartments and private rentals?
From 1 April 2027, yes. Until then Tokyo's tax reaches only licensed hotels and ryokan, and minpaku are exempt. The revision removes that exemption.
Do I pay the same in Kyoto or Osaka?
No. Each city with an accommodation tax has its own, with its own bands and dates. This is Tokyo's only.
Is it paid separately, before travelling?
No. The property collects it, usually on departure, as its own line on the bill.
What is still unclear
Exactly which amount the 3% applies to is not settled between the sources consulted. One describes it as 3% of the whole night's charge once ¥13,000 is reached, citing the Tokyo tax authority's own FAQ; another describes it as 3% of the part above ¥13,000. On a ¥20,000 night that is the difference between ¥600 and ¥210, which is not small. Until the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's tax bureau confirms it, this page does not pick one of the two readings: it says there are two published.
Nor is it clear how the non-accommodation part of a price — included meals, parking, compulsory charges — will be treated when calculating the base, or what happens with package bookings where the hotel is not itemised.
Build your route with this already factored in
The planner accounts for these changes where they matter: the JR Pass comparison uses current prices, and the cost summary includes the taxes you will actually run into.
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