Japan Tax-Free Day One (Nov 1, 2026): Instant Cash Refund Kiosks at Haneda, Narita and Naha

Japan's new tax-free system starts on Sunday, November 1, 2026. From that day, visitors pay the tax-inclusive price in tax-free shops and get the consumption tax back only after Japan Customs confirms at departure that the goods are leaving the country. On day one, one cash option goes live at three airports: Self Tax Refund, self-service machines at Haneda, Narita and Naha that pay out the refund in Japanese yen after you scan your passport.

This is a day-one follow-up to our Nov 1 tax-free airport refund checklist, which covers the new rules themselves. Here we focus on the cash machines: where they are, when they are open, what you need first, and what the terms say about fees.

Based on the official Self Tax Refund website and terms of use, Japan Airport Terminal Co. and GLORY's October 21, 2026 announcement, and the Haneda and Naha airport pages, all checked on October 31, 2026 (Toronto time). For Toronto readers: midnight on November 1 in Japan is 11:00 a.m. EDT on Saturday, October 31.

The short version

• What it is: a self-service cash refund service run by Japan Airport Terminal Co. (Haneda's terminal operator) and GLORY LTD., starting November 1, 2026 at Haneda T2 and T3, Narita T1 and T2, and Naha.
• Customs comes first. You must finish the tax-free check at a Customs kiosk before you check your bags. The cash machine is a separate, later step.
• At the machine: scan the passport you used when shopping, confirm the purchases shown, and take the cash. Haneda says it takes about one minute; the service's own site says "only a few minutes".
• Cash only, yen only, for now.
• Not every shop is covered. Only purchases handled by six refund operators can be paid out here. Ask the shop which refund operator it uses.
• A fee is deducted, and amounts under ¥100 are rounded down. The terms' fee wording is quoted below.

Where the machines are, and when they are open

The operators say hours may change depending on flight operations. Haneda Terminal 1 has no tax refund facilities, so if you fly out of Haneda internationally you will be in Terminal 2 or 3.

Where the Customs kiosks are: at Haneda, the Customs tax-free kiosks are on 3F before security, in Terminal 2 (6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. the next day, 8 kiosks) and Terminal 3 (24 hours, 13 kiosks). The cash machines are after security. At Naha, the Customs kiosks are in the 3F check-in lobby of the international terminal and the cash machines are on 2F after immigration. At Narita, the cash machines are before departure procedures, so you can check the result and collect your refund before you go through security.

The order of steps on departure day

1. Bring your passport and every tax-free item. Do not check any of them in yet.
2. Do the Customs check first, at a Customs tax-free kiosk or online with Visit Japan Web in the airport's dedicated Wi-Fi area before security. A Green result means you are done. A Red result means you must show the goods at the Customs inspection area. The Self Tax Refund site says to do this inspection before using the refund machine.
3. Check in and drop your bags with the airline.
4. At Haneda or Naha, go through security and immigration, then find the machine in the departure concourse. At Narita, the machine is before departure procedures.
5. Scan your passport, confirm the refund details, and take the cash.

The site warns that the Customs result can take a few minutes to reach the refund machine. If the machine shows your purchase as not yet checked right after you finish at the kiosk, wait a little and try again. At Naha, the airport notes that once you pass immigration you cannot go back to the departure lobby to finish the Customs step, so do it first.

The rules at the machine

From the official "Before you proceed" list and FAQ:

• Refunds are per purchase (receipt). You cannot get a partial refund for a single purchase.
• Amounts under ¥100 are rounded down, and the minimum refund is ¥100.
• The refund is paid after fees are deducted (see below).
• Only purchases from supported refund operators can be refunded.
• You may need to register with the refund operator in advance. The site tells you to check with each operator.
• The maximum refund through the service is ¥1,000,000, and each refund operator may set its own limit.
• One passport per transaction. You cannot combine a family's purchases. Each person uses the machine with their own passport.
• Cash in Japanese yen only at this time, paid out as soon as the process is complete.
• Languages: the screens support Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, French, Spanish and Thai, and the announcement says multilingual remote support from avatar staff is available 24 hours a day.

The service is for people who qualify for tax-free purchases. The October 21 announcement says that generally means foreign visitors who have been in Japan for less than six months, and Japanese citizens who have lived abroad continuously for two years or more and are visiting temporarily.

The six supported refund operators

According to the official site, the machines can only refund purchases handled by:

• J&J Tax Free
• Smart Technologies & Resources
• Global Tax Free-Planet
• AddSmart
• LINKTIVITY
• IntaSect Communications

If your shop uses a different refund operator, you cannot use these machines and need to follow that operator's own refund instructions. The official FAQ says to check with the tax-free shop on your receipt. On the machine, the purchase details screen shows the shop's refund operator for supported purchases. Under the new system, how and when you are refunded (card, cashless or cash) depends on the shop, so asking at the till is the simplest way to know in advance.

Self Tax Refund is not the only cash option. The Japan Tax-free Shop Association's traveller page lists cash refund counters from other providers at several airports, for example Cash Japan counters at Narita.

What the terms say about the fee

The English terms of use (version effective November 1, 2026), Article 8, paragraph 2, say:

"The Fees shall be either an amount equivalent to 1.1% (including tax) of the tax-exclusive purchase price relating to the taxfree purchase, or an amount calculated by multiplying the refund amount remaining after deduction of the fees determined by the Principal by a rate designated by the Company."

Article 8, paragraph 1 adds that, except where the tax-free shop pays the fees, they are deducted when the refund is made. Article 7 says the refund is the amount left after fees, with anything under ¥100 rounded down. The terms do not say which of the two methods applies to a given purchase, so we have not tried to work out a refund amount. The machine shows the refund details for you to confirm before it pays out.

Practical tips for a Canada-bound departure

• Ask at the till which refund operator the shop uses and how it pays refunds. That tells you whether these machines are an option.
• Keep each receipt's items together until Customs has cleared them. Under the new system, if even one item from a receipt is missing, none of that receipt qualifies. Our Nov 1 checklist explains this in more detail.
• Plan your time for late flights. Haneda T3's machines run 24 hours, but Naha's close at 9:00 p.m. and Narita's at midnight Japan time.
• Spend or exchange the yen. The refund is paid in cash yen, so think about where you will use it before you leave the airport.
• Double-check on the day. Locations and hours are as published before launch, and the operators say they may change.

Flying out of Haneda, Narita or Naha after a shopping trip? Join DOJI for free.

Sources

• Self Tax Refund — official website (English): steps, "Before you proceed" rules, six refund operators, locations and hours, FAQ. Checked 2026-10-31.
• Self Tax Refund — official website (Japanese): Japanese wording of the same rules, locations and hours. Checked 2026-10-31.
• Self Tax Refund — Terms and Conditions (English, effective Nov 1, 2026, PDF): Articles 7 and 8 on refund amount, rounding and fees. Checked 2026-10-31.
• Japan Airport Terminal Co. and GLORY — Self Tax Refund launch announcement, Oct 21, 2026 (Japanese, PDF): launch date, airports, about one minute, languages, eligibility note. Checked 2026-10-31.
• Haneda Airport — Tax Refund (Japanese): Customs kiosk and cash machine locations, hours and number of units in T2 and T3; no facilities in T1. Checked 2026-10-31.
• Naha Airport — Changes to Japan's Tax-Free Shopping System Effective November 1, 2026: procedure order, Customs kiosk and Self Tax Refund locations and hours. Checked 2026-10-31.
• Japan Customs — Tax Exemption (Refund) Program for Foreign Visitors: Refund Method overview, 90-day rule, Green and Red results, Visit Japan Web airports. Checked 2026-10-31.
• Japan Tax-free Shop Association — The Tax-Free Shopping System has changed to Refund Method: refund operator contacts and cash refund counters by airport. Checked 2026-10-31.

Cover photo: Narita Airport Terminal 1 departures hall. Photo by David via Unsplash.