Japan Duty-Free & Customs Allowance: What You Can Bring
How much alcohol, tobacco, perfume and other goods you can bring into Japan duty-free — 3 bottles of alcohol, a separate 2oz perfume allowance, the ¥200,000 value limit, and why the adult age is 20, not 18.
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Japan sets its own customs allowances — they are not the EU rules that apply at our European airports, and two differences catch travellers out: the adult age for alcohol and tobacco is 20, and perfume has its own separate allowance instead of counting towards a general value limit.
Arriving in Japan
Per traveller aged 20 or over, arriving from abroad (figures set by Japan Customs):
Alcohol & spirits
- 3 bottles of alcoholic beverages, counting roughly 760ml as one bottle — whisky, sake, wine or anything else.
A standard 700ml whisky counts as one bottle; a 1L bottle also counts as one bottle. Three bottles is the line, not a litre total.
Tobacco
- 200 cigarettes, or
- 50 cigars, or
- 10 individual packages of heat-not-burn tobacco (e.g. 200 IQOS or glo sticks), or
- 250g of other tobacco products.
Bringing more than one kind, the combined total must stay within the equivalent of 250g.
Perfume & cosmetics
Perfume has its own allowance of 2 ounces (about 56ml — one ounce is roughly 28ml). Japan Customs counts only perfume here: eau de toilette, eau de cologne, skincare and cosmetics fall under the general goods allowance below instead.
Other goods & value limit
Everything else is covered by a total value allowance of ¥200,000 per traveller (overseas market value). Items worth under ¥10,000 each are not counted towards the total at all — so a ¥8,000 box of chocolates never eats into your allowance.
Quick reference
| Item | Allowance (per adult 20+) |
|---|---|
| Alcohol | 3 bottles (~760ml each) |
| Cigarettes | 200 |
| Cigars | 50 |
| Heat-not-burn | 10 packages |
| Other tobacco | 250 g (also the combined ceiling) |
| Perfume | 2 oz (~56ml) — its own allowance |
| Other goods | ¥200,000 (items under ¥10,000 excluded) |
Good to know
- Allowances are per person — each traveller carries their own.
- Under-20s get no alcohol or tobacco allowance at all. Japan's adult age for both is 20, not 18.
- Children under 6 are only granted allowances for items clearly meant for children, such as toys.
- Flying from Japan to Europe? Your arrival allowances are the EU ones — see our EU duty-free allowance guide. The Japanese limits above apply when you land in Japan.
Know your limit — now find the cheapest place to buy: compare spirits, tobacco, or fragrance prices.
This guide is general information, not legal or customs advice, and rules can change. Figures verified against Japan Customs (customs.go.jp), August 2026. Always confirm the current limits with Japan Customs before you travel.