Passport
and Visa
Any foreign visitors desiring to enter Japan must have a valid passport.
A visa is not required for many nationals to visit Japan temporarily
as long as they do not engage in any remunerative activity. There are
"Reciprocal Visa Exemption Arrangements" with the following
countries:
For a stay of 6 months or less
Austria, Germany, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Switzerland, and the
United Kingdom (except when the passport is originally issued in British
colonial territories)
For a stay of 3 months or less
Argentina, Bahamas, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia,
Cyprus, Denmark, Dominican Rep., El Salvador, Finland, France, Greece,
Guatemala, Honduras, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Macedonia,
Malta, Mauritius, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal (except when the passport
is originally issued in present or former Portuguese colonial territories),
San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Surinam, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey
and Uruguay
For a stay of 90 days or less
Andorra, Australia, Barbados, Czech Rep., Estonia, Hungary, Latvia,
Lithuania, Monaco, New Zealand, Poland and the U.S.A.
For a stay of up to 14 days
Brunei
Nationals of countries that do not have "Reciprocal Visa Exemption
Arrangements" with Japan, must obtain a visa.
For sightseeing, you will generally need a "Temporary Visitor's
Visa" which is granted for 90 days or less. This category of
visa is also valid for activities such as visits to relatives, academic
research and business trips. However, this category excludes profit-making
operations and paid activities.
To apply for a visa, the applicant must apply in person to a Japanese
Embassy or Consulate. The following documents must be submitted whatever
the purpose of the visit: (1) valid passport; (2) two passport-type
photos taken within the previous six months; (3) two official visa application
forms, available at the embassy or a consulate; (4) documents certifying
the purpose of the visit.
As the type of documents to be submitted or presented may differ according
to the purposes of the visit, please check with the Japanese Embassy
or Consulate in your country beforehand.
Visa Fee Exemption: The nationals of some 60 countries around
the world are exempted from visa fees.
Inoculation
There are no requirements for foreign travelers from any country regarding
certificates of vaccination.
Animal and Plant Quarantine
Any imported animal, animal product and plants are subject to quarantine
inspection at airports and ports in Japan. Some of them are prohibited
to import to Japan. If their importation is allowed, they must be accompanied
by an inspection certificate issued by the competent government authorities
of exporting countries certifying the articles concerned are disease-free.
Customs
An oral declaration of your personal effects will suffice except: (1)
when you have unaccompanied baggage; or (2) when you bring in articles
in excess of the duty-free allowance. In the above cases, a written
declaration will be requested at customs. Customs duty will not be levied
on personal effects as long as their contents and quantities are deemed
reasonable by the customs officer. In addition, the following items
can be brought in duty free: (1) 500 grams of tobacco or 400 cigarettes
or 100 cigars; (2) 3 bottles (760 c.c. each) of liquor; (3) 2 ounces
of perfume; (4) gifts and souvenirs other than the above whose total
market value does not exceed ¥200,000.
Passenger Service Facility Charge
For convenience, passengers departing from Narita Airport have the passenger
service facility charge included in their air fare (¥2,040 for adults,
¥1,020 for children) and do not need to pay separately at the airport.
Passengers leaving from Kansai Airport on international flights are
obliged to pay this charge in yen (¥2,650 for adults, ¥1 ,330
for children) at the airport. Transit passengers taking connecting flights
the same day do not pay this charge. Infants aged one year or younger
are also exempt. This charge is not levied at other international airports
in Japan.
Currency You can bring in and take out any currency. However, if
you transport currency or other means of payment in excess of ¥1,000,000
or its equivalent, you are required to report this to Customs.
The unit of currency is the yen (indicated as ¥). Coins are ¥1,
¥5, ¥10,¥50, ¥100 and ¥500. Bank note denominations
are ¥1,000, ¥2,000, ¥5,000 and ¥10,000.
You can buy yen at foreign exchange banks and other authorized money
exchangers. At the international airports, currency exchange counters
are open during normal office hours. The exchange rate fluctuates daily
depending on the money market.
Traveler's Checks and Credit Cards Traveler's checks are accepted by
leading banks, hotels, ryokan and stores in major cities. International
credit cards such as American Express, VISA, Diners Club, MasterCard
and JCB are also acceptable at these major establishments. Credit card
transactions, however, are not always convenient outside big cities.
So obtaining cash beforehand is recommended when you travel to the countryside.
Useful Information
Drinking Water
Tap water is safe to drink anywhere in Japan. Mineral water is available
at hotels, department and convenience stores, supermarkets and high-class
restaurants.
Electricity
The electric current for home use is uniformly 100 volts, A.C., throughout
Japan but there are two different cycles in use -50 hertz in eastern
Japan, and 60 hertz in western Japan. Leading hotels in Tokyo and other
big cities have two outlets of 110 and 220 volts but their sockets usually
accept two- prong plugs only. Major hotels have hair dryers and other
electric appliances available on a loan basis.
No Tipping
Individual tipping is not common in Japan, since a 10 to 15% service
charge is added to the bill at leading hotels, ryokan and higher-class
restaurants. No tip is necessary unless you request some extra special
services.
Emergency
Dial 110 for the police and 119 to report a fire or to call an ambulance.
For these numbers, one does not have to insert the usual ¥10 coin.
If you call from a green public telephone, lift the receiver and push
the red button before dialing the number. In case of gray and IC card
public phones, just lift the receiver and dial the number.
Other useful telephone numbers are as follows:
AMDA International Medical Information Center Tokyo Tel.03-5285-8088
Kansai Tel.06-6636-2333
Tokyo Metropolitan Health & Medical Information Center Tel.03-5285-8181
(only for information within Tokyo) Metropolitan Police Dept. Counseling
Service for Foreigners Tel. 03-3503-8484
Public Telephones
They are found virtually everywhere in Japan. There are green and gray
color phones which accept ¥1 0 coins, ¥100 coins and a magnetic
prepaid card. IC card phones accept only IC prepaid cards. A local call
is ¥10 for a minute and no change is given when you use ¥100
coins.
Instructions on "How to use the phone" is pasted on gray phones
and IC prepaid card-operated phones.
You can make a direct overseas call from gray or IC card phones that
are marked with "International & Domestic Card/Coin Telephone."
Meanwhile, the use of prepaid cards issued by several telephone companies
(such as "Moshi Moshi Card") enables you to make domestic
as well as international calls on virtually all types of public telephones.
These prepaid cards are available at station kiosks and so on.
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