Japan Shopping Concierge
Crafts, makers and tax-free in Tokyo and Kyoto

A Japan shopping concierge plans your time in the shops and workshops and helps you bring the right things home. At STAYGO that means placing craft sessions with makers in Tokyo and Kyoto, fitting the right districts and specialist shops into your route, explaining tax-free shopping for your dates, and helping you decide what to carry and what to ship, with shipping for bulky pieces coordinated with the store. From November 1, 2026, tax-free shopping in Japan works as a refund: you pay the tax at the shop and get it back after customs confirms at departure that the goods are leaving with you.

We checked the tax-free rules on this page on the National Tax Agency and Japan Tourism Agency pages on October 15, 2026, and the workshop details on our own experience pages, which were checked against each host's published page on October 13, 2026. The sources are listed at the end.

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WHAT A SHOPPING CONCIERGE DOES

Ginza, Omotesando and Daikanyama sit in different parts of Tokyo, and Kyoto's makers of knives, lacquer, tea and sweets are spread across the old city. Sessions at a kiln or a forge have booking deadlines and fixed days.

• Placing the days. We put a shopping afternoon where it fits the route, and the workshops on the city days that suit them.
• Craft sessions. We arrange private sessions with makers as part of your journey and pass on what the host should know, such as a sensitivity to lacquer.
• What is worth buying. Our luxury shopping guide to Tokyo and Kyoto covers the districts and the categories where Japanese quality stands out: knives, whisky, tea, ceramics, lacquerware and denim.
• Carrying and shipping. We help you decide what to carry and what to ship, and coordinate shipping for bulky pieces with the store.

CRAFT WORKSHOPS WE ARRANGE

Each session below comes with an English-speaking interpreter and is paid in advance by card, in yen, through the booking site the host uses, at the price the host shows. STAYGO adds nothing to it. Prices are the lowest per-person rate, with tax and the interpreter, and depend on group size and date.

Craft and maker sessions, as published on our experience pages

Session	Where and how long	From, per person	What you leave with
Kintsugi with lacquer artists	Hyobodo, Kyoto, 2 hours	¥33,000	A vintage piece you mended, taken home the same day. Overseas shipping is not included
Forge a knife with a Kyoto smith	Kanetaka, Oike, Kyoto, 90 minutes	¥77,700	A knife finished by the smiths and posted in about two months, to countries on the booking site's list
Silk braiding at Domyo, since 1652	Ueno, Tokyo, 2.5 hours	¥30,450	A bracelet the same day, or earrings finished and posted later
Kiyomizu pottery, at the kiln	Shoukoku Kiln, Higashiyama, Kyoto, 2.5 hours	¥54,000	Your piece, fired by the kiln and shipped in about four months
Incense in a hidden garden	Kosei-in, Kyoto, 2 hours	¥33,600	The vase you arranged a flower in
At a swordsmith's forge	Kamikawa, Saitama, 3 hours at the forge	¥93,506	The experience itself. The swords stay at the forge
Kyoto sweets with a confectioner	Sasaya-iori, Kyoto, about 100 minutes	¥31,500	Sweets you make and eat there, with matcha in the tea room

Shipping for the knife, the pottery and the earrings is paid to the host on the day, and customs duties may apply in your country. Booking deadlines run from one to seven days ahead.

TAX-FREE SHOPPING FROM NOVEMBER 1 2026

Purchases made up to October 31, 2026 fall under the earlier system, where the tax is taken off at the counter. From November 1, the shop sells at a price that includes consumption tax, and refunds it once customs confirms the goods left Japan with you.

At the shop

• Show your passport at a tax-free shop and pay the full price, including tax.
• Purchases qualify when they reach ¥5,000 or more before tax at one store on one day. The old split between general goods and consumables ends, and so does the special sealed packaging for consumables.
• Buy only what you can carry out of Japan yourself. Gold and platinum bullion are excluded.
• The refund is paid by the shop or by a refund company working for it. Bank transfer, card, a payment app or cash at departure are all possible, so ask each store.

At the airport

• Go to a tax-free kiosk in the international departure lobby before you check in any bags, and scan your passport there. A checked bag cannot be taken back.
• This must happen within 90 days of the purchase, counted from the next day. Something bought on November 1 is confirmed by January 30.
• If the screen shows red, customs will ask to see the goods.
• At Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, New Chitose and Naha you can also complete the step through Visit Japan Web on the dedicated Wi-Fi in the departure area.
• Food, drink or cosmetics used up in Japan cannot be confirmed. If even one item from a receipt is missing, none of the goods on that receipt are refunded.

Allow time, since the check must be finished before boarding procedures. We mark this step on your departure day.

CARRY OR SHIP

Anything bought tax-free has to leave Japan with you. If you post it home yourself, it is not there at the customs check and loses the tax exemption. When a store hands the goods to a carrier at the time of sale and sends them abroad for you, the National Tax Agency treats that as an export, a separate route from the departure check, so ask the store how the tax is handled on that bill.

We help you decide what to carry and what to ship, and coordinate shipping for bulky pieces with the store. Pieces a workshop host ships follow the host's own terms. The refund itself is settled between you and the store.

FEES AND HOW YOU PAY

Shopping and craft days are planned as part of a STAYGO journey. Signature is USD 3,500 for your group, for journeys of 7 to 14 days. Longer or more complex journeys are planned as Bespoke, priced with you, and you see the number before you commit. A 25% deposit begins planning, and 75% is due 60 days before you travel. For journeys departing within 60 days, the full fee is due when you confirm.

You pay shops and hosts directly, at their own prices, with no markup or commission.

WHERE OUR PART ENDS

• Purchases are yours. You choose and pay in the shop.
• The refund is between you and the store, or its refund company.
• Host terms apply. Each workshop sets its own price and terms, and nothing is confirmed until the host accepts it.
• Import rules are your country's, including any duties.

WHERE TO READ MORE

• The luxury shopping guide to Tokyo and Kyoto: districts, what to buy, and the tax refund in full.
• Kintsugi with lacquer artists: mend an old piece at a Kyoto studio.
• Forge a knife with a Kyoto smith: a cutler in Oike since 1770.
• Silk braiding at Domyo: workshop floors usually closed to visitors.
• Kiyomizu pottery, at the kiln: hand-building or red overglaze.
• Incense in a hidden garden: kodo at Kosei-in.
• At a swordsmith's forge: a working forge in Saitama.
• Kyoto sweets with a confectioner: with Sasaya-iori.

SOURCES AND HOW WE CHECKED

We read the tax-free material below on October 15, 2026, and did not contact any store or government office. Workshop details come from our experience pages, checked against each host's published page on October 13, 2026.

• National Tax Agency, Tax-Free Shopping System will be shifted to the Refund Method (PDF): the switch date, the ¥5,000 minimum, the end of goods categories, the 90 days, direct shipping, refund methods
• Japan Tourism Agency, the refund method for travelers: the kiosk before baggage, Visit Japan Web airports, the receipt check, who refunds, excluded items
• Japan Tourism Agency, traveler FAQ on the refund method (Japanese): checked bags, consumed items
• National Tax Agency and Japan Customs, Notice to Foreign Travelers Who Purchase Tax-Free Goods (PDF): carry-out quantities, the check before luggage
• STAYGO experience pages: the seven sessions, for place, length, price and shipping

QUESTIONS ABOUT SHOPPING IN JAPAN

How does tax-free shopping work in Japan from November 2026?

From November 1, 2026, you pay the full price including tax at a tax-free shop, with your passport. The shop refunds the tax after customs confirms at departure, within 90 days of the purchase, that the goods are leaving Japan with you.

What is the minimum purchase for a tax refund?

¥5,000 or more before tax, at one store on one day. From November 1, 2026 the same minimum applies to general goods and consumables alike.

Can I ship tax-free purchases home?

Not by posting them yourself, since tax-free goods must be with you at the departure check. When the store itself sends the goods abroad at the time of sale, that is treated as an export, so ask the store how the tax is handled on that bill.

Can you arrange craft workshops with makers?

Yes, as part of a STAYGO journey, such as kintsugi in Kyoto or silk braiding in Tokyo. You pay the host directly.

Do you take a commission from shops?

No. You pay shops and hosts directly, and our income is the planning fee.