No. That’s the short answer. For now. But it comes with a “but”…
First of all, what is this damn form for?
It’s for clearing Customs, not in lieu of showing your passport at Immigration. You still have to do that.
TLDR: If you’re going to comply with the demand to fill out your customs form online at Visit Japan Web before arriving here’s what you need to know:
• This is a website, not an app, so you’ll need a browser window and an internet/cellular connection to use it
• It’s going to ask for:
—Lots of info from your passport
—The address where you’re staying, all the way down to the zip code and phone number
• After you input all your stuff to the site’s satisfaction, scroll down to the link offering to show you your QR code. Click on this and screenshot the QR code. Save it to your photos to use at the exit kiosk in case you don’t have an internet/cellular connection at the other end.
Japan is the land where the fax machine is still a viable—nay, even required—form of communication, because heaven forbid some benighted Japanese citizen is unable to comply with a government demand for information merely they don’t have a mobile phone/laptop. So, tra la la, except when required to do so during covid, I never filled out the online customs form to get a QR code, opting instead to check all the “nothing to declare” boxes at the kiosks stuffed with handy paper forms that await visitors in baggage claim, then shuffle along in the short, fast-moving line for a human agent to wave me though to freedom.
But those days are numbered, even if they’re not yet here
The population of Japan is rapidly plummeting, and it’s showing up all over as self-serve everything, from unmanned convenience stores to vending machines that dispense dinner and airline tickets. It’s only a matter of time before there’s no option but to do this PITA of a task before you arrive. As I uneasily listened to the dire warnings being issued by the United gate agent at SFO, I wondered if that time had come while I was out of the country.
So, this time, I wavered
Even my 50+ trips back and forth to Japan and the residence card in my wallet didn’t fully protect me from the doubt stirred up by multiple strident announcements insisting that “even if you’re a resident” you must fill out the online customs form at Visit Japan Web before arriving.
So I grudgingly went to the website on my phone—which I remember most un-fondly from covid days as a morass of infuriating user interface design—to update my information.
School of hard knocks tip #1:
Visit Japan is a website, not an app, so don’t look for it in the app store
The good news is the site has gotten better and easier to use, and it actually saved all the information I’d painstakingly inputted way back when. All I had to do was remember my password (ahahahaha) and give it the details of my current trip. Woe to those without a charged smartphone and an internet connection, though—if you’re traveling without one of those, you’re out of luck.
The bad news is that if you’re registering for the first time, you’re going to be scrambling for your passport (from which they require all kinds of information) and the address of where you’ll be staying in Japan (a hotel will do, but you need all its details right down to zip code and phone number).
It’s less infuriating to type in all this info on your laptop than on a mobile phone, so if I were you, I’d do it before you leave for the airport.
School of hard knocks tip #2:
When you finally get to the link that takes you to your QR code, screenshot it and save it to your photos
That way, you can use it at the exit kiosk while staggering around at the other end in a jetlagged haze, instead of trying to get access to the website in a place where you may or may not have an internet/cellular connection.
School of hard knocks tip #3:
Be sure your phone is still charged at the other end
I know, DUH, but that QR code doesn’t show up so well on a dead screen.
Finally, trundle your luggage, your passport, and your shiny QR code to one of the kiosks, which are easy to use in multiple languages (but still require more inputting of information than they should GRR).
And welcome to Japan, where doing it exactly the way they like things done usually does make your life easier.
•
Know someone who’s planning a trip to Japan? Share this post!
And here’s where to click for all the great things I take my friends to see when they come to town:
If you enjoyed this, subscribe!
Get all the latest Japan travel tips and tricks for free ヽ(*＾ω＾*)ﾉ
Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
Jonelle Patrick writes about Japan 