Fast Facts - Tokyo - page 311

311 SMOKING The legal age for purchasing

tobacco products and smoking in Japan is
20. Smoking is banned in public areas,
including train and subway stations and
office buildings. In most wards (city dis-
tricts), nonsmoking ordinances ban smok-
ing on sidewalks but allow it in marked
“Smokers Corner” areas, usually near train
stations. Many restaurants have nonsmok-
ing sections, though bars do not.
TAXES A 5% consumption tax is
imposed on goods and services in Japan,
including hotel rates and restaurant meals.
Although hotels and restaurants are
required to include the tax in their pub-
lished rates, you might come across one
that has yet to comply (especially on Eng-
lish-language menus which may not be
updated regularly). In Tokyo, hotels also
levy a separate accommodations tax of
¥100 per person per night on rooms cost-
ing ¥10,000 to ¥14,999; rates ¥15,000 and
up are taxed at ¥200 per night per person.
Some hotels include the local tax in their
published rack rates; others do not.
In addition to these taxes, a 10% to
15% service charge will be added to your
bill in lieu of tipping at most of the fancier
restaurants and at moderately priced and
upper-end hotels. Thus, the 15% to 20%
in tax and service charge that will be added
to your bill in the more expensive locales
can really add up. Most ryokan, or Japa-
nese-style inns, include a service charge
but not a consumption tax in their rates. If
you're not sure, ask. Business hotels, mins-
huku (private-home lodging), youth hos-
tels, and inexpensive restaurants do not
impose a service charge.
As for shopping, a 5% consumption
tax is also levied on most goods. (Some of
the smaller vendors are not required to
levy tax.) Travelers from abroad, however,
are eligible for an exemption on goods
taken out of the country, although only
the larger department stores and specialty
shops seem equipped to deal with the
procedures. In any case, most department

stores grant a refund on the consumption
tax only when the total amount of pur-
chases for the day exceeds ¥10,000. You
can obtain a refund immediately by hav-
ing a sales clerk fill out a list of your pur-
chases and then presenting the list to the
tax-exemption counter of the department
store; you will need to show your passport.
Note that no refunds for consumption tax
are given for food, drinks, tobacco, cos-
metics, film, or batteries.
TELEPHONES For information on how
to make calls or where to rent mobile
phones in Japan, see “Staying Connected”
in chapter 3. For directory assistance in
Tokyo, dial & 104.
TELEVISION Almost nothing is broad-
cast in English; even foreign films are
dubbed in Japanese. Most upper-range
hotels, however, offer bilingual televi-
sions (meaning you can switch the lan-
guage from Japanese to English, but only
if the program or movie was originally in
English), though very few (and fairly
dated) English movies and sitcoms are
broadcast each week. The plus of bilingual
TV is that you can listen to the nightly
national news broadcast by NHK at 7 and
9pm. Otherwise, major hotels in Tokyo
have cable TV with English-language pro-
grams, including CNN broadcasts (some-
times in Japanese only) and BBC World as
well as in-house pay movies. But even if
you don't understand Japanese, I suggest
that you watch TV at least once; maybe
you'll catch a samurai series or a sumo
match. Commercials are also worth watch-
ing. Note: Japan switches from analog to
digital broadcasting in July 2011. Many
hotels have already replaced their old TV
sets with new equipment, but some of the
cheapest accommodations may upgrade
only a few rooms at a time because of the
extra expense.
A word on those pay video programs
offered by hotels and many resort ryokan:
Upper-range hotels usually have a few
choices in English, and these are charged

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