These are not competing options. Visit Japan Web is the platform, and the customs declaration is one of its forms. Here is how both work and what you actually need to complete before landing in Japan.
Travellers researching Japan entry requirements often encounter both ‘Visit Japan Web’ and ‘customs declaration‘ and wonder whether they are the same thing, whether one replaces the other, or whether both are needed. The answer is simple once you understand what each one is.
What is Visit Japan Web?
Visit Japan Web (VJW) is a digital platform operated by Japan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs at vjw-lp.digital.go.jp. It allows visitors to pre-register their Japan entry information before flying, replacing the paper forms traditionally filled out on the plane. When complete, it generates QR codes that can be scanned at Japan’s digital immigration and customs lanes.
Visit Japan Web contains three separate digital forms:
- 1. Arrival card (disembarkation card): Your personal details, itinerary, and purpose of visit.
- 2. Customs declaration: Goods, currency, and restricted items you are bringing into Japan.
- 3. Duty-free purchase record: Relevant mainly for departure for tax exemption purposes.
See the full Visit Japan Web guide for step-by-step registration instructions.
What is the Customs Declaration?
The customs declaration is a specific form either paper (distributed on your flight) or digital (via Visit Japan Web) that declares what goods, currency, and restricted items you are bringing into Japan. It is required of every visitor, whether or not they use Visit Japan Web.
The key things the customs declaration asks about:
- Cash or monetary instruments totalling 1 million yen or more
- Goods exceeding the duty-free allowance (200,000 yen in value for personal purchases)
- Prohibited or restricted items, including certain medications, food, and plants
See the Japan customs declaration guide for exactly what must be declared and the Japan what not to bring guide for the complete prohibited items list.
How They Relate
If you use Visit Japan Web, you complete the arrival card and customs declaration on the platform. Both are submitted digitally. You receive separate QR codes for immigration (arrival card) and customs (customs declaration). You show these at the respective desks.
If you do not use Visit Japan Web, you complete the paper arrival card and paper customs declaration forms on the plane or at the airport. These are handed to officers at the immigration and customs desks.
Visit Japan Web does not replace the customs declaration; it delivers it digitally. The same information is required either way. Using VJW means you submit it before your flight, not on it.
Is Visit Japan Web Mandatory?
No. Visit Japan Web is optional. Paper forms are still accepted at all Japanese airports. However, completing VJW before your flight is strongly recommended, as the digital QR code lanes at Narita and Haneda move faster than the paper form queues, particularly on busy long-haul arrival mornings.
Quick Summary
Visit Japan Web: Optional digital platform. Pre-register your arrival card and customs declaration. Generates QR codes. Recommended but not required.
Customs declaration: Required from all visitors. Declares goods, currency, and restricted items. Can be submitted via Visit Japan Web (digital) or on the paper form on the plane.
