Higher rates now in effect, projected to bring in more than 7 billion yen in extra revenue.

For many of the things that draw travelers to Kyoto, their appeal is timeless. The elegant architecture of a temple, the soothingly precise patterns raked into a stone garden, and the enticing aroma of a cup of freshly brewed, locally farmed tea are things that visitors to the city have been enjoying for centuries.

However, a big change has come to Kyoto travel this week, with the introduction of new, and potentially much more expensive, accommodation taxes that you’ll need to pay if you plan on spending the night in the city.

Kyoto collects accommodation taxes on a combined per-person/per-night basis. So, for example, if you’ve got two people sharing a room for two nights, the tax will be charged four times. Up until the end of last month, there were three tax tiers, based on the pre-tax per-person per-night cost of the hotel rooms.

● Previous Kyoto hotel accommodation tax tiers based on per-person per-night room rate
Under 20,000 yen: 200 yen
Between 20,000 and 49,999 yen: 500 yen
Over 50,000 yen: 1,000 yen

The new accommodation tax has five tiers, and anyone booking a room for 6,000 yen or more per person per night will be paying more, with the tax for the highest bracket rising to 10,000 yen (US$65) being 10 times as much as it used to be.

● New Kyoto hotel accommodation tax tiers based on per-person per-night room rate
Under 6,000 yen: 200 yen
Between 6,000 and 19,999 yen: 400 yen
Between 20,000 and 49,999 yen: 1,000 yen
Between 50,000 and 99,999 yen: 4,000 yen
Over 100,000 yen: 10,000 yen

▼ Accommodation fees are generally bundled into your bill’s total when making a reservation, so you may or may not be aware of them when staying in Kyoto, but you will be paying them.

The switch to the higher accommodation tax rate went into effect last Sunday, and swiftly follows a dip in accommodation tax revenue for the city. In fiscal year 2024, Kyoto collected 6.2 billion yen in accommodation taxes, but that slipped to 5.9 billion yen in 2025. Under the new structure, analysts predict that Kyoto will more than double its accommodation tax revenue in 2026 and rake in 13.2 billion yen.

So what will all that money go to? City officials are promising that it’ll fund overtourism countermeasures, such as “reducing traffic congestion and littering.” As Kyoto swells with tourists, there have been increasing complaints from locals about overcrowding on commuter buses that residents need to ride to get to work or school but which also pass by popular sightseeing destinations. Litter from tourists unfamiliar with or unwilling to follow Japan’s expected custom of hanging onto your own trash even if there isn’t a bin nearby is also a complaint that’s being made with greater frequency these days. The city administration also says that the extra accommodation tax revenue will be used for “preserving cultural heritage and the scenery,” “contributing and developing Kyoto’s traditional culture and industries,” “improving safety and convenience (adding gates to metro station platforms, etc.),” and improving tourist satisfaction and revitalizing local areas.”

On paper, it seems like an effective plan. Raising the cost of spending the night in the city should have a reductive effect on the total number of tourists, and the increased tax revenue from those who still choose to stay in the city should help to better fund overtourism initiatives. However, there are certain aspects of the situation that complicate things. To start with, Kyoto’s tourism boom is being largely fueled by foreign tourists, but the new, higher accommodation tax rates will apply to domestic Japanese travelers as well, and with the yen continuing to be very weak against foreign currencies, the higher rates will hit domestic Japanese travelers’ wallets harder. Many Japanese travelers are already losing interest in Kyoto as it becomes increasingly packed with tourists, and higher tax rates that foreign travelers are better able to absorb may accelerate the trend of Japanese travelers thinking that their own country’s cultural capital has become too expensive to visit. Even for Japanese domestic travelers who are willing to put up with the higher accommodation taxes, it’s likely that many will be unhappy about having to pay more in order to fund things like public awareness posters for what they see as common-sense manners and installing trash cans to accommodate people who’d otherwise just throw their trash on the ground.

That said, the largest increases are for those spending more than 50,000 yen per person per night, meaning it’s luxury travelers who’ll be shouldering the biggest increases. Still, with everyone spending the night in the city paying more, hopefully the increased tax money really will help make Kyoto more pleasant for both residents and travelers who can afford to stay there.

Source: Kyoto City Tourism Association (1, 2), Yomiuri Shimbun via Itai News
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert image: Pakutaso
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