JapanFlyerT

Can any rare bottles be found on arrival in Japan, or are they for the departures only?
Two of us came back to Japan with a case of wine once, and the duty office seemed surprised we declared it. Duty was around ¥100-150/bottle I think.

Gradfly

For duty-free it's 1L, but FAA/TSA rules cap it at 5L for anything above 40 abv. In theory, you can bring up to 5L if you're flying in and then just pay duty if you decide to declare. In my experience, how strictly they enforce the rules depends on the port of entry and the customs agent in front of you.

daizawaguy

The Hibiki Blossom Harmony 2022 has hit a few shelves since launch May 24th but with Daikokuya paying ¥30,000 (which is more than the 2021) the supply is a bit like Rolex steel sports models and the empty watch stand or shelves!

JapanFlyerT

Thanks for the advice. As you can tell I am not normally a Duty-Free customer.
One more novice question: If you buy DF on departure from Japan, take them overseas, pay tax if over the limit, then bring bottles back to Japan, is it necessary to pay over-limit duty to Japan too? Or are most people selling these Japan DF bottles overseas, so the issue rarely comes up?

daizawaguy

The existence of Duty Free is based on the principle that you do not have to pay tax in the sellers country as it will be consumed in another. You would pay tax upon entry of the country at destination. Now if you reimport the bottles to Japan, this is your choice, but Japan has not received their share of the taxes, so yes they would tax you technically. There is no coverage of double taxation as the DF system was not designed for this. Liquor imported into Japan has tax consequences. Knowing this fact, you would want to bring in untaxed (tax free bottles) from an economic perspective. As a resident in Japan, there is no way the US or other authorities will know you are just passing through (and even if you were on holiday with plans to return to Japan) this is not a reason not to pay the tax, as you could sell the bottles while you are there. But if Yamazaki 18 or Hibiki 21 is available at Yen 50K but you can sell them Y100k/Y122k there is a fine margin left over anyways (https://kaitori.e-daikoku.com/liquor/whisky/yamazaki/)

lcpteck

Cool, hope to purchase Hibiki 17/21 as well as Yamazaki 18 when Japan opens up for non-tour groups.

I wonder where to purchase good sought after Shochu....

Gradfly

Not sure about Japanese customs, so I'll defer to daizawaguy. I have done something somewhat similar, where I bought something from DF and brought it back to my point of origin. Some years ago, a friend asked me to buy a substantial amount of DF accessories and cosmetics when I flew from Seoul to Osaka. The DF items basically stayed in my bag the whole trip. Korean customs didn't ask anything on my return. However, I can't remember if I did or did not declare the items.

JapanFlyerT

There is duty-free on arrivals, albeit limited, which suggests that they are really not concerned with where consumption is going to be done.

I figure a couple bottles don't matter to anyone, but in situations where there is such a markup it really can pay off to maximize purchases. As you said, the actual duty is nothing compared to the profit.

It really is strange how this market works. Normally such pricing gaps would shrink more as the manufacturers/sellers caught on.

james21_h

Japan customs allows 3L or 3 bottles duty free. They don’t really care where the bottles were bought. Just stay with that limit you have nothing to worry about!

rustykettel

There is a CBP process called drawback that allows a refund of the import duties when the item is reexported. But it's not really set up for personal importation/exportation.

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/programs-a...tent_entity=en

Enigma

The limit was there many years before Covid (or it was hiding very well). I strongly recall it being due to the fact that most people drive there and they needed to show "responsibility".

daizawaguy

Interesting observation - in Japan the place where alcohol is consumed and even a passenger can be held liable in the case of a drunken accident, so yes these establishments want to make sure they are legally removed from this as far as is possible, hence the warning signs of no drink and drive.

JapanFlyerT

Agreed. Having a limit means nothing when a single 15ml pour can get you arrested. No doubt police in the area keep an eye out for out of town plates.

JapanFlyerT

Data point: Yamazaki is now allowing booking for a month in advance.
Tried to book a tour at Yamazaki at exactly 10:00am. Got on the waiting list at 10:03 and was number 3,500, with a wait estimated to be "7hrs". By 11am I was accepted off the list, but every spot for the next month was filled, both for tasting and tours.

This has happened to me twice now. It is frustrating that they keep you on the list when all the spots have already been filled.

james21_h

I did the online booking at 1005. It was relatively easy to book, no waiting. I booked one tasting session and one tour session for the weekend I am visiting Osaka. Like you said everything was booked out around 1130. I booked couple sessions at Hakushu on Monday as well.