Visit Japan Web: prepare the right arrival QR code before you fly

Start from the official, free service

Use the Digital Agency’s official Visit Japan Web service page and follow its link to the service. Its fee warning says the agency never asks Visit Japan Web users to pay. A paid application page is not a fee required by this service.

The official usage guide lists the preparation materials: an accessible email address for the account, passport and travel schedule. You can register on a computer, but the guide says to present the code on a smartphone or tablet. Keep private details on the official service; Roam Japan does not collect your passport, flight or declaration information.

Japan Customs requires arriving passengers to declare their belongings and recommends electronic declaration through Visit Japan Web. It also lists paper customs forms available on aircraft, ships and at Customs. That customs information does not establish your immigration or visa procedure; follow the relevant authority’s instructions for those separately.

Account, trip, arrival code or tax-free code?

Match what you actually have to the next check below. This is a preparation sequence, not an entry approval or a promise of a shorter queue. Swipe the table sideways on a small screen.

For the actual screens, use the official manual’s QR display instructions (section 7-3). They distinguish reviewing the declaration from displaying its code and show the person selector. Screen wording may change; follow the current service rather than matching an old screenshot pixel for pixel.

Check each traveler and the declaration after changes

The official English manual, section 3-3, allows registration of accompanying family members. It also states that entry and return procedures are processed one person at a time and that the required procedure information must be registered for each person. A family name appearing in your account is not the final check: open the planned entry and confirm the correct person’s declaration and code.

If your flight, accommodation or other registered details change, review the declaration itself as well as the saved traveler and trip records. Section 7-2 explains how to edit the registered immigration/customs declaration. The manual notes that some edits inside that declaration do not flow back to the underlying traveler or planned-entry screens, so do not assume all records synchronize in both directions.

For family customs entry, the manual describes an option that can reuse or overwrite accompanying members’ customs information. Read that explanation before using it, then check each person’s details. This guide does not choose declaration answers or decide whether a family grouping fits your circumstances.

Prepare the phone while you still have a connection

The manual’s Offline usage appendix permits some functions after the official offline setup. It requires an online login in advance for the relevant trip and declaration functions. Account creation, user registration and new trip registration require an online connection; family-member edits also have online restrictions.

Follow the appendix on the exact device and browser you will carry. Do not first attempt setup in an arrival queue. When using multiple devices, make corrections online: the manual warns that offline changes are not linked to other devices. After offline registration or corrections, reconnect and open the registered planned entry again.

Plan the connection separately with the Japan airport Wi-Fi and first-connection guide. Check the actual airport’s instructions and your access between stops; a published hotspot does not replace advance offline preparation.

This guide does not promise that any screenshot, phone browser or airport connection will work at every inspection point. Keep your passport available and follow staff instructions if you cannot display the required information. For the same phone, check your charger label and Japan plug preparation before packing; an adapter does not itself establish that a charger accepts 100V.

A final check before departure

1. Official service: start from the Digital Agency page. Resolve account access while connected; do not pay an alleged Visit Japan Web application fee.
2. Correct trip and person: compare the saved entry and declaration with your current travel documents. Include every accompanying person who uses the service.
3. Correct code: open the arrival declaration’s Display QR Code flow, rather than a tax-free shopping code or an account confirmation.
4. Changed information: review the declaration contents after corrections and check other affected traveler/trip records separately.
5. Carried device: verify access on that phone or tablet; follow the official offline setup and restrictions before losing connectivity.
6. Next journey: keep arrival procedures separate from a train connection. Complete your Shinkansen ticket and pickup preparation and, if relevant, your Sendai Airport onward plan. A landing time or prepared code is not the time you are ready to board a train.

If your first journey includes a cash-dependent payment, prepare foreign-card ATM access, charges and a fallback before departure. A completed arrival declaration does not establish that your card will work at the first machine you find.