On October 22nd, the Nikkei Shimbun reported that Hakuba Village in Nagano Prefecture announced a draft plan, also on the 22nd, to introduce an accommodation tax aimed at securing funds for tourism promotion.
Hakuba photo courtesy of Photo by Nguyen TP Hai on Unsplash
The proposed tax, targeting hotel and ryokan guests, is scheduled for implementation in April 2026, coinciding with Nagano Prefecture’s introduction of its own accommodation tax.
The village's proposal includes a five-tiered tax structure, ranging from ¥50 to ¥1,850, reflecting the local mix of affordable guesthouses and high-end hotels.
Under the provisional name "Hakuba Village Tourism Promotion Tax," guests staying in accommodations priced between ¥3,000 and ¥10,000 per night would be charged a total of ¥200, comprising ¥150 from the prefectural tax and ¥50 from the village tax.
For stays priced between ¥50,000 and ¥100,000 per night, the village tax would rise to ¥850, and for stays exceeding ¥100,000, the tax would be ¥1,850.
Hakuba Village expects the local tax alone to generate approximately ¥200 million in annual revenue.
In September, Nagano Prefecture released a draft plan for its own "Tourism Promotion Tax," proposing a flat rate of ¥300 per person per night. However, municipalities like Hakuba Village that impose their own taxes would see the prefectural tax reduced to ¥150 per person per night.
Source:
Nikkei Shimbun (Japanese only; paywalled)
