Tax refund at the airport, step by step

The procedure is the same everywhere

1. Do the tax-free procedure first, before you check in any bags. The terminals are in the international departure lobby, before baggage check-in. Checked bags cannot be retrieved, and every tax-free item has to be with you.
2. Scan your passport at a tax-free procedure terminal. At the seven major airports you can instead use Visit Japan Web on your phone while connected to the dedicated Wi-Fi in the marked area, which runs up to the security checkpoint. Either way it takes seconds.
3. Read the result. GREEN: the customs procedure is complete. RED: take your goods to the customs inspection area and show them to the officer.
4. Keep every item from every receipt with you, consumables unused. If one item from a receipt is missing, that whole receipt loses the refund. If you ate, drank or used something, do not use the terminal; report it to the customs officer at the counter.
5. Then check in your bags and go through security. The whole procedure, including any inspection, must be finished before your boarding procedures, so arrive with time to spare.
6. The refund comes later from the shop or its refund operator. Customs does not pay you. It arrives by the method you registered at the shop: bank transfer, card, app or cash at the port. See Where’s my refund?