Key Takeaways
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Japan abolished its transit visa on 2026-07-01, so there is no Japan transit visa for Indians to apply for: if you stay in the international transit area and your next flight leaves the same day, you do not pass immigration in Japan (Embassy of Japan in India, in.emb-japan.go.jp , and Narita Airport, narita-airport.jp , both accessed 2026-09-17). If you need to leave the airport, change airports, or wait overnight at Narita, you go through immigration and may need a visa; ask the VFS centre which one.
This guide is maintained by Zurich Kotak General Insurance, an IRDAI-registered general insurer in India and part of the Zurich Insurance Group. It covers transit only; see also is Japan visa free for Indians and our guide to the Japan visa for Indians .
Last verified: 2026-09-17.
Japan transit rules for Indians at a glance
What you need depends on whether your connection keeps you airside or takes you through Japanese immigration.
Your connection in Japan | Through immigration? | Japanese visa? |
Same airport, staying airside, next flight the same day | No | Not needed for the connection |
Changing terminals at Narita where your airline requires immigration first | Yes | May be needed; ask VFS |
An overnight connection at Narita | Yes | May be needed; ask VFS |
Changing airports, for example Narita to Haneda | Yes | May be needed; ask VFS |
Leaving the airport to meet someone or see the city | Yes | May be needed; ask VFS |
Sources: Narita Airport and Haneda Airport, both accessed 2026-09-17.
Travelling to Japan? Get covered before you fly. Travel insurance for Japan is not an entry requirement, but an overnight connection can put you inside Japan, where medical costs can be very high.
The Japan transit visa no longer exists
Japan’s transit visa was abolished on 2026-07-01: the Embassy of Japan in India’s fee table from that date states “Transit visa is abolished.” Indian nationals had paid INR 50 for it from 2026-04-01 to 2026-06-30, and the Embassy of Japan in Mongolia lists the same abolition in its fee-revision notice (Embassy of Japan in Mongolia, in Japanese, accessed 2026-09-17). Pages still offering that visa are out of date, and the abolition does not make every layover visa free.
Which visa to ask for if you must enter Japan
If your connection takes you through Japanese immigration, ask the Japan Visa Application Centre (VFS Global) which visa to apply for before you book; the transit category is gone, and the tourist eVISA cannot be used for transit. The eVISA’s own FAQ lists transit among the purposes it does not cover (JAPAN eVISA, FAQ, evisa.mofa.go.jp , accessed 2026-09-17). The official centre’s site is visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/jpn/ , and the Embassy’s Japan Visa Information Hotline, +91-(0)11-71816614, answers general visa questions 24 hours a day, in English.
Staying airside: the connection that needs no visa
If you connect between international flights and stay in the departure area until your next flight, you do not go through Japanese immigration. Narita Airport: “When connecting between international flights, passengers are not required to undergo immigration procedures if they are staying in the departure area (airside) until their next flight.” Narita asks passengers to confirm with their airline before departing that they can connect this way, and screens most of them again at security. At Haneda, follow the “International Transit” signs in Terminals 2 and 3 (Haneda Airport, accessed 2026-09-17).
Changing terminals at Narita
Narita runs shuttle buses between terminals for connecting passengers, but some airlines require you to pass immigration first, which means entering Japan. Narita: “Depending on the airline, you may not be able to use the shuttle bus when connecting due to the requirement going through the immigration procedures once.”
Overnight at Narita: you will enter Japan
Narita does not let passengers wait airside overnight, so an overnight connection there means going through immigration and customs. Aircraft operate at Narita only between 06:00 and midnight, and passengers cannot stay in the airside terminals outside those hours. Narita: “Passengers transiting overnight must complete arrival immigration and customs procedures. Some passengers may need a visa at that time.”
Settle the visa question with VFS before booking one. At Haneda, ask your airline whether you can stay airside overnight.
Changing airports: Narita to Haneda
Narita and Haneda are separate airports, so a connection between them happens outside the airport: you pass arrival immigration at one and depart from the other. You collect your bags and check in again. Haneda Airport’s figures for the journey, which it says may change (Haneda Airport, From Haneda to Narita, accessed 2026-09-17):
Haneda to Narita | Time | Fare |
Train (shared Keikyu, Toei and Keisei services) | 90 to 115 minutes | JPY 1,760 to 3,080 (about INR 1,086 to 1,900 at 1 JPY = INR 0.617 on 2026-09-17) |
Airport shuttle bus | 65 to 85 minutes | JPY 3,600 (about INR 2,221 at the same rate) |
Leaving the airport during a layover
Leaving the airport, even for a few hours, means passing immigration. Narita: “immigration procedures will be required if passengers wish to leave this area to meet a friend or to go outside the airport. In some cases, a visa may also be required.” That includes Narita’s free guided tours for layovers of 6.5 hours or more.
Shore pass and transit landing: in the law, not on request
Japan’s shore pass is granted at the immigration officer’s discretion on the airline’s application; it is not something a passenger can count on. In each of the three landing permissions below, the carrier applies, not the traveller (Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, japaneselawtranslation.go.jp , accessed 2026-09-17):
Permission | What the law allows | Who applies |
Landing at a port of call, the “shore pass” (Article 14) | An inspector may let a passenger travelling on via Japan land for up to 72 hours near the port | The captain or the carrier |
Landing in transit (Article 15(2)) | An inspector may let a passenger travelling on via Japan pass through to leave within 3 days from another nearby port, on a different aircraft or ship | The captain or the carrier |
Landing for cruise ship tourists (Article 14-2) | Sightseeing landings from a designated cruise ship, returning to the ship each time, within 30 days (7 days if the ship calls at one Japanese port) | The ship’s master or operator |
Anyone who falls under the Act’s grounds for refusing landing is excluded from the shore pass. Cruise passengers cannot fall back on the eVISA either: MOFA limits it to arrivals by air or on “international scheduled passenger ferries between Japan and Busan or Shanghai” (MOFA, The JAPAN eVISA system, accessed 2026-09-17), so ask your cruise line before booking. Do not plan a connection that depends on any of these permissions: treat a landside connection as needing a visa until the VFS centre tells you otherwise.
The departure tax on a connection
Japan’s International Tourist Tax is JPY 3,000 per departure from 2026-07-01 (about INR 1,851 at 1 JPY = INR 0.617 on 2026-09-17), but air transit passengers on a single ticket that shows departure within 24 hours of arrival do not pay it (National Tax Agency, Q&A about the International Tourist Tax, revised April 2026, nta.go.jp , accessed 2026-09-17). The exemption holds whether or not you pass immigration, including when you land at one Japanese airport and leave from another. Two separate bookings do not qualify, and neither does a trip where the airport you flew from and the airport you fly to next are the same. Passengers travelling on by ship are not exempt.
If you do enter Japan: arrival forms
Anyone who passes immigration, including on a connection, completes the arrival card (ED card) and a customs declaration, on paper or online. Visit Japan Web, the Digital Agency’s free and optional service, replaces both with one QR code; our Visit Japan Web guide explains it.
Planning a connection through Tokyo safely
The safest connection through Japan is one you can make airside, on one booking, at one airport, on the same day.
· Book one ticket where you can. It keeps you on the airside route, and the departure-tax exemption requires it.
· Ask the airline before you book whether bags are checked through and whether a terminal change needs immigration.
· Avoid overnight connections at Narita, and Narita to Haneda connections, unless you have settled the visa question.
· Leave room for evening delays. A Narita connection that slips past midnight cannot wait airside.
Where travel insurance fits
Travel insurance is not a requirement for a Japanese visa or for entry, but Japan’s Foreign Ministry calls it highly recommended, and its consulates in India advise cover with hospital referral and medical interpretation because medical costs in Japan are very high (MOFA, VISA; Consulate-General of Japan in Chennai; both accessed 2026-09-17). If a connection takes you into Japan, note that since 2026-04-01 an unpaid hospital bill of JPY 10,000 or more (about INR 6,170) can be reported to Japan’s immigration agency and lead to strict screening on your next visit (MHLW notice of 2026-02-04, accessed 2026-09-17).
Zurich Kotak’s Smart Travel policy is built around emergency medical treatment, with trip delay, trip cancellation, baggage and passport loss covered up to plan limits. At quote, enter every destination on your route. For a trip within Asia, including Japan, the plans are Excel, with sum insured up to USD 100,000, and Prime, up to USD 500,000, for travellers up to age 70. There is no Senior Citizen plan on the Asia geography; travellers aged 71 or over can read about travel insurance for senior citizens . See travel insurance for Japan for a Japan trip.
FAQs
Q: Do Indians need a transit visa for Japan? A: No transit visa exists any more: Japan abolished it on 2026-07-01. If you stay in the international transit area and your next flight leaves the same day, you do not pass immigration in Japan. If you need to leave the airport, change airports, or wait overnight at Narita, you go through immigration and may need a visa; ask the VFS centre which one.
Q: Can I use a Japan eVISA for a layover? A: No. The JAPAN eVISA is a single-entry tourist visa, and its FAQ lists transit among the purposes it does not cover. Ask the VFS centre which visa a landside connection needs.
Q: Can Indians get a shore pass in Japan? A: Not on request. Japan’s shore pass is granted at the immigration officer’s discretion on the airline’s application; it is not something a passenger can count on.
Q: Can I stay airside overnight at Narita? A: No. Aircraft operate at Narita only between 06:00 and midnight, and passengers cannot stay in the airside terminals outside those hours. Passengers transiting overnight must complete arrival immigration and customs, and some may need a visa.
Q: Do transit passengers pay Japan’s departure tax? A: Not if they travel on by air on a single ticket that shows departure within 24 hours of arrival in Japan. Other departures pay the International Tourist Tax of JPY 3,000, the rate from 2026-07-01.
