Can I Bring This Food into Japan?

How to use

1. 1. Find your foodSearch or pick a category, then tap each item you are packing.
2. 2. Read each answerGreen can come in, amber needs a check at the quarantine counter, red cannot come in without an inspection certificate from your country's government.
3. 3. Check the labelBring factory-made products with an ingredient list. If the item or its label does not show that it meets the rules, it is treated as subject to quarantine.
4. 4. Declare when unsureTake plants and animal products to the quarantine counter before customs.

Meat and meat products

Japan's Animal Quarantine Service says you generally cannot bring in meat or animal products for personal use, because they need an inspection certificate from the exporting country's government. This includes jerky, ham, sausages, bacon and meat buns, and applies to gifts, airport shop items, home-made and vacuum-packed food.

Since July 1, 2026, processed products made from meat are treated the same way unless they meet the official Exclusion Criteria. For foods containing meat, the criteria cover only a few types: factory-sealed canned and retort products, filtered extracts and seasonings made under set conditions, and the dried toppings of factory-made instant foods that only need hot water, such as cup noodles. A wet meat sauce pack is not a dried topping.

Sources: Animal Quarantine Service: bringing animal products into Japan, Animal Quarantine Service: Exclusion Criteria

Eggs, milk and honey

• Eggs fully set by heat or alkali are excluded, for example hard-boiled eggs, preserved eggs (pidan), cakes and confectionery. Raw eggs are not.
• Foods in which egg is not the main ingredient are excluded, for example egg noodles, custard and mayonnaise.
• Dairy products carried in passenger baggage are outside animal quarantine. (Other exclusions cover processed cheese, yogurt and long-life milk.)
• Honey and other bee products are excluded, as long as they contain no bees or bee parts.

Sources: Animal Quarantine Service: bringing animal products into Japan, Animal Quarantine Service: Exclusion Criteria (Standards 41, 42, 47 to 55, 58)

Fruit, vegetables, tea and dried fruit

Japan's Plant Protection Station says most fresh fruits and vegetables cannot be brought in, for example mangoes, longans, guavas, lychees, red peppers, citrus, pears and apples. Even fruits that may come in need a phytosanitary certificate from the exporting country's government.

Not subject to plant quarantine: processed tea; dried apricot, fig, persimmon, kiwi, plum, pear, jujube, date, pineapple, banana, papaya, grape, mango, peach and longan; plants preserved in sugar, salt, vinegar or alcohol; and dried spices sealed in retail containers. Other plants, such as nuts and dried mushrooms, are inspected at the plant quarantine counter. Mushrooms are not plants under the Plant Protection Act (flowering plants, ferns and mosses).

Sources: Plant Protection Station: bringing plants into Japan, Plant Protection Station: plants not subject to import quarantine (Japanese), Plant Protection Act, Article 2 (Japanese)

Penalties

Bringing in meat or animal products illegally can be punished by up to 3 years in prison or a fine of up to ¥3,000,000. The same maximum applies to plants brought in without a certificate or inspection. Detector dogs work at airports.

Sources: Animal Quarantine Service, Plant Protection Station, Japan Customs: declaration form, English (PDF)

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