About TravelSafe Japan

TravelSafe Japan is a small independent team building free tools for foreign visitors to Japan. We focus on the things that are hard to find in English and costly to get wrong: communicating food allergies, knowing which medicines you can bring, claiming a tax refund, paying accommodation tax and completing the entry forms.

Why we built it

Japan’s rules on allergen labelling, medicine imports and tax-free shopping are published by different ministries, mostly in Japanese, and they change. Travelers usually piece them together from forum posts. We turn the official rules into tools that give a direct answer, and we show the source behind every answer so you can check it yourself.

How we research and verify

• Official sources first. Rules, thresholds, fees and dates come from the publishing authority — for example the Consumer Affairs Agency (allergen labelling), the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and Japan Customs (medicines), the Japan Tourism Agency (tax-free shopping), the National Police Agency (traffic rules) and city governments (accommodation tax).
• Every page lists its sources. Each tool and guide links to the specific official pages it relies on, with the date we last checked them.
• Rules live in one place. Our tools read from structured rule data (for example, 30 active compounds in the medication checker), so a rule change is corrected once and every page that uses it updates together.
• Dates mean something. “Last verified” changes only when we actually re-check the rules against the source. We review every page at least every six months, and sooner when an authority announces a change.
• We say when we don’t know. If the official source does not settle a question — for example a medicine’s strength is not shown on the label — our tools answer “unable to determine” and explain what to check, rather than guessing.

How we use AI

We use AI in two ways, and we want to be clear about both:

• Writing: AI tools help us draft and translate pages. Every rule, number and date is checked by a member of our team against the official sources listed on the page before it is published. AI is not allowed to add facts we have not verified.
• Features: the allergy card generator uses Google’s Gemini models to translate your restrictions into Japanese. The card is a starting point, not a guarantee — always confirm with staff, the product label or a pharmacist.

What we are not

We are not affiliated with the Japanese government or any airline, store or restaurant. Our content is general information, not medical or legal advice. For a severe allergy, carry your prescribed medication and a card from your doctor; for medicines near a legal threshold, contact the authority named on the relevant tool before you travel.

How we are funded

The core tools are free. Some features may be offered as optional paid upgrades, and we may link to travel products we think are useful (such as eSIMs or travel insurance). Where a link earns us a commission, it is marked and uses rel="sponsored". Commissions never change what a tool tells you, and no company can pay to change a rule, a result or a recommendation.

Corrections

Found something wrong or out of date? Email support@travelsafejapan.com with the page link and, if possible, the official source. We review every report within 7 days. When we correct a page, we update its “Last verified” date and note the change on the page.

Contact

General questions, feedback and partnership enquiries: Contact page.