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Layover guideTokyo · HND · NRT

Local laws that catch crew out in Tokyo

The medicine in your washbag is the offence most likely to end a Tokyo layover in custody.

Blogtrepreneur / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
All of Tokyo

Cold and flu medication containing pseudoephedrine, Vicks inhalers, medicines for allergies and sinus problems, and some over-the-counter painkillers containing codeine are illegal to carry under Japan's strictly enforced law on anti-stimulant drugs. The FCDO records that foreign nationals have been detained and deported for these offences.

Quantities matter for everything else. Japan's health ministry allows up to a one month supply of prescription drugs and of self-injection kits without an import certificate, up to a two month supply of non-prescription drugs and quasi-drugs, and up to 24 per item of external-use drugs and cosmetics. Above those thresholds you need a Yakkan Shoumei obtained before you leave home.

Narcotics such as morphine and fentanyl, and stimulant raw materials such as lisdexamfetamine, cannot be brought in without permission from the director of a Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare granted before you enter Japan.

You must always carry your passport or Japanese residence card. Police can arrest anyone who cannot show proof of their visa or residence status, and a person can be arrested and detained without charge for up to 23 days even for a minor offence such as theft or trespassing.

The drink-drive limit is about a third of the UK limit. There are penalties for allowing someone to drink and drive, and a passenger can be arrested if police suspect they knew the driver had been drinking, which is worth knowing before anyone in a crew car offers to drive.

  1. UK FCDO: Japan travel advice, health · checked 2026-09-03
  2. UK FCDO: Japan travel advice, safety and security · checked 2026-09-03
  3. Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: bringing medicines for personal use into Japan · checked 2026-09-03

The rest of Tokyo

The whole guide
Getting out of the airportHaneda has two rail operators and a sub-twenty-minute run into town. Narita's fastest published run is thirty-six minutes, and it is a committed ride whichever train you take.Ride-hailingApps dispatch licensed taxis to marked stands that are not where the taxi rank is, and at Narita the fixed fare is the headline number.Staying connectedFree Wi-Fi across all three Haneda terminals, but the SIM counters keep shop hours and Narita's are all landside.WeatherA twenty-one degree swing across the year, and an autumn that is wetter than the rainy season.Eating near the crew hotelsCards are widely taken but not universally, so carry cash, and the table manners that would be rude at home are not rude here.What to buyThe tax-free system changes on 1 November 2026 from an exemption at the till to a refund confirmed by Customs at departure.TippingNot expected anywhere you will go, and pushing it is the awkward move rather than the generous one.