Unequal Kyoto City accommodation tax

　The Kyoto City Accommodation Tax will be raised in March next year, and our guesthouse has been notified of the increase.

　In Japan, accommodation tax is not set by the national government, but by each local authority, and its introduction is spreading to other places, especially large cities.

　Until now, our guesthouse has charged 200 yen per person per night, but from now on it will be 400 yen (1,000 yen for a single person). A fee of 1,000 yen will be charged at luxury hotels where the accommodation costs more than 100,000 yen per person.

　The Kyoto City considers this to be a low price for foreign tourists, but if the appreciation of the yen continues, it will be a big burden for foreign tourists. In addition, the Japanese media critics nuisance acts by foreign tourists, many of whom are YouTubers and TikTokers. I think it’s not fair to ask the burden to be borne by the well behaved foreign tourists when no strict action is taken against such nuisance behaviour.

　The increase in the accommodation tax will be effective for stays from 1 March 2026. We apologise for the burden this will place on you and thank you in advance for your cooperation.