Costco in Japan: what travelers should know

Plenty of Americans and Canadians take a look inside a Japanese Costco, usually out of curiosity, sometimes because they're staying a month and want to stock a kitchen. Your membership card will get you in. Your favorite credit card probably won't get you out with anything. Here is what to know before you go, checked against Costco Japan's own site and terms in October 2026.

Your membership works, with conditions

Costco honors its memberships at warehouses worldwide, and Costco Japan's membership page says the same of the cards it sells. In practice, a valid membership from the US, Canada or elsewhere gets you into a Japanese warehouse. Bring your card and expect to show it at the door and at the register.

If you'd rather join in Japan, these are the current fees, all including tax:

Membership	Annual fee
Gold Star (individual)	5,280 yen
Business	5,280 yen
Executive Gold Star	10,560 yen
Executive Business	10,560 yen

Each comes with one free family card, but Costco Japan's terms limit that to someone 18 or older who lives with you, with ID showing the shared address. The fee went up from 4,840 yen on 1 May 2025. Costco Japan's terms say anyone 18 or over can join. They don't spell out which documents a short-stay visitor needs to show, so ask at the membership counter if you plan to sign up there.

A few more rules from the terms:

• Guests. A member can bring up to two adults (18 or over) into a Japanese warehouse, plus any number of children. Only the member can buy.
• One Day Pass. Costco Japan issues invitation cards and One Day Passes. They aren't memberships. With one you pay shelf prices plus 5%, and the pass must show an expiry date and the issuing warehouse.
• Returns are handled at the membership counter of a Japanese warehouse, and refunds go only to the member who made the purchase.

Payment: bring a Mastercard or cash

This is where most visitors get caught. Costco Japan's member terms (last updated 18 March 2026) list the accepted payment methods in Japanese warehouses as:

• cash
• the Costco Shop Card (a prepaid card)
• the Costco Global Card (Costco's Japanese co-branded card)
• any Mastercard-brand credit card

They add that cards can't be used for a few items, and that Costco warehouses overseas accept different cards. So if you shop with a Visa Costco card at home, it is no use here. Amex and JCB aren't on the list either. Costco Japan's online shop takes only Mastercard-brand cards and delivers only within Japan.

The terms mention only credit cards. If your Mastercard is a debit card, bring cash as a backup. Don't count on Suica or QR payments either: the terms don't list them.

The way in at Costco Kawasaki, where members show their card. Photo: ウィ貴公子, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).

Tax-free shopping: don't count on it

Costco Japan's website and member terms say nothing about tax-free sales for visitors, and we couldn't confirm from any official source that a warehouse offers them now. Assume you'll pay Japan's consumption tax like everyone else.

It's also worth knowing that Japan's tax-free system for visitors changes on 1 November 2026. According to Japan Customs, at any shop that does offer it, you'll pay the tax-inclusive price at the till. The tax comes back to you only after you take the goods out of Japan, through a check at an airport or seaport kiosk within 90 days of purchase. Purchases must total at least 5,000 yen before tax per shop per day, and consumables you eat or use up in Japan don't qualify. A cart of snacks and wine for your rental flat was never going to count.

How many warehouses, and the easiest to reach

Costco's own press releases put the count at 37 warehouses in Japan in October 2026, out of 939 worldwide, and Costco Japan's warehouse locator lists the same 37 (the full list is below). Most sit beside expressways and are built for people who drive. These five are the most useful for visitors without a car. According to Costco Japan's store finder, all five open 10:00 to 20:00 every day and have a food court.

Warehouse	Address	Getting there without a car
Makuhari (Chiba)	Mihama-ku Toyosuna 1-4	2 minutes' walk from Makuhari-Toyosuna Station, JR Keiyo and Musashino lines
Kawasaki (Kanagawa)	Kawasaki-ku Ikegami-shinmachi 3-1-4	From JR Kawasaki Station, Kawasaki City Bus from stop 14 (for Mizuecho or Shiohama) or Rinko Bus from stops 1–2 (Kawa21); get off at Rinko Keisatsusho-mae, then 5 minutes' walk
Zama (Kanagawa)	Higashihara 1-13-3	20 minutes' walk from Sagamino Station, Sotetsu line
Kadoma (Osaka)	Matsuo-cho 1-5	10 minutes' walk from Kadomashi Station (Keihan line, Osaka Monorail), or bus from Kadoma-minami Station exit 2 (Osaka Metro) to the LaLaport / Mitsui Outlet stop
Sapporo (Hokkaido)	Kiyota-ku Utsukushigaoka 1-jo 9-3-1	Chuo Bus Fuku 96 or 97 from Fukuzumi subway station (stop 8), or Ō69 from Oyachi station (stop 4), to Sanrizuka Shogakko-mae, then 3 minutes' walk

Makuhari is the easy one. It's a short walk from the station, on the edge of the Makuhari Shintoshin district around Makuhari Messe, so it's a natural add-on if you're in town for a trade show or concert. Kawasaki is close to Tokyo but involves a bus into the industrial waterfront. Kadoma at least has parking rules spelled out for the drivers in your group: 200 yen per 30 minutes, with free time if you spend 5,000 yen or more.

The store finder also lists year-end hours: 7:00 to 18:00 on 31 December, closed on 1 January.

Every Costco warehouse in Japan (as of October 2026)

Costco Japan's warehouse locator listed 37 warehouses when we checked on 24 October 2026, the same count as Costco's September 2026 sales release. They're grouped by region below, with the public-transport directions each warehouse's own page gives. Where the locator only suggests a taxi from the nearest station, we say so: those warehouses are really built for drivers. Opening hours vary by warehouse and season, so check the locator before you go.

Hokkaido (2)

Warehouse	Prefecture, city	Getting there without a car
Sapporo (札幌)	Hokkaido, Sapporo (Kiyota ward)	Chuo Bus Fuku 96 or 97 from Fukuzumi subway station (stop 8), or Ō69 from Oyachi station (stop 4), to Sanrizuka Shogakko-mae, then 3 minutes' walk
Ishikari (石狩)	Hokkaido, Ishikari	Taxi about 20 minutes from Asabu subway station (Namboku line), or Chuo Bus route 14 to Ishikari Chosha-mae, then 15 minutes' walk

Tohoku (2)

Warehouse	Prefecture, city	Getting there without a car
Tomiya (富谷)	Miyagi, Tomiya	Miyagi Kotsu bus from Izumi-Chuo subway station (bays 4 or 5) to Yubunezawa, then 10 minutes' walk
Kaminoyama (かみのやま)	Yamagata, Kaminoyama	Taxi about 5 minutes from Mokichi-Kinenkan-mae Station (JR Ou line), or about 20 minutes from JR Yamagata Station

Kanto (14)

Warehouse	Prefecture, city	Getting there without a car
Tsukuba (つくば)	Ibaraki, Tsukuba	20 minutes' walk from Kenkyu-Gakuen Station (Tsukuba Express), north exit
Hitachinaka (ひたちなか)	Ibaraki, Hitachinaka	Ibaraki Kotsu bus from JR Katsuta Station, east exit bay 2 (for Kaihin Koen), to Shimin Kyujo-mae, then 5 minutes' walk; or taxi about 15 minutes
Mibu (壬生)	Tochigi, Mibu	Taxi about 5 minutes from Omocha-no-machi Station (Tobu Utsunomiya line), or Yugao Bus to Omocha-no-machi 5-chome, then 2 minutes' walk
Maebashi (前橋)	Gunma, Maebashi	Taxi about 15 minutes from JR Komagata Station (Ryomo line)
Gunma Meiwa (群馬明和)	Gunma, Meiwa	Taxi about 5 minutes from Kawamata Station (Tobu Isesaki line)
Iruma (入間)	Saitama, Iruma	Seibu Bus from Irumashi Station (Seibu Ikebukuro line), for Iruma City Museum, to Mitsui Outlet Park Iriguchi, then 2 minutes' walk
Shin-Misato (新三郷)	Saitama, Misato	15 minutes' walk from Shin-Misato Station (JR Musashino line), west exit
Makuhari (幕張)	Chiba, Chiba City (Mihama ward)	2 minutes' walk from Makuhari-Toyosuna Station (JR Keiyo and Musashino lines)
Chiba New Town (千葉ニュータウン)	Chiba, Inzai	15 minutes' walk from Chiba-New-Town-Chuo Station (Hokuso line)
Kisarazu (木更津)	Chiba, Kisarazu	Taxi about 12 minutes from JR Sodegaura Station or 15 minutes from JR Kisarazu Station (Uchibo line); or Kominato bus Ki 52 to Shin-Urigura, then 15 minutes' walk
Tamasakai (多摩境)	Tokyo, Machida	15 minutes' walk from Tamasakai Station (Keio Sagamihara line), east exit; or Kanachu bus Hashi 76 to Machida Techno Park-mae, then 1 minute's walk
Kanazawa Seaside (金沢シーサイド)	Kanagawa, Yokohama (Kanazawa ward)	10 minutes' walk from Namiki-Chuo or Sachiura Station (Kanazawa Seaside Line)
Kawasaki (川崎)	Kanagawa, Kawasaki (Kawasaki ward)	Bus from JR Kawasaki Station (Kawasaki City Bus stop 14 or Rinko Bus stops 1–2) to Rinko Keisatsusho-mae, then 5 minutes' walk
Zama (座間)	Kanagawa, Zama	20 minutes' walk from Sagamino Station (Sotetsu line)

Chubu (7)

Warehouse	Prefecture, city	Getting there without a car
Imizu (射水)	Toyama, Imizu	Imizu community bus (Taikoyama line) from Kosugi Station (Ainokaze Toyama Railway) to the Costco stop, then 1 minute's walk
Nonoichi (野々市)	Ishikawa, Nonoichi	Nonoichi community bus "Notty" (western route) to Yanagimachi, then 1 minute's walk; or Hokutetsu bus to Bansho, then 7 minutes' walk
Minami Alps (南アルプス)	Yamanashi, Minami-Alps	Taxi about 10 minutes from Koikawa Station (JR Minobu line)
Gifu Hashima (岐阜羽島)	Gifu, Hashima	Taxi about 10 minutes from Gifu-Hashima Station (Tokaido Shinkansen) or Shin-Hashima Station (Meitetsu); or Hashima community bus to Valor Hashima Inter, then 8 minutes' walk
Hamamatsu (浜松)	Shizuoka, Hamamatsu (Chuo ward)	Entetsu bus from JR Hamamatsu Station to Hamamatsu Plaza, then 2 minutes' walk; or taxi about 15 minutes
Moriyama (守山)	Aichi, Nagoya (Moriyama ward)	Yutorito Line bus to Shidami Kotsu Hiroba, then 2 minutes' walk; or taxi about 10 minutes from JR Jinryo or Kozoji Station
Chubu Airport (中部空港)	Aichi, Tokoname	11 minutes' walk from Rinku-Tokoname Station (Meitetsu Airport line), or 13 minutes from Tokoname Station

Kansai (6)

Warehouse	Prefecture, city	Getting there without a car
Higashiomi (東近江)	Shiga, Higashiomi	Bus from Yokaichi Station (Ohmi Railway) to Nakakoji, then 10 minutes' walk
Kyoto Yawata (京都八幡)	Kyoto, Yawata	Keihan Bus from Matsuiyamate Station (JR Gakkentoshi line), bay 3, to Minoyama Shogakko, then 2 minutes' walk
Izumi (和泉)	Osaka, Izumi	Taxi about 10 minutes from Izumi-Chuo Station (Semboku line)
Kadoma (門真)	Osaka, Kadoma	10 minutes' walk from Kadomashi Station (Keihan line, Osaka Monorail), or bus from Kadoma-minami Station (Osaka Metro) to the LaLaport / Mitsui Outlet stop
Kobe (神戸)	Hyogo, Kobe (Tarumi ward)	Sanyo Bus or Kobe City Bus from Gakuen-toshi subway station or JR Maiko Station to Kozukayama 6-chome, then 7 minutes' walk
Amagasaki (尼崎)	Hyogo, Amagasaki	18 minutes' walk from Sonoda Station (Hankyu), or Hanshin Bus 24 from Sonoda or JR Amagasaki to Kozono, then 3 minutes' walk

Chugoku and Shikoku (1)

Warehouse	Prefecture, city	Getting there without a car
Hiroshima (広島)	Hiroshima, Hiroshima (Minami ward)	15 minutes' walk from JR Hiroshima Station (south exit) or JR Tenjingawa Station, or bus to Mazda Stadium-mae, then 2 minutes' walk

Shikoku has no warehouse yet; see "Opening soon" below.

Kyushu and Okinawa (5)

Warehouse	Prefecture, city	Getting there without a car
Kitakyushu (北九州)	Fukuoka, Kitakyushu (Yahatanishi ward)	Kitakyushu City Bus 64 from JR Orio Station (west exit) to Hibikino-higashi, then 4 minutes' walk
Hisayama (久山)	Fukuoka, Hisayama	Bus 27B from JR Kashii or JR Sasaguri (or 18B/27B from Tenjin Yubinkyoku-mae) to Kogabashi, then 5 minutes' walk; it's inside the Trias Hisayama complex
Ogori (小郡)	Fukuoka, Ogori	About 12 minutes' walk (900 m) from Imaguma Station (Amagi Railway)
Kumamoto Mifune (熊本御船)	Kumamoto, Mifune	Bus from Sakuramachi Bus Terminal in Kumamoto (for Kosa or Tsujun Sanso) to Kosaka, then 7 minutes' walk
Okinawa Nanjo (沖縄南城)	Okinawa, Nanjo	Nanjo City N-Bus to Nishi-Tsukishiro or Tsukishiro-no-machi Iriguchi, then 5 minutes' walk

Which ones work by train from Tokyo and Osaka

Going by the locator's directions, these are the warehouses you can walk to from a station, with no bus or taxi:

• From Tokyo: Makuhari (2 minutes), Kanazawa Seaside (10), Shin-Misato, Tamasakai and Chiba New Town (15 each), and Tsukuba and Zama (20 each). Makuhari is by far the easiest. Kawasaki and Iruma are a short bus ride from a station.
• From Osaka: Kadoma (10 minutes from Kadomashi) and Amagasaki (18 minutes from Hankyu Sonoda). Kyoto Yawata and Kobe need a bus, and Izumi a taxi.
• Elsewhere: Hiroshima is 15 minutes' walk from JR Hiroshima Station, handy if you're there on the Shinkansen. Chubu Airport is 11 minutes from Rinku-Tokoname, one stop from Centrair, Nagoya's airport.

Opening soon

Costco Japan's locator doesn't list future warehouses, and Costco hasn't given an opening day for either of these. The dates are what was announced or filed:

Warehouse (provisional name)	Prefecture, city	Announced timing
Minoh (箕面)	Osaka, Minoh	Opening soon. Costco Japan's building works are scheduled to start in May 2026 and finish at the end of July 2027, according to Kensetsu News (November 2025); no opening date has been announced
Toon (東温)	Ehime, Toon	Opening soon. Announced by Costco Japan, Ehime Prefecture and Toon City on 22 October 2025, aiming to open in fiscal 2027, as early as the end of 2027 (Nikkei, Asahi Shimbun). It would be Shikoku's first. The Ehime Shimbun reported in October 2026 that land purchases were behind schedule

A warehouse in Kameyama, Mie, has been planned since a 2022 location agreement, originally for 2024 to 2026, but the city has said a 2026 opening is unlikely and no new date has been given.

The food court

For a lot of visitors the food court is the whole point, and it's cheap. The quarter-pound hot dog with a refillable soft drink costs 180 yen, a price Costco has held in Japan since 2011, according to food writer Rikiya Yamaji on Yahoo! News Expert (October 2026). In October 2026 the new ham-and-Caesar pizza went on the menu as a limited-time item at 350 yen a slice or 1,900 yen for a whole pie, as reported by Yahoo! News Expert writers who tried it at the Makuhari warehouse and elsewhere.

The rest of the board changes by season and by warehouse. Japanese Costco blogs in October 2026 listed a jumbo bulgogi bake at 880 yen and Hokkaido-milk soft serve at 300 yen. Treat those as a guide and check the board on the day. Costco says nothing official about Japan-only food court items, and we haven't found an official menu, so we're not listing any.

The pizza counter at Costco Kawasaki. Photo: ウィ貴公子, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).

Getting your haul home: TA-Q-BIN

Costco portions are big, and a slab of beef or a 24-pack of anything is not hand luggage. Yamato Transport's TA-Q-BIN (takkyubin) service is the standard way to move it within Japan, to your next hotel, a friend's address or the airport. A few rules from Yamato's English site:

• Size and weight. Parcels run from Size 60 to Size 200, meaning up to 200 cm in combined length, width and height, and at most 30 kg. Standard parcels are insured up to 300,000 yen.
• Where to send from. You can drop parcels at Yamato offices and at convenience stores such as 7-Eleven and FamilyMart, though some convenience stores can't take parcels bigger than Size 180.
• Chilled and frozen food. Cool TA-Q-BIN keeps perishables chilled or frozen, but you can't send it from a convenience store; take it to a Yamato office.
• To the airport. With Airport TA-Q-BIN, drop your bag off at least two days before your flight (three in some areas). Parcels over 30 kg aren't accepted.

TA-Q-BIN is a domestic service. If you want to send purchases overseas you need an international shipping service, and food usually runs into customs rules on both ends. In practice, the things worth buying at a Japanese Costco to take home are shelf-stable and small enough for your suitcase.

Is it worth the trip?

For most travelers, no, cheap hot dog or not.

The case against is simple. A Japanese Costco looks a lot like the one at home, with American brands next to Japanese ones in warehouse sizes built for families with cars and big fridges. Most of what makes Japanese food shopping fun (department-store food halls, regional specialties, convenience-store snacks) is easier to get in a city centre in single portions. And if you're staying at a ryokan, dinner and breakfast are usually included. A family-size tray of sushi from Costco doesn't help when a kaiseki dinner is waiting. Our guide to ryokans with meals included shows what's on the table.

It makes sense in three cases:

1. You're already nearby. If you're in Makuhari for an event, the warehouse is a 180-yen lunch and a curiosity a few minutes from the station.
2. You're staying a while with a kitchen. On a month in an apartment, bulk staples, coffee and wine can save real money, if you have a Mastercard and a way to carry it all.
3. You're traveling with kids who are curious. The Japanese twists on familiar products are a cheap way to spend an hour on a rainy day.

Near your ryokan

Costco won't be the reason you go anywhere, but if your trip already passes nearby:

• Tokyo and Chiba. Makuhari and Kawasaki are both close to the city. See the best ryokans in Tokyo and ryokans near Tokyo for a night or two out of town.
• Osaka. Kadoma is in Osaka's northeast suburbs; our Osaka ryokan guide covers where to stay in the city.
• Sapporo. The Sapporo warehouse is in Kiyota ward in the southeast of the city, a long way from Jozankei in the southwest. See our Sapporo and Hokkaido guide and the best ryokans in Hokkaido.

Sources

Checked October 2026.

• Costco Japan: membership fees; member terms and other terms, last updated 18 March 2026 (eligibility, family cards, guests, payment, One Day Pass, returns, online payment); store finder for Makuhari, Kawasaki, Zama, Kadoma and Sapporo (addresses, access, hours, food court, Kadoma parking).
• Costco Japan: warehouse locator, checked 24 October 2026 (the list of 37 warehouses, their prefectures and public-transport directions).
• Wikipedia (Japanese): コストコ warehouse table, used to cross-check the list (same 37 warehouses).
• Opening soon: Kensetsu News on Costco Japan's Minoh building plan (26 November 2025); Nikkei, Costco to open in Toon, Ehime, in fiscal 2027 (22 October 2025); Asahi Shimbun, Toon aiming for as early as end-2027 (23 October 2025); Ehime Shimbun, land purchases behind schedule (12 October 2026); Kokokki, Kameyama plan status (August 2026).
• Costco Wholesale: September 2026 sales release, 7 October 2026 (37 warehouses in Japan, 939 worldwide).
• Membership fee increase from 4,840 yen on 1 May 2025: ITmedia (3 February 2025).
• Japan Customs: Tax Exemption (Refund) Program for Foreign Visitors.
• Yahoo! News Expert: Rikiya Yamaji on the 180-yen hot dog (October 2026); Costco Hacker on the ham-and-Caesar pizza (October 2026); Mai at the Makuhari warehouse (October 2026).
• Food court board, October 2026: Costco Benricho (blog; bulgogi bake and soft serve prices).
• Yamato Transport: TA-Q-BIN; Airport TA-Q-BIN.

Photo credits

• Cover: "COSTCO Makuhari" by 掬茶, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized and cropped.
• Kawasaki entrance by ウィ貴公子, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized.
• Kawasaki food court by ウィ貴公子, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized.