Outlets Near Tokyo 2026: Gotemba, Karuizawa and Kisarazu — Access, Opening Hours and the New Tax Refund System

The most popular outlets near Tokyo are Gotemba Premium Outlets, Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza and Mitsui Outlet Park Kisarazu. Gotemba has 290 stores and views of Mt. Fuji on clear days, about 1 hour 50 minutes from Shinjuku by direct bus for ¥2,000. Karuizawa is about 60 minutes from Tokyo on the Hokuriku Shinkansen and a 3-minute walk from the station. Kisarazu is about 50 minutes from Tokyo Station by bus for ¥1,500, with direct buses to Haneda Airport. From 1 November 2026, Japan's tax-free shopping becomes a refund system: you pay the tax first and get it back when you leave Japan.

Key takeaways

• Gotemba Premium Outlets has 290 stores, open 10:00–20:00 from March to November and 10:00–19:00 from December to February, with a free shuttle every 15 minutes from JR Gotemba Station.
• Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza is a 3-minute walk from the south exit of Karuizawa Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, about 60 minutes from Tokyo.
• Mitsui Outlet Park Kisarazu's shops open 10:00–20:00, with direct buses from Tokyo Station, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Shinagawa and Haneda Airport.
• From 1 November 2026 tax-free shopping becomes a refund system: pay the tax-inclusive price, spend at least ¥5,000 before tax per shop per day, and claim the refund at the airport when you leave within 90 days.

Which outlet near Tokyo should you choose? The three big outlets compared

Choose Gotemba for Mt. Fuji views and the widest choice of brands, Karuizawa for an easy Shinkansen trip combined with a mountain resort, and Kisarazu if you want the closest option or a last shopping run before flying home. The basics (official websites, October 2026):

Outlet	Shop hours	How to get there from Tokyo	Travel time	Best for
Gotemba Premium Outlets	Mar–Nov 10:00–20:00; Dec–Feb 10:00–19:00	Direct highway bus from Shinjuku	About 1 h 50 min	Mt. Fuji views, the most brands
Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza	10:00–19:00 (varies by season)	Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo Station, 3-min walk from Karuizawa Station	About 60 min	Shinkansen access, a side trip to Karuizawa
Mitsui Outlet Park Kisarazu	10:00–20:00	Direct highway bus from Tokyo Station	About 50 min	Closest to Tokyo, direct bus to Haneda

How to get to Gotemba Premium Outlets: opening hours and access

The easiest way to reach Gotemba Premium Outlets is the direct highway bus from Shinjuku, about 1 hour 50 minutes and ¥2,000 one way; or take the train to JR Gotemba Station and the free shuttle bus (about 20 minutes). With 290 stores across the EAST ZONE, WEST ZONE and HILL SIDE, it is one of Japan's largest outlets, and on clear days you can see Mt. Fuji from inside the centre.

Gotemba Premium Outlets and Mt. Fuji. Photo: Jungle / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

• Hours: 10:00–20:00 from March to November, 10:00–19:00 from December to February; closed one day a year, next on 25 February 2027.
• Address: 1312 Fukasawa, Gotemba, Shizuoka.
• There are coin lockers (¥400–1,200) and a paid domestic delivery service; see the Gotemba Premium Outlets website.

Getting from Tokyo to Gotemba Outlets by bus or train

Option	Route	Travel time	Fare
Highway bus (Odakyu Hakone Highway Bus)	Busta Shinjuku → outlets	About 1 h 50 min (about 2 h 20 min back)	Adults ¥2,000
Odakyu Romancecar "Mt. Fuji"	Shinjuku → Gotemba Station, then free shuttle (about 20 min)	About 95 min + shuttle	See the Odakyu website
Shinkansen + JR Gotemba Line	Tokyo → Mishima (about 60 min) → Numazu → Gotemba, then free shuttle	About 2 h + shuttle	Depends on ticket

Buses from Shinjuku can be booked on Hassha Orai Net from 10:00 one month before travel; see the Odakyu Hakone Highway Bus website. The outlet also lists direct buses from Tokyo Station, Shinagawa, Ikebukuro, Yokohama, Haneda Airport and Narita Airport; check times and fares on its access page. The free shuttle leaves JR Gotemba Station (Otomeguchi exit) at :00, :15, :30 and :45 past each hour, starting 30 minutes before opening.

Sightseeing near Gotemba after the outlets

Gotemba is close to the Fuji Five Lakes, so it works well as an overnight trip: one day shopping, one day at Lake Kawaguchi for Mt. Fuji's reflection, at Arakurayama Sengen Park for the pagoda-and-Fuji view, or at the springs of Oshino Hakkai. For transport and sights around Lake Kawaguchi, see our Mt. Fuji guide.

How to get to Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza: opening hours and highlights

Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza is about 60 minutes from Tokyo on the Hokuriku Shinkansen and about a 3-minute walk from the south exit of Karuizawa Station, which makes it the easiest outlet near Tokyo to reach by train. The plaza surrounds a large lawn and an artificial lake; shops, the food court and restaurants are generally open 10:00–19:00, with seasonal changes. See the Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza website.

The lake and lawn at Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza. Photo: 663highland / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.5

• The plaza is divided into NEW WEST, WEST, CENTER MALL, TREE MALL, EAST, NEW EAST and GARDEN MALL, plus a souvenir area and a food court.
• Besides the Shinkansen, Seibu Bus runs daily direct highway buses from Ikebukuro, Shinjuku and Shibuya; check fares and times with the bus company.
• If you drive, there are about 3,500 parking spaces, but roads nearby are very congested on holiday weekends.

Sightseeing in Old Karuizawa after shopping

Karuizawa is a classic summer resort. Kyu-Karuizawa Ginza is lined with long-established shops and cafés, Kumoba Pond is beautiful in autumn colours, and Shiraito Falls is the area's signature natural sight.

How to get to Mitsui Outlet Park Kisarazu: direct buses

The easiest way to reach Mitsui Outlet Park Kisarazu is a highway bus across the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line: about 50 minutes and ¥1,500 one way from Tokyo Station. The operator calls it Japan's largest outlet mall; shops are open 10:00–20:00, restaurants 11:00–21:00 and the food court 10:30–21:00, and it is closed 16–17 February 2027.

Mitsui Outlet Park Kisarazu. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

From	Travel time	Adult one way	Notes
Tokyo Station (Bus Terminal Tokyo Yaesu)	About 50 min	¥1,500	Most frequent; weekday bus + shopping-voucher deal
Shinjuku (Busta Shinjuku)	About 62 min	¥1,600	No reservations, first come first served
Shibuya (Shibuya Mark City)	About 60 min	¥1,600	One round trip a day
Shinagawa Station	About 50 min	¥1,500	Reservation recommended
Haneda Airport	About 25–40 min	¥1,400	4 runs each way a day; buy a ticket before boarding
Narita Airport	About 95–105 min	¥2,300	Saturdays, Sundays and holidays only

• By train, take a local bus from JR Sodegaura Station (about 10 minutes) or JR Kisarazu Station (about 20 minutes); this is not a free shuttle.
• Buses may be suspended if the Aqua-Line is closed; check times and fares on the Mitsui Outlet Park Kisarazu website.

Going straight from Kisarazu to Haneda on your departure day

The bus from Kisarazu to Haneda Airport takes about 25–40 minutes, and in the July 2026 timetable the last bus leaves the outlet at 18:40, so it fits nicely into your last half-day in Japan. For Narita flights there are direct buses only on weekends and holidays. If you board at Haneda, buy your ticket from a Keikyu Bus ticket machine or online before boarding.

Tax-free shopping at outlets becomes a refund system from November 2026: how do refunds work?

From 1 November 2026, Japan's tax-free shopping becomes a refund system: at the outlet you pay the full price including 10% consumption tax, and the tax is refunded after customs checks your goods when you leave Japan. As of October 2026 the outlets' websites still describe the old rules, so follow the Japan National Tourism Organization's explanation.

Item	Until 31 October 2026	From 1 November 2026
At the till	Show passport, pay the tax-free price	Show passport, pay the full tax-inclusive price
Minimum spend	¥5,000 before tax, same shop, same day	¥5,000 before tax, same shop, same day
Consumables	Sealed packaging, ¥500,000 cap	No sealed packaging, no cap
Export deadline	Within 30 days of purchase	Within 90 days of purchase
When you get the tax back	Nothing more to do	At the airport or seaport when you leave

How to claim the refund:

1. Show your passport when you buy; the purchase is recorded electronically. Keep your receipts.
2. On departure day, scan your passport at a tax-free procedure terminal in the international departure lobby before checking in your bags. At Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, New Chitose and Naha you can start the process on Visit Japan Web.
3. Green means no inspection is needed; red means you take your purchases to the customs inspection area.
4. After customs confirms the goods, the consumption tax is refunded; the payment method and timing depend on the shop or refund operator.

Note: if any item on a receipt isn't with you, nothing on that receipt is refunded, and consumables used in Japan don't qualify. Keep your purchases together until you leave, and don't ship them home or open them first. At Mitsui Outlet Park Kisarazu some shops let you use the PIE VAT app at the Tourist Information & Tax-free Counter; ask each outlet's service desk how they handle the new system.

Bought too much at the outlets? What to do with large luggage

The most common outlet problem is too many shopping bags on top of your suitcase: highway buses and shuttles have limited space, Gotemba's coin lockers only come in limited sizes, and they fill up in peak season. The new refund system also requires your goods and receipts to be with you when you leave Japan, so you can't ship purchases home early, and your luggage only gets bigger.

LuggAgent picks up your bags at your hotel and delivers them to your next hotel or the airport the same day or the next day, so you can ride the bus or Shinkansen to the outlets hands-free. See Tokyo luggage delivery and Mt. Fuji and Hakone luggage delivery for details.

If you stay a night in Gotemba and visit Mt. Fuji the next day, send your bags from your Tokyo hotel straight to your Gotemba hotel:

Moving from Tokyo to Karuizawa for a stay and some outlet shopping, send your bags ahead to your Karuizawa hotel:

If you spend your last half-day at Kisarazu and take the bus straight to Haneda, just have your bags sent from your Tokyo hotel to the airport in the morning:

Book luggage delivery

FAQ

What's the easiest way to get from Tokyo to Gotemba Outlets?

The easiest option is the Odakyu Hakone Highway Bus direct from Busta Shinjuku: about 1 hour 50 minutes, ¥2,000 one way for adults, bookable one month ahead. You can also take the Odakyu Romancecar "Mt. Fuji" to Gotemba Station (about 95 minutes) and the free shuttle (about 20 minutes).

What are Gotemba Premium Outlets' opening hours?

Gotemba Premium Outlets is open 10:00–20:00 from March to November and 10:00–19:00 from December to February. It closes one day a year; the next closing day is 25 February 2027.

How long does it take from Tokyo to Mitsui Outlet Park Kisarazu?

The highway bus from Tokyo Station takes about 50 minutes and costs ¥1,500 one way for adults; from Shinjuku it is about 62 minutes and ¥1,600, with no reservations needed. From Haneda Airport it takes about 25–40 minutes and costs ¥1,400, with 4 runs each way a day.

Can I still shop tax-free at outlets after November 2026?

Yes, but it becomes a refund system: you pay the full price including 10% consumption tax, and you must spend at least ¥5,000 before tax per shop per day. When you leave Japan within 90 days of purchase, use the tax-free terminal at the airport or seaport and the tax is refunded after customs confirms the goods; the refund method depends on the shop or refund operator.

How far is Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza from the station?

Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza is right by the south exit of Karuizawa Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, about a 3-minute walk. The Shinkansen from Tokyo Station takes about 60 minutes, making it the easiest of the three outlets to reach by train.

Cover photo: 663highland / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.5