No visa needed

Do citizens of Costa Rica need a visa for Japan?

Citizens of Costa Rica don’t need a visa for Japan and can stay up to 90 days. You need a valid passport; border officers may ask for a return ticket and accommodation. For a longer stay you need a visa or an extension.

For citizens of Costa Rica: the passport opens 90 countries visa-free; San José — Tokyo: ≈ 13,180 km, about 17 hours of flying.

Checked by visa analyst Albert Brown, 13 years of experience · September 26, 2026

At a glance

No visa needed

Stay: 90 days

Can I travel to Japan without a visa on a Costa Rica passport?

Yes, citizens of Costa Rica don’t need a visa for Japan for up to 90 days. A valid passport is enough.

Japan visa rules at a glance

With a Costa Rica passport you can visit 90 countries visa-free, 31 with a visa on arrival and 48 with an e-visa; 29 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the Costa Rica passport ranks 67th of 199.
Costa Rica passport: visa-free access to 90 countries; Japan passport: 114.
Citizens of Costa Rica and Japan can travel together visa-free to 88 countries, for example: Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Jamaica, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Venezuela, Mexico, and Grenada.
Citizens of Japan, in turn, don’t need a visa for Costa Rica. Costa Rica visa for citizens of Japan

Travelling to Japan: good to know

San José — Tokyo: about 13,180 km in a straight line; a direct flight takes roughly 17 hours.
Time difference with your country’s capital: +15 hours.
Local time: San José 12:00 — Tokyo 03:00.
Local currency: Japanese Yen.
Languages: Japanese.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ ¥158.
Japan is the 148th closest of 197 destinations open to citizens of Costa Rica.