There are two kinds of Japan 3-year multiple-entry tourist visa for Chinese nationals living in China. One requires at least one night in Okinawa or in the six Tohoku prefectures on your first trip. The other has no destination rule but is for people with "sufficient financial capability". Both are valid for 3 years, and each stay can be up to 30 days.
Both must be filed through a travel agency designated by the Japanese embassy or consulate that covers where you live. Since 1 July 2026 the embassy's fee for a multiple-entry visa is CNY 1,430, charged only if the visa is issued, and the agency adds its own handling fee. No official page gives an income or savings figure.
The two types side by side
| Okinawa / Tohoku type | Unrestricted type | |
|---|---|---|
| Validity | 3 years | 3 years |
| Stay per visit | Up to 30 days | Up to 30 days |
| First trip | At least one night in Okinawa, or in at least one of Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima | No required destination |
| Who it is for | Okinawa: people with sufficient financial capability, or people with a certain level of financial capability who made a short-stay trip to Japan in the past 3 years. Tohoku: people with a certain level of financial capability. Family members are covered in each case | People with sufficient financial capability and their family members; also people with two or more entries in the past 3 years on certain individual tourist visas |
| Second trip onward | No agency arrangement needed; can also be used for short visits other than sightseeing | Same |
The Tohoku wording is "a certain level", while the unrestricted wording is "sufficient". Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) uses both phrases without defining either one in numbers.
Who can apply
Chinese nationals living in mainland China. This is the group the official pages describe. You apply through an approved travel agency in China, and the agency tells you what documents to prepare.
Chinese nationals living outside China. MOFA sends you to the Japanese embassy or consulate-general that covers where you live. It states that an applicant there with sufficient financial capability can get a multiple-entry visa valid 3 years with up to 30 days per stay. It does not mention the Okinawa/Tohoku type for this group.
Foreign nationals living in China. The official pages do not say whether they can get this visa. Ask the embassy or consulate that covers your city.
If you plan to stay with relatives or friends in Japan, or travel for short business, MOFA says a tourist visa is not the right one. The exception is the 5-year visa for people with a substantially high income.
Money and prior visits
Neither MOFA nor the embassy and consulate pages give a yuan, yen, tax or savings figure. "Sufficient" and "certain" financial capability appear only as words. Nobody can tell you an official cut-off, so treat any number quoted online as unofficial.
The official pages describe two specific cases where earlier trips count:
- Unrestricted type: MOFA says it also covers people who entered Japan two or more times in the past 3 years on certain individual tourist visas. Group-tour visas and the single-entry student/graduate visa do not count.
- Okinawa type: it also covers a person with a certain level of financial capability who made a short-stay trip to Japan within the past 3 years.
The pages do not say that past visits raise your chance of approval beyond these cases.
The first trip, and what changes after it
For a multiple-entry individual tourist visa, MOFA says a travel agency in China arranges your itinerary and books your accommodation for the first visit. You prepare your own draft itinerary, ask the agency to make the arrangements, and it files the application.
For the Okinawa type, that first itinerary must include at least one night in Okinawa. For the Tohoku type, it must include at least one night in any of the six prefectures. MOFA says family members can travel with you or on their own if you meet the requirements.
From the second trip, you do not have to arrange travel through an agency. The embassy and the Qingdao consulate-general (page dated 1 July 2026) also say the visa can be used from the second trip for short visits other than sightseeing.
The official pages do not say how a first-trip itinerary can be changed after filing. Ask the agency before you pay.
Fees since 1 July 2026
| Item | Figure | Where it is stated |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple-entry visa | CNY 1,430 | Embassy fee-change notice; Shanghai Consulate-General fee page, which lists CNY 285 before 1 July 2026 |
| Single-entry visa | CNY 715 | Same two pages; Shanghai lists CNY 145 before 1 July 2026 |
| Multiple-entry, in yen | About 30,000 yen | MOFA fee page |
| Single-entry, in yen | About 15,000 yen | MOFA fee page |
| Agency handling fee | Charged separately | No amount is given anywhere |
MOFA says the new fees apply to applications accepted from 1 July 2026, and are normally paid in the local currency of the country where the embassy or consulate is. If no visa is issued, no visa fee is charged. The agency's handling fee is on top of the visa fee. The official pages state no figure for it, so ask the agency for a written quote.
The Shanghai page says the consulate charges nothing beyond the prescribed visa fee, for example no rush fee, while agencies charge their own fee.
An older fee exemption. The embassy's document-list page, whose address contains 20190101 and which matches a MOFA page dated 1 January 2019, lists a visa-fee exemption for lodging in Okinawa or visiting Iwate, Fukushima or Miyagi. The 2026 fee notices do not mention it, and it is unclear whether it still applies. Ask your agency before you count on it.
How to apply and how long it takes
The embassy says tourist visas, multiple-entry ones especially, must be filed directly with a designated agency by the applicant. Filing through a non-designated agency is not allowed.
The right mission depends on where you live:
- Embassy in Beijing: Beijing, Tianjin, Shaanxi, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Gansu, Xinjiang, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia.
- Consulate-General in Shanghai: Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Anhui.
- Other areas: the consulate that covers them; the embassy page points you to the list.
Documents. The embassy's own list, dated 2019, shows what an agency collects for a 3-year multiple visa. The Okinawa, Tohoku and unrestricted columns are largely the same. The list also has a line for other documents an agency may request, so expect the agency's list to differ.
| Document | Status on the 2019 list |
|---|---|
| Passport | Required (○) |
| Visa application form with your photo (4.5 x 4.5 on that list) | Required (○) |
| Consent form for handling personal information | Required (○) |
| Household register or other proof of where you live | Required (○) |
| Proof of financial capability | Required (○) |
| Household register copy or notarised proof of family relationship | Conditional (△ on the list) |
| Old passport showing past trips to Japan | Conditional for Okinawa and unrestricted; not listed for Tohoku |
| Copy of the main applicant's multiple-entry visa | Conditional (△ on the list) |
Timing. Only the Shanghai Consulate-General publishes a figure. If the review raises no problem, the earliest issue day is the 5th working day, counted from the working day after the agency lodges your documents with the consulate. Days the agency needs before lodging, and days for delivery after issuance, come on top. Other missions' pages give no figure.
Is there an eVISA?
Not for this visa. MOFA's eVISA page lists only a single-entry short-term tourist visa, and for Chinese nationals residing in China it is issued for 15 or 30 days. If you hold an eVISA for a different trip, you must show the "Visa issuance notice" online at the airport. PDF files, screenshots and printouts are not accepted.
Which should you choose
| Your situation | Look at |
|---|---|
| One trip, no plan to return within 3 years | Single-entry individual tourist visa: 15 or 30 days per MOFA; the embassy page lists validity of "3 months"; fee CNY 715 |
| Several trips, and your first trip can include a night in Okinawa or Tohoku | Okinawa / Tohoku 3-year type |
| Several trips, first trip is elsewhere (say Tokyo or Osaka), and you meet the "sufficient financial capability" wording or have the qualifying earlier entries | Unrestricted 3-year type |
| Trips longer than 30 days, business short visits from the first trip, or booking your own flights, ship and lodging | 5-year multiple-entry visa, only if you have a "substantially high income" (up to 90 days per stay) |
Two points on reading this table. First, the 5-year visa is the only one usable for short-term visits other than sightseeing from the very first trip, and lets you choose and change flights, ship and lodging yourself from that first trip. Second, no official page puts a number on "substantially high income", just as none does for "sufficient". If you are unsure which wording fits you, the agency will tell you what it needs to see, and the mission decides.
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