How to Get a Simple Lodging (Kan’i Shukusho) License in Japan

Getting a simple lodging license in Japan — formally a kan’i shukusho licence under the Hotel Business Act — is one of the two main legal routes for operating short-term rentals, alongside a standard minpaku notification under the Housing Accommodation Business Act. For an overseas owner who cannot walk into a ward office or supervise a refurbishment in person, the licensing path involves layers of remote coordination that most online guides skip entirely. This article is written from the ground up, based on what actually happens when we handle these applications and run the properties afterwards.

Simple Lodging License Japan: What It Actually Is and Why It Matters

The kan’i shukusho category sits within the Hotel Business Act (Ryokan Gyōhō) alongside full ryokan and hotel licences. Unlike a minpaku notification — which caps you at 180 operating days per year under the Housing Accommodation Business Act — a kan’i shukusho licence carries no statutory night limit. That alone makes it commercially significant: a property running 180 days earns roughly half what an unrestricted one can, all else being equal.

The licence is issued by the prefectural government (or, in designated cities, the ward or city authority). Requirements cluster around three areas: structural standards set by each prefecture, fire safety compliance under the Fire Service Act (Shōbōhō), and sanitary management standards. A front desk or equivalent guest-reception function is required, though regulations on how this may be staffed remotely have evolved — many prefectures now accept camera-based or electronic reception systems under specific conditions.

The Fire Service Act Is Where Applications Stall

In our experience, this is the single most common place a licence application slows down or dies. The Fire Service Act requires fire-detection systems, extinguishers, emergency lighting, and — depending on floor area and occupancy — automatic sprinklers. What most owners do not anticipate is that the fire authority conducts its own inspection separately from the ward or prefecture, and it will not sign off until every element meets local fire chief standards, which can differ in detail from the national minimum.

We managed one machiya property in Kyoto where the fire authority required a full sprinkler installation because the building exceeded the threshold floor area under the Fire Service Act, even though it had previously operated as a private home without issue. The owner, based in Australia, had budgeted for minor works. The actual bill ran to roughly ¥1.2–1.8 million depending on which contractor quote we accepted. We coordinated three rounds of contractor visits, photo-documented everything, submitted to the owner via a shared folder, and ultimately recommended the mid-range quote — not the cheapest — because that firm had worked with that particular fire station before and knew how the local inspector interpreted the sprinkler placement rules. That kind of on-the-ground judgement is not something a licensing agent working only on paper can provide.

What the Application Process Looks Like for a Non-Resident Owner

The applicant must appoint a kanri gyōsha (management business operator) registered under the Hotel Business Act in most practical setups, and the licence itself is issued to the operator or, in some structures, to the property owner with a delegated operator on record. For a non-resident, the critical document issue is that many prefectures require a domestic address or registered agent on the application. A property management company with the correct licensing can act in this capacity, but confirm it explicitly — some agencies handle only minpaku notifications and are not registered under the Hotel Business Act.

Typical documents required include: building inspection certificate (kenchiku kakunin sumi shōmei), floor plan to scale, evidence of fire safety compliance, lease or ownership proof, and a written management plan. Japanese originals are required; overseas owners need to provide ownership documents with certified Japanese translation where applicable.

Processing time varies considerably by prefecture and ward. In our experience, straightforward applications in less congested areas can complete in six to ten weeks from submission; applications in major city wards with heavy review queues can take four to six months or longer, particularly where back-and-forth with the fire authority is needed.

Tokku Minpaku, Osaka, and Why This Route Is Now Closed There

National strategic special zones (tokku minpaku) were created to allow short-term rentals operating beyond the 180-day cap in designated zones without a full Hotel Business Act licence. As of 29 May 2026, Osaka City has permanently ended new applications for tokku minpaku. Existing certified facilities may continue, but no new tokku minpaku can be started in Osaka. If you are considering a new opening in Osaka, your viable routes are a minpaku notification under the Housing Accommodation Business Act (with its 180-day cap and local municipal restrictions on top of that) or a kan’i shukusho or full ryokan licence under the Hotel Business Act. Anyone advising you that tokku minpaku remains available for new applicants in Osaka is working from outdated information.

Tax and Remittance Reality for Overseas Owners

Non-resident owners face withholding tax obligations that resident owners do not. Under Japanese tax law, rental income paid to a non-resident is subject to withholding at source — typically 20.42% on gross rental income, including the reconstruction special income tax component, under the Income Tax Act. This applies whether payment flows through a management company or directly. If a Japanese management company is paying you as a non-resident, they are legally required to withhold and remit this amount to the tax authority.

Consumption tax (currently 10%) applies to management fees charged by the operator. It does not apply to the underlying accommodation revenue at the standard residential exemption level, but once revenue crosses the ¥10 million threshold in a base period, the owner’s entity may become a consumption tax taxpayer — the rules here interact with how the operating structure is set up, so local tax advice specific to your structure is essential before committing.

Currency exposure is real and often underestimated. Revenue is denominated in JPY; payouts to overseas owners involve conversion costs and, depending on the remittance method, intermediary bank fees. Ask your management company specifically how and when they remit, what FX rate they apply, and whether they hold funds in a segregated account.

Supervising a Management Company You Cannot Meet In Person

Management fees for kan’i shukusho or minpaku properties in Japan typically range from 10–25% of gross revenue, depending on the scope of services, property type, location, and the company involved. A company handling only reservations and guest communication sits at the lower end; a full-service operator covering cleaning coordination, maintenance, licensing compliance, guest check-in, and owner reporting should be closer to the higher end of that range. Scope matters more than the headline percentage.

The questions that actually matter for a non-resident owner:

• Are you registered under the Hotel Business Act or only handling minpaku notifications?
• Who physically holds a key or access code, and what is the response protocol if a guest cannot enter at 2 a.m.?
• How are cleaning handovers documented — do you send timestamped photo logs per turnover?
• What happens when a neighbour complaint is filed? Who handles it, and how fast?
• How do you report occupancy and revenue — monthly statements with booking-level detail, or a lump-sum figure?
• What is your process when a maintenance issue exceeds a spending threshold without the owner being available to approve?

That last point is not hypothetical. A boiler failure mid-winter, a broken lock the day before a four-night booking, a guest who leaves without checking out and the cleaner finds damage — each of these requires someone on the ground making a cost and operational call within hours. If your management company cannot tell you clearly who makes that call and how they document it, the relationship will be difficult regardless of the fee rate.

Working with Stay Buddy

We operate properties in Japan on behalf of overseas owners, handling licensing, compliance, guest operations, and owner reporting. If you are assessing whether a kan’i shukusho licence is the right structure for your property — or whether the 180-day minpaku route better fits your situation — we are happy to give you a direct assessment based on the specific property and location rather than a generic answer. Contact us to start that conversation.

Written by the Stay Buddy Japan team. This content was produced with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.