Can You Bring Nepali Food and Spices to Japan? Quarantine Rules for Meat Products, Dairy and Plants, and Airport Procedures

Many people miss the taste of Nepal. You may want to take momo, dried meat, ghee, achar, spices, rice or beans to Japan. However, Japan has quarantine rules to keep diseases and pests of animals and plants out, and bringing in many kinds of food is restricted. If you bring something in without knowing the rules, the food may be thrown away, or you may face heavy penalties. This guide explains the rules and the airport procedures using official information from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

We checked the official pages listed at the bottom on 7 November 2026. The rules differ in detail by item and by country and can change. Use this guide as a map to the basics, and before you pack, always confirm with the latest guidance of the Animal Quarantine Service and the Plant Protection Station. If you are unsure about an item, it is safest not to bring it.

The conclusion first

• Meat and meat products: In almost all cases, you cannot bring them in. Ham, sausage, jerky (dried meat), meat buns, and momo with meat are all covered.
• Plants (vegetables, fruit, beans, grains, raw materials for spices and so on): In principle you need to attach an inspection certificate issued by the government of the exporting country and have the item inspected. This is the same for a small amount or a souvenir. However, depending on how an item is dried or processed and how it is packed, some items do not need a certificate and some are outside quarantine. Many fruits and vegetables are banned from entry.
• Dairy products (butter, ghee, cheese, milk, etc.): When you bring them in as personal baggage (accompanied baggage), they are not subject to animal quarantine. However, if they contain meat or similar, they are covered.
• For all of these, you go through quarantine counters before customs inspection at the airport. If you bring them in without declaring them, there are penalties.

Meat and meat products (animal quarantine)

This section is based on the guidance of the Animal Quarantine Service.

What you cannot bring in

• Meat and organs are covered in any form: raw, chilled, frozen, or cooked and processed. Ham, sausage, bacon, jerky and meat buns are given as examples.
• Eggs (including shells) are also covered.
• Processed products made from meat, eggs and so on are also covered. Items for which it is clear from the manufacturing process and similar factors that there is no risk of spreading disease may be treated as outside the rules.
• Even as souvenirs or for your own consumption, it is difficult to obtain the inspection certificate from the government of the exporting country, so almost all meat products and animal-derived products cannot be brought into Japan. Items without an inspection certificate cannot be brought in.
• This applies to items bought at duty-free shops and vacuum-packed items too. If even a little meat is used as an ingredient, it is covered.
• Products from countries and regions with outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, highly pathogenic avian influenza and similar diseases are banned from import.

Dairy products

Dairy products are generally included in animal quarantine rules, but when you bring them in as personal baggage (accompanied baggage), they are excluded from animal quarantine (Animal Quarantine Service). Butter, ghee, cheese and milk powder, for example, are not subject to animal quarantine if they contain no meat or eggs. However, if they contain meat products, they are covered. Check the packaging and the ingredient labels. Other rules may also apply, such as those on amount, packaging and liquids, from customs and airlines.

Leather goods and similar items

Finished products such as leather bags and wool sweaters are not covered.

Plants (plant quarantine)

This section is based on the guidance of the Plant Protection Station.

The basic rules

• In principle, plants, whatever the amount or purpose, must have an inspection certificate (phytosanitary certificate) issued by a government agency of the exporting country attached, and must be inspected on import. The same applies to souvenirs and small amounts for personal use. Plants bought at duty-free shops also need inspection.
• Examples that need inspection: seedlings, bulbs, seeds, cut flowers, vegetables, fruit, grains, beans, timber, raw materials for spices, raw materials for herbal medicine, and so on.
• If an item that needs a certificate has none, it is disposed of. If you bring it in without inspection, there are penalties.
• For plants other than banned items, a Japanese import permit is in principle not needed. However, banned items cannot be brought in even with an inspection certificate.

Think of plants in four groups

Organizing from the Plant Protection Station's guidance, there are four.

1. 1Plants banned from entry into Japan. (You cannot bring them in even with an inspection certificate.)
2. 2Plants you bring in with an inspection certificate and have inspected. (This is the rule.)
3. 3Plants that do not need an inspection certificate but still must be inspected on import.
4. 4Plants that need neither an inspection certificate nor an import inspection.

In more detail, the official pages explain it like this.

• Conditions for plants that do not need a certificate but need inspection: Items that are dried, items that are dried and also compressed, shredded, crushed or ground, and frozen items. They must not be used for cultivation, fertilizer, feed and similar purposes. Ground chili pepper, dried vegetables and dried medicinal plants are given as examples.
• Examples of plants that are not subject to import quarantine: Processed tea, dried fruit (apricot, fig, persimmon, kiwi fruit, grape, mango, banana and others), plants preserved in sugar, salt, acetic acid, alcohol and similar, fermented vanilla beans, and "dried spices that are sealed in retail containers."

What you cannot bring in

• Soil, and plants with soil on them: They are banned from import from all countries.
• Many fruits and vegetables: Mango, longan, guava, lychee, chili pepper, citrus fruit, pear and apple are given as examples of items banned from entry. Some fruits and vegetables are banned depending on the country or region.
• In-flight meals: Sandwiches, cut fruit and similar should be eaten on the plane, and the leftovers should not be taken off the plane.
• Seedlings, seeds, grains and beans that are not banned also need inspection.

What about spices, tea, dried foods and processed items?

According to the official guidance:

• Dried spices sealed in retail containers and processed tea are given as examples of plants not subject to import quarantine.
• On the other hand, raw materials for spices are also given as examples of plants that need import inspection. Ground chili pepper and dried vegetables are examples that do not need an inspection certificate but still need inspection.
• Grains, beans and seeds are examples of plants that need inspection.
• Among processed products made from plants, those with no risk of pests or living organisms attached may not need an import inspection. However, you are advised to "ask the Plant Protection Station for details."

Which group Nepali masala, spice mixes, beans, dried vegetables, achar and similar items fall into differs by ingredient, state of processing and packaging. In this guide we cannot say "you can bring" any one of them. Be sure to confirm the item name and its state for what you want to take with the Plant Protection Station's "import and export conditions search" or by contacting them.

Procedures at the airport

1. 1Fill in the customs declaration correctly. The form has questions about whether you have meat products or animals and plants. Answer honestly.
2. 2Go to the quarantine counters. After immigration, at the animal quarantine counter and plant quarantine counter inside the customs inspection area, you are inspected before customs inspection. Livestock products go to the animal quarantine counter and plants to the plant quarantine counter.
3. 3Do not open meat products and other items that need animal quarantine inspection before the inspection. If you open them before inspection, you may no longer be able to bring them in.
4. 4Inspection can take time. Staff may record information from your passport and boarding pass. Allow extra time for connections and for the person meeting you.
5. 5For plants, once they pass inspection, a "plant inspection passed" stamp is put on them. Plants without this stamp cannot go through customs inspection. There is no fee.

At the airport where you arrive, inspectors may check passengers' baggage, and detector dogs are at work. If you are asked what you have, show them the contents of your bags.

Penalties for breaking the rules

If you illegally bring in livestock products such as meat products, you may face a fine of up to 3 million yen (up to 50 million yen for a corporation), or imprisonment of up to three years (Animal Quarantine Service). Livestock products found in baggage that were not declared are also subject to penalties. In serious cases, the police are notified. Animal Quarantine Service staff have the authority to dispose of illegal livestock products.

Plants without an inspection certificate are also disposed of, and bringing them in without inspection may bring penalties (Plant Protection Station).

If you have food sent by mail or courier

Bringing in meat products and similar by international mail is also restricted (Animal Quarantine Service). For plants too, an inspection certificate and similar documents are needed when they are sent by mail or courier. It is prohibited by law to import plants by postal items other than small packets or parcel post, or by letter mail (Plant Protection Station). Some international courier companies do not handle plants, so check in advance. The same rules apply when you ask family to send you food.

What to check before you bring anything

1. 1List what you plan to take. Check the ingredients and labels for meat and eggs.
2. 2Do not bring meat or items containing meat (dried meat, momo with meat, seasonings containing meat, etc.).
3. 3For plants (spices, beans, dried vegetables, seeds, etc.), check each item with the Plant Protection Station. In principle an inspection certificate is needed.
4. 4If you are unsure, do not bring it. In Japan there may be shops that sell Nepali ingredients (shops differ by region; ask your school or senior international students).
5. 5Declare honestly on the form. Bringing something in by hiding it is subject to penalties.

The rules for medicines, alcohol, tobacco and similar items are not explained in this guide. Check customs and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's guidance.

Frequently asked questions

Can I bring Nepali spices?

Dried spices sealed in retail containers are given as an example that is not subject to import quarantine. On the other hand, raw materials for spices, ground chili pepper and dried vegetables need inspection (ground chili pepper and dried vegetables do not need an inspection certificate). It differs by item and state, so ask the Plant Protection Station about the spices you plan to take. Items that need an inspection certificate but do not have one cannot be brought in.

Can I bring dried meat or momo?

Assume you cannot. Dried meat such as jerky is covered as a meat product. Momo with meat is treated as a food containing meat, in the same way as meat dumplings and meat buns, so in almost all cases it cannot be brought into Japan.

Can I bring ghee or butter?

When you bring dairy products as personal baggage (accompanied baggage), they are not covered by animal quarantine (Animal Quarantine Service). However, if they contain meat or similar, they are covered.

Can I bring rice or beans?

Grains and beans are examples of plants that need plant quarantine inspection. Ask the Plant Protection Station whether you can bring them and whether an inspection certificate is needed.

Is it fine if I do not declare it and am not caught?

No. Bringing something in without declaring it is subject to penalties. If you illegally bring in meat products and similar, you may face a fine of up to 3 million yen or imprisonment of up to three years. Inspectors check personal baggage, and detector dogs are used.

Can my family send it by mail?

The same rules apply by mail. Meat products and similar are restricted, and plants need an inspection certificate and similar documents. Check with the Animal Quarantine Service and the Plant Protection Station before sending.

What to do next

Before you go to Japan, sort out what you will take. For other packing items and what to do after you arrive, see the guide to procedures after you arrive and the guide to emergencies and disasters. For the full process, see How to Study in Japan from Nepal. You can contact us, but we do not guarantee admission or a visa. This site is free to use.