A reading of official ward guidance as of September 2026. Ordinances and practice keep changing. For any given address, check the latest ordinance and the ward counter.
Debates about minpaku often start with a single number: 180 days a year. For a neighbour, that is not the real question.
Are weekdays quiet? What about night-time arrivals and rubbish? Do unvetted guests come and go near a school? If something goes wrong, who do you call?
Those questions require the legal differences inside the word “minpaku.” This note starts with national law, separates what Tokyo Metropolitan Government decides from what each ward decides, then compares restrictions on private lodging in the 23 wards.
The lodging next door is not always a dwelling notified under the Private Lodging Business Act.
1. “Minpaku” is three systems
What people call minpaku usually falls under one of three regimes: a dwelling notified under the Private Lodging Business Act; a facility licensed under the Hotel Business Act; or Special Zone minpaku certified under the National Strategic Special Zones framework. All involve lodging. Their legal status is not the same. Operating days, procedures, supervision and municipal ordinances differ.
Private Lodging Business Act: notified dwellings, 180 days
Private lodging uses a “dwelling” that meets statutory tests. Opening the business generally requires a notification to the local government.
Nights of lodging, counted per notified dwelling, may not exceed 180 days from noon on 1 April to noon on 1 April the following year. A “day” runs from noon to the next noon. The dwelling must have a kitchen, bath, toilet and washbasin, and meet residence tests such as being a centre of daily life.
That is not a nationwide right to operate 180 days everywhere. Article 18 of the Act lets municipalities restrict areas and operating periods by ordinance, within Cabinet-order standards, where needed to prevent deterioration of the living environment. Each of the 23 wards has such an ordinance. Even a notified dwelling may therefore be limited to certain weekdays or seasons, depending on where it sits.
Hotel Business Act: no 180-day cap
Facilities licensed under the Hotel Business Act have no 180-day cap. A licence does not waive other law. Zoning, the Building Standards Act, fire rules, structural standards for inns and hotels, and municipal ordinances still apply. The building use is not necessarily “housing” in planning terms.
If lodging is offered beyond the Private Lodging 180-day limit, a Hotel Business Act licence is usually the issue. Which statute applies is judged from the contract and how the place is used, not from the name on the door.
Special Zone minpaku
Special Zone minpaku is certified under the National Strategic Special Zones system. The 180-day cap does not apply. Minimum-stay and other conditions do. In the 23 wards, only Ota City runs the scheme. Notified dwellings and certified Special Zone facilities therefore sit side by side in Ota. Same street language, different day counts and different supervisors.
2. National government, Tokyo Metro, the ward
Those three roles are often collapsed into “Tokyo minpaku rules.” They should not be.
National government: the frame
Statutes, Cabinet orders and ministerial ordinances set the 180-day cap, dwelling tests, operator duties, and the box inside which municipalities may restrict areas and periods.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government: guidance and adjacent fields
The Metro publishes guidance and acts on building control, fire, and condominium policy. It does not set one “operating weekday” for all 23 wards.
The ward: intake and Article 18 limits
In the 23 wards, the ward accepts notifications and writes the Article 18 area and period limits. Change the ward, change the rule. “Tokyo’s minpaku regulation” as a single phrase does not tell you when a given facility may operate. Identify the address, then the ward ordinance that applies there.
3. 2026: national advice is not an ordinance
In July 2026 the Japan Tourism Agency and others issued technical advice to municipalities on proper operation of private lodging, including so-called zero-day rules and ICT management. Advice is not an ordinance.
National advice does not automatically rewrite ward ordinances or enlarge ward power. Where and when private lodging may run is still set by each ward’s ordinance, rules, commencement date and transitional measures. Keep national policy and the rule that applies on a given plot on separate pages.
4. How the 23 wards differ
Practice is not uniform. Some wards cut weekdays only in exclusive residential zones. Some cut weekdays across the whole ward. Some split host-present and host-absent operations. Amendments can treat new notifications differently from existing ones. The notes below are the main features, not a legality opinion on a single lot.
Chiyoda | Area rules around schools
Limits are not uniform across the ward. Around educational and school areas, private lodging may not run from Sunday noon to Friday noon even in a host-present dwelling. A July 2026 amendment also tightened on-site-staffed operations in the same areas. Check the designated area and the operating form, not only the ward name.
Chiyoda City official guidance
Chuo | Ward-wide, weekends first
A ward-wide period limit centres on Saturday noon to Monday noon. Host presence does not substantially add weekday operating days. Start from that ward-wide calendar, then check the individual notification and any transitional rule.
Minato | Host-absent and host-present treated differently
In exclusive residential zones and educational districts, host-absent private lodging is limited outside spring, summer and winter closed periods. Host-present operations in the same areas fall outside that limit. “Minato is strict” is not a useful sentence. Split the zone and whether the host lives there.
Shinjuku | Weekday limits in exclusive residential zones
In exclusive residential zones, private lodging may not run from Monday noon to Friday noon. Other use zones do not carry the same weekday cut. Press reports of a possible ban in residential areas should not be treated as law until an ordinance is enacted and in force. Check the use zone and the ordinance now in effect.
Shinjuku City official guidance
Bunkyo | Educational-district designation matters
Private lodging may not run from Sunday noon to Friday noon in exclusive residential zones, residential zones, quasi-industrial zones and educational districts. In Bunkyo, educational-district status sits beside the use zone. The same ward, different designation, different rule.
Taito | New limits for notifications accepted from 1 October 2026
The ward says weekday limits will apply to notified dwellings accepted on or after 1 October 2026, whether host-present or host-absent. Dwellings accepted on or before 30 September 2026 fall outside that amendment. Acceptance date, not only the address, decides the rule. Do not treat new and existing notifications as one class.
Sumida | Stronger inspection and new period limits
On 1 April 2026 an ordinance strengthening inspection of private lodging and hotel businesses took effect. The main target is facilities accepted on or after that date. Weekday cuts and geographic scope still have to be read against notification date and area. Match the latest ward page to the ordinance and the implementing rules.
Koto | Weekdays cut ward-wide
Across the ward, private lodging may not run from Monday noon to Saturday noon. National holidays, from noon to the next noon, are carved out. Toyosu is not a special exception. Start from the ward-wide calendar, not from a neighbourhood name.
Shinagawa | Commercial zones treated differently
Commercial and neighbourhood-commercial zones, except educational districts, do not carry the weekday cut. Other areas are limited mainly from Saturday noon to Monday noon. “Is it commercial zoning?” is the first question. Educational-district designation and notification date can still change the answer. Zoning alone is not a conclusion.
Shinagawa City official guidance
Meguro | Weekdays cut ward-wide
Across the ward, private lodging may not run from Sunday noon to Friday noon. Intra-ward variation is not the starting point. Read the ward-wide ordinance first.
Ota | Private Lodging Act and Special Zone side by side
Notified dwellings and Special Zone-certified facilities both exist. Under the Private Lodging Act, host-absent operations within about 100 metres of a school face weekday limits. Special Zone minpaku is not under the 180-day cap. Ask which statute the facility sits under before talking about “Ota minpaku.”
Setagaya | Current ordinance versus the September 2026 draft
Under the rules now in force, private lodging in exclusive residential zones generally may not run from Monday noon to Saturday noon. A draft published in September 2026 would keep weekday limits in those zones, while allowing up to 180 days a year where host-present and other conditions, plus verified proper operation, are met. That draft is not law. Public comment runs from 15 September to 6 October 2026; the target commencement is 1 April 2027. The text can still move. Keep the current ordinance and the draft in separate columns.
Setagaya City official guidance
Shibuya | Residential and quasi-residential zones now restricted
A July 2026 amendment brought residential and quasi-residential zones into the restricted area. Exceptions are limited to forms such as host-present operation. Check those zones, not only exclusive residential zoning, and read them together with the operating form.
Shibuya City official guidance
Nakano | Weekends and holidays in exclusive residential zones
In exclusive residential zones, private lodging is built around Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Co-habiting host operations may run on weekdays with the mayor’s permission. Zone, host status and whether that permission exists all matter.
Suginami | Weekday limits aimed at host-absent operations
In exclusive residential zones, the weekday limit targets host-absent private lodging. Host-present operations do not carry the same weekday cut. Two houses on the same block can therefore sit under different calendars. Suginami did not join the May 2026 request to the national government by 21 wards. Joining that request and the content of the local ordinance are separate facts.
Suginami City official guidance
Toshima | Enforcement first, period limits from December
The ward issued improvement orders where operators missed periodic reports, then suspended 15 operators and 23 facilities for one year from 1 July 2026 where improvement did not follow. Area and period limits are scheduled from 16 December 2026. Operating weekdays are only half the story. Whether reporting, management and neighbour notice are actually done is the other half.
Toshima City official guidance
Kita | Notice and site checks over a uniform weekday cut
There is no uniform weekday limit. The ward does require neighbour notice and on-site confirmation. “No weekday cap” is not “no management” and not “no neighbour contact.”
Arakawa | Weekdays cut ward-wide
Across the ward, private lodging may not run from Monday noon to Saturday noon. Holidays are excluded from that cut. Read the ward-wide calendar first, then notification date and any transitional rule.
Arakawa City official guidance
Itabashi | Weekday limits in exclusive residential zones
In exclusive residential zones, private lodging may not run from Sunday noon to Friday noon. Host-present operations fall outside that limit. Read use zone together with host status.
Itabashi City official guidance
Nerima | Host-present dwellings still limited in exclusive residential zones
In exclusive residential zones, private lodging may not run from Monday noon to Friday noon. The same limit applies to host-present operations. Living on site does not unlock weekdays in those zones. Exclusive residential zoning is the first filter.
Adachi | Weekday limits plus school-area and year-end rules
In exclusive residential zones, private lodging may not run from Monday noon to Friday noon. Parts of the year-end and New Year period are also restricted. Extra limits may apply near schools. Check distance to a school and the year-end calendar, not only the use zone.
Katsushika | Period limits on new facilities, with a grandfathering rule
An April 2026 ordinance puts period limits on new private lodging. Host-present operations, staffed facilities and commercial zones may be excepted. Dwellings notified on or before 31 March 2026 have a transitional measure. Notification date sits beside zone and operating form.
Katsushika City official guidance
Edogawa | In force 1 July 2026; existing notifications grandfathered
The ordinance and rules took effect on 1 July 2026. The ward says dwellings notified under Article 3 of the Act on or before 30 June 2026 have a transitional measure on operating limits. Read commencement date and acceptance date together. A new restriction does not always land on an existing notification the same day.
Edogawa City official guidance
5. How to read the 23 wards
The map does not split into “strict wards” and “loose wards.”
Weekdays cut by area
Some wards limit periods in exclusive residential zones, residential zones, educational districts or school buffers. Address, use zone and designation come first.
Split by who lives there and who manages
Some wards separate host-present and host-absent. Some except on-site managers. The same block can sit under two calendars.
Ward-wide period limits
Koto, Chuo, Meguro and Arakawa apply a calendar to the whole ward. Neighbourhood names matter less than that calendar.
Supervision over day-count
Toshima and Kita put weight on reports, neighbour notice, site checks and enforcement. No weekday cap is not a thin duty list.
A second statute in the same ward
Ota also has Special Zone-certified facilities. Identify the statute before counting days.
6. 2026: the wards are still moving
In May 2026, 21 wards asked the national government to tighten private lodging. Setagaya and Suginami did not join. Setagaya has said so itself. That request is a signal of municipal concern. It is not the ordinance. Signing the request does not set operating days.
Even where more days are available, neighbour notice, signage, complaint handling and periodic reports remain. “Light regulation” does not mean “no explanation to the next door.”
7. What sits outside the ordinance
A ward ordinance is not enough.
Which statute
Notified dwelling, Hotel Business Act licence, or Special Zone certificate. Name the regime first.
Use zone and designations
For a notified dwelling, use zone and school or educational-district overlays can change the limit inside one ward.
Host and manager
Host-present or host-absent. Where the manager sits. Who answers at night. Some wards tie those facts to operating days and exceptions.
When the file was accepted
Amendments often split new and existing files. Acceptance date, commencement date and any grandfathering clause have to be read together.
Condominium bylaws
A management bylaw can forbid private lodging even where the ordinance allows it. That is unit-ownership law, not a Metro recommendation. Administrative legality and bylaw compliance are two checks.
Signage and a complaint line
For a neighbour, the phone number on the plaque can matter more than the day count.
8. Is a serviced apartment minpaku?
Monthly furnished rentals and serviced apartments are not classified by the label on the brochure. Contract, stay length, how the rooms are used and what services are bundled decide the statute.
Not every monthly furnished product is a notified dwelling. A product called “rental housing” or “serviced apartment” can still raise other statutes on the facts. Read the contract, not the marketing name.
9. A neighbour’s legality is not decided by the ward name
Rules differ by ward. The ward name still does not tell you whether the place next door may operate. What matters is the lot, the use zone, any overlay, host status, when the file was accepted or licensed, and, in a condominium, the bylaws. A different statute may apply altogether.
The useful question is not whether a ward is “strict.” It is which regime governs the building in front of you, and under which calendar it runs.
Ordinances will keep moving. Grandfathering changes outcomes. Identify the address and the file, then read the current ordinance and the ward desk.
The national procedure sits on the Japan Tourism Agency minpaku portal.
Japanese version: 東京23区の民泊規制を読み解く
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