TravPriceProduct note · Japan × US14.5% cheaper in the US
Is Apple MacBook Air 13" M5 16GB/1TB cheaper in Japan? the US vs Japan, a US$231.16 gap | 2026 price check
Cheaper in the US by US$231.16 (14.5%): Japan ¥278,800 ≈ US$1,830.16, the US US$1,599.00.
01 · Verdict
14.5% cheaper in the US- Japan list price
- ¥278,800incl. tax · Bic Camera product page list price · Listed
- Converted US currency
- ≈ US$1,830.16JPY/USD 0.006564 · Bank of Taiwan board
- US list price
- US$1,599.00excl. tax · official list price · Listed
- cheaper in US
- US$231.1614.5% · US list price as denominator
US stickers exclude state and local tax; Japan stickers include tax. The bases differ, so this is not a landed cost.
Japanincl. tax、the USexcl. tax; where the tax basis differs, only the list prices are compared; a comparison of two named sources’ list prices, before card fees, shipping and tax refunds. Checked 2026-09-18. Before you order, use theJapan source page and the US source pagecurrent prices.
Japan vs US price table
| Market | List price | Source · checked | Tax basis · stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| JapanBic Camera product page list price | ¥278,800 | Bic Camera ↗ | incl. taxListed |
| USofficial list price | US$1,599.00 | Apple US official ↗ | excl. taxListed |
| Japan convertedJPY/USD 0.006564 (JPY/TWD 0.2076 ÷ USD/TWD 31.625) | US$1,830.16 | Bank of Taiwan rate ↗ | Spot sellingNot a card or cash rate |
| Gapcheaper in US | US$231.16 | 14.5%US list price as denominator | Extra fees not includedCard fee, shipping and tax-free extra |
To use your own FX, fees and shipping, open the Price calculator.
Is it worth buying in Japan?
Japan ¥278,800, Taiwan NT$52,900; both are same-day price snapshots taken when checked, excluding shipping, tax refunds, and card fees.
- With a 1.5% foreign card fee: Japan comes to about US$1,857.61, above the US by US$258.61.
- Break-even rate 0.0057 USD/JPY: above it the the US sticker is the cheaper one (this check used 0.0066, cross-converted from the Bank of Taiwan yen and dollar rates).
Before you buy
- Only paired when the model, capacity, and version match; a different suffix or a different memory/storage combination is treated as a different product.
- The Taiwan price is a retail-channel list price (which may be an authorized import or a parallel import), not the brand's official price.
- Price and stock follow the page on the day of verification.
05 · Sources
Each price keeps its source link, price kind, tax basis and check date, and is calculated with the TravPrice comparison method. If a price or model is wrong, check the source page and report it.
- Japan price
- Bic Camera ↗Bic Camera product page list price · incl. tax · Listed · checked 2026-09-11
- US price
- Apple US official ↗official list price · excl. tax · Listed · checked 2026-09-18
- FX
- Bank of Taiwan FX ↗Bank of Taiwan spot selling reference rate; the US dollar is cross-converted · JPY/USD 0.006564 (JPY/TWD 0.2076 ÷ USD/TWD 31.625) · 2026-09-10 23:22:00 (Taiwan time)
- Model match
- MacBook Air 13.6-inch M5 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU) 16GB/1TB, product page lists Midnight/Sky Blue/Silver optionsThe Japan price comes from Bic Camera (Bic Camera's product page listed price): Apple 〖カスタマイズモデル〗 MacBook Air 13インチ Apple M5チップ搭載モデル USキーボード[2026年春モデル; the Taiwan side is momo Shopping's 「【Apple】MacBook Air 13.6吋 M5晶片 10核心CPU 與 10核心GPU 16」, priced at NT$52,900. The CPU/GPU core counts (10-core/10-core), RAM (16GB) and SSD (1TB) all match the Japan-spec CTO configuration; the product page confirms a "Midnight" (午夜) colour option corresponding to the Japan spec ミッドナイト. root re-opened the page to re-check the product name and price. US price 2026-09-18: schema.org: 13-inch M5 10-core CPU / 10-core GPU / Midnight / 16GB / 1TB; partNumber MDHF4LL/A; $1,599.00 USD.
- Official product page
- Brand product page ↗Product images on this site are redrawn illustrations; use the official page for appearance, extras and packaging.
- This page generated
- Generated from the same checked data; it is recalculated when the data updates.
Keep reading
Bic Camera electronics: 236 Japan–Taiwan matches, 57% of items cheaper in Japan
We compare 236 verified same-product prices: 135 cost less in Japan and 101 cost less in Taiwan. Median Japan savings are 5.9%; KANDAO Meeting Pro (Panoramic Video Conference Ca… has the largest cash gap at NT$20,637.
02Theme studyApple in Japan: 41 matched prices and 26 tax-free opportunities at Bic Camera
The 41 tax-included Japan list prices are compared with Taiwan. If a qualifying traveller buys the same models at Bic Camera, 26 estimated tax-free prices are lower in Japan and 14 remain lower in Taiwan.
03Theme studyElectronics and appliances: 223 Japan–Taiwan matches, 53% of items cheaper in Japan
We compare 223 verified same-product prices: 119 cost less in Japan and 104 cost less in Taiwan. Median Japan savings are 4.1%; KANDAO Meeting Pro (Panoramic Video Conference Ca… has the largest cash gap at NT$20,637.
04Theme studyWhat costs more in Japan? 222 products cheaper in Taiwan
222 verified matches currently have a lower Taiwan list price. The largest Taiwan advantage is NT$27,040 on ASUS PRIME RTX 5070TI O16G Graphics Card.