TravPriceProduct note · Japan × US10.7% cheaper in Japan
Is Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Bluetooth Noise-Canceling Headphones cheaper in Japan? the US vs Japan, a US$32.16 gap | 2026 price check
Cheaper in Japan by US$32.16 (10.7%): Japan ¥40,800 ≈ US$267.83, the US US$299.99.
01 · Verdict
10.7% cheaper in Japan- Japan list price
- ¥40,800incl. tax · Japan chain retailer list price (kakaku.com price comparison; Yamada Web.com / Nojima ¥40,800, in stock; Kojima / K's Denki / Bic Camera / Sofmap ¥42,918) · In stock
- Converted US currency
- ≈ US$267.83JPY/USD 0.006564 · Bank of Taiwan board
- US list price
- US$299.99excl. tax · Official promotional price; the original price was not recorded in this check · Listed
- cheaper in Japan
- US$32.1610.7% · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| JapanJapan chain retailer list price (kakaku.com price comparison; Yamada Web.com / Nojima ¥40,800, in stock; Kojima / K's Denki / Bic Camera / Sofmap ¥42,918) | ¥40,800 | Kakaku.com product page ↗ | incl. taxIn stock |
| USOfficial promotional price; the original price was not recorded in this check | US$299.99 | Sony US official store ↗ | excl. taxListed |
| Japan convertedJPY/USD 0.006564 (JPY/TWD 0.2076 ÷ USD/TWD 31.625) | US$267.83 | Bank of Taiwan rate ↗ | Spot sellingNot a card or cash rate |
| Gapcheaper in Japan | US$32.16 | 10.7%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 ¥40,800 (Yamada Web.com / Nojima chain list price), Taiwan NT$7,388 — both are list-price snapshots as of the check date; shipping, tax refunds, and card fees are not included. The XM5 is already the previous-generation flagship, and both markets are pricing it as clearance stock; Taiwan's price is still cheaper than Japan's chain price.
- With a 1.5% foreign card fee: Japan comes to about US$271.85, still below the US by US$28.14.
- Break-even rate 0.0074 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
- Fixed at comparing the WH-1000XM5 unit itself; do not compare against the WH-1000XM4, WH-1000XM6, or the earbud model.
- Japan price is taken from the chain retailer's product page (Bic Camera.com), not the lowest price from an unnamed online store on a price-comparison site.
- The Taiwan price is a retail-channel list price, 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
- Kakaku.com product page ↗Japan chain retailer list price (kakaku.com price comparison; Yamada Web.com / Nojima ¥40,800, in stock; Kojima / K's Denki / Bic Camera / Sofmap ¥42,918) · incl. tax · In stock · checked 2026-09-15
- US price
- Sony US official store ↗Official promotional price; the original price was not recorded in this check · 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
- WH-1000XM5 over-ear Active Noise Cancellation headphones, main unit (not XM4, not XM6)Japan is Bic Camera.com's product page 'SONY Bluetooth Headphones Black WH-1000XM5BM,' ¥44,019 incl. tax (the page is marked 'price reduced,' and delivery by 9/13 was available on the check date); the same item is listed on kakaku.com's chain retailers at ¥50,490 (Joshin / Yamada / Kojima / K's / Edion / Sofmap) and ¥56,100 (Yodobashi); the comparison site's 'lowest price' of ¥30,034 comes from an online-only store with no physical location and is not used, per site policy. Taiwan is PChome 24h's 'SONY WH-1000XM5 Wireless Bluetooth Noise-Canceling Headphones, Authorized Distributor Stock, 4 colors,' DYAQ9D-A900G7IOX, listed at NT$7,388 (all four colors priced the same). Re-checked 2026-09-15: Bic Camera.com's own product page had dropped from ¥44,019 to ¥42,918, and on the same day the lowest chain listing on kakaku.com was Yamada Web.com / Nojima at ¥40,800 (in stock); per the 'take the lowest chain price on that page' rule, the entry was updated to the latter. US price, checked 2026-09-18: the US official site has the WH-1000XM5/B black currently on promotion at US$299.99 (the page also lists the original price as US$399.99).
- 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.
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