Gold rate today in Tokyo (JPY)

What gold costs in Tokyo today

Converted at today's rates, pure 24k gold costs about 20,210 JPY per gram in Tokyo, and 22k about 18,526 JPY. Per 10 grams, a common size for small bars and rate boards, that is about 202,099 JPY for 24k. These are spot-based figures, before any tax, premium or making charge. Japanese retailers post a per-gram selling and buying price each day including 10% consumption tax, which makes the spread easy to see.

What moves the gold price in Tokyo

The Japanese yen gold price is simply the dollar price of gold multiplied by the exchange rate. Today that means about $4,007.9 per ounce times 156.84 JPY per dollar. The yen floats freely and can move a lot when the gap between Japanese and US interest rates changes. A weaker yen has pushed the yen gold price to records in recent years even when the dollar price was flat, so in Japan the currency often matters as much as gold itself.

The dollar price itself responds to US interest-rate expectations, the strength of the dollar, inflation data, central-bank buying and geopolitical risk. Our guide to what moves gold prices covers each in turn.

Premiums, making charges and tax in Tokyo

The shelf price in Tokyo is higher than the converted figure above. A shop adds 10% consumption tax (retailers' posted prices usually include it), plus a premium on small bars and coins. On jewellery, making charges are charged as a separate fee per small bar or as a design premium on jewellery, so two pieces of the same weight and purity can carry very different prices. K24 bars and coins are the standard investment form, K18 is the usual jewellery purity, and platinum is popular for wedding rings.

Where gold is bought in Tokyo

Ginza is home to the flagship stores of Japan's big precious-metal retailers and to department-store jewellery floors, and Okachimachi near Ueno is Tokyo's jewellery wholesale district. When comparing shops, ask for the gold rate per gram, the purity, the making charge and the buy-back price separately; that is the only way to see which offer is really cheaper.

Buying seasons in Tokyo

Year-end bonus season and the run-up to the new year are busy, and rising prices regularly bring queues of sellers as well as buyers. Across Japan, demand is strongest around year-end bonus season, when households review savings, rather than any religious festival. Seasonal demand tends to show up in shop premiums, promotions and queues rather than in the international price, which is set by global flows. Knowing the calendar helps explain why a local quote can look expensive or cheap against this page in a given week.

Gold market hours in Tokyo

The international gold market trades almost around the clock on weekdays. In Tokyo the London–New York overlap, usually the busiest and most volatile part of the day, runs today from about 21:00–01:00 local time. The two LBMA Gold Price auctions in London, at 10:30 and 15:00 London time, fall at 18:30 and 23:00 in Tokyo, and major US data released at 08:30 New York time, such as payrolls and inflation, lands at 21:30 local time. The week's trading closes at 06:00 on Saturday and reopens at 08:00 on Monday, Tokyo time; over the weekend the price on this page is the last close. Gold futures trade on the Osaka Exchange (part of Japan Exchange Group), and large retailers publish daily per-gram buy and sell prices including tax. Our gold market hours tool shows the sessions in any time zone.

Tokyo compared with Osaka

Tokyo and Osaka both price gold in JPY off the same international price and the same exchange rate, so the converted figure is identical: about 20,210 JPY per gram of 24k in both. Any difference at the counter comes from making charges, dealer premiums and how hard the shops compete.

How this JPY gold price is calculated

Three numbers decide everything on this page. First, the international gold price in US dollars per troy ounce: $4,007.9 at the last update. Second, the exchange rate: 1 USD = 156.84 JPY. Third, the weight: one troy ounce is 31.1035 grams, and one tola is 11.6638 grams.

1. Price per gram in USD = $4,007.9 ÷ 31.1035 = $128.86.
2. Price per gram in JPY = $128.86 × 156.84 = 20,210 JPY (24k, pure gold).
3. Price per 10 grams = 20,210 × 10 = 202,099 JPY.
4. For a lower purity, multiply by the fineness: 22k = 0.9167, 21k = 0.875, 18k = 0.750.

The gold price comes from COMEX gold futures, which track spot XAUUSD closely but are not identical to it. The exchange rate is a mid-market rate; the rate your bank or money changer gives you will be slightly different. If you want to do the maths yourself, our guide to converting the gold price per gram, tola and kilo walks through every step with worked examples.

What this price does not include

The figures above are the international spot price converted into local currency. They are the starting point for every retail price in Tokyo, but they are not the price you will pay or receive at a shop. The retail or "jeweller" price adds some or all of these on top:

• Import duty or customs charges, where the country imports most of its gold.
• Sales tax, GST or VAT, which may apply to jewellery, to bars and coins, or to both, depending on local law.
• Dealer premium: the margin a bullion dealer or bank adds to the spot price for bars and coins, usually larger on small pieces.
• Making charges (labour) on jewellery, often a percentage of the gold value or a fixed amount per gram.
• Local supply and demand, which can push the physical price to a premium or a discount against the international price for weeks at a time.

When you sell, the buyer usually quotes below the spot-based number and deducts for purity testing, wear and sometimes stones. The gap between the buying and the selling price is the real cost of owning physical gold, and it varies a lot between shops, so it is worth asking several.

Frequently asked questions