Luggage forwarding support
The best money you can spend on a trip to Japan is the money that stops you carrying a suitcase. Hand it to the hotel front desk and it is at your next hotel the following day. It costs roughly ¥2,500 to ¥3,000 per bag.
Luggage forwarding in numbers
Prices are a guide as of August 2026. They vary with the size and weight of the bag and the distance.
- One large suitcase ¥2,500–3,000 A guide for a typical city-to-city leg
- Transit time Next day Between major cities. Islands and some areas take two days
- Drop-off cut-off Evening before Pickup times vary by hotel
- Shinkansen oversized baggage 160 cm Over this total across the three dimensions and you need a reservation
How takkyubin (luggage delivery) works
Japan’s parcel network is a finished piece of everyday infrastructure. Travellers can use it exactly as residents do.
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Step 1
Hand it in at the front desk
On the morning of checkout, take your bag to the front desk. Almost every hotel doubles as a takkyubin counter. Staff fill in the Japanese waybill for you, so all you do is give the destination.
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Step 2
Collected the same day
A bag dropped off in the morning goes out on that day’s pickup to the depot. It routes through a regional hub overnight and reaches the destination area by the next morning.
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Step 3
At your next hotel the next day
Your bag is waiting at the next hotel’s front desk. Give your name on arrival and it is handed over. Most hotels accept luggage from the day before your stay.
The whole thing happens at the hotel front desk
You do not need to find a depot, and you do not need to make a phone call in Japanese. All you need is four things: the next hotel’s name, address, phone number, and your arrival date. They are all on your booking confirmation, so showing the screen is enough.
Why this is the single most useful thing on a trip to Japan
Getting around Japan involves three obstacles that are hard to picture from North America. Forwarding removes all three at once.
- POINT 01 The Tokaido shinkansen has a baggage size rule On the Tokaido, Sanyo, and Kyushu shinkansen, bringing a bag whose three dimensions total more than 160 cm means reserving an oversized baggage seat in advance. Bring one without a reservation and there is a fee. A large suitcase of the kind normal in North America goes over 160 cm without trying. Over 160 cm in total Advance reservation required, and those seats are limited
- POINT 02 Plenty of Japanese stations still have transfers with no elevator The major stations have improved, but connecting passages and regional stations still routinely offer nothing but stairs. And at commuting hours the flow of people never breaks. Hauling a suitcase over 20 kg up a staircase will happen several times on one trip. Transfers take 5 to 10 minutes on foot The bigger the station, the further you walk inside it
- POINT 03 Coin lockers are full precisely when you need one The hours between checkout and check-in are exactly when people count on coin lockers. But the large lockers at Kyoto Station and Tokyo Station are effectively gone by mid-morning in peak season. You can lose an hour just walking around looking. Large lockers fill by late morning Most noticeable at Kyoto and Tokyo stations in peak season
Carrying it versus forwarding it
Using a Tokyo to Kyoto move on a three-day trip as the example, here is what actually changes.
Forward it
¥2,500–3,000 / bag
- You travel light, so the transit day is still a sightseeing day
- The shinkansen oversized baggage rule stops applying to you
- Time spent hunting for a coin locker drops to zero
- A stairs-only transfer is no longer a problem
- Non-reserved seats and crowded cars become easy to board
Carry it
It costs nothing, but
- The transit day is effectively lost for sightseeing
- You need to reserve an oversized baggage seat
- You spend the day looking for somewhere to put the bag
- Stairs and crowds wear you down more than you expect
- You do keep the reassurance of having your bag with you
Measured against getting the afternoon of a transit day back for sightseeing, ¥3,000 is not expensive. There is more on how to think about luggage in our guide article.
Three routes you can use
It works between airports and hotels too, not just hotel to hotel.
- Hotel to next hotel The most common pattern. Between cities, next-day delivery is standard. Tokyo to Kyoto or Kyoto to Kanazawa both arrive the following day.
- Airport to hotel Drop it at the counter in the arrivals airport and it reaches your hotel the next day. You travel into the city light on arrival day, which makes the jet-lagged first day far easier.
- Hotel to airport Send it from your hotel to the airport the day before you fly home, and spend your last day empty-handed. Do check the airport counter’s opening hours against your flight time.
Avoid airport pickup if your flight home is early morning
Airport takkyubin counters are sometimes not open by the check-in time for an early flight. For an early departure, send the bag to a hotel near the airport the day before, or plan on carrying it.
How to actually do it
Here is what you do at the front desk that morning, in order.
Have the destination ready the day before
Get the next hotel’s name, address, phone number, and your arrival date to hand. Showing the confirmation email on screen is enough. Make sure the delivery date matches your check-in date.
Move one night’s things into a day bag
Change of clothes, regular medication, chargers, toiletries, valuables go in the daypack. Do it the night before and the morning takes five minutes.
Have the front desk write the waybill
Take the bag to the desk and say you want it forwarded. Staff fill in the Japanese parts of the waybill. You pay there and then, in cash or by card.
Take the waybill copy
The copy carries the tracking number. Photograph it. If the bag ever fails to arrive, that number lets us check the status from our end too.
Collect it at the next hotel the following day
Give your name at check-in and it is handed over. Some hotels take it up to your room. If it has not arrived, ask the front desk to double-check the stored luggage first.
Cut-off times and transit times
These are guides. They differ by hotel and by carrier, so always confirm at the front desk the day before.
| Leg | Transit | Drop-off guide |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo to Kyoto or Osaka | Next day | By that morning |
| Kyoto to Kanazawa or Takayama | Next day | By that morning |
| Between major cities on Honshu | Next day | By that morning |
| To or from Hokkaido and Okinawa | Two days | Arrange from two days ahead |
| Some remote islands and mountain areas | Two days | Arrange from two days ahead |
Treat the real cut-off as the evening before
Hotels usually get one pickup a day, and missing it pushes you to the next day. Dropping the bag off in the morning does work most of the time, but to be sure, tell the front desk by the evening before. Around the new year and the long holiday weeks, allow one extra day on top.
Check these before you send anything
Some things, and some situations, are not suited to forwarding.
- What must not go in Valuables such as your passport, cash, credit cards, and air tickets. Delicate electronics such as laptops and cameras. Fresh or refrigerated food. Any medication you need that day. Keep all of it with you.
- Compensation is capped Takkyubin compensation has an upper limit. If you are sending anything expensive, check your travel insurance baggage coverage alongside it. See travel insurance guidance.
- If you are staying at a ryokan or minshuku Smaller lodgings sometimes cannot accept luggage before the day of your stay. Ask when booking whether they can hold a bag in advance. If we arranged the lodging, we check that for you.
- Allow extra around holiday weeks Volumes spike over the new year, Golden Week, and Obon, and deliveries run later than usual. In those periods do not assume next-day arrival. Build in an extra day.
What we can help with
The forwarding itself happens on the ground in Japan, but building the itinerary around it is our job.
- SUPPORT We plan the forwarding into the itinerary itself Which day the bag goes from where to where, what you need to keep with you that day, and whether the lodging can take a bag the day before. We write all of it into the itinerary you receive. On our packages with lodging and our walking tours, forwarding is built into the route in advance. On a walking trip, having your bag arrive at the inn ahead of you is what makes the route work at all. A contact during Canadian business hours We chase the tracking too if something does not arrive
Frequently asked questions
Can I do this without speaking Japanese?
Yes. Tell the hotel front desk you want a bag forwarded and staff will fill in the Japanese parts of the waybill. For the destination, showing your booking confirmation on screen is enough.
Can I send two suitcases?
Yes. The price is per bag, so two comes to roughly ¥5,000 to ¥6,000. If you can consolidate into one bag, that is cheaper.
Can it be delivered the same day?
Between cities, generally no. If you need the bag moved the same day, either carry it or use a station coin locker or luggage storage counter. Within the same city, same-day delivery is sometimes possible.
If I forward my bag, do I still need the shinkansen oversized baggage reservation?
No. If all you keep with you is a cabin-sized bag, the 160 cm total rule does not apply to you. The same holds on days you travel with a JR Pass.
What happens if my bag does not arrive?
Ask the hotel front desk to re-check the stored luggage first. If it is still missing, send us the tracking number from your waybill copy and we will check with the Japanese side during Canadian business hours. In practice, a next-day bag failing to arrive is very rare.
We plan your itinerary down to how the luggage moves
If your dates and lodgings are set, we will work out what should be sent on which day and send it back to you. It is fine if nothing is decided yet. A consultant replies the next business day.
- Advice and quotes are free
- We confirm whether your lodging can take a bag the day before
- Walking itineraries include forwarding as standard