takuhaibin - luggage delivery in japan was AWESOME

Sorry I have no pictures but I wanted to share this amazing travel tip because it made my life so much easier!  I'm talking about the awesome luggage delivery service in Japan which is super reliable and convenient.

I had heard about this magical service years ago from my cousins in Taiwan who regularly used it when they were traveling through Japan.  They would ship their luggage between their hotels so they wouldn't have to drag their luggage through the train stations and/or on the bullet trains (which, in case you didn't know, do not have a lot of luggage space).  For any tourists who plan on shopping a lot, this service is a godsend!  I did a lot of research but this link was probably the most helpful.  

So how were my actual experiences?


From Tokyo to Kyoto
The day before we were scheduled to take the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto, I arranged through the hotel concierge to have my large luggage delivered to my next hotel.  The concierge filled out the forms for me, and I got a ticket for each piece of luggage I was shipping.  They told me that my luggage would be at my next destination upon arrival.  Each piece of luggage was about $15 and you have to prepay.  There is a daily deadline for next day arrival, so plan accordingly.  (Note - when they ship the luggage, they essentially saran-wrap each piece so they won't be tampered with.)

When we arrived at the Kyoto Brighton Hotel and checked in, they magically knew that I had luggage waiting and it was brought into our room.  Super convenient and nothing was missing.

From Kyoto to Narita Airport
On our way back to Tokyo to catch our flight  to Los Angeles, I didn't want to ship the luggage into Tokyo, only to have to transport them to the airport.  Fortunately, I figured out I could have the luggage shipped directly to the airport. 

Again, the hotel concierge helped me fill out the forms and gave me my ticket stubs.  I was a little nervous about the pick-up process, but it turned out to be easy-peasy.   The luggage delivery counters were on the same floor and section as the check-in counters and once I found the correct counter, I simply handed them my tickets and our luggage came out - individually saran-wrapped.  

We had purchased so much stuff during our 2 week journey through Japan, that we had to buy extra luggage so this was definitely a lifesaver!  Obviously if you are a backpacker and travel very lightly, then you don't need something like this.  However, if you plan to shop (as many people do when visiting Japan), this service is necessary.

To be honest, I probably wouldn't use this type of service in another country for fear that my stuff would be stolen, but I do trust the Japanese.