Shipping gear around Japan
I have two sports I enjoy: scuba diving and snow boarding. The problem is that renting equipment is expensive and rental equipment is… never great and only sometimes decent. Having your own gear makes a world of difference, especially for diving, but owning your gear comes with its own challenges: storing, maintenance, and shipping…
Shipping domestically around Japan is a great deal and takes a load off of you (literally) when it comes time to travel.
Obviously, you can ship your equipment with you on the airplane but that means you’ll need to lug it to and from the airport. JAL does offer a deliver service (JAL手ぶら宅配, literally “empty handed” delivery service) but since I’m usually flying on an LCC (Low Cost Carrier) that’s not an option. When flying on an LCC, they have a total baggage weight limit around 7Kg with a checked bag starting at ~2,000yen and a 20Kg limit. On the other hand, JAL has essentially no carry-on limit and one free checked bag up to 20Kg (each Kg over is 400yen).
Shipping is actually cheaper and (in my opinion) much more convenient!
While I do trust airlines with my luggage in Japan, I also really like the fast and cheap service provided by shipping companies here. Having my stuff picked up from my apartment and dropped off at my hotel just makes it so much easier to relax while travelling. The downside is that shipping is obviously slower than checking a bag, so we must allow time for transit. Shipping in Japan is very fast and reliable but issues may arise. They can also hold your parcel for around a week (at no charge) so shipping earlier shouldn’t be a problem unless you procrastinate like I do.
Crash course on shipping in Japan
Shipping domestically in Japan is very fast (usually 1-3 days) and relatively cheap with generally great service/high-touch support. The price varies based on the size and weight of the items just like anywhere else.
You can specify the day and time window (8–noon and then 2 hour windows for the after noon until around 9) for a delivery and they actually show up. As mentioned, they can also hold delivery for around a week.
The weight is in kilograms and the size is measured in centimeters where you add the height, width, and length together for one number that gets bucketed, rounding up. For example:
a box that is 20cm × 35cm × 30cm = 20 + 35 + 30 = 85 = 100 size
Shipping Snow Equipment
By far the best deal (and best documented process) is shipping snow (or golf) equipment. With all the mountains in Japan, skiing is a pretty popular activity. The major delivery companies have streamlined the process (and the prices) to make your ski trip much less hectic. There’s nothing worse than trying to carry heavy, awkward snow gear onto a packed Tokyo train.
The two services I have used and would recommend are:
- Ski Ta-Q-Bin 「スキー宅急便」
- Ski Yu-Pack 「スキーゆうパック」
These services are run by the two major carriers Yamato (Kuro Neko) and JP Post, respectively. Because of how much content they have in English for these services, I’ll be brief.
Both will deliver your stuff to the resort and return it to your apartment no problem. Both offer pick-up/drop-off locations (e.g. convenience stores) but you’ll get a discount bringing it directly to the distribution center/post office. The details and discounts are nicely documented on their sites in English!
The prices are pretty comparable between the two companies and vary mostly on how much you want to ship, factoring in convenience. In my case, I have a snowboard bag in which I put my snowboard, boots, as well as all my winter gear. It ships one-way via Yamato for 2,060yen and via JP Post 2,070yen. So when I head to the mountains, I only need to dress warm and carry a backpack.
No more encumbered, crowded-city-navigating stress.
Shipping Scuba Diving Equipment
Shipping diving gear is, for some reason, much more obscure and less documented even though the sport seems pretty popular in Japan. There are more dive spots than you can shake a stick at but I don’t want to have to lug all my heavy stuff to them.
Before we even talk about prices and services, we have to talk (a lot) about what you can and cannot ship. Shippers are very particular about what is inside the parcels. This determines if the parcel gets on a plane (for impossibly fast delivery times) or on a boat (…in which case you’ll be needing rentals). Unlike the obviously inert contents for skiing, diving equipment can contain dangerous (to plane) items.
🙅♂️ The following items are on the no-fly list:
- Batteries「電池」
- Gas「ガズ」
- Tanks「タンク・ボンベ」
If they find these in your luggage, it’ll get put on a boat.
You don’t want that.
It’s imperitive that we describe the contents of our luggage accurately and completely. Depending on where you are shipping from, your counter agent will be more or less familiar with the items/terminology that comes with diving. Whenever I ship from my local Tokyo post office, I always get the third-degree. My form is never filled to their satisfaction but I don’t mind since I know they’re just trying to help me get my stuff to arrive without a hitch. When I leave, they always thank me and apologize for it taking so long.
The last time I went to drop off my stuff, I had already filled in the list of items copied from a pre-printed slip I got from a dive center in Yonaguni:
ウェットスーツ・マスク・フィン ・BCジャケット・レギュレーター
（ボンベなし、タンクなし、ガスなし、電池なし）
Admittedly, this wasn’t complete, but I thought it covered the stuff that mattered and I didn’t really have any extra space in the box. I was wrong. They actually broke out a visual guide with all kinds of information and had me go through it and confirm that none of the bad stuff was in there. After the (~15min) “interrogation”, the contents section of my shipping form overflowed (into another box, 品名追加) with all of the following:
ウェットスーツ wetsuit
マスク mask
フィン fin
BCジャケット BC jacket
レギュレーター regulator
（ボンベなし、タンクなし、ガスなし、電池なし）
(no tanks, no tanks, no gas, no batteries)
ブーツ boots
メッシュバッグ mesh bag
服 clothing
食品 food
レンチ wrenches
ライト（リチウム電池なし） torch (no lithium batteries)
シグナルフロート（非ガス式）signal float (non-gas type)
Your item list will obviously differ based on what you have in your luggage. But don’t sweat it. They’ll help you but make sure you don’t have any of the bad items inside. It’ll help to know the vocabulary and be able to clearly tell them they’re absent if they ask.
So what other diving items are there?
They graciously let me photograph their behind-the-counter guide so I’ve included it below. In the following photos are diving items numbered 1–27, their genre (ジャンレ), name for the shipping label (ラベルに記載された品名), commentary (解説), aviation-status (航空搭載可否), and supplementary information (補足). All the normal items are aviation-friendly (noted with the circle, maru, ○), a few are not (noted with the x, batsu, ×). The ones of particular interest are the ones that may or may not be allowed (noted with the triangle, san-kaku, △).
The first page with items numbered 1–10 has all the basic environmental protection items, as well as snorkel, fin, and mesh bag. They’re good to fly. The supplement on this page has a nice little illustration that covers these items and a few that spill onto page 2.
Page 2 has three △ items: tanks, BCDs, and console gauges.
Whether filled or not, they won’t accept tanks (also called bonbe, ボンベ) on airplanes because who knows if they’ll explode. Understandable. But what’s weird is that they group アクアラング (the brand Aqualung™) into the same category. I guess it’s popular here? That’s why the △ and not an ×; they’ll inspect it to see if it’s just an Aqualung wetsuit or something. I’d just avoid writing that brand name on the form; you don’t need brand names...
As for BCDs, they’re fine as long as you don’t have any attached tanks for inflation but I’ve never seen one of those in the wild. If your BCD is only filled via inflator hose or your own lungs, you should write:
BCD（ボンベ、ガス類なし）
BCD (no tanks or gas)
I’ve never met a diver that uses a console gauge but I know they do exist. If you’re one of them, it can’t fly unless the battery is removed from the console.（電池なし）
The other two items are both regulators (they list the octopus オクトパスseparately) and they’re obviously fine to fly. If you have the carry on space (or more likely weight for an LCC), you might want to use that instead.
Page 3 as mostly ○ items: inflator hose, weights, and weight belts.
Also on this page is the △ diving computer. As long as you have removed the battery, it’s are fine to fly.（電池なし）
(But I always bring mine with me on my wrist.)
Page 4 has camera related items that, as long as you’ve removed the batteries, should be fine to fly.（電池なし）
The last page has the only two absolutely never × items: rebreathers and small, mouth held tanks (SCORKLs). Sorry, they have to take a boat when shipping… Similarly with the △ DSMB (signal float), it’s fine as long as there are no tanks or gas in there with it.（ボンベ、ガス類なし）
Sorted! So how do I actually ship it?
Sadly, there is no special diving service available like there is for skiing and golfing… I just put all my gear in a rolling luggage and ship it Yu-Pack from JP Post. I can fit all my gear into a large (160cm) roller luggage and ship it one way from Tokyo to Okinawa for 2,540yen. The same luggage sent via Ta-Q-Bin from Yamato would cost around 4,160yen.
With the Yu-Pack service, you can drop it off at some other locations (like a Lawson) but they’ll only accept it there if it weighs less than 20Kg.
The maximum weight is 25Kg even if you take it to the post office.
The maximum size is 170cm (3,060yen).
With Ta-Q-Bin, the maximum weight is 30Kg and the maximum size is 200cm (5,260yen). And they do offer some discounts depending on where you drop it off (but only up to 180cm can be dropped off at a convenience store).
Shipping Tips
Just a few tips I’ve picked up...
Shipping to a Post Office
Instead of shipping to an address, you can ship to a post office and they’ll let you pick it up at the window. This is handy when you’re not sure if you’ll be around to meet a delivery window and don’t have a problem popping over to the Post Office to collect your stuff.
When filling out the shipping slip, the “to” section is in this format:
郵便番号
おところ１
おところ２
おところ３
おなまえ
でんわ
When shipping to a post office, we’ll use its post code and most of its address for line 1. Instead of writing the full address, swap out the street address for the name of the post office plus 「留」. On line 2, write your post code and street address with your building name & apartment number on line 3. Draw square brackets around your address. Yes, literally surround your address with [ ]. Finally, write your name and telephone number as normal.
If we’re shipping to the Onna Post Office in Okinawa, it would look like:
９０４−０４１１
沖縄県国頭郡恩納村＿恩納郵便局留＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿
⎡〒１２３ー４５６７東京都渋谷区渋谷１−２−３⎤＿
⎣東渋谷ナイスパラスプレースビル１２３室＿＿⎦＿
桃太郎＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿様
０３０−１２３４−５６７８
Don’t write your address twice
In America, a return address isn’t always required and if it is, I just fill in my address again. One time when shipping my stuff home from skiing, I noticed other slips were simply filled out with the return address as 「同上」(dōjō) which translates to “same as above” or “ditto” in the same way you might have used “” to ditto something on a form. I still fill in my phone number a second time because that’s never a bad idea but not writing my address again is a nice time saver.
You don’t need to write in Japanese
While I highly suggest you put learning to write your address in Japanese at the top of your to-do list, it’s not necessary when it comes to shipping. In my experience, it makes things much smoother if you do write in Japanese (especially for the contents of your parcel) but it’s not absolutely necessary. For the kanji you don’t remember, the staff always seems happy to help if you ask… in Japanese. 😉
