Thanks for sharing. We used it on our last trip when we forwarded it from Haneda airport. It was a breeze. One tip is to print out the details on a piece of paper beforehand and pass it to the staff to fill the form for you especially if they are doing it online. I type out the details in English as well as the Japanese address (from the hotel’s website you are forwarding it to). At times, I will email the forwarding hotel to ask for their address details if forwarding our luggages there. At a hotel, I personally feel it’s less stressful to do it at night because the Front desk is less busy, compared to the mornings when guests will be checking out. Unless you can wake up early to do so or aren’t going out and do it at 11:30am.
This was the absolute best thing we did on our trip. Sent off our luggage from the airport and it was at our hotels by the time we arrived. One thing that I noticed every hotel did was to call the next hotel we were shipping to, to confirm we were staying there. We would definitely use the service again.
Glad it worked smoothly for you too! That's very quick delivery from the airport. And great attention to detail that they took the time to call the next hotel. :-)
We will staying at Tokyo Disney then flying to Singapore for week and then back to the Park Front Hotel in Osaka. If we ship from Disney to The hotel in Osaka would there be an issue if the Osaka Hotel has the luggage for up to week?
It took only 2 days to send our luggage from Hokkaido to Osaka. At the same time, we sent our ski equipment from Hokkaido to Narita airport to be stored for a week while we continued our vacation. Finally, we sent our luggage from Osaka to Narita airport. Pickup at the airport was a breeze. It made our first travels to Japan so much easier.
It took one overnight when I shipped from Kyoto to Tokyo, so I shipped my luggage the day before I checked out so it'd be at the hotel (minus my carry arounds with me) the day I arrive in Tokyo. I was really pleased and happy with the luggage forwarding service and will pretty much always use it. The hotel staff at the places I stayed helped me fill it out as well which I was very happy with.
I can share with you my experience with this service from April, this year. 1. If you are traveling from a hotel to another hotel it is advised to send a message to the next hotel and announce to them that you will arrive and you will send your luggage. They were always very pleased about this! 2. Go to your reception a day or two in advance and show them your reservation for the next hotel and ask them how long it will take for your luggage to arrive at the next destination. They have some huge charts and they will tell you if it is a next day service or not. 3. Have your next reservation printed and go to the reception with your luggage. They will fill the form for you and they will measure the luggage (you pay by volume not by weight). Pay and after that you have no problems at all. Again it is advised to have with you the confirmation from the next hotel that they are aware that you will send the luggage. (Sometimes the reception staff read very carefully the message to be sure your luggage are expected to arrive) 4. We always found our luggage, nicely covered in some kind of protection, in our room. Great service! Hope it will help!
Hi there! Do I have to stay in large 4-star hotels or above to use this service? Do budget hotels like APA and other small business hotels have this service as well?
I used it for the first time last trip and it honestly was the best thing…we were travelling osaka after going to tokyo disney, but had an overnight stop in hakone, and it was just easier to send the luggage to our hotel in osaka rather than bring it with us. Best decision. Didnt have to lug our suitcases on local trains and through osaka station and up and down a million stairs. Best $20-25AUD I’ve spent! I think we also did it from kyoto to tokyo…which seriously was also worth it. Luggage storage rooms are also handy…we left our luggage at osaka station when we went to Hiroshima, and then picked it up a couple days later. Saved having to drag a massive suitcase onto a tram/bus in Hiroshima.
That's a good idea! I've looked into luggage storage rooms when I was worried about what to do if all the lockers were full, but haven't used them, so it's good to know that went smoothly.
I just got back from 8 days in Tokyo, with day trips to Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Osaka. Here’s a tip that may prove useful. For me, I packed very light clothes, consisting of shorts and light cotton shirts, light athletic socks, and light ‘undergarments.’ I took two suitcases, one fitting inside the other. I did not use the luggage forwarding service on my arrival in Tokyo because I only had to ‘wheel’ one suitcase and one carry-on. Both were very light. After shopping and filling up all the suitcases, I used the service for one suitcase, not two. The subway closest to my hotel was only two blocks away, so the walk wasn’t bad at all. Obviously, for many suitcases, the service is essential, but for a solo traveler, the service may not be needed if only one suitcase is involved.
It pays to pack light! :-) I've done that before - taking one suitcase inside another. 😂 Although in the end I didn't buy that much that I needed it. It's the cheapest way to bring stuff home though, if your airline allows 2 cases!
I used this service and loved it. Why on earth would you walk around with your luggage and all the hassle when this service is available? Reasonably priced. It made traveling and sight seeing so much easier and stress free.
We've used Yamoto Transport for our own travels on our channel too! Although, our Tokyo hotel told us to just go to the nearest Yamoto office instead. We had to use Google Translate because the staff didn't speak any English, but we managed to make it work. They ship it to the airport too, but could take 2 days depending on your flight and distance. Great way to spend the rest of your trip luggage free though since they effectively "hold it" until the airport counter.
I took a ferry from Shin Moji Port to Osaka Port. At Osaka I used Takkyubin to send my bags to Tokyo while I went to Tottori to see the sand dunes, then I took an over night train to Tokyo. It was great not to have so much luggage for the dunes and over night train! I used Takkyubin multiple times without any issues on my trip, and my bags were never late.
so happy you put this video out! all your videos have been immensely helpful for planning and upcoming trip with my best friends this october! we've probably watch all your videos at this point!!
I've used this service a few times. Last year I did the Tateyama alpine route which takes a day and about 6 different types of transport so it was much easier to send my suitcase from Toyama to Nagano. I just had a backpack for one night which was fine, it was very convenient and worked well, I'd do it again
@cakeswithfaces unfortunately the day I did it was pouring rain so the views weren't that good and the snow wall was closed, this was early June last year. The trip itself is amazing and both Toyama and Nagano are great places to visit. I'll just have to go back again when the weather is better!
I wanted to track the cases the whole way with the airtags but there wasn't a signal during the journey; they must have been in a metal box or the truck blocked the signal or something! It's good in case the airline loses your cases too!
Last year, all coin lockers across Japan were temporarily closed due to the G7 summit in Hiroshima, so I used the Takkyubin service from Osaka to Tokyo, as I planned a stopover to Toyohashi to visit the Black Thunder factory. As I had my suitcase sent a day in advance, it arrived at my hotel in Shinjuku before I did.
OOOOh, i was just doing research on this for my spring trip. Great timing, thank you. And its the flip flop of what i need(Tokyo to Fukuoka), even better!
Thanks! We plan to use the service in a couple months. On our trip, we're doing a 2 day trip from Tokyo to nagoya and then back to Tokyo. Instead of traveling with our largest luggage, we thought we'd use the service to deliver our luggage to our hotel in Tokyo 2 days later instead of traveling with it or sending it to nagoya and back.
Thanks for the video. I'm heading to Japan again in Feb and was thinking of using this service. We're going to Sapporo Snow Festival and then going to Shiretoko for a couple of days. Our next stop will be Osaka, so was thinking of using Takuhaibin to send the suitcases whilst we in Shiretoko
Good plan! Just allow enough time as it's a longer distance, it'll probably take more than 1 day. Enjoy the snow festival! If the timing works out, I enjoyed the Otaru Snow Lantern Festival just as much, if not more: ua-cam.com/video/WeD-eVu3tzM/v-deo.html
Hi Amy. Interesting video. It's strange that Japan is a hyper modern country, but still uses forms with carbon copy. I don't think carbon copy forms are in use anywhere in Norway anymore 🙂The form works and that's all that matters. I've travelled the world with a 143 Liter Samsonite suitcase, it's 175+ cm with no problem. For our last trip to Osaka and Tokyo I bought a new suitcase under 160 cm, to fit the overhead luggage storage on the Shinkansen. We got seats with oversized luggage so we had no problem as our luggage was all within the 160 cm limit. We may try the Takkyubin service in the future if needed.
@@cakeswithfaces 🙂 fax is obsolete in Norway, we do not even have a wired phone network anymore. Japan is the country of contrasts, maybe that is where the magic comes from. I find the mix of modern and ancient very interesting. Walking around Shibuya or Shinjuku you often see shrines that are very old 🙂
@@jan-ovepedersen5764 You can get some great photos with old/new buildings next to each other! That's interesting about phonelines in Norway - it does seem old-fashioned now, especially when so many people have unlimited minutes on their mobiles. I got rid of my landline, but it's still normal for most people here in the UK (no fax machines any more though I don't think!).
Thanks Amy for another great video ! I will consider using Ta-Q-bin next year, on some legs of our trip around Tohoku. I was in Kyushu last year, and we stayed in Kumamoto for 2 nights, and absolutely loved it. And I loved Kumamon and drove my friend crazy ;-) because I couldnt stop taking pictures of him in all kind of situations...... P.S. The nigiri necklace is really cute !
I know what you mean about Kumamon!! 😂 As soon as you get to the station they're everywhere, and their show at Kumamon Square was one of the highlights of the trip!!
I've been looking at doing this from Osaka to somewhere on Shikoku. Nice to see a video making it clear in how simple it is! Because it didn't look simple when looking at luggage transfer websites...😂
Super helpful with the Luggage for Japan here Amy for sure I’ll keep this one in mind when I finally go soon if I need help with this appreciate again from you with this 🤝🤝🤝
Thank you for another useful video!💖 Something completely different: I was just looking for a cute stamp collecting book to take with me, thinking you'd surely have one in your shop with the cute designs you make. To my surprise I couldn't find one! I think more people might be interested if you were to make one. I just didn't know if you ever thought about it 😊
I'd love to make a stamp book but as some other shops I know already have one, I didn't want to seem like I'm copying them! 🙈 I do have a video all about collecting stamps though, with a couple of places you can get them: ua-cam.com/video/HemL9v4gQaM/v-deo.html My book's from Neko Neko Post.
@@cakeswithfaces thank you so much, I'll check it out 😊 btw I don't think it would be copying since stamp books are available in many shops and you'd have your own unique style. But it's your shop and your decision ofcourse! I wanted to bring it up just in case 😉
Hi! By chance, do you know if there are zones or certain hotels in Tokyo where takkyubin from the airport (or the other way around) is not available? A friend recommended takkyubin but he said he took a bus from the airport to the hotel and then once he was there he used takkyubin between hotels, but not directly from/to the airport, and we won't use bus, we will use train... I'm anxious because I don't want to arrive there and realize I have to carry my bigger luggage on the train... In our case it will be Narita airport. Either way, this video was really helpful, so thank you!!!
There are Takkyubin desks at the airport, so you'll be fine! For the way back, just ask at your hotel's front desk. While most hotels offer it, because it's widely used by residents of Japan, there may be some that don't, and some hotels partner with other delivery companies that offer basically identical services. If they don't offer it, you can send from a Takkyubin office or a convenience store, and there'll surely be one of the very close. ☺️
Need your advice! My sister and I are traveling from Narita to my Moms condo in Atami, only with carry on bags. Is it worth using a luggage delivery service for just carry one bags? We’ll be using express train and Shinkansen…
If you're happy to carry them with you, there's no problem with taking them with you on the shinkansen (that's what I'd do!). However if you want to send them with Takkyubin, they do deliver smaller bags too.
Wondering about doing this for our next trip especially as we'll have our 18 month old baby with us 😅 we took two suitcases the same size as yours last time and found we took way to much stuff, we found we could wash clothes at a couple of hotels we'd booked so will take less for our next trip. Do you reckon you could do a video about what stuff you take and how many sets of clothes etc? We'll be navigating buying nappies and baby stuff this time as well which will be a whole new adventure 😂
Hopefully you'll have room for the baby stuff - good luck! Takkyubin would definitely make it easier with a baby to carry as well, if you can manage to carry overnight stuff with you. Tokyo Chapter's a really useful blog about Japan with kids - she has posts about where to buy baby food, etc. Her Instagram's really good too: www.thetokyochapter.com/?s=baby
Takkyubin service is a very convenient service. On the other hand, recently, the illegal use of extra large luggage storage space on Shinkansen by foreign tourists has been increasing. We have a problem that we can't put the luggage of the person who made a reservation because there are people who put their luggage without a reservation in the space that requires a reservation. Would you please remind them again about this matter?
That's so helpful thank you! I was just researching it as I'm going to use it from Tokyo to Osaka in October, we are spending 2 nights in Kyoto in between, where we will just take a small suitcase. Do you know if the hotels will store the luggage for a night if you aren't arriving on the next day? Xx
It sounds like other people in the comments have done similar things. It seems best to tell them what day you want it to arrive when you book, and maybe it's stored by Yamato.
We're going to have a side trip in the middle of our trip in Japan, we're going from Osaka to Hong Kong and staying there for 4 days then returning through Tokyo. We would like to send our luggage from Osaka directly to Tokyo, do they have a service where they delay the arrival of our luggage so that it arrives at our hotel in Tokyo only 4 days later or could the hotel hold the luggage for that period? Thanks in advance!
I believe that would be possible - just tell them which day you want it to arrive when you book it. It sounds like other people in the comments have done something similar.
Hi, Amy - another excellent video! I definitely plan on using Takkyubin when I'm in Japan. Two questions for you: 1) Did you put down the hotel's phone number in the phone section of the form? As most tourists do not have a Japanese number while traveling, I wonder if that became a problem. 2) I would assume the hotel you shipped your suitcases from took the payment on behalf of Yamato Transport, yes? Were you able to pay with card, or was it cash-only?
Thank you! Yes, I put the hotel's phone number on the form, so they could call them about the delivery if they needed to. I paid the hotel for the service when I arranged it with them and handed in the form. They accepted card payments. I think most hotels would accept cards. However, if you're staying at a traditional ryokan, sometimes they are cash only, so if they offer Takkyubin you may need to pay by cash there.
I am going on a trip to Niigata next month and was considering using this service but I am not staying in a hotel so I was a bit confused about where to send my luggage, there are 2 Yamato offices there so you answered my question! I was wondering if they mind holding the luggage for a couple days? I am doing a long stay in Niigata and don't need my large luggage for the 3 days I will be staying in Tokyo.
It looks like they can store it for up to 7 days (after attempted delivery, so they might not be talking about pick-up from an office): faq-en.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/app/answers/detail/a_id/3090/c/672/session/L3RpbWUvMTcyMzc5NzkyMC9nZW4vMTcyMzc5NzkyMC9zaWQvZlU3a3hYakpONmpVSURxUnV4UmdNanh1ZmttdjVFSGx1eE8zQXU0MmxHWlBpQmU5VDhnMEliU1NjV0Q1VmptRkFBUFVuWU93NUdyemNMSjZBTWlsJTdFUkZadVIwZXRtTGRjYWI5eEtIczhPeExZZU5TcFFYN3JXM2clMjElMjE=#:~:text=%E3%80%90In%20case%20you,at%20your%20address. I'd ask them when/before you send the luggage, mentioning when you want to pick it up, and ask if it's ok. That way they'll know when you intend to pick it up, and know that you haven't gone missing!
Hotel front desks are really just for guests staying there. If you're not staying at a hotel, you can send luggage from a convenience store or a Takkyubin office.
Do you know if you can choose the day you'd like it delivered? Instead of next day, can you choose to have it arrive a day or two later? Gonna be going from Kyoto to Hakone to Tokyo and we'd like to send luggage ahead to Tokyo while we're in Hakone for two nights. But I can't imagine the hotel wanting to hold our luggage for two days before we even arrive.
They asked what day we wanted to pick it up, so I think that would be possible! It's not too long a time - and it sounds like other people in the comments have done something similar. Some hotels are quite small, or store luggage in the lobby, but Takkyubin would hold it at their office I'd imagine.
Not sure if I just got an angry worker or what, but I was told it would be 5 days because it was busy. I was there in the late June rainy season so it just seemed like a poor excuse. Plan was to send it from Tokyo Station to our Ryokan on Miyajima. Would love to try this method on future trips.
That does seem like a long time! It wouldn't be so surprising if it was during Golden Week or Obon, but I wouldn't have expected late June to be a busy time either.
Next time ask the reception staff. We tried a TA-Q-BIN office and using a translation machine (they provide one) to talk and explain what we wanted was awful. As many times when Japanese staff do not understand what you want they give you some made-up explanations. I guess the "5 day delivery" is one explanation to make you search for another option! 😁
Is it possible to send your luggage from the Hotel(Shinjuku) to the Airport(Haneda)? My departure flight from Japan will be late at night and I would love to keep exploring Tokyo on my last day without carrying all my luggage.
Yes, you can absolutely do that! Another option is to leave your luggage at your hotel - most hotels will look after it for you (free of charge) before check-in and after check-out.
Hi Amy, thank you for this Lugging Luggage solution. In the video you say that your two yellow suitcases "are basically the largest suitcases you can take on a PLANE. They're just within the 160 cm limit on the Shinkansen." Does this mean you use your Yellow Suitcases as ' Carry-Ons ' on all your flights or are your suitcases Checked In Luggage? May I ask what are the dimensions of your yellow suitcases? I may be wrong but I looked up that Carry-Ons with Emirates and American Airlines cannot exceed 115 cm. British Airways 126 cm. So the Shinkansen 160 cm limit does not apply for taking luggage as Carry-Ons on planes. Please correct the Error of my Thinking! Thanks in advance for your reply.
I have one doubt about this service and can't find anywhere: I'm traveling to japan on November to December and i'm going to Seoul, through Nagoya on december 4th and I'm going to stay there until december 7th, and then going back to Japan, Tokyo to stay a couple of days. I can send my luggage to my hotel in tokyo on december 4th from nagoya, and check in on december 7ths? Do you know if this is possible?
I haven't tried it myself, but it sound like other people in the comments have done similar things and used it as luggage storage. When you book the Takkyubin, you say what day you want to pick it up.
I usually lock the suitcases for the flight, so yes they were locked. There weren't any valuables in the cases, but I wouldn't be worried about theft. It's a generalisation, but Japan's a very honest country and crime levels are low. I've only heard good things about Takkyubin so I don't think it's something you need to worry about.
Is it possible to schedule a day to get the bag. For instance: I will go from tokyo to Fujiyoshida - Nagano - Kyoto.. In this exemple i would send from my last day in tokyo to receive in Kyoto, but 5-6 days later.. Is it ok to do this way?
@@Victor_YNWA Many hotels partner with Takkyubin or another luggage delivery company, so it's worth asking when you get there. If not, you can send from a Takkyubin office (find them on Google Maps) or a convenience store.
It seems I am one of the only unlucky one who had a not so good experience with this service. We send our luggage from kyoto to tokyo because we took a side trip to a ryokan down in hiroshima and don't needed our big luggages there. Unfortunately they broke one wheel so badly that it made a hole in the shell of my luggage wich they didn't mention. We had to have troubles to get a compensation because I had to buy a new luggage for trevelling home. The staff at our hotel tried there best to help us but the the customer service from takkyubin was very uncomprehending. I have to say, If they don't break the luggage, it is a helpful service to travel around but there customer service with problems are terrible.
Oh no, so sorry to hear that. That is, I think, the only bad experience I've heard of with Takkyubin - thanks for sharing. It must have been difficult to sort it out with the language barrier.
@@cakeswithfaces Thank you 🙏🏻 it was a little bit stressful because the hotel staff had to help us with the communication. Hopefully this was a really rare exident and it will not happen often.
I don't see how sending your luggage with this service is good advice for visitors. It's a hassle to figure out how to send, a hassle to have to pack a smaller pack while you wait on your luggage, and then it costs a lot as well. I think a better advice is to pack lightly when to plan on visiting multiple cities. Divide your clothes between a rucksack and a cabin sized trolley so that you can move more freely.
If you can pack light, that always helps (especially if you want to go shopping!). Different people have different styles of travelling - apart from this trip, I always carry my luggage myself, but in certain situations and for certain people, luggage forwarding can be useful, especially for families and people who have trouble carrying heavy items. Most people in Japan tend to use Takkyubin when they travel domestically.
It's laughable they still use the triplicate carbon copies. 😂 How easy would it be to have a database of address/locations/hotels and a computer to print it out. No need for translation. For a country that is supposed to be known for technology, Japan still uses some dated tech in certain things they do. 🤷♂
How is it “dated” and “laughable”? This service is rarely used for hotel to hotel deliveries, it’s almost all people shipping stuff to and from their private homes. The customer has to fill out their details no matter what. And a big advantage of carbons is that if there is any mistake everyone has the form filled out in the customer’s own handwriting proving what they requested.
@@pumpkinhill4570 There is something called mobile apps/Internet where everything is recorded. I can send packages from my home through the US postal service without having carbon paper that was widely used from the 1950's. Luggage is just a larger package, but the idea remains the same.
Thanks for sharing. We used it on our last trip when we forwarded it from Haneda airport. It was a breeze. One tip is to print out the details on a piece of paper beforehand and pass it to the staff to fill the form for you especially if they are doing it online.
I type out the details in English as well as the Japanese address (from the hotel’s website you are forwarding it to). At times, I will email the forwarding hotel to ask for their address details if forwarding our luggages there.
At a hotel, I personally feel it’s less stressful to do it at night because the Front desk is less busy, compared to the mornings when guests will be checking out. Unless you can wake up early to do so or aren’t going out and do it at 11:30am.
Glad it went smoothly for you too! Thanks for sharing your tips - some hotel front desks can be busy sometimes!
This was the absolute best thing we did on our trip. Sent off our luggage from the airport and it was at our hotels by the time we arrived. One thing that I noticed every hotel did was to call the next hotel we were shipping to, to confirm we were staying there. We would definitely use the service again.
Glad it worked smoothly for you too! That's very quick delivery from the airport. And great attention to detail that they took the time to call the next hotel. :-)
I'm guessing you have to fill out the form (addresses) in Kanji ?
@@larock0wns My Japanese isn't that good! I filled it in in English. 🙂
@larock0wns nope. They all filled the forms for me. Although, I did print out all of the addresses in Japanese and that made it easier for them.
We will staying at Tokyo Disney then flying to Singapore for week and then back to the Park Front Hotel in Osaka. If we ship from Disney to The hotel in Osaka would there be an issue if the Osaka Hotel has the luggage for up to week?
It took only 2 days to send our luggage from Hokkaido to Osaka. At the same time, we sent our ski equipment from Hokkaido to Narita airport to be stored for a week while we continued our vacation. Finally, we sent our luggage from Osaka to Narita airport. Pickup at the airport was a breeze. It made our first travels to Japan so much easier.
That's a good idea for your ski equipment, so you didn't have to carry it around with you.
It took one overnight when I shipped from Kyoto to Tokyo, so I shipped my luggage the day before I checked out so it'd be at the hotel (minus my carry arounds with me) the day I arrive in Tokyo. I was really pleased and happy with the luggage forwarding service and will pretty much always use it. The hotel staff at the places I stayed helped me fill it out as well which I was very happy with.
Good plan - glad it went smoothly!
I can share with you my experience with this service from April, this year.
1. If you are traveling from a hotel to another hotel it is advised to send a message to the next hotel and announce to them that you will arrive and you will send your luggage. They were always very pleased about this!
2. Go to your reception a day or two in advance and show them your reservation for the next hotel and ask them how long it will take for your luggage to arrive at the next destination. They have some huge charts and they will tell you if it is a next day service or not.
3. Have your next reservation printed and go to the reception with your luggage. They will fill the form for you and they will measure the luggage (you pay by volume not by weight). Pay and after that you have no problems at all. Again it is advised to have with you the confirmation from the next hotel that they are aware that you will send the luggage. (Sometimes the reception staff read very carefully the message to be sure your luggage are expected to arrive)
4. We always found our luggage, nicely covered in some kind of protection, in our room.
Great service!
Hope it will help!
Thanks for the tips! It's great that they even brought it to your room for you - so convenient! :-)
@@cakeswithfaces
Yes. Great service!
Hi there! Do I have to stay in large 4-star hotels or above to use this service? Do budget hotels like APA and other small business hotels have this service as well?
@@KMTDivision Most hotels offer it, because it's more common for residents of Japan to use luggage forwarding. 🙂
@@cakeswithfaces Thank you so much for your reply.
I used it for the first time last trip and it honestly was the best thing…we were travelling osaka after going to tokyo disney, but had an overnight stop in hakone, and it was just easier to send the luggage to our hotel in osaka rather than bring it with us. Best decision. Didnt have to lug our suitcases on local trains and through osaka station and up and down a million stairs. Best $20-25AUD I’ve spent! I think we also did it from kyoto to tokyo…which seriously was also worth it. Luggage storage rooms are also handy…we left our luggage at osaka station when we went to Hiroshima, and then picked it up a couple days later. Saved having to drag a massive suitcase onto a tram/bus in Hiroshima.
That's a good idea! I've looked into luggage storage rooms when I was worried about what to do if all the lockers were full, but haven't used them, so it's good to know that went smoothly.
I can’t wait to use this service on my first trip to Japan this year!! It will make traveling on the trains so much easier.
Have a great time on your trip! And enjoy those fantastic Japanese trains :-)
I just got back from 8 days in Tokyo, with day trips to Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Osaka. Here’s a tip that may prove useful. For me, I packed very light clothes, consisting of shorts and light cotton shirts, light athletic socks, and light ‘undergarments.’ I took two suitcases, one fitting inside the other. I did not use the luggage forwarding service on my arrival in Tokyo because I only had to ‘wheel’ one suitcase and one carry-on. Both were very light. After shopping and filling up all the suitcases, I used the service for one suitcase, not two. The subway closest to my hotel was only two blocks away, so the walk wasn’t bad at all. Obviously, for many suitcases, the service is essential, but for a solo traveler, the service may not be needed if only one suitcase is involved.
It pays to pack light! :-) I've done that before - taking one suitcase inside another. 😂 Although in the end I didn't buy that much that I needed it. It's the cheapest way to bring stuff home though, if your airline allows 2 cases!
I started using it on my first trip to Japan, and it makes travel on the Shinkansen so much easier.
It is nice not having to drag your suitcase through the stations...!
I used this service and loved it. Why on earth would you walk around with your luggage and all the hassle when this service is available? Reasonably priced. It made traveling and sight seeing so much easier and stress free.
Glad it went smoothly for you too! I've hardly heard any bad feedback about it.
We've used Yamoto Transport for our own travels on our channel too! Although, our Tokyo hotel told us to just go to the nearest Yamoto office instead. We had to use Google Translate because the staff didn't speak any English, but we managed to make it work. They ship it to the airport too, but could take 2 days depending on your flight and distance. Great way to spend the rest of your trip luggage free though since they effectively "hold it" until the airport counter.
I took a ferry from Shin Moji Port to Osaka Port. At Osaka I used Takkyubin to send my bags to Tokyo while I went to Tottori to see the sand dunes, then I took an over night train to Tokyo. It was great not to have so much luggage for the dunes and over night train! I used Takkyubin multiple times without any issues on my trip, and my bags were never late.
Good idea, that's a great plan for a trip! I'd love to try the night train one day!
so happy you put this video out! all your videos have been immensely helpful for planning and upcoming trip with my best friends this october!
we've probably watch all your videos at this point!!
Ah that's lovely to hear, thank you! So glad they've been helpful!
Ahhhh I’ve been waiting for a detailed video like this. ありがとうございます😊
Thanks, hope it helps! :-)
I've used this service a few times. Last year I did the Tateyama alpine route which takes a day and about 6 different types of transport so it was much easier to send my suitcase from Toyama to Nagano. I just had a backpack for one night which was fine, it was very convenient and worked well, I'd do it again
That's a good idea for the alpine route! Did you enjoy the route?
@cakeswithfaces unfortunately the day I did it was pouring rain so the views weren't that good and the snow wall was closed, this was early June last year. The trip itself is amazing and both Toyama and Nagano are great places to visit. I'll just have to go back again when the weather is better!
@@katrinapenna6589 Oh no, the weather's one thing you can't count on in Japan!
Thanks for the video! It’s great to know it’s so simple. And the AirTags are a smart idea too! 😊
I wanted to track the cases the whole way with the airtags but there wasn't a signal during the journey; they must have been in a metal box or the truck blocked the signal or something! It's good in case the airline loses your cases too!
Last year, all coin lockers across Japan were temporarily closed due to the G7 summit in Hiroshima, so I used the Takkyubin service from Osaka to Tokyo, as I planned a stopover to Toyohashi to visit the Black Thunder factory. As I had my suitcase sent a day in advance, it arrived at my hotel in Shinjuku before I did.
That was quite a rare occurrence I think! Glad you managed to work it out anyway!
OOOOh, i was just doing research on this for my spring trip. Great timing, thank you. And its the flip flop of what i need(Tokyo to Fukuoka), even better!
What a coincidence! Hope it helps - just know that you'll probably need to take 2 days' worth of stuff with you.
Thanks! We plan to use the service in a couple months. On our trip, we're doing a 2 day trip from Tokyo to nagoya and then back to Tokyo. Instead of traveling with our largest luggage, we thought we'd use the service to deliver our luggage to our hotel in Tokyo 2 days later instead of traveling with it or sending it to nagoya and back.
Good idea - travel light and just take the overnight things that you'll need for your Nagoya trip. :-)
Worth every ¥ - So convenient.
Haven't heard anything bad about it!
Will definitely try this next time. Thanks Amy 😀
Thanks! Hope it makes the trip easier!
Thanks for the video. I'm heading to Japan again in Feb and was thinking of using this service. We're going to Sapporo Snow Festival and then going to Shiretoko for a couple of days. Our next stop will be Osaka, so was thinking of using Takuhaibin to send the suitcases whilst we in Shiretoko
Good plan! Just allow enough time as it's a longer distance, it'll probably take more than 1 day. Enjoy the snow festival! If the timing works out, I enjoyed the Otaru Snow Lantern Festival just as much, if not more: ua-cam.com/video/WeD-eVu3tzM/v-deo.html
@@cakeswithfaces Thanks for the reply and thanks for the advice. I'll take a look at the Lantern Festival 🙂
Hi Amy. Interesting video. It's strange that Japan is a hyper modern country, but still uses forms with carbon copy. I don't think carbon copy forms are in use anywhere in Norway anymore 🙂The form works and that's all that matters. I've travelled the world with a 143 Liter Samsonite suitcase, it's 175+ cm with no problem. For our last trip to Osaka and Tokyo I bought a new suitcase under 160 cm, to fit the overhead luggage storage on the Shinkansen. We got seats with oversized luggage so we had no problem as our luggage was all within the 160 cm limit. We may try the Takkyubin service in the future if needed.
Not everything about Japan is modern - they still use fax machines! 😝
@@cakeswithfaces 🙂 fax is obsolete in Norway, we do not even have a wired phone network anymore. Japan is the country of contrasts, maybe that is where the magic comes from. I find the mix of modern and ancient very interesting. Walking around Shibuya or Shinjuku you often see shrines that are very old 🙂
@@jan-ovepedersen5764 You can get some great photos with old/new buildings next to each other!
That's interesting about phonelines in Norway - it does seem old-fashioned now, especially when so many people have unlimited minutes on their mobiles. I got rid of my landline, but it's still normal for most people here in the UK (no fax machines any more though I don't think!).
Thanks Amy for another great video ! I will consider using Ta-Q-bin next year, on some legs of our trip around Tohoku. I was in Kyushu last year, and we stayed in Kumamoto for 2 nights, and absolutely loved it. And I loved Kumamon and drove my friend crazy ;-) because I couldnt stop taking pictures of him in all kind of situations......
P.S. The nigiri necklace is really cute !
I know what you mean about Kumamon!! 😂 As soon as you get to the station they're everywhere, and their show at Kumamon Square was one of the highlights of the trip!!
I've been looking at doing this from Osaka to somewhere on Shikoku. Nice to see a video making it clear in how simple it is! Because it didn't look simple when looking at luggage transfer websites...😂
I thought the same when I was checking out what to do!! 😂
This is a very helpful video.
Thank you!
Super helpful with the Luggage for Japan here Amy for sure I’ll keep this one in mind when I finally go soon if I need help with this appreciate again from you with this 🤝🤝🤝
Thanks, it's a useful service!
Thank you for another useful video!💖 Something completely different: I was just looking for a cute stamp collecting book to take with me, thinking you'd surely have one in your shop with the cute designs you make. To my surprise I couldn't find one! I think more people might be interested if you were to make one. I just didn't know if you ever thought about it 😊
I'd love to make a stamp book but as some other shops I know already have one, I didn't want to seem like I'm copying them! 🙈 I do have a video all about collecting stamps though, with a couple of places you can get them: ua-cam.com/video/HemL9v4gQaM/v-deo.html My book's from Neko Neko Post.
@@cakeswithfaces thank you so much, I'll check it out 😊 btw I don't think it would be copying since stamp books are available in many shops and you'd have your own unique style. But it's your shop and your decision ofcourse! I wanted to bring it up just in case 😉
@@Nenimee Maybe one day I'll make one - I'd definitely love to design one! 🙂
Hi! By chance, do you know if there are zones or certain hotels in Tokyo where takkyubin from the airport (or the other way around) is not available? A friend recommended takkyubin but he said he took a bus from the airport to the hotel and then once he was there he used takkyubin between hotels, but not directly from/to the airport, and we won't use bus, we will use train... I'm anxious because I don't want to arrive there and realize I have to carry my bigger luggage on the train... In our case it will be Narita airport.
Either way, this video was really helpful, so thank you!!!
There are Takkyubin desks at the airport, so you'll be fine! For the way back, just ask at your hotel's front desk. While most hotels offer it, because it's widely used by residents of Japan, there may be some that don't, and some hotels partner with other delivery companies that offer basically identical services. If they don't offer it, you can send from a Takkyubin office or a convenience store, and there'll surely be one of the very close. ☺️
Thankyou for this!❤
Hope it helps! :-)
Need your advice! My sister and I are traveling from Narita to my Moms condo in Atami, only with carry on bags. Is it worth using a luggage delivery service for just carry one bags? We’ll be using express train and Shinkansen…
If you're happy to carry them with you, there's no problem with taking them with you on the shinkansen (that's what I'd do!). However if you want to send them with Takkyubin, they do deliver smaller bags too.
hope you're safe in japan!
Thank you! I'm back in the UK now - I couldn't take the humidity of summer in Japan!! :-)
Wondering about doing this for our next trip especially as we'll have our 18 month old baby with us 😅 we took two suitcases the same size as yours last time and found we took way to much stuff, we found we could wash clothes at a couple of hotels we'd booked so will take less for our next trip. Do you reckon you could do a video about what stuff you take and how many sets of clothes etc?
We'll be navigating buying nappies and baby stuff this time as well which will be a whole new adventure 😂
Hopefully you'll have room for the baby stuff - good luck! Takkyubin would definitely make it easier with a baby to carry as well, if you can manage to carry overnight stuff with you.
Tokyo Chapter's a really useful blog about Japan with kids - she has posts about where to buy baby food, etc. Her Instagram's really good too: www.thetokyochapter.com/?s=baby
Takkyubin service is a very convenient service.
On the other hand, recently, the illegal use of extra large luggage storage space on Shinkansen by foreign tourists has been increasing. We have a problem that we can't put the luggage of the person who made a reservation because there are people who put their luggage without a reservation in the space that requires a reservation.
Would you please remind them again about this matter?
Sorry to hear that. It's annoying if people don't realise the space can only be used by reservation.
That's so helpful thank you! I was just researching it as I'm going to use it from Tokyo to Osaka in October, we are spending 2 nights in Kyoto in between, where we will just take a small suitcase. Do you know if the hotels will store the luggage for a night if you aren't arriving on the next day? Xx
It sounds like other people in the comments have done similar things. It seems best to tell them what day you want it to arrive when you book, and maybe it's stored by Yamato.
I used the service from Osaka to Tokyo and the hotel I stayed at did store it for me, but check with your hotel directly.
Thank you 😊❤ hi it’s been a while! 😅
🙌 🙌
Awesome job Amy drop a like for you.
Thank you!
We're going to have a side trip in the middle of our trip in Japan, we're going from Osaka to Hong Kong and staying there for 4 days then returning through Tokyo. We would like to send our luggage from Osaka directly to Tokyo, do they have a service where they delay the arrival of our luggage so that it arrives at our hotel in Tokyo only 4 days later or could the hotel hold the luggage for that period? Thanks in advance!
I believe that would be possible - just tell them which day you want it to arrive when you book it. It sounds like other people in the comments have done something similar.
Hi, Amy - another excellent video! I definitely plan on using Takkyubin when I'm in Japan. Two questions for you: 1) Did you put down the hotel's phone number in the phone section of the form? As most tourists do not have a Japanese number while traveling, I wonder if that became a problem. 2) I would assume the hotel you shipped your suitcases from took the payment on behalf of Yamato Transport, yes? Were you able to pay with card, or was it cash-only?
Thank you! Yes, I put the hotel's phone number on the form, so they could call them about the delivery if they needed to.
I paid the hotel for the service when I arranged it with them and handed in the form. They accepted card payments. I think most hotels would accept cards. However, if you're staying at a traditional ryokan, sometimes they are cash only, so if they offer Takkyubin you may need to pay by cash there.
@@cakeswithfaces Wow, thank you for the super speedy and helpful response, Amy!
@@cakeswithfaces
I am going on a trip to Niigata next month and was considering using this service but I am not staying in a hotel so I was a bit confused about where to send my luggage, there are 2 Yamato offices there so you answered my question! I was wondering if they mind holding the luggage for a couple days? I am doing a long stay in Niigata and don't need my large luggage for the 3 days I will be staying in Tokyo.
It looks like they can store it for up to 7 days (after attempted delivery, so they might not be talking about pick-up from an office): faq-en.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/app/answers/detail/a_id/3090/c/672/session/L3RpbWUvMTcyMzc5NzkyMC9nZW4vMTcyMzc5NzkyMC9zaWQvZlU3a3hYakpONmpVSURxUnV4UmdNanh1ZmttdjVFSGx1eE8zQXU0MmxHWlBpQmU5VDhnMEliU1NjV0Q1VmptRkFBUFVuWU93NUdyemNMSjZBTWlsJTdFUkZadVIwZXRtTGRjYWI5eEtIczhPeExZZU5TcFFYN3JXM2clMjElMjE=#:~:text=%E3%80%90In%20case%20you,at%20your%20address.
I'd ask them when/before you send the luggage, mentioning when you want to pick it up, and ask if it's ok. That way they'll know when you intend to pick it up, and know that you haven't gone missing!
Update: From comments on here and on my Insatgram, sounds like other people have done that so it should be fine!
Can I forward my luggage from any hotel even if I'm not a guest?
Hotel front desks are really just for guests staying there. If you're not staying at a hotel, you can send luggage from a convenience store or a Takkyubin office.
Do you know if you can choose the day you'd like it delivered? Instead of next day, can you choose to have it arrive a day or two later? Gonna be going from Kyoto to Hakone to Tokyo and we'd like to send luggage ahead to Tokyo while we're in Hakone for two nights. But I can't imagine the hotel wanting to hold our luggage for two days before we even arrive.
They asked what day we wanted to pick it up, so I think that would be possible! It's not too long a time - and it sounds like other people in the comments have done something similar. Some hotels are quite small, or store luggage in the lobby, but Takkyubin would hold it at their office I'd imagine.
@@cakeswithfaces Thank you for your insight! :3
Not sure if I just got an angry worker or what, but I was told it would be 5 days because it was busy. I was there in the late June rainy season so it just seemed like a poor excuse. Plan was to send it from Tokyo Station to our Ryokan on Miyajima. Would love to try this method on future trips.
That does seem like a long time! It wouldn't be so surprising if it was during Golden Week or Obon, but I wouldn't have expected late June to be a busy time either.
Next time ask the reception staff. We tried a TA-Q-BIN office and using a translation machine (they provide one) to talk and explain what we wanted was awful. As many times when Japanese staff do not understand what you want they give you some made-up explanations. I guess the "5 day delivery" is one explanation to make you search for another option! 😁
Is it possible to send your luggage from the Hotel(Shinjuku) to the Airport(Haneda)? My departure flight from Japan will be late at night and I would love to keep exploring Tokyo on my last day without carrying all my luggage.
Yes, you can absolutely do that!
Another option is to leave your luggage at your hotel - most hotels will look after it for you (free of charge) before check-in and after check-out.
Hi Amy, thank you for this Lugging Luggage solution.
In the video you say that your two yellow suitcases "are basically the largest suitcases you can take on a PLANE. They're just within the 160 cm limit on the Shinkansen."
Does this mean you use your Yellow Suitcases as ' Carry-Ons ' on all your flights or are your suitcases Checked In Luggage?
May I ask what are the dimensions of your yellow suitcases?
I may be wrong but I looked up that Carry-Ons with Emirates and American Airlines cannot exceed 115 cm. British Airways 126 cm. So the Shinkansen 160 cm limit does not apply for taking luggage as Carry-Ons on planes.
Please correct the Error of my Thinking!
Thanks in advance for your reply.
The dimensions are: Height: 76cm, Width: 50cm, Depth: 32cm
They're checked in luggage.
Does this work from airport to hotel and vice versa?
Yes, they have counters at the airport for that exact purpose!
@@cakeswithfaces perfect! Thank you!
Probably a silly question but did you fill the form out in English or japanese? Xxx
English - although I suspect the person at the hotel front desk may have re-done it in Japanese for the actual one 😂
@@cakeswithfaces phew!! Thats good to know 😅 thank you!
I have one doubt about this service and can't find anywhere: I'm traveling to japan on November to December and i'm going to Seoul, through Nagoya on december 4th and I'm going to stay there until december 7th, and then going back to Japan, Tokyo to stay a couple of days. I can send my luggage to my hotel in tokyo on december 4th from nagoya, and check in on december 7ths? Do you know if this is possible?
I haven't tried it myself, but it sound like other people in the comments have done similar things and used it as luggage storage. When you book the Takkyubin, you say what day you want to pick it up.
Were you concerned at all about theft of items? Did you use a lock on your bags?
I usually lock the suitcases for the flight, so yes they were locked. There weren't any valuables in the cases, but I wouldn't be worried about theft. It's a generalisation, but Japan's a very honest country and crime levels are low. I've only heard good things about Takkyubin so I don't think it's something you need to worry about.
Is it possible to schedule a day to get the bag. For instance: I will go from tokyo to Fujiyoshida - Nagano - Kyoto.. In this exemple i would send from my last day in tokyo to receive in Kyoto, but 5-6 days later.. Is it ok to do this way?
Yes I believe that's possible - on the form you say what day you want it to arrive, and it sounds like other people in the comments have done that.
@@cakeswithfacesthank you! For the response and for the videos that you post!
@@Mandriletta No problem, I remember how many questions I had when I first went to Japan!! 🙂
@@cakeswithfaces it is a whole “new world”.. Can’t wait
What is really missing in this video how does one fill in the address in Japanese - I think they want Japanese addresses.
I filled in the address in English. I think the staff at the hotel wrote it out in Japanese on their paperwork.
is that the godzilla hotel? ive stayed there!
Yes! One of my fav hotels in Tokyo!
Probably a silly question but do the addresses need to be written in Japanese?
No, I completed the form in English :-)
can you send it to the hotel, and let it sit for two days ?
When you send it, they'll ask what day you want it to arrive. I think Yamato would deliver it to the hotel on the day you choose.
我が地元熊本へ！？てか、くまモン…大量😵熊本来られたら至るところにくまモンいますよー😊
I loved Kumamoto! I was excited to meet Kumamon! 💕
U have to fill the address in Japanese only?
I wrote it in english - I think the staff member at the hotel probably re-wrote it in Japanese on the actual paperwork.
@@cakeswithfaces I don't think the hotel that I'm going to stay doesn't provide luggage forwarding service
@@Victor_YNWA Many hotels partner with Takkyubin or another luggage delivery company, so it's worth asking when you get there. If not, you can send from a Takkyubin office (find them on Google Maps) or a convenience store.
@@cakeswithfaces Cheers. Thanks
It seems I am one of the only unlucky one who had a not so good experience with this service. We send our luggage from kyoto to tokyo because we took a side trip to a ryokan down in hiroshima and don't needed our big luggages there. Unfortunately they broke one wheel so badly that it made a hole in the shell of my luggage wich they didn't mention. We had to have troubles to get a compensation because I had to buy a new luggage for trevelling home. The staff at our hotel tried there best to help us but the the customer service from takkyubin was very uncomprehending. I have to say, If they don't break the luggage, it is a helpful service to travel around but there customer service with problems are terrible.
Oh no, so sorry to hear that. That is, I think, the only bad experience I've heard of with Takkyubin - thanks for sharing. It must have been difficult to sort it out with the language barrier.
@@cakeswithfaces Thank you 🙏🏻 it was a little bit stressful because the hotel staff had to help us with the communication. Hopefully this was a really rare exident and it will not happen often.
I don't see how sending your luggage with this service is good advice for visitors. It's a hassle to figure out how to send, a hassle to have to pack a smaller pack while you wait on your luggage, and then it costs a lot as well.
I think a better advice is to pack lightly when to plan on visiting multiple cities. Divide your clothes between a rucksack and a cabin sized trolley so that you can move more freely.
If you can pack light, that always helps (especially if you want to go shopping!).
Different people have different styles of travelling - apart from this trip, I always carry my luggage myself, but in certain situations and for certain people, luggage forwarding can be useful, especially for families and people who have trouble carrying heavy items. Most people in Japan tend to use Takkyubin when they travel domestically.
It's laughable they still use the triplicate carbon copies. 😂 How easy would it be to have a database of address/locations/hotels and a computer to print it out. No need for translation. For a country that is supposed to be known for technology, Japan still uses some dated tech in certain things they do. 🤷♂
Some things are ultra modern and super-convenient, and some things are convoluted and long-winded. 😂
How is it “dated” and “laughable”?
This service is rarely used for hotel to hotel deliveries, it’s almost all people shipping stuff to and from their private homes. The customer has to fill out their details no matter what. And a big advantage of carbons is that if there is any mistake everyone has the form filled out in the customer’s own handwriting proving what they requested.
@@pumpkinhill4570 There is something called mobile apps/Internet where everything is recorded. I can send packages from my home through the US postal service without having carbon paper that was widely used from the 1950's. Luggage is just a larger package, but the idea remains the same.