Japan's takkyubin (door-to-door courier) service is one of the country's most useful logistics innovations for travellers. Instead of dragging heavy luggage through crowded train stations, you can send your bags ahead to your next hotel for a modest fee and travel light. The service is reliable, reasonably priced, and widely available at convenience stores, hotels, and dedicated Yamato transport offices throughout Japan.
How It Works
You drop your bag at a konbini (convenience store) or hotel, fill out a delivery slip specifying your destination, and your bag arrives at the next location the following day (or within a specified window). You travel to your next destination without luggage and collect from the hotel reception or apartment on arrival. The service is operated primarily by Yamato Transport (black cat logo) and Sagawa Express.
Pricing
Rates are based on bag size and distance. A typical medium-sized suitcase (60cm equivalent) sent within the same region: ¥1,500–¥2,500. Between distant regions (e.g., Tokyo to Kyoto): ¥1,800–¥3,000. To/from airports: ¥2,000–¥3,500. Oversized or heavy bags cost more. Cash or IC card payment accepted at most drop-off points.
Airport Forwarding
One of the most useful applications: send your suitcase directly from your hotel to the airport and travel on the shinkansen with only carry-on luggage. Send the day before departure (next-day delivery); the bag arrives at the airport's luggage delivery counter where you collect it before check-in. Narita and Haneda airports both have Yamato collection desks in the arrival and departure areas.
Equally, arriving at Narita or Haneda with heavy luggage and sending it directly to your first Tokyo hotel while you travel by train is a popular strategy — especially if your hotel is far from the airport or you're not checking in until afternoon.
Ski Resort Forwarding
The most established use case: skiers send their equipment and bags from Tokyo directly to their Niseko, Hakuba, or Nozawa Onsen accommodation 2 days in advance, travel by shinkansen with only a small daypack, and find their gear waiting at the ski resort. The same service in reverse brings equipment back to Tokyo or directly to the airport at trip's end. Book through your hotel or directly with Yamato.
Forwarding Between Hotels
For multi-city trips (Tokyo → Kyoto → Osaka), forwarding bags between hotels eliminates the main logistical burden of Japan's excellent-but-crowded rail system. Ask your hotel reception for the takkyubin service — they handle the paperwork and often have flat rates negotiated with Yamato. You need to send at least one day before checkout to ensure next-day arrival.
What You Need
Destination hotel name, address (in Japanese if possible), and your arrival date. The delivery slip is filled out at the drop-off point — staff at convenience stores are accustomed to helping foreign visitors with this. Keep the tracking slip number; bags can be tracked online in Japanese (or via the Yamato app). Prohibited items: liquids over 2 litres, obviously fragile items without proper packaging, perishables.