Japan has a fantastic service where you can send your luggage in advance to the airport at reasonable cost. There are 3 ways to book your luggage delivery:
- Contact one of the baggage delivery companies listed on the Narita Airport website.
- Contact the courier Yamato directly through the Yamato website.
- Take your suitcases to the nearest convenience store and fill out the delivery form there. Yamato will pick up your luggage from there and deliver to Narita Airport.
I chose to call one of the baggage delivery companies over the phone.
The following details were requested in order to make the booking:
- My name, phone number and address
- Which airport I want to send to
- Airport Terminal
- Whether I want to send my luggage one way to the airport, or both to and from the airport (for oversize luggage I could only send one way)
- My flight details (date, time of departure, flight number)
- Size of suitcase (pram travel bags are quite large, so may cost extra. eg. Bugaboo Travel Bag dimensions are 100 x 52 x 32 cm, which cost 2960yen one way)
- What day/time I want them to pick the luggage up from my house (in my case I was booking one day before departure, so was not able to request a time. Yamato informed me the time that was possible for the delivery van)
- Whether I want to pay when they pick my luggage up from my house, or pay when I pick it up at the airport (I chose to pay when I picked up my suitcase from the airport)
After giving this information, Yamato repeated this information back to me to confirm. They then told me the following information:
- What time they will come to my house to pick up my luggage (eg. 4-6pm). Note again that if you are booking the pick-up service 2 or more days in advance, you should be able to select the time for pick-up. However, if you are booking the service at late notice (i.e. the day before departure), they will tell you what time they can come.
- They also explained to me where I can pick up my luggage at the airport.
NOTE – make sure you tell them how many pieces of luggage and the size of the luggage. When the courier person comes to pick up your luggage, they will have the labels already printed with your details. You will not be able to add on another piece of luggage to the delivery at the last minute.
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Hi Kate!
Thanks for the helpful post on luggage delivery services. I am planning to avail of the same service so I could send a suitcase from Haneda International Airport to a hotel.
Just a quick question … Will I be able to send an oversized suitcase from the airport? Or was your experience of sending an oversized bag an accommodation (for those traveling with children) by Yamato? I am asking as the Yamato website says they do not accept any luggage beyond 160cm, but your experience suggests it can be done.
Thanks!
Hi Vina, I searched in Japanese and Yamato does have a service for items over 160cm. They require you to call and arrange for a driver to pick it up from your house (you can’t send it from the convenience store). I could only find the link in Japanese: http://www.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/yamatobin/yamatobin.html Hope this helps! Kate
Hi Kate,
you paid 3500 yen for 2 bags, 1 way, does this include airport handling charge?
Quote this from http://www.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/en/personal/airport/
“The airport handling charge for your return is not necessary except for Narita International Airport (432 JPY), Kansai International Airport (648 JPY), and Central Japan International Airport (648 JPY).”
I’m planning to send my luggage from Shinjuku to Haneda Airport, do i have to pay for handling charge?
HI Stefani, I can’t recall if this was included. I recommend calling the courier and asking. All the best! Kate
Hi Kate:
Thank you for the informative post. I will be arriving in Haneda and then onward to Kyoto. After Kyoto, I will be leaving Japan via Narita Airport. Can I have the luggages deliver directly from Haneda to Narita ? How far ahead of my departure day can I have the luggages deliver to Narita?
Thank you for your help,
Yenny
HI Yenny, I highly recommend to contact Yamato and ask them about their baggage delivery services. It is possible to deliver from Haneda to Narita, but for the details it is best to ask the delivery company. All the best! x Kate