Cheapest way to ship personal goods from Japan

Cheapest Shipping from Japan

How to choose the best way to move your personal goods home.

If you are reading this article, you must be looking for the best or cheapest way to ship your goods from Japan. It’s a good idea to do your research on shipping from Japan because many people think that only post offices are options when, in fact, they could save money if they shipped some other way - although this really depends on the amount.

Some of you may have arrived on this page because you are seeking a solution for shipping a large package or a large item from Japan, since weight and size restrictions come into play when you are sending packages via the post office.

On this page we will show you all the options of shipping from Japan that are available when sending your personal items or purchased goods from Japan. As we reiterate on this website, it is very important that you choose a suitable shipping method depending on the amount you are shipping. Please don’t jump to conclusions that service by sea is cheaper than service by air, that the post office is always cheaper, etc.

On forum sites, we often see expats discuss the best way to ship their belongings home or cheap ways to ship their items from Japan. Some people wonder the cost of sending souvenirs home from Japan. Here is a list of all international shipping methods available.

Our company offers all modes of transportation listed here (although sending through the post office is mostly for people purchasing products and living outside Japan).

If you are shipping things home, we ship them as unaccompanied personal effects and the customs clearance on the Japan side will be easier. Also, if you have lived in Japan for a certain period of time and shipping things home, normally you can bring them in duty free under certain condition.

Five Ways to Ship Your Belongings

Service by sea - Shipping as LCL (Less-than-Container-Load) Shipments

When you use the services of an international freight shipping company, you are most likely using the services of LCL. LCL is primarily synonymous with “consolidation”. It is a service in which you share the container with other exporters/shippers and pay for the space you use. If you shop around for rates by contacting a few international movers, you will soon become familiar with the term “cubic meter”. Ocean freight is calculated by the volume, with the minimum volume being one cubic meter. (One cubic meter of pure water weighs one ton.) Thus, service by sea is not cost-efficient if you are shipping a very small amount. Consolidation services are available from Japan to major destination countries around the world, such as the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and many European countries (e.g. the UK, France, Germany), Asian countries (e.g. Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand etc.) and also India, UAE etc.

Full Container Load (FCL) sea shipments

When you have a shipment that is large enough, FCL will be an option. You would perhaps need to ship at least 10 cubic meters or so. While LCL services are available from Japan to the USA, Australia, and many countries in Europe, there are a number of destinations for which LCL services are not available. Even for such destinations, FCL may be available

Air Cargo

This mode of transport is suitable for a relatively small amount of goods. The minimum is 45kgs. Although we say that this is the minimum weight, just like the minimum of one cubic meter for sea shipment, we do not mean that shipments weighing less than 45kgs cannot be accepted. There are rates available for shipments under 45kgs, but they are not discount rates. Therefore, it is less expensive to ship *as* 45kgs unless the shipments weigh, say, only 5kg or 10kg.

Courier Service

Good examples of international courier companies are DHL, UPS and FedEx Express. Courier services are typically door to door and include the services of customs clearances at the countries of departure and destination, with the exception of China, where one must hire one’s own customs broker. Rates are normally available from 0.5kgs and different rates are often offered for shipments containing only documents. FedEx Express offers air cargo services in addition to courier services. FedEx often calls cargo shipments “over size”. Courier service is suitable for sending a relatively small amount of stuff. Courier companies are reluctant to handle unaccompanied personal effects, and if you contact them directly, you will notice that they will tell you they will not handle personal effects because of potential problems with customs clearance at the destination. (They typically handle general merchandise, purchased items, or documents).

Our company is an agent for some of these courier companies, and discount services are available, i.e., if you make an arrangement through us, you will incur considerably lower charges than if you applied through them directly. Depending on the destination, personal effects can be shipped as well.

Japan Post

Needless to say, sending by Japan Post is the most well-known method of shipping one’s belongings. Most people would use surface mail rather than air mail or EMS when shipping personal stuff. Perhaps Japan Post’s surface mail is cost-efficient only when you are shipping a very small amount such as when shipping just one or a few cartons. There are weight and size restrictions, so you are not able to send heavy or large items via post office.

In addition to the above shipping methods, there are *hand carry onboard courier services* and ro-ro shipping for cars, but I am excluding these on this page because the topic is how to ship one’s personal belongings home economically from Japan.

So, there are basically five ways to transport your goods from Japan.

Here are two laws everyone should know.

・Aside from postal services, the faster the transportation method, the cheaper it is for smaller shipments. By this, I mean that if you are shipping, say, 50kgs of stuff, airfreight is the cheapest option and offers the shortest shipping time. On the other hand, if you are shipping 250kgs, it is definitely cheapest to ship as LCL sea freight.

・Customs clearance is easier for courier shipments than for air freight, and easier for air freight than for sea freight. This is because, in general, courier shipments are smaller than air cargo shipments, and air cargo shipments are smaller than sea shipments. Customs offices are more concerned with large shipments than with small shipments.

Services we offer

For expats leaving Japan and for people residing outside Japan and seeking a way to transport some goods they have purchased etc., we offer services by air, services by sea (LCL and FCL), and courier services. For courier services, we can typically offer discount rates on shipping via DHL as economy service, although it takes a few more days for delivery than when you make arrangements with them directly and use normal services.

We have a number of international customers who are shipping some goods purchsed online or while travelling in Japan.