Moving from Japan

Make the most of this website. - a comprehensive guide for shipping from Japan.

How our Japanese overseas moving company can help you.

Moving across borders is not something one does often. For most people, international moving from Japan and shipping will be a once in a lifetime experience. This website gives you comprehensive information about internationally moving out of Japan and shipping. We hope you use it to make your move a success. In fact, back in 1998 we had the honor of having the complete contents of our FAQ page quoted in the Japan Times, a major newspaper, when it ran a moving special.

What kind of documents will I need to submit? Will there be any duty or tax that I must pay at the destination? Are the charges calculated by volume or weight? Visit our FAQ page. What will the customs clearance and pickup procedure be if I ship my goods door-to-port? Visit the page “At the destinations”, where many of our customers provide information about their experiences on the other end. Also, note that we will send you more detailed information about shipping at the time of your reservation.

Some basic things to keep in mind when moving from Japan.

Shipping personal goods and/or furniture abroad.

• Insurance: All-risk air and marine insurance is available. The insurance is valid for items packed by owner as well.
• Nationwide pickup: We have boxes picked up from clients’ residence doors almost anywhere in Japan. Whether you live in Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Sapporo, Kyoto, Nagoya or Okinawa, our pickup service is available.
• Professional packing: A packing service (wooden crating/palletizing) is available upon request for pieces of furniture, large household goods or delicate items such as musical instruments and audio equipment.
• Various Shipping methods: LCL (Less than Container Load/Share-the-container), FCL (Full Container Load), Airfreight (air cargo), Multimodal Transportation and courier.

When you move items internationally as freight, whether they are the personal belongings of an individual moving from Japan and changing domicile or commercial merchandise, they must be cleared through customs in both Japan and the destination country.

An inventory of the goods in each package with a declared value is required for customs clearance purposes. The shipping industry call this a “packing list”. Packing lists are used for marine insurance as well. You may wish to prepare a packing list or at least take note of the contents in each package once you decide to ship your belongings and start packing.

Moving large and heavy pieces of furniture for which you are unable to find suitable packages can be expensive, as you will incur packing fees and other surcharges for the picking up of large pieces of furniture from a residence. In addition, you will need to consider how a large custom-made crate can be delivered to your residence door or to a room and unpacked upon delivery. The fees associated with packing, unpacking and special pickup and delivery of furniture can be high. Therefore, while we offer a service in which we pack large items, we advise that you ship only those items you can pack and that are worth the expenses associated with packing and moving (such as items available only in Japan).

Air Cargo vs. sea freight - Many international moving companies in Japan say that service by air is for urgent shipments, however, with minimum requirement for sea shipping being one cubic meter, shipping by air is actually an economical mode of transport for small moves, therefore, we recommend service by air if you are shipping relatively small amount.

Those who are moving back to their home countries should encounter no issues, but make sure you have a proper visa for the destination country to which you ship your personal property. US customs, for example, will not allow the entry of a consignment of personal items if the owner of the goods does not have a proper visa for moving to the U.S. In some countries, import duty and tax may be imposed.

Foodstuffs are typically not accepted for transportation even if they are something that can be imported to the country of destination.

Shipping furniture or large household goods from Japan - Contact us and learn how to ship large household goods or heavy items using the services of an international freight shipping company. Many large items that post offices do not accept can be sent as cargo.

You will receive a reply to moving inquiries you send from this web page generally within 24 hours. If you would like to receive a shipping estimate or if you have questions about your upcoming move, please contact us by using the online inquiry form or give us a call in English during business hours.

Preparing for and understanding the entire procedure are two major factors that will make or break your moving experience. Prepare early. We hope that your experience of moving from Japan will be a pleasant one and that we can help you bring along your memories of your time in the country.

The Impact of Coronavirus on shipping from Japan:

With many of international flights worldwide being still suspended because of the spread of COVID-19, services by air to some international destinations may not be available at the moment. In addition, worldwide shortage of containers for ocean shipping triggered an extremely high demand for air cargo and this made the shortage of cargo space for services by air even worse and led to the all-time high increase of air rates.