Japan has the most amazing luggage transfer system (at a reasonable cost around us $16 for a carry on size). You have your hotel fill out the form (unless you read/write japanese) and they transport (usually overnight) to the next hotel. Usually the hotel will have your luggage in your room when you arrive. If you need an extra day on either end I doubt it would be a problem as long as you notify the involved hotel.
Originally Posted by
MSYtoJFKagain
We just may do that. The plan was to get a big breakfast there, see the sights and then hop on the train in early afternoon to Noboribetsu. We were going to send our big bags up to our Hokkaido hotel because we'll be traveling fairly heavy. Is it acceptable to have somewhere hold your bags for a day? We were planning on staying somewhere economical in Sapporo.