Misplacing the luggage seems unusually incompetent for a hotel in Japan that must deal with this sort of thing every day. Lack of apology is pretty crummy. Holding it at the front desk and expecting the guest to come ask for it is par for the course in a place that keeps its costs down with a self-service approach.

Is there a way to get same-day service? We will likely have 3 bags and it would be great to ship everything from our Tokyo hotel to our Kyoto hotel. If not maybe we will send one ahead the night before, which would facilitate our journey.

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We shipped luggage between Tokyo and Osaka and it was great. The bellman in Tokyo came to pick it up on Day 1 - and it was there waiting for us in our room in Osaka on Day 2. Of course - we followed normal "luggage" rules (didn't ship anything super important like meds - and carried one change of clothing just in case).

Somewhat OT - but in terms of Kyoto ---> Osaka - we wound up taking a taxi with our luggage between Osaka and Kyoto. When we figured out the cost of 2 FC train tickets - taxis to/from the rail stations - and the cost of luggage forwarding - the cost of a door-to-door taxi was only a few dollars more (and worth the convenience). The taxi fare was flat rate - so no surprises. And - IIRC - the drive was < hour. Robyn

To the OP, we had our bags shipped via Yamato (ubiquitous black cat logo) from Century Southern Tower to arrive at our hotel in Kyoto a few days later. The little convenience store behind the lobby desk and near the hotel elevators is where Yamato does business. We got the ticket there and had the front desk help with writing it up for us.

Since we were leaving the CST before the convenience store was open we dropped the bags off at the store the night before.

We didn't need the bags for a few days since we stopped on the way to Kyoto in Hiroshima and Miyajima and stayed one night in each city. All went smoothly and our bags were waiting for us in Kyoto.

You can even select a time range for your bags to be delivered if it is important. We did this Kyoto to Tokyo since our Tokyo hotel would not accept the bags until after we had checked in. That also worked out perfectly.

With no concierge at CST I suggest not waiting to the last moment and you talk to the lady in the convenience store to find out what you need to do and by when. FYI, she didn't speak much English and some of the desk clerks didn't either. Our ticket was filled out several days before we actually left the bags at the store.

BTW, we loved our 5 night stay at CST...corner room with fabulous views of Tokyo.

We now have one night between Tokyo and Kyoto so this seems perfect for getting our 26" luggage from one hotel to the next and a steal at <2000 yen (I am certain that beats my fedex discount ;) ) But could not find the Tokyo pickup deadline on the YAMATO website.

Update: Everything went off without a hitch. The Park Hyatt staff completed the Yamato forms with the $16 fee billed (a steal) billed to my room. Our luggage was waiting in our room by the time we arrived in Kyoto the next day. Highly recommend.

>> But could not find the Tokyo pickup deadline on the YAMATO website

19:00h scheduled pickup or drop off at their depot.

Hey everyone. I will be visiting Japan in a few weeks and my schedule will be as follows:

2 nights Sapporo
1 night Sendai
2 nights Tokyo
1 night Nagoya
2 nights Osaka

I will have a day pack as well as a larger bag that I am capable of lugging on and off trains but would prefer to avoid that when possible.

Here's what I would like to do I think.

Carry large bag from Sapporo airport to hotel, stay 2 nights.
On day 3, ship large bag from Sapporo to Park Hyatt Tokyo, where I will arrive next day (day 4) after visiting Sendai
On day 6, ship large bag from Tokyo to Hilton Osaka, where I will arrive
next day (day 7) after visiting Nagoya
On Day 9, carry bag to Osaka airport.

Can this all be done easily and on the spot just by handing bag to desk clerk in morning when I check out and filling out form saying where I want bag delivered the next afternoon? Is there any advance planning/ordering I need to do or do the hotels take care of everything?

I'm heading to Southeast Asia for a month after Japan, hence the large bag.

That's how I've always done it in the past, and never had problems.

Can this service be used to send luggage home internationally at the end of a visit to Japan for a reasonable fee?

Yes

No

This Takkyubin service is great. I stayed at the Keio Plaza hotel in Sapporo. They had a Takkyubin desk in the lobby. I used it to send my larger bag to my hotel in Tokyo. Cost was 1730 yen. Note: they weren't offering next day service, it was two day service for bags dropped off before 630 pm.

I stayed at the Park Hyatt Tokyo.I just called the bell desk before I check out and told them I wanted my bag sent to the Hilton Osaka. They filled out the forms and gave me the receipt and sent the bag to Osaka the next day. Cost was 1400 yen, Park Hyatt just billed it to my room. Bag was waiting when I arrived at Hilton Osaka next afternoon.

I don't know the costs/feasibility of sending bag back to USA. The lady at the desk at my Sapporo hotel said the service was for Japan only. I think you could always have your bag shipped to your departing international airport though and then collect it and check it for your overseas flight.

Yes, you can forward your luggage to the major airports. Did this last year as there was no way 2 persons could handle 3 luggages + a stroller + a box + handcarry + an infant. Was a lifesaver, as it was drizzling on the day we left. We sent the luggage to the 7-11 downstairs (We were staying in a airbnb).

Again, no same day service. You need to send 2 days in advance, ie. Wednesday for a Friday departure.

http://www.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/en/personal/airport/

Yamato does International Ta-Q-Bin. The size of each item is limited to sum of total dimension less than 160 cm (63 inches) and does not weigh more than 25 kg (55 lbs.). Anything more than that will be international freight. Sending maximum allowable item by international Ta-Q-Bin to the U.S. costs 26,050 yen (U.S.$256.61) per item if you luggage are within 63 inches sum of three dimensions and less than 55 lbs. If that is reasonable for you then…

I'm glad to hear so many people have had such a good experience with takkyûbin.

Sadly, I cannot say the same myself. I arrived in Tokyo this past Monday, and knowing I was going to be staying in Tokyo for just a few days before relocating to Okinawa, I asked three separate takkyûbin companies at Narita if they could send my bags to Okinawa airport, for me to pick up on the Thursday (three days later). All three said no. I didn't really want to press them for an explanation, so I'm afraid I don't have one to share with you either - whether it was because they didn't want to hold my bags for too long at the other end, or what, I'm really not sure. But, since the dorm I'm staying at explicitly told me they don't accept luggage deliveries, and since the Takkyûbin folks also said they can't deliver to, for example, a conbini nearby, but only to a normal real address that you're actually staying at (e.g. a hotel or residence), I was .... out of luck.

Since the university's website is terrible for providing basic information like the actual mailing address of the individual dorm (rather than of the campus as a whole) or phone number, I also have not been able to put down a proper address on paperwork for other things - such as applying for a cellphone, which is a whole other topic of discussion, but I figured I'd throw it in here too.

Anyway, if anyone has had a different experience - e.g. if you have successfully sent luggage from one airport to another, especially to Okinawa - I'd be curious to hear about it. Thanks :)