Job Discussion Forums

TLL · Joined: 01 Oct 2005 Posts: 10

Hi all. Well after 3.5 years here I'm on my way out. I wondering what the best way to go about shipping my stuff home is. When I lived in Nagoya there was a company called Pak Mail but now I live outside of Tokyo and I don't know which would be the best. The PO is too expensive. Anyone know any good companys or have any ideas for me? Thanks.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

What do you have to ship? Seamail is usually pretty cheap.

AndyH · Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 417

I'll be leaving in April (I came to Japan in 2002), and have been gradually shipping stuff back, via post office sea mail. If you don't mind the stuff taking approx. 2 months to arrive, it isn't too bad.

Of course, if someone knows a cheaper method, I'd like to know!

G Cthulhu · Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 10:26 pm Post subject:

My two cents:

Sea Mail via Japan Post is often the cheapest way.... EXCEPT Smile

for anything that might count as media: papers, books, CDs, DVDs. These can all go via a lovely service known as M Bag. You just box your stuff up and throw it into the PO supplied canvas bag. They'll seal it and ship it. M Bag has air, SAL and sea options, but costs about 1/3 - 1/2 the amount for the same weight as its parcel post counterpart but has a weight minimum before it becomes effective (about 10kg? IIRC). M Bag can only be sent from some Post Offices though.

If you've got *a lot* of stuf to ship, another option is contacting a shipping company at the *destination* and organising the shipping from that end. I was quoted one price by the Japanese end of a shipper, but organising it through the NZ end I was quoted a price only 1/2 as much for the exact same service using the exact same shippers. Many shippers have "correspondent shippers" that they work with in other countries: find some Japanese shipping companies, get quotes and ask who they use in your destination country and then go ask them for quotes too. Some shippers won't do it at all, but it can be worth the few hours it takes if you find one that does.

mapraopenrai · Joined: 16 Mar 2006 Posts: 29 Location: Kyoto, Japan

This is a subject that I'm interested in. I've been here for 10 years, so I might have a few more things to send.
Finding a cheap price is one thing, but I'm wondering what I might have to pay when I get home. I was told by the post office in the states than personal belongings usually aren't assessed a customs fee. But that line was followed up by, "In the case that they are..." Anybody have any idea how they decide whether or not they're gonna charge you customs fees for sending your own belongings home? Obviously I picked up some things here and in other countries, but a lot of my belongings are originally from the states.

Zzonkmiles · Joined: 05 Apr 2003 Posts: 309

Something else to consider:

If you mail at least 10 boxes at the same time, you are entitled to a 10% discount, regardless of the boxes' destination. Similarly, if you mail at least 20 boxes at the same time, you can get a 20% discount. I do not have a link where you can verify this information on your own, but this is what I was explicitly told by the staff at my local post office. Also, this might not be true for every neighborhood, but if you call the post office, they can arrange to have a postal worker drop by your house and pick up your boxes for you. The worker will weigh your boxes and you pay him directly. I used this particular service before at no extra cost and was still able to get the 10% discount.