This guide covers sending a bag ahead inside Japan with Yamato Transport TA-Q-BIN and Japan Post Yu-Pack. What follows rests on the English-language pages of Yamato Transport and Japan Post.
A bag addressed to a hotel or ryokan has to go out before the cut-off time at least two days before the check-in date, and three days may be needed depending on the distance to the delivery destination. With Japan Post Yu-Pack, what you pay depends on the size class of the parcel and the region it is delivered to, and the same weight limit applies to every size class.
How Sending a Bag Ahead Works
The steps below cover the size and weight check, where to hand the bag in, the cut-off counted back from the check-in date at the hotel or ryokan, and the separate service for bags headed to an airport.
- Before packing a suitcase for TA-Q-BIN, check that its size is within two hundred cm as a total of three dimensions and that it weighs thirty kg or less.
- Bring it to a Yamato Transport sales office, a convenience store or another TA-Q-BIN agency, where a one hundred JPY discount per parcel is applied to parcels dropped off there.
- For a hotel or ryokan, hand the bag in before the cut-off time at least two days before the check-in date.
- To send the bag to an airport instead, use Airport TA-Q-BIN, the Yamato Transport service for heavy suitcases and other bulky luggage headed to airports in Japan.
Size Classes and Weight Limits
A parcel is placed in a size class by adding its length, width and height, and each class carries its own weight limit. The classes in the table are the TA-Q-BIN ones, and Japan Post Yu-Pack has its own limits, given in the paragraph after the table.
| Size class | Sum of three sides | Weight limit |
|---|---|---|
| Sixty | Up to sixty cm | Up to two kg |
| Eighty | Up to eighty cm | Up to five kg |
| One hundred | Up to one hundred cm | Up to ten kg |
| One hundred twenty | Up to one hundred twenty cm | Up to fifteen kg |
| One hundred forty | Up to one hundred forty cm | Up to twenty kg |
| One hundred sixty | Up to one hundred sixty cm | Up to twenty-five kg |
| One hundred eighty | Up to one hundred eighty cm | Up to thirty kg |
| Two hundred | Up to two hundred cm | Up to thirty kg |
TA-Q-BIN takes parcels with a maximum linear dimension of two hundred cm, length plus width plus height, and a maximum weight of thirty kg. Japan Post Yu-Pack sets a weight limit of twenty-five kg for all sizes. The Yu-Pack one hundred seventy size is for a parcel whose length, width and height total one hundred seventy cm or less.
Compare options
See partner pricing and availability →
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
What It Costs
The Japan Post figures below are for Yu-Pack parcels sent from Tokyo, and the columns show size sixty, size one hundred and size one hundred sixty.
| Destination from Tokyo | Small parcel | Medium parcel | Large parcel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo to Tokyo | Eight hundred forty yen | One thousand four hundred eighty yen | Two thousand five hundred yen |
| Tokyo to Tohoku, Kanto, Shin-etsu, Hokuriku and Tokai | Nine hundred seventy yen | One thousand six hundred fifty yen | Three thousand yen |
| Tokyo to Kinki | One thousand ninety yen | One thousand seven hundred eighty yen | Three thousand one hundred thirty yen |
| Tokyo to Chugoku and Shikoku | One thousand two hundred seventy yen | One thousand nine hundred sixty yen | Three thousand three hundred yen |
| Tokyo to Hokkaido | One thousand five hundred fifty yen | Two thousand two hundred twenty yen | Three thousand six hundred ten yen |
| Tokyo to Kyushu | One thousand five hundred fifty yen | Two thousand two hundred twenty yen | Three thousand six hundred ten yen |
| Tokyo to Okinawa | One thousand six hundred yen | Two thousand four hundred eighty yen | Three thousand eight hundred twenty yen |
On the Yamato Transport side, the discounts in the next table apply to Round Trip TA-Q-BIN parcels.
| Discount | Amount |
|---|---|
| Reduced Rates for Multiple Parcels, for each additional parcel sent to the same destination | One hundred JPY |
| Digital Discount | Sixty JPY per parcel |
| Kuroneko Members discount for parcels dropped off | One hundred fifty JPY (tax included) per parcel |
Yamato Transport also sells a suitcase cover for five hundred ten JPY and a cover for carry-on bags for six hundred sixty JPY.
Same-Day and Airport Delivery
The table below shows same-day delivery on two routes, with the amount per piece.
| Route | Amount per piece |
|---|---|
| Haneda Airport to the twenty-three wards of Tokyo, one hundred sixty size | Five thousand seven hundred eighty yen |
| Kyoto Station Service Counter to destinations within Kyoto city, one hundred sixty size | Three thousand four hundred seventy yen |
Sending luggage to an airport with Airport TA-Q-BIN requires a handling fee of six hundred sixty yen (tax included) on top of the shipping charge. On a day with no bag to carry, day trips from Tokyo are one option.
Exceptions and Regional Differences
Two weight limits and one timing rule sit outside the tables above.
For a hotel or ryokan far from where the bag is handed in, three days before the check-in date may be needed depending on the distance. Round Trip TA-Q-BIN does not accept parcels heavier than thirty kg. Japan Post Yu-Pack parcels are limited to twenty-five kg, and Weighted Yu-Pack covers packages over twenty-five kg and up to thirty kg.
On the Japan Post side, the amount changes with the size class and with the region the parcel goes to, as the table above shows. Cut-off times, size rules and amounts change over time. Check official information before visiting.
Related Reading
With the bag sent on, the next question is the ride itself, and How to Ride Rural Buses and One-Man Trains in Japan picks up there.