Luggage Forwarding in Japan (Takkyubin): How to Send Your Bags Ahead

21 July 2026

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The first time I dragged a full suitcase up a station staircase in Tokyo during rush hour, I promised myself I’d never do it again. On my next trip a hotel clerk asked, almost casually, “Would you like to send your bag ahead?” — and that single question changed how I travel in Japan.

That service is called takkyubin, and it’s one of the most useful things visitors almost never hear about. Instead of hauling luggage through crowded trains and up temple steps, you hand your bags to a courier and they arrive at your next hotel, usually the very next day. Here’s exactly how it works, what it costs, and how to use it.

What “takkyubin” actually means

The word you’ll see everywhere is takkyubin (宅急便), but there’s a small wrinkle worth knowing. 宅急便 is actually a brand name owned by Yamato Transport, a bit like how people say “Kleenex” instead of “tissue.” The generic Japanese word for door-to-door parcel delivery is takuhaibin (宅配便, “home-delivery post”).

In everyday travel, nobody will correct you for saying takkyubin — hotel staff and couriers all understand it. What matters is the idea behind it: Japan has an extraordinarily reliable, affordable courier network that will pick up your suitcase in one city and deliver it to another, often overnight.

Who runs it: the black-cat couriers

Two names dominate luggage forwarding in Japan.

Yamato Transport (ヤマト運輸) is the big one. Its logo — a black mother cat carrying her kitten by the scruff — is why people call it Kuroneko Yamato (黒猫ヤマト, “Black Cat Yamato”). Its TA-Q-BIN service is what most hotels and airports use.

Sagawa Express (佐川急便) is the other major courier, more common for business shipping but still widely available.

For a traveler, you rarely choose the company yourself. You simply use whatever service your hotel or the airport counter offers, and it’s almost always Yamato.

Where you can send bags from and to

The beauty of the system is how many drop-off points exist:

• Hotel to hotel — the most common use. Nearly every mid-range and up hotel has a forwarding desk or will arrange it at the front desk.
• Airport to hotel — dedicated counters at the arrivals hall of major airports (Narita, Haneda, Kansai/KIX, Chubu) let you send your suitcase straight to your accommodation.
• Hotel to airport — send bags to the airport a day or two before your flight so you can enjoy your last day unencumbered. (Give it extra lead time; international-flight delivery needs to arrive early.)
• Convenience stores — many konbini accept and hand out parcels, though for tourists the hotel route is simplest.

If you’re planning your accommodation around this, it pairs perfectly with a night in a traditional inn — see our guide on how to stay in a ryokan, where forwarding your bag ahead is especially handy on tatami floors and up mountain roads.

What it costs and how long it takes

Prices depend on two things: the size of your bag (couriers add up length + width + height in centimeters) and the distance it travels. As a rough guide for a normal check-in-sized suitcase:

These are ballpark figures — always check the exact quote at the counter, since rates change and larger or heavier bags cost more. Yamato’s TA-Q-BIN accepts sizes up to a generous limit (a total of around 200 cm and up to roughly 30 kg for standard bags), which covers almost any suitcase.

The key planning rule: assume next-day delivery, not same-day. If you send your bag from a Kyoto hotel in the morning, plan to be reunited with it at your Tokyo hotel the following afternoon — so keep a small overnight bag with essentials.

How to do it, step by step

1. Ask at the front desk. Say “Takkyubin, onegaishimasu” (宅急便、お願いします) — “Luggage forwarding, please.” The staff will bring out a form.
2. Fill in the delivery slip. You’ll write the recipient hotel’s name, address, and phone number, plus your own name as sender. If you don’t have the details, staff can usually look up a well-known hotel for you.
3. Choose the delivery date. Pick the day after you arrive at your next hotel if you can, so the bag is waiting for you. Tell your next hotel to expect a parcel under your name.
4. Pay — usually in cash. Many hotel desks take cash only for this, so keep some yen handy.
5. Keep your receipt. It has a tracking number you can check online.

That’s it. You walk out with just a day bag and meet your suitcase at the destination.

The best ways to use it

• Airport arrival: Land, send your big case from the airport counter, and explore your first evening light — no wrestling luggage onto the train.
• Shinkansen days: Japan’s bullet trains have limited space for oversized luggage (large bags now require a reserved spot). Forwarding your suitcase sidesteps the whole problem. If you’re new to the rails, our guide on how to buy train tickets in Japan pairs well with this.
• Onsen and ski trips: Send bags ahead to a mountain ryokan or resort so you’re not lugging them up snowy streets.
• Last-day freedom: Send everything to the airport the day before you fly, and spend your final day shopping and eating hands-free.

A few things to know

Delivery drivers give precise time windows (morning, or two-hour afternoon slots), and they genuinely keep them — Japan’s couriers are famously punctual. Make sure someone at your destination hotel can receive the bag; hotels hold parcels at the front desk with no trouble.

Yamato also offers temperature-controlled cool delivery for perishable food and even some larger items, but for travelers the standard service is all you need. Avoid sending anything fragile, valuable, or irreplaceable (passports, medication, electronics you’ll want that night) — keep those with you.

Finally, a little language goes a long way at the counter. Knowing how to say your dates, confirm an address, or ask “when will it arrive?” makes the whole exchange smooth. If you want a head start, run through our travel phrases tool before your trip.

Vocabulary for the counter

The bottom line

Luggage forwarding in Japan turns the most stressful part of travel — moving heavy bags between cities — into a two-minute errand at the front desk. For a couple of thousand yen, you skip the crowded-train wrestling match and arrive at each stop with your suitcase already waiting. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll build whole itineraries around it. Send the bag ahead, travel light, and enjoy Japan the easy way.