CWN how did you ship your luggage from Narita to Kyoto
Nov 27th, 2005, 04:40 AM
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CWN how did you ship your luggage from Narita to Kyoto
I was reading your answer about Kyoto which is where we are going in Feb and I already know that we will be unable to do the stairs on the trains with our luggage. Where do you go to have the luggage shipped and or stored?
Nov 27th, 2005, 12:35 PM
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Right outside the customs doors you will see signs for baggage storage and baggage service. Follow the signs, and most of the passengers, as many people send bags.
To send bags, you will need a complete address, the telephone number, and about 2000 yen per bag...depending on size and destination. It will take an overnight for your bags to be delivered.
I've not used the storage, but I know it's there. Last year we thought about storing our winter jackets at the airport while we were in Bali, but it would have cost around 10,000 yen for 3 jackets...we left them with the hotel in Osaka for free. Storage isn't cheap, but if it's only for a few days it might be ok.
To send bags, you will need a complete address, the telephone number, and about 2000 yen per bag...depending on size and destination. It will take an overnight for your bags to be delivered.
I've not used the storage, but I know it's there. Last year we thought about storing our winter jackets at the airport while we were in Bali, but it would have cost around 10,000 yen for 3 jackets...we left them with the hotel in Osaka for free. Storage isn't cheap, but if it's only for a few days it might be ok.
Nov 27th, 2005, 11:35 PM
#3
I stored a bag at Narita in January. I'm pretty sure that it was 500 yen per piece per day. I sent a bag from Kyoto (Westin Miyako) to Nagoya Chubu airport and it was about 2000 yen for shipping. Storage for 2 or 3 days at the airport was included at that price.
Dec 5th, 2005, 07:02 AM
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I used the shipping service during my visit to Japan last May. The service was very helpful. But when I was there, none of the luggage clerks spoke English. Fortunately, there was a Japanese customer on line who knew English, and she was able to interpret things between me and the luggqage clerk. Even then, it was a problem explaining the luggage destination address in Kyoto. (The forwarding address is required to be written on the luggage in Japanese.)
I have this advice: Before leaving the USA, print out a Japanese version of your hotel's Kyoto address. Bring this page to the luggage counter, and it will make things much easier for you. You can probably get the Japanese address from the Web. (Most hotels have Japanese-language versions of their Web sites.) If not, arrange for your hotel to mail it to you before you leave the USA.
I have this advice: Before leaving the USA, print out a Japanese version of your hotel's Kyoto address. Bring this page to the luggage counter, and it will make things much easier for you. You can probably get the Japanese address from the Web. (Most hotels have Japanese-language versions of their Web sites.) If not, arrange for your hotel to mail it to you before you leave the USA.
Dec 5th, 2005, 07:05 AM
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Forgot to mention: I was at the new Nagoya Airport when I used the luggage forwarding service. Maybe the clerks at Narita Airport have a greater knowledge of English (enough knowledge to translate an English address into Japanese). But I wouldn't count on it.
Dec 5th, 2005, 07:43 AM
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> Before leaving the USA, print out a Japanese version of your hotel's Kyoto address. Bring this page to the luggage counter, and it will make things much easier for you.
This is a very sensible and practical advice by Joyce. I always say this to my non-Japanese friends visiting the country - for luggage service and to show to taxi drivers, etc.
This is a very sensible and practical advice by Joyce. I always say this to my non-Japanese friends visiting the country - for luggage service and to show to taxi drivers, etc.
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Dec 5th, 2005, 05:08 PM
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Having the address in Japanese is a good idea, but don't worry if you don't have it. We send things all the time with the address written in Roman letters...it's not a problem. It's best if you also have the telephone number of the destination of the package.
Dec 6th, 2005, 05:09 AM
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Shipping via the luggage service is not the same as shipping via mail. Maybe Roman lettering works okay on mail packages. But the luggage service required the address to be written in Japanese. At least this was the case in Nagoya Airport, and also when I used the luggage service again in Tokyo.
Both times it was required to convert English into Japanese. In Tokyo my hotel concierge was able to do this for me (although with considerable difficulty). The luggage clerks in Nagoya Airport could not do it at all. I was lucky there was a customer who knew both English and Japanese, and she helped write out the address.
Both times it was required to convert English into Japanese. In Tokyo my hotel concierge was able to do this for me (although with considerable difficulty). The luggage clerks in Nagoya Airport could not do it at all. I was lucky there was a customer who knew both English and Japanese, and she helped write out the address.
Dec 6th, 2005, 01:27 PM
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Shipping by luggage service from the airport is easier than mail. Although I can use Japanese after 10 years, we still use Roman lettering/addresses for shipping something to places other than our home when how to write the address properly in kanji is difficult for us. It is never a problem. That said, they of course prefer the address in Japanese, but no one will have a problem reading or writing an address in Roman letters...everyone learns to read and write Japanese in Roman letters (in addition to kanji, hiragana and katakana) starting in grade 4 of elementary school...and this has been the system since the 1950's. I think if you had just not been able to come up with the address in Japanese you would have had no trouble at all sending your luggage. The number of people using the various baggage services (there are lots of companies that do this) who don't read/write/speak Japanese is quite high.
The post office is actually more hit or miss...there was a time when fewer foreigners lived in Kanazawa that mail with a foreign name was delivered to us regardless of the address, though that has stopped now. Interesting way to meet people though, delivering their mail to them.
The post office is actually more hit or miss...there was a time when fewer foreigners lived in Kanazawa that mail with a foreign name was delivered to us regardless of the address, though that has stopped now. Interesting way to meet people though, delivering their mail to them.
Dec 6th, 2005, 05:41 PM
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KimJapan:
Thanks for explaining the info about the Roman lettering...I always wondered about that. Nice to have the correct explanation. We are planning to have our bags transfered from our hotel in Tokyo to our hotel in Kyoto this spring and this seems to be the best way.
Aloha!
Thanks for explaining the info about the Roman lettering...I always wondered about that. Nice to have the correct explanation. We are planning to have our bags transfered from our hotel in Tokyo to our hotel in Kyoto this spring and this seems to be the best way.
Aloha!
Dec 15th, 2005, 04:11 AM
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I can only repeat: The clerks at the Airport luggage counter refused to accept my luggage without an address written in Japanese. When I shipped a second time, this time from a Tokyo hotel, the hotel clerk also insisted on Japanese. She wrote the address for me.
Because you are shipping only from a hotel, there is probably nothing for you to worry about. Most Tokyo hotels have clerks who will handle all this for you, especially if you are staying in a 3 star or higher hotel.
Because you are shipping only from a hotel, there is probably nothing for you to worry about. Most Tokyo hotels have clerks who will handle all this for you, especially if you are staying in a 3 star or higher hotel.
