My spouse and I will be traveling to Tokyo next spring for 3 days. We plan to visit her home country-Taiwan afterwords, so we are each bringing two large empty suitcases with us to Tokyo,
which will remain empty until we get to Taiwan.
I am unfamiliar with the bullet train(Shinkansen?) of Japan, as well as the trains/metro system. Is it possible to bring in total 4 large pieces of suitcases on the public transport as we make our way to hotel?
8 comments
Why would you bother to drag empty suitcase with you, wouldn’t it be easier to buy them in Taiwan?
Also empty suitcases could attract attention at the airport from border security
For the Tokaido – Sanyo – Kyushu shinkansen, if your suitcases are very large, you should take a look at this page : [https://global.jr-central.co.jp/en/info/oversized-baggage/](https://global.jr-central.co.jp/en/info/oversized-baggage/)
For the Tohoku/Hokuriku/hokkaido shinkansen,there are no limitations that I am aware of.
For the trains and metro system, there are no specific limitations BUT don’t ride with them during the rush hour (roughly 730 to 930, depending on the lines). It would be a gigantic pain in the ass for others…
You won’t take Shinkansen from airport to Tokyo. Going to Kyoto you could take it, but you need to book special seats with luggage space on that route and you would have more than can fit.
It would be possible to take the train but absolutely avoid rush hour. Might want to get two luggage that fit one in the other if you are to move them next to empty.
Put one inside the other.
Tokyo transit isn’t optimized for carrying a lot of stuff, other than a small carryon.
Maybe take the limousine bus to your hotel, or have the empty bags stored at the airport until you depart again. Or take a very expensive van from the airport. Regular airport taxis won’t hold that much.
Japan is… different. It would be considered rude to lug all that stuff on public transport, even if you physically handle it yourself. They do have convenient luggage forwarding services for this very reason.
When I went to Japan we took two small carry on suitcases, then purchased extra bags to put our shopping in before we came home. This is the way.
Also, it’s not airport trains or shinkansen that would be a problem, but the commuter trains. Two large suitcases are very inconvenient on crowded trains, let alone four. You will feel awkward and in the way with all that luggage. Limit it the best you can.
Shinkansen yes, but it’s going to be troublesome. There’s only a limited area where big luggage can be stored and it’s usually all used up and there’s no where near seats to put them. Especially since its more than 1 per person (you could try and squeeze them in front of your knees if so).
If you’re traveling hotel to hotel, you can get them delivered via kuroneko. If going from airport -> hotel, just look for a kuroneko yamato stand and tell them you want your luggage delivered. If hotel -> hotel, ask the concierge. You just have to fill in the address of the receiving hotel and pay based on the size of your luggage. Though this is usually more worth it for full luggages, because of the weight issue of lugging them around *and* their bulkiness.
If you *must* take public transport – and can’t deliver or take a taxi etc – then at least avoid peak hours and perhaps consider booking a reserved seat on shinkansen, where you might have more chances to find space for your bags.
I think you will be fine as long as you’re mindful when you’re traveling. I brought my large ski bag from Tokyo to Hokkaido and back on both the shinkansen and trains within Tokyo. I learned some Japanese and asked nicely if I could store them behind people’s seats and never had an issue.
If you’re flying in and out of Narita, you can store luggage at the airport for 29 days. It’s relatively affordable. (I did it for three weeks once.)
If you can, send your luggage to your hotel and bring your necessities in a carry on. Otherwise, take a bus since it’s easier to store large luggage that way. I always send my suitcase to/from NRT and take the bus from HND if I’m not getting picked up.