First – I’ve tried googling this AND searching Reddit. And I have only found contradicting answers.
On Google, I came across this website :
https://www.internations.org/japan-expats/guide/relocating
My specific problem here is with the make up, perfume, and skincare….
BEFORE ANYONE SAYS I CAN BUY ALL THIS IN JAPAN —— NO! Because- I already own so many products that I love, and I’ve already spent a lot of money on these products, and I would like to continue using these products and get my money out of them!
AND, it would actually be CHEAPER for me to ship myself, my items, rather than buy them all over again! Or equivalents.
I am going to school, so I cannot willy-nilly, spend money all over the place.
I have a LOT of makeup and skin care items that I would really like to ship to myself, so I don’t know if this is basically indicating I’m better off separating things into many boxes so I do not surpassed the maximum capacity per box??
I am also very confused on the perfumes —
ive looked it up and IT IS LEGAL TO SHIP PERFUMES, so long as I have it documented CORRECTLY!
BUT- as per the website I listed above, it makes no sense because it stating basically I can only ship ONE 2oz perfume to myself per box??
What if I have the full-size perfume that are usually 3oz +??
Or is this website incorrect??
——
Lastly, I HAVE to be on birth control, for hormonal health reasons. And the company that I get my birth control from unfortunately sent me my years worth of BC one day too late….. I received the day that I left… So my parents are going to ship it to me, but again the way this website has things worded as I can only have ONE MONTH worth of prescription??
OR is this heavily misworded too, and it just means one month worth per packet/bottle of pills?
These will be clearly birth control pills in their own 28 day packets.….
——
If anybody has had any similar experiences with recently moving to Japan, and needing to ship themselves their own belongings, how was the process?
If you are somebody who owns a lot of make up/skin care/perfumes
Or somebody that needs medication and has more than one months worth, what’s the deal?!
What’s the process like?
Did you have problems?!
What IS and is not REALLY allowed ?! Because there’s just too much contradicting information online to truly know unless you’ve experienced it personally!
——
I’ve already shipped my PC to myself and it’s been “held in customs“ since March 28… I filled out my customs paperwork properly, put the correct worth of my items properly, but it’s just SITTING there, no movement, no update, and I have not been contacted (granted at the time of shipping. Obviously, I did not have a Japanese phone number to put down so I have my out of country number……)
I had one box that passed through to my nearest post office, but that one says “investigation”… And has not moved since March 28 ……
So I’m already freaking out about my computer!
I don’t wanna have this issue with ANYTHING else remaining that I need to ship to myself!
I have a friend coming in September because he is a Director and he won a short film award, would it be easier if I just have him bring some of the stuff I question shipping to myself, on his checked baggage?
I can tell you from my own personal experience, I was able to bring a shit ton of perfume, some skin care (that I could even fit in my already crowded luggage) on my checked baggage with no problem!!
So would it be safer for me to have my friend do the same and just tell him to go pick it up from my parents house and bring it on his checked baggage?
Would also be cheaper instead of shipping it to myself !!!!!
But I would still like to have this information just in case he’s not able to do that for me, or if he can’t fit everything I have a remaining !
9 comments
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You should be cautious before endorsing the strategy of putting a bunch of things in your suitcase and hoping that it’ll work. Of course most of the time they don’t search your bag, but if they do, you’re not going to want to be breaking immigration rules at that time.
Similarly, bringing a gift for a friend might be legitimate, but bringing many things for your friend because they can’t figure out a way to legally import them seems like an unwise maneuver.
From a practical standpoint, I recommend using less product if money is an issue. I also recommend bringing a laptop, so that you don’t have to ship a desktop. That may not be useful advice now, but to all the readers, be careful so you don’t find yourself in a similar situation.
Why not contact a relocation service/shipping company and ask? Plus it’ll definitely will cost less to airfreight a pallet or two than trying to ship a bunch of individual packages via the post office.
From what I’ve heard, and I could be wrong, ONLY if you randomly CAPITALIZE words, they let you ship ANYTHING.
Looking at the Japanese website, you can’t bring in more than 1 month supply of prescription drug. Some prescription or OTC drug in your country may be illegal in Japan.
[https://jp.usembassy.gov/services/importing-medication/](https://jp.usembassy.gov/services/importing-medication/)
[https://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/policy/health-medical/pharmaceuticals/01.html](https://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/policy/health-medical/pharmaceuticals/01.html)
wow, how much have you got? why didn’t you just bring it with you? adding an extra suitcase is going to be the cheapest option
probably not 100% on the line, but if you’re shipping cosmetics and medicines, i’d label it as ‘personal care products/cosmetics – for personal use’
check a local clinic and Osakadou (online store) for BC and compare prices
No one’s mentioned yakkan shoumei yet so I’ll mention it here — you can bring (or ship, I think) more than one month’s worth of medication if you do some paperwork called yakkan shoumei. I brought 6 months’ worth of medication with me when I moved, to give myself a bit of buffer time to figure things out and find a new doctor in Japan. The paperwork can be done over email and they email you back a signed or stamped form of some sort, if I recall the turnaround time was less than a week. I did this before I moved so I’m not sure about the procedure once you’ve already moved, but I think it applies to having medications mailed to you in Japan as well. (They didn’t actually check my yakkan shoumei or my luggage when I arrived by the way, but there’s always the chance that they might.)
The rule for cosmetics is 24 of any one type of thing. I have a lot of nail polishes and I put 24 in boxes for my Yamato moving shipment (by boat), and I brought 24 in my luggage that I brought with me. I did have to get rid of a bunch 🙁 Nail polish can’t be shipped by regular airmail because it’s flammable, and I assume it’s similar for things like perfume. Checked luggage or boat shipment is ok. Other non-flammable cosmetics are probably ok to receive by airmail as long as it’s not more than 24 of anything.
Good luck with everything, hope you can sort it out!
If you need a lot. Declare them and pay the tax if not strictly prohibited items.
This is all clearly documented online on Japanese government sites. Don’t rely on some weird relocation guide that isn’t monitored by the government. It’s not difficult to understand, and you’re obviously working yourself up based on the way you typed.
As a student, it is highly unlikely you’ll be bringing sun rare and valuable items that you absolutely must ship them. If you were moving as a married couple or family from a home with your own furnishings? Sure. But a student? You’ll need clothes, some personal items, a laptop and…what else? Muji and Daiso have great dishware — and it’s not like you need more than one or two of each item (ie: large bowl, small bowl, small plate, large plate) and two sets of silverware/chopsticks. You can get furniture used for cheap, and you will probably be living somewhere small anyway — so no point in bringing anything since you have no idea if it’ll fit in your housing.
The perfume thing is if you’re suspected of bringing in things for sale/import. If your bottles are not sealed in boxes (ie: used) or you’re not bringing in an unreasonable amount of new products, it’s considered for personal use and will be fine. When I go to the U.S., I always go to Sephora to pick up my usual products that I cannot purchase here or that are too expensive to buy here. I’ve never had any issue bringing those sealed cosmetics in my suitcase, but I’m never bringing more than two or three of the same item at a time.
Don’t ship perfume, though. Too much risk of it breaking in transit. Bring it in your suitcase or just leave it at home.
If you’re bringing in more than a month of prescription medication, you need to apply for import permission with customs. It used to be called a yakkan shoumei, but now it’s called something else. It’s not difficult and for birth control, you’ll have no issue getting it approved.
March 28 isn’t that long ago. I wouldn’t start freaking out until more than two weeks pass. Shipping is backed up. I had an envelope with documents sitting in customs for a week last month.