I’m a huge nerd and plan to do a lot of otaku shopping while I’m down there. Am I crazy to think I could just buy huge check-in luggage in Japan and take it back on the plane with me is the cheapest, and most efficient way?
Often cheaper to add an extra bag to your booking before you leave for Japan.
That’s what I always do. Cheap luggage from Don Quixote and I’m on my way
Buying a large bag to check filled with all your treasures coming back is pretty common. I’ve done it twice.
That’s exactly what I do! I just buy a cheap suitcase over there or pack an extra duffel bag to use as a carry on and fill it with all the stuff I buy
Yes, this is the cheapest way to do it. I have a 3 piece hard luggage set. I carry on the smallest one.
I put my clothes in the medium one (I don’t fill it up) and put that in the large one. So basically, the medium is half empty. The large one is fully empty. Room for all the shopping in Japan. I have previously checked in a 3rd bag.
I send all my luggage from the hotel to the airport using takyubin.
My mom travels to visit us often in Japan and brings us goodies, but very little home so kinda the opposite of you but buy two suitcases in the US. Get one that is close to the largest to be able to be checked. The other one just small enough to fit inside the larger one. Then pack all your stuff to take in the smaller one, then larger one can be used to bring back stuff.
You can even go one step further if your stuff to bring can fir in a carryon size. The put that inside the second suitcase.
I would carry stuff myself over shipping. For same weight, it can be cheaper to bring yourself and if you ship, you will likely have to pay custom/tax when you receive as now you have to declare electronically the content of what you ship and it seems much easier to get taxed by custom.
So to bring stuff.
First, check you luggage allowance. You should have 1 carry on, 1 personal item, 1 or 2 checked luggage.
Second, decide on what to bring. Some people would bring their total allowance of checked luggage with them and just bring empty luggage. That can be a pain if you want to move to different cities. Think of alternatives too. For example, if you have 2 checked luggage allowance, you can bring 1 big luggage and a soft bag you can use to put all you clothes and non fragile items and use that bas as your second checked bag. Carry on could be a cardboard box you purchased at the post office for 220 yen. And your personal item can be a backpack or even a shopping bag (this one will have to stay at your feet). Some people simply decide to buy a new luggage while in Japan too.
Third, consider cost for adding an extra luggage to your allowance (at least check your airline policy).
Fourth, when you pack your luggage, bring only the essential, bring a minimum amount of clothes, do your laundry, etc.
Finally, remember what to check what is your personal allowance. All country have a limit on how much you can buy abroad. If you go over the allowance, you are subject to pay custom/tax on arrival. So when you are asked to declare the value of what you purchased, you should not lie and be ready to pay (saw a tv show where a guy went to an Asian country, declared 0, then when the agent started diffing, they found a lot of stuff he bought during his trip, they even searched the item online to see the price, guy had to pay the same fee he would have had to pay + a fine).
A way I’ve done it is to mail myself a box of things via the post office. It works out for me as I tend to by many plush animal toys while in Japan and use them as padding.
As others have said, a second bag for the trip home is a way to go.
I bought a second check in suitcase at donki and filled it all with souvenirs to bring back, pretty standard stuff
We packed a foldable but large duffle bag. At the end of the trip we filled it with our dirty clothes and shoes and packed our carry-on and hard-sided checked bag with our treasures. Our hard-sided was full of sake and whisky 🙂
Cheap luggage in Japan is still like $50.
I just got back a week ago and what I did was buy a 130L duffel bag from Don Quixote and put all my shoes and non fragile clothes in there, then used the luggage I brought for more delicate stuff. Highly recommend and it was like $15 if I remember correctly
We packed two sets of a bag in a bag on the way there just because we have nice hard pack bags that I wanted to bring to protect things. Then I had two extra duffle bags that I used as a carry on/personal item that I put extra things in that weren’t fragile (candies, clothes, etc). You could also buy the luggage there if need be. We flew Delta and got 1 personal item, 1 carry on, and 2 checked bags (extra bags past those 2 were really expensive though).
Are you an American nerd?
Come with two empty suitcases leave with two full ones.
Depending on where you are situated in japan you .ay have the option to ship stuff home via japan post or sagawa. If you are looking to ship stuff via boat it’s actually quite cheap. If you ship by air then it maybe a bit more expensive 🤔. I live in Canada so shipping stuff back you can potentially get charge with a customs( import fees), for sending goodies home. Shipping a medium -large box is around $35-40. Around 12kg if sending it via boat. ( it may take 3-5 weeks)
I’d recommend sending your personal belongs home if possible. E.g your clothing, shoes, jacket etc. Then using the space to store items you buy like figures, models or plushies.
This way you are less likely to pay customs ( just declare your clothing under $100) and typically you won’t get pulled over and charge additional fees at the airport so long as you total haul isn’t exceeding 5k or something . If you were to ship stuff home like candies, models and figures you maybe subject to import duties which is usually 10% of the cost of the product (excluding alcohol and tabbaco)
Shipping method is useful cause you won’t have to drag your stuff around the busy and crowded stations of japan especially if you are in transit to destinations at peak hours.
Happy shopping and good luck 👍 😊
It’s not too hard to find check in sized luggage, I recommend Don Quijote as well. My mom bought a medium and large sized suitcase there last trip since her bag broke at the end of the trip. Paid quite a bit for the extra bag, but it was worth it!
You can also see how much shipping is, we’ve been able to send parcels home for a reasonable price.
Empty duffle bag in suitcase + staying in hotels with laundry machine means you can come to Japan with a relatively empty suitcase.
Everyone says DonQ, but if you are in Tokyo you could also try [Ginza Karen](https://maps.app.goo.gl/676DN1YoGeKDWuc77). Is a small store and I had to wait a few minutes to get in because it was full, but they have a good selection.
It was mentioned here before a few times and it was worth it. I later went to DonQ and found the exact same one I bought and it was $20 / ¥3000 more.
Shout-out to the owner too, I heard him speaking chinese, english and Portuguese so the guy is a pro salesman.
Hello OP, do you have any “must buys”?
Bring an empty carry on. Stuff it in your luggage. Unfold when you’re back
Very inexpensive luggage that’s good quality
Ginza Life 銀座ライフ 浅草店
1 Chome-33-1 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032, Japan
If you have a carry-on sized luggage and a medium or larger luggage, try putting your belongings in the carry-on and then your carry-on into the larger one. I plan to do all of my shopping on the last few days, so I’ll be separating my two pieces at the end of my trip.
This method saves the extra $40-$80 you’d be spending on cheap luggage that might not last you very long (or at the very least might not be ideal compared to one you have back home, especially if you’re a frequent traveler).
I flew economy in January and United allowed me to have two checked in luggage with no extra fees. I usually go there with almost empty suitcases and come back with packed ones. Because I go to Japan so frequently, I have my own large suitcases (hard side). Just need to be careful each suitcase does not exceed 50 pounds or 23 kilograms.
You might also want to bring a hand-held luggage scale if you’re looking to buy a lot. They’re pretty cheap, and no one wants to be that person scrambling in front of baggage check trying to cram things into different bags to try to distribute the weight.
I think it’s worth just shipping it back. We bought like $800 worth of figures, spent a little under $200 and used their postal service. It took less than a week to arrive, it got to our house before us lol.
You don’t gotta deal with the hassle of carrying a luggage. And after spending money on the luggage, and paying the airline for carrying, might as well spend a little extra and not deal with it.
25 comments
Often cheaper to add an extra bag to your booking before you leave for Japan.
That’s what I always do. Cheap luggage from Don Quixote and I’m on my way
Buying a large bag to check filled with all your treasures coming back is pretty common. I’ve done it twice.
That’s exactly what I do! I just buy a cheap suitcase over there or pack an extra duffel bag to use as a carry on and fill it with all the stuff I buy
Yes, this is the cheapest way to do it. I have a 3 piece hard luggage set. I carry on the smallest one.
I put my clothes in the medium one (I don’t fill it up) and put that in the large one. So basically, the medium is half empty. The large one is fully empty. Room for all the shopping in Japan. I have previously checked in a 3rd bag.
I send all my luggage from the hotel to the airport using takyubin.
My mom travels to visit us often in Japan and brings us goodies, but very little home so kinda the opposite of you but buy two suitcases in the US. Get one that is close to the largest to be able to be checked. The other one just small enough to fit inside the larger one. Then pack all your stuff to take in the smaller one, then larger one can be used to bring back stuff.
You can even go one step further if your stuff to bring can fir in a carryon size. The put that inside the second suitcase.
I would carry stuff myself over shipping. For same weight, it can be cheaper to bring yourself and if you ship, you will likely have to pay custom/tax when you receive as now you have to declare electronically the content of what you ship and it seems much easier to get taxed by custom.
So to bring stuff.
First, check you luggage allowance. You should have 1 carry on, 1 personal item, 1 or 2 checked luggage.
Second, decide on what to bring. Some people would bring their total allowance of checked luggage with them and just bring empty luggage. That can be a pain if you want to move to different cities. Think of alternatives too. For example, if you have 2 checked luggage allowance, you can bring 1 big luggage and a soft bag you can use to put all you clothes and non fragile items and use that bas as your second checked bag. Carry on could be a cardboard box you purchased at the post office for 220 yen. And your personal item can be a backpack or even a shopping bag (this one will have to stay at your feet). Some people simply decide to buy a new luggage while in Japan too.
Third, consider cost for adding an extra luggage to your allowance (at least check your airline policy).
Fourth, when you pack your luggage, bring only the essential, bring a minimum amount of clothes, do your laundry, etc.
Finally, remember what to check what is your personal allowance. All country have a limit on how much you can buy abroad. If you go over the allowance, you are subject to pay custom/tax on arrival. So when you are asked to declare the value of what you purchased, you should not lie and be ready to pay (saw a tv show where a guy went to an Asian country, declared 0, then when the agent started diffing, they found a lot of stuff he bought during his trip, they even searched the item online to see the price, guy had to pay the same fee he would have had to pay + a fine).
A way I’ve done it is to mail myself a box of things via the post office. It works out for me as I tend to by many plush animal toys while in Japan and use them as padding.
As others have said, a second bag for the trip home is a way to go.
I bought a second check in suitcase at donki and filled it all with souvenirs to bring back, pretty standard stuff
We packed a foldable but large duffle bag. At the end of the trip we filled it with our dirty clothes and shoes and packed our carry-on and hard-sided checked bag with our treasures.
Our hard-sided was full of sake and whisky 🙂
Cheap luggage in Japan is still like $50.
I just got back a week ago and what I did was buy a 130L duffel bag from Don Quixote and put all my shoes and non fragile clothes in there, then used the luggage I brought for more delicate stuff. Highly recommend and it was like $15 if I remember correctly
We packed two sets of a bag in a bag on the way there just because we have nice hard pack bags that I wanted to bring to protect things. Then I had two extra duffle bags that I used as a carry on/personal item that I put extra things in that weren’t fragile (candies, clothes, etc). You could also buy the luggage there if need be. We flew Delta and got 1 personal item, 1 carry on, and 2 checked bags (extra bags past those 2 were really expensive though).
Are you an American nerd?
Come with two empty suitcases leave with two full ones.
Depending on where you are situated in japan you .ay have the option to ship stuff home via japan post or sagawa. If you are looking to ship stuff via boat it’s actually quite cheap. If you ship by air then it maybe a bit more expensive 🤔. I live in Canada so shipping stuff back you can potentially get charge with a customs( import fees), for sending goodies home.
Shipping a medium -large box is around $35-40. Around 12kg if sending it via boat. ( it may take 3-5 weeks)
I’d recommend sending your personal belongs home if possible. E.g your clothing, shoes, jacket etc. Then using the space to store items you buy like figures, models or plushies.
This way you are less likely to pay customs ( just declare your clothing under $100) and typically you won’t get pulled over and charge additional fees at the airport so long as you total haul isn’t exceeding 5k or something . If you were to ship stuff home like candies, models and figures you maybe subject to import duties which is usually 10% of the cost of the product (excluding alcohol and tabbaco)
Shipping method is useful cause you won’t have to drag your stuff around the busy and crowded stations of japan especially if you are in transit to destinations at peak hours.
Happy shopping and good luck 👍 😊
It’s not too hard to find check in sized luggage, I recommend Don Quijote as well. My mom bought a medium and large sized suitcase there last trip since her bag broke at the end of the trip. Paid quite a bit for the extra bag, but it was worth it!
You can also see how much shipping is, we’ve been able to send parcels home for a reasonable price.
Empty duffle bag in suitcase + staying in hotels with laundry machine means you can come to Japan with a relatively empty suitcase.
Everyone says DonQ, but if you are in Tokyo you could also try [Ginza Karen](https://maps.app.goo.gl/676DN1YoGeKDWuc77). Is a small store and I had to wait a few minutes to get in because it was full, but they have a good selection.
It was mentioned here before a few times and it was worth it. I later went to DonQ and found the exact same one I bought and it was $20 / ¥3000 more.
Shout-out to the owner too, I heard him speaking chinese, english and Portuguese so the guy is a pro salesman.
Hello OP, do you have any “must buys”?
Bring an empty carry on. Stuff it in your luggage. Unfold when you’re back
Very inexpensive luggage that’s good quality
Ginza Life 銀座ライフ 浅草店
1 Chome-33-1 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032, Japan
If you have a carry-on sized luggage and a medium or larger luggage, try putting your belongings in the carry-on and then your carry-on into the larger one. I plan to do all of my shopping on the last few days, so I’ll be separating my two pieces at the end of my trip.
This method saves the extra $40-$80 you’d be spending on cheap luggage that might not last you very long (or at the very least might not be ideal compared to one you have back home, especially if you’re a frequent traveler).
I flew economy in January and United allowed me to have two checked in luggage with no extra fees. I usually go there with almost empty suitcases and come back with packed ones. Because I go to Japan so frequently, I have my own large suitcases (hard side). Just need to be careful each suitcase does not exceed 50 pounds or 23 kilograms.
You might also want to bring a hand-held luggage scale if you’re looking to buy a lot. They’re pretty cheap, and no one wants to be that person scrambling in front of baggage check trying to cram things into different bags to try to distribute the weight.
I think it’s worth just shipping it back. We bought like $800 worth of figures, spent a little under $200 and used their postal service. It took less than a week to arrive, it got to our house before us lol.
You don’t gotta deal with the hassle of carrying a luggage. And after spending money on the luggage, and paying the airline for carrying, might as well spend a little extra and not deal with it.