Suitcase broken, lost or too small in Japan? Where to get a new one today and what to do

If you're near a big airport, start there: the terminals have shops dedicated to travel goods. At Narita, TRAVEL SHOP MILESTO is on the 4th floor of the Terminal 1 Central Building, before security, open 08:00–20:00. Its listing names brands including MILESTO and ACE and shows a cabin-size hard carry case at 33,000 JPY, while noting that prices may have changed. Stylish Travel on the same floor focuses on smaller travel goods, such as pouches and stickers.

At Haneda, Travel Pro-Shop TOKO on the 4th floor of Terminal 3 (EDO KOJI, before security, 08:00–22:00) describes itself as a specialist in overseas travel goods with a wide range of suitcases, and is listed as a tax-free store. Downstairs in the Terminal 3 arrivals lobby (2nd floor, before security), toko plus SKY MARKET lists suitcases and bags alongside drinks, food and everyday items; its opening hours are split into several blocks across the day and night.

Away from the airport, MUJI sells hard carry cases: its online store lists a 36-litre case with a dial TSA lock and wheels you can lock in place for 22,900 yen. The product page lets you check stock at individual stores and offers free delivery to a MUJI store for collection (not to a convenience store), which helps if your nearest branch doesn't have the size you want. For other shops, ask your hotel or ryokan front desk what's nearby.

If your suitcase comes off the belt damaged, report it to the airline at the airport before you leave. JAL's international page explains that accepting your bag without complaint is presumed to mean it arrived in good condition. If you only notice the damage later, JAL asks you to report it to the arrival airport within 7 days of receiving the bag and won't accept claims made 8 or more days afterwards; for JAL-operated international flights there is also an online damaged baggage form. ANA likewise asks for damage to be reported to its staff immediately, and for its Japan domestic flights sets the deadline at within seven days of arrival, with a written Damaged Baggage Declaration Form. On codeshare flights, contact the airline that operated the flight.

Both airlines say that eligible damage is, as a rule, repaired, though they may offer something else depending on the damage and the time a repair would take. Don't count on compensation for everything: JAL's domestic page excludes lost protruding parts such as casters, straps, hooks, name tags and covers, and minor scratches, dents and dirt from normal handling, and ANA lists similar exclusions, including worn wheels. JAL may ask for proof of the bag's purchase date and price, so keep any receipt you have.

If the bag doesn't arrive at all, go to the airline's baggage service desk at the arrival airport. On ANA international flights you can also report a delayed bag through its online self-service portal; the deadline is 21 days from the day after you arrive, and you'll need your reference number and family name to track it. Both airlines deliver the bag to you once it's found, and may ask you to describe the contents in detail. If it's never found, JAL and ANA say compensation follows their conditions of carriage after about 30 to 45 days on international flights; on JAL domestic flights it's after about 10 days. Give the desk the address of the hotel or ryokan where you'll be when the bag is likely to turn up.

Narita Airport lists two repair services before security. Riat! in the Terminal 1 Central Building (B1F, 08:00–20:00) offers opening locked suitcases, lubricating suitcase casters, bag repairs and cleaning, shoe repairs and key cutting, including suitcase keys. In Terminal 2 (Main Building, 3F, 06:30–22:00), the Narita International Airport Promotion Foundation offers lock opening and key duplication; its baggage-wrapping counter lists the same lock opening and caster lubrication. The airport's listings don't say which repairs can be done while you wait, so phone or ask at the counter.

If the airline damaged the bag, report it to the airline first (see above) rather than paying for a repair yourself, because both JAL and ANA say eligible damage is normally repaired. If your suitcase came with a manufacturer's warranty, check whether it covers transport damage before you choose a repair shop.

To get through the rest of the trip, a luggage strap can hold a case shut when a zip or catch fails, and a replacement dial TSA lock can stand in for a broken or lost key. Replacement casters exist, but they only fit certain models, so check before you order.

Instead of buying a bigger case, you can split your things and send one bag ahead. Yamato Transport's hands-free travel service needs no reservation: you drop luggage at an airport counter, a city sales office, a station counter or a hotel front desk, and pick it up at your next hotel, an airport or a sales office. Yamato says delivery is as early as the next day for luggage left at its sales offices by around 6:00 pm, and gives an example of one 160-size suitcase (length, width and height adding up to 160 cm or less) from Tokyo Station to a hotel in Kyoto from 3,160 JPY. Compensation covers market value or repair cost up to 300,000 JPY per piece under its terms.

Check with the inn before you send anything. Yamato's English FAQ says it can deliver to a hotel or ryokan if the accommodation is willing to accept the bag, sent before the cut-off at least 2 days before check-in; its Japanese FAQ adds that some inns limit when and where luggage can be received and may charge for storage if a bag arrives early. Bags over 30 kg aren't accepted, some convenience stores can't send 180-size items or larger, and a soft holdall (Boston bag) must have a cover. A suitcase doesn't need one, though it may get scratched or dirty. Moving between two hotels is possible where the front desk works with Yamato and can receive luggage.

Sagawa Express runs a similar hands-free service from counters at stations and airports, certified by the Japan Tourism Agency's Hands-Free Network. Its hotel delivery page lists same-day delivery rates of about 1,520 yen for bags up to 100 cm and 10 kg and about 2,440 yen for bags up to 160 cm and 30 kg (tax included); check its locations page for a counter near you.

If you can wait, Amazon.co.jp and Rakuten have a far wider choice of suitcases than any single shop. Size matters for where you can collect it, though. Rakuten Ichiba's konbini pickup doesn't take parcels over 100 cm (length, width and height combined) or 10 kg, so a boxed suitcase larger than that can't be collected at a FamilyMart, Lawson or MiniStop. Amazon.co.jp says some items can't go to pickup points because of their type, size or weight, and shows an error if you choose one. Collection at a Yamato Transport centre needs your tracking number and ID, such as a passport, and the parcel is kept for 7 days.

The simplest option for a big box is usually delivery to the inn itself, but only after the ryokan has agreed to accept it. Yamato asks for parcels to a hotel or ryokan to be sent at least 2 days before check-in, so order early enough.

Before you buy a bigger case, think about the train. On the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen, JR Central says bags of up to 160 cm in total can go at your feet, on the overhead rack or in the luggage area on the deck without a reservation. Bags of 161–250 cm need a reserved seat with an oversized baggage area (the seat costs no more), anything over 250 cm can't be taken on board, and travelling with oversized baggage without a reservation costs a 1,000-yen fee. Yamato also notes that some Shinkansen lines require you to reserve a luggage area for larger suitcases.

The front desk is your best help. Yamato's FAQ says that when you leave an inn you can ask reception to send your luggage; if the inn can't, or it's too late for same-day dispatch, take it to a nearby Yamato sales office or agent. Some inns in our directory build this in: at Yuwaku Hyakurakuso in Kanazawa you can send your luggage to Kanazawa Station when you check out and sightsee hands-free, and Yamamizuki in Kurokawa Onsen will hold your luggage after checkout so you can walk around and collect it later at the shuttle point.

At remote inns, a broken or oversized suitcase is harder to deal with, because there may be nowhere nearby to buy a replacement. Yuwaku Hyakurakuso has no convenience store nearby. At Yachi Onsen in the Towada area, the free shuttle is limited to one suitcase per person and the nearest convenience store is about 35 minutes away by car. At Magoroku Onsen Rokuan in Nyuto Onsen, book the luggage service: in winter, staff carry bags from the parking area about 800 m away on a snowy road. At Lamp no Yado Aoni Onsen, it's a steep walk down from the car park with luggage, and in winter you can only arrive on the reservation-only shuttle.

If your case is damaged or too big for a trip like this, a backpack or a soft bag with a shoulder strap is easier on paths and stairs, and you can send the suitcase on to a later, city stop. Tell the inn in advance if you plan to send a bag there.

Pack fragile and valuable things in your carry-on. JAL asks passengers to pack items such as electronic devices, pottery, glass and bottled alcohol properly and to carry electronic devices in the cabin whenever possible, and for its Japan domestic flights ANA lists cameras, computers, glassware and liquor bottles among items whose damage it may not compensate.

Before you check in, photograph your suitcase and keep its receipt if you have one, since JAL may ask for the purchase date and price. A sturdy strap helps keep an overfull case closed, but remember that JAL's domestic page excludes lost straps, casters, name tags and covers from compensation, so don't hang anything valuable on the outside.

Narita Airport also has baggage-wrapping counters, which wrap checked bags to help prevent damage and theft: wRapper RAPI in the Terminal 1 South Wing (07:30–21:00) and Central Building (08:00–19:00), both on the 4th floor, and the Promotion Foundation counter in Terminal 2 (3F, 06:30–22:00, last reception 21:30). There's no wrapping service in Terminal 3; use Terminal 2.