Shopping in Japan: deliver to your ryokan, collect at a konbini, send bags ahead

Rakuten is the clearer of the two. Its help centre says cards issued outside Japan are accepted as long as they carry a Visa, JCB, Mastercard, Diners Club or American Express logo, and debit cards with those logos work the same way. Two caveats: individual shops may not take every card (each shop's company-information page says which), and if a card is declined, neither the shop nor Rakuten can investigate why — you have to ask your card issuer. Rakuten also lists konbini payment (7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson and others), PayPal, Apple Pay, bank transfer and deferred payment, though what you see at checkout depends on the shop and the item.

Amazon.co.jp's card page lists Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diners Club, JCB and UnionPay (credit cards only). It doesn't distinguish between Japanese and foreign-issued cards, and it places a ¥1 authorisation on the card when you order to check that it's valid. You can combine one card with an Amazon gift card, but not split a payment across two cards. If your card is refused, Amazon's konbini payment works at 7-Eleven, Lawson, Ministop, FamilyMart, Daily Yamazaki and Seicomart — Amazon says these prepayment methods can be used only in Japan — but it isn't offered for express (お急ぎ便) or date-and-time deliveries, for some items sold and shipped by Marketplace sellers, or for orders of ¥300,001 or more.

Don't plan on paying cash at the door. Amazon stopped offering cash on delivery to buyers on 6 June 2024, according to its notice to sellers. Rakuten's konbini, post-office and locker pickup services all exclude cash on delivery (代引), deferred payment and collect-on-delivery, and Yamato says a parcel sent to an accommodation can't be cash on delivery unless it's addressed to someone who works there. Pay when you order.

Ask the inn before you order. Yamato's FAQ says it delivers to a hotel or ryokan if the inn is willing to accept the parcel, that some inns don't accept them at all, and that some restrict where and when you can collect them. Sagawa says it can't deliver to lodgings with no staffed reception, such as private rentals. A short email in English is usually enough: give the name on your booking and your check-in date, say what's coming, from which shop and roughly how big it is, and ask whether they'll hold it until you arrive.

Address it so the front desk can match it to you. Yamato's English waybill guide for accommodation asks for the inn's postal code and address, the inn's name followed by "c/o" and the guest's name, the guest's phone number and name, and the reservation date. Amazon and Rakuten checkouts have no check-in-date box, so we suggest putting the inn's name and "c/o" your name in the address lines, adding your check-in date there too, and spelling your name exactly as it appears on the reservation.

Time it to arrive the day before, not a week before. Yamato asks for parcels to reach an accommodation by the day before your stay, says delivery times can't be specified for these deliveries, and warns that a parcel arriving earlier than planned may incur a storage fee at some inns — check with the inn yourself. When you're sending your own bag, it says to ship at least two days before check-in, before the counter's cut-off time, and three days for longer distances. On arrival you collect it at reception.

If the inn can't take parcels, or you'd rather not trouble the staff, have it sent to a pickup point on your route. Amazon.co.jp's pickup points are Amazon Lockers and Counters, Lawson, FamilyMart, Ministop, Yamato Transport offices and PUDO lockers, for items shipped by Amazon itself; some items are excluded by type, size or weight, and the checkout shows an error if so. Choose the store with the pickup-point search at checkout — Amazon warns that typing a store's address by hand generates no pickup code, so the store can't hand the parcel over. Enter your full name as it appears on your ID: Yamato offices ask for ID matching the order name, and a konbini may ask for ID too. Date-and-time delivery isn't available to pickup points.

Pickup windows are short. Amazon gives Lawson, Ministop and FamilyMart counters four days from delivery; Amazon Lockers, FamilyMart's FamiLockers and PUDO lockers three days; Amazon Counters and Yamato offices seven. Miss the window and the parcel is returned and the order cancelled, with a full refund if you'd already paid. Once a parcel has shipped to a konbini it can't be redirected, it's handed over in its cardboard box with no carrier bag, and returns aren't accepted in store. To collect, show the barcode from Amazon's email at the till (Lawson and FamilyMart), or key the tracking and authentication numbers into the in-store terminal (Loppi or the multi-copy machine) and take the slip to the counter.

Rakuten's konbini pickup covers Lawson, FamilyMart and Ministop, though which chains you can choose depends on the shop. It excludes parcels over 100 cm (length, width and height combined) or 10 kg, frozen or chilled goods, dangerous goods, date or time delivery and cash on delivery, and the parcel waits only two or three days after it reaches the store, depending on the chain and carrier. Rakuten's post-office pickup takes bigger parcels — up to 170 cm and 25 kg — and holds them seven days. Its locker option uses Japan Post's Hakopos lockers, limited to 100 cm with no side over 54 cm, and gives you three days including the day the email arrives. Rakuten can't reissue pickup codes, so keep that email.

Japan Post's own service for redirecting a Yu-Pack to a konbini requires a Yu ID account and a residence check confirmed by registered post, so as a visitor it's simpler to choose the pickup point when you order.

On a trip with several ryokan, luggage forwarding is the most useful service of all: ship the big case to your next stop or the airport and travel with a day bag. Yamato says you can send luggage from one hotel to another if the front desk handles Yamato parcels and the next inn can receive them — confirm both — and that it should arrive at least a day before your stay. If your inn can't arrange it, Yamato says you can take the bag to a convenience store such as 7-Eleven or FamilyMart, or to a Yamato office. Standard TA-Q-BIN takes parcels up to 200 cm (three sides combined) and 30 kg, though Yamato notes that some konbini can't accept size 180 and above.

For the airport, Yamato's Airport TA-Q-BIN delivers only to the airport you fly out of, not the one you land at. Send it by the cut-off two days before departure (three from some areas); you can set a flight date up to ten days ahead and collect the bag at the airport counter on the day, ideally between three hours and one hour before boarding. Bags over 30 kg aren't accepted, and an airport fee of ¥660 is added. To send from a hotel to Narita or Haneda, the hotel's front desk must work with Yamato and you must be flying out of that airport on the day you collect. Keep the requester's copy of the waybill: you exchange it for your bag.

Same-day delivery exists, but only in some places. Yamato's Hands-Free Travel service, promoted with the Japan Tourism Agency, sends bags from an airport or station to your hotel the same day from a limited number of counters, each with its own cut-off time and delivery area; its sample fees are ¥5,780 for a 160-size bag from Haneda Airport to Tokyo's 23 wards and ¥3,470 from Kyoto Station to a hotel in Kyoto city. Sagawa's Hands-Free service (62 counters as of September 2026) quotes ¥3,390 for a suitcase from Narita Airport to a hotel the same day, with drop-off by about 11:00 and delivery from 16:00, usually done by around 20:00 — but same-day delivery reaches only Tokyo's 23 wards and Urayasu, partner hotels in Kyoto city, and partner hotels in Matsuyama and Naha. Sagawa's same-day service to the airport runs only from its counters in Tokyo and Fukuoka. Hot-spring towns outside those areas aren't covered, so plan on standard delivery.

Japan Post's Yu-Pack takes parcels up to 170 cm and 25 kg, with heavier parcels up to 30 kg sent as heavy Yu-Pack. Dropping a parcel off yourself saves ¥120 per parcel; at a konbini or other agent that handles Yu-Pack you pay the fare in cash. Airport Yu-Pack delivers bags to designated airport counters.

Distance adds time. Yamato's FAQ says a parcel may need three days to reach an accommodation depending on distance, its airport service needs three days from some areas, and Japan Post says some locker locations add a day or more before you can collect. Same-day services cover cities, not mountain valleys. Order early, aim for arrival the day before check-in, and tell the inn a box is coming.

Konbini pickup only helps if there's a konbini on your way. Our report on Yachi Onsen, a lone inn in the southern Hakkōda mountains of Aomori, says the nearest convenience store is about 35 minutes away by car, and the inn's free shuttle — one run a day from Aomori, Shin-Aomori or Hachinohe depending on the season, booked at least seven days ahead — takes one suitcase per person. That's exactly the case for sending a second bag ahead to your next stop and collecting purchases in town before you board.

The last stretch matters too. Magoroku Onsen Rokuan, the innermost inn of the Nyūtō valley in Akita, can't be reached by car at all — only on foot along a 5–15 minute forest path — so ask before sending anything there. Our report says to book the inn's luggage service: in summer a shuttle meets the Kyūkamura bus stop at set times, while in winter staff carry bags from the year-round car park opposite Ōgama Onsen, about 800 m along a snowy road. It also warns that navigation apps can mislead, so call the inn for directions.

Few ryokan reports spell out luggage services, so treat this as a starting point and ask your own inn. Kanazawa Yuwaku Onsen Hyakurakuso, about 35 minutes by car or free shuttle from Kanazawa Station, is the clearest case: when you check out you can send your luggage to Kanazawa Station and go sightseeing hands-free. Book the shuttle by the day before, and note there's no convenience store nearby, so don't plan a konbini pickup there.

Yamamizuki, by a mountain stream about 2 km from the centre of Kurokawa Onsen, will hold your luggage after checkout so you can walk around the village, and in 2022 guests' bags went ahead to the inn while they explored. The village shuttle the inn ran ended in May 2022; it now picks up guests arriving by bus at the Kurokawa Onsen stop if you give your arrival time when booking, so ask how bags are handled today.

Two more inns hold bags on both sides of your stay. Honjin Hiranoya Kachoan, in the centre of Takayama, keeps luggage and cars before check-in and after check-out, so you can arrive in the morning and explore, and offers a free pickup from JR Takayama Station or the Nohi Bus Centre if you call ahead. Kusatsu Onsen Hotel Ichii, across the street from the Yubatake, also holds luggage before check-in and after checkout; check-in is 15:00–18:00 and check-out 10:00.

Perishables and anything chilled. Rakuten's konbini and locker pickups exclude frozen and chilled goods, Japan Post's konbini and locker pickups don't take chilled Yu-Pack, and Yamato's baggage storage won't keep refrigerated items. Don't assume an inn can refrigerate a delivery for you; ask first.

Large or heavy items. Rakuten's konbini pickup stops at 100 cm and 10 kg, lockers are smaller still, and Amazon excludes some items from pickup points by size or weight. A big box also has to travel on with you afterwards, by hand or by courier.

Deliveries before check-in without the inn's agreement. Yamato warns that a parcel arriving earlier than planned may incur a storage fee at some inns, and it delivers to an inn only if the inn is willing to accept it. Aim for the day before you arrive, with the inn's agreement in writing.

Last-minute plans. Pickup windows of two to four days, airport bags that must leave two or three days before your flight, and pickup codes that can't be reissued all punish a tight schedule. If you leave the next morning, carry it. And if an item might need returning, remember that Amazon doesn't accept returns at pickup stores — returns go through its online process.