About international shipping

How it ships, what it costs, what can't go.

Seven things worth knowing before you ask me for a quote. Every figure here is Japan Post's own published number.

1 · Shipping method

Under 2kg goes by Air Packet. Over that, EMS.

Both are Japan Post, both are tracked. Anything over 2kg, anything urgent, and anything you want properly insured goes EMS. For heavy or bulky parcels, FedEx, DHL or UPS can come out cheaper — I compare them when I quote.

• Air Packet has no compensation. If it's lost or broken, there is nothing to claim. For anything expensive or irreplaceable, I'd use EMS.
• You get the tracking number the day it leaves. It works on Japan Post's site and on your own country's postal site.
• Air only. Surface mail takes two to three months and is hard to trace, so I don't use it.
• Couriers are stricter than the post office about food, cosmetics, alcohol and liquids. If that's what you're sending, post is the safer route.
• You can also just tell me which one you want. Say so and that's what I'll use.

2 · What it costs

Japan Post's published rates, unchanged.

I weigh the parcel and charge what Japan Post's table says. The table below is EMS; under 2kg by Air Packet it comes out lower still.

For other countries, see Japan Post's own rate table →

• Customs duties and import taxes are on top of this. You pay those to the carrier on delivery.
• Not in one of these three countries? That's fine — I'll look it up when I quote you.
• Large boxes are charged on volumetric weight instead: length × width × height in cm, divided by 5000. Whichever is greater is what you pay. Anything light and bulky — figure boxes, for instance — is nearly always priced this way.
• Packing is a flat ¥500 per parcel — the same whether it's fragile, bulky or neither.
• The shipping figure isn't fixed until the parcel is on the scales. Anything I tell you at quote time is an estimate.

3 · Size and weight limits

EMS takes 30kg. Air Packet takes 2kg.

• These are the general limits. Some countries cap it lower. I check your country's actual limit when I quote.
• If it goes over, I split it into two or more parcels. Each is charged separately and gets its own tracking number.
• Girth is the distance around the parcel, measured at right angles to its longest side. Long thin things can fail this even when they weigh nothing.

4 · What can't be sent

Some by law, some by my own choice.

Dangerous goods can't go by air with anyone. Beyond that, there are things I've decided not to handle.

See the full list →

• Lithium batteries, paint and spray cans, alcohol and anything pressurised cannot fly. Power banks and e-cigarettes are the same.
• Knives are allowed into some countries and refused by others. If you want Japanese kitchen knives, I check your country's rules before buying.
• Cosmetics, supplements and food are regulated differently in each country. Something can leave Japan and still be stopped on arrival.

5 · Customs and import tax

Yours to pay.

Duty, import tax and clearance fees are paid by you, to the courier or to customs, when the parcel arrives.

• I declare what you actually paid. I won't write a lower figure, and I won't mark it as a gift. Understating a declaration to reduce duty is smuggling — it risks the parcel being seized and penalties landing on you, not me.
• The threshold below which nothing is charged differs by country. I look yours up when I quote.
• In some countries every parcel presented to customs carries a clearance fee, charged to the recipient on top of any duty.

6 · When it goes out

Within two working days of your second payment.

• I do buying runs twice a week, so depending on when you ask, the purchase itself may wait a few days.
• Pre-orders sit until the maker's release date, and release dates slip.
• Everything in Japan slows down over New Year and Golden Week. Allow extra time if you're ordering then.

7 · If something goes wrong

EMS is covered, and I handle the claim.

If a parcel is lost, damaged or arrives short, Japan Post pays the actual loss. The claim is filed by the sender, which is me. All you have to do is tell me what happened and, if it's damaged, send photographs.

• If the goods come to more than ¥20,000 I buy the extra cover at cost — ¥50 per ¥20,000 — and show it in your quote.
• Being slow isn't covered. EMS doesn't guarantee a delivery date, and that includes time spent sitting in customs.
• If it arrives damaged, keep the item and the packaging and take them to your local post office. Japan Post's investigation starts from there.

Request a quote