You are in Japan and want to mail out a few postcards that you purchased?
That’s no problem. Just ask your front desk of your hotel that you want to purchase some stamps and place it on your postcard and mail it out. Ask your hotel front desk if they can mail it out to you, but sometimes they will tell you that the post box is right near the hotel.
You can also purchase stamps from a local post office.
Typically next to a hotel is a postbox and on the left side is where you would send letters and postcards and on the right side, is where you can send out bigger mail and small packages.
But if you are sending it in Japan, you use the left slot. If you are sending it internationally, then you will use the right slot. The right side is for nonstandard-size, express, electronic or international mail.
There is also an indicator in English on the top of the postal box, in case you get confused.
And no matter how far you go, the post office boxes will always look the same or very similar.
So, what about your pocket-wifi that came with a self-address, postage paid envelope?
On your final day in Japan, you can easily mail your wi-fi back by placing it in the post box via the second slot on the right.
It’s that easy! But let’s say that you want to hold on to your pocket mi-fi until you get to the airport.
That’s perfectly fine because at the airport is a post office but also you will find these red post boxes at the airport as well. Can you spot it in this photo below? It’s red and you can see it on the left side of the wall.
I personally have decided to send it out via the postbox right before I check out of my hotel, because it’s one last thing I need to worry about.
In Tokyo, if you are on the NEX (Narita Express) going to Narita Airport (in Chiba Prefecture), the NEX has free wifi. Otherwise, the ride from your bus to Narita Airport is not long, so by the time you arrive at the airport, you can get Wifi at the airport as well.
But what about mailing out big packages? It happens. You buy a lot of things and you don’t want to get dinged by your airline or it’s to heavy to lug around, especially if you have luggage to move around.
In this case, prepare to send it via the post office. Have your package ready, take the taxi to drive you there. But before you do that, definitely visit the Japan Post website (in English) on how to send out packages because there are size restrictions and also the charges that come with mailing out of the country.
Please note that there are also U.S. customs regulations about what you are permitted to send to the USA. Also, the maximum value per package (or gift recipient) without paying extra duty (paid in the U.S., not at the post office in Japan). Custom declaration forms are here.
Mailing out letters, postcards or returning your wifi is not difficult. But mailing out packages, expect to pay quite a bit. Of course, Kokubin (via plane) is faster but more expensive and you have the following choices:
EMS (Express Mail Service), or Airmail SAL (Economy Air).
EMS Service priority mail, where delivery is between two and four days worldwide.
Airmail: 3 to 6 days to receive a package, but the price remains high.
SAL: Local air mail delivery takes between 6 and 13 days and is the cheaper of the four.
While funabin (via boat a.k.a. surface mail) is slower (I’m talking about a month or two slower) but cheaper.
Overnight is expensive! How expensive? I would get shipments from Japanese entertainment companies who sent a big package overnight. I looked at one package which was sent via Fed Ex and was surprised that it was almost a thousand dollars… YIKES!
But just know that if you send out a big package, expect to pay. Otherwise, if you are going to Japan and expect to pay quite a bit, what I do is I have my two 24″ luggage, one is full, the other is not as full. I try to put as much as I can in both and I have my digital scale to make sure it’s within my airlines pound limit. I go into this in detail here.
And if I feel I am going to go over, I put it in my carry-on (backpack or in my computer bag). But that digital scale is a life-saver and I do recommend on getting one.
This is where planning on what you bring to Japan, you’ll need to be careful not to overpack. But if you’re good on paying for the extra luggage fee (which can be very expensive), then go for it.
But don’t be to deterred, it’s not difficult. Just read the Japan Post website (which is in English) and then learn from google maps of how far your post office is from your hotel and plan accordingly. Granted, some people have friends who they pay to mail their packages for them, but it’s always good to prepare.
