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Luggage Forwarding in Japan (Takkyubin): Travel Hands-Free in 2026

Luggage Forwarding in Japan (Takkyubin): Travel Hands-Free in 2026

The single biggest obstacle between you and an easy trip through Japan is not the language, the trains, or the money. It is the suitcase. Stations have stairs, Shinkansen cars only hold so many oversized bags, and the gap between checking out of one hotel and into the next is usually several hours long. Japan solved this problem decades ago with a nationwide courier network that locals use without a second thought — and that visitors almost never touch, because none of the tools for pricing it exist in English. This guide fixes that.

The short answer.

  • If you want to move a suitcase by courier in Japan, send it the day before. Japan’s TA-Q-BIN (takkyubin) network is among the most accurate in the world, but standard TA-Q-BIN delivers the next day at the earliest. To have your bag waiting at the next hotel, hand it over the day before you check out.
  • It is wrong to say nothing can move on the same day in Japan. Same-day options genuinely exist. In Nagoya especially, Chubu Centrair International Airport runs an official same-day delivery service: drop your bag at Terminal 1 by 11:30 and it reaches hotels around Nagoya Station, Sakae and Nishiki that same day.
  • For a large suitcase, sending it is often cheaper and easier than hauling it onto the Shinkansen. One size-160 bag from Nagoya to Tokyo costs ¥3,020. No station stairs, no oversized-baggage seat reservation.
  • Every rate, counter location, opening hour and cut-off time below is taken only from primary sources: Yamato Transport official pages and Chubu Centrair International Airport official pages.
  • There is no English-language TA-Q-BIN fare calculator. That is exactly why this guide exists.

Last updated: July 2026 | Author: Yuu (Nagoya-born, 35-year resident)

This article may contain affiliate links. See our affiliate disclosure for details.


Table of Contents

  1. What Takkyubin (TA-Q-BIN) Is, and How Travelers Use It
  2. Next Day Is the Baseline: Understanding Delivery Times
  3. What It Actually Costs (The Rate Tables)
  4. Three Options When You Need Your Bags Moved Today
  5. How to Send: Step by Step
  6. Centrair (Chubu Centrair International Airport): The Field Guide
  7. Size, Weight, and What You Cannot Send
  8. The Other Choice: Store It Instead of Sending It
  9. Frequently Asked Questions
  10. About the Author
  11. Related Guides

What Takkyubin (TA-Q-BIN) Is, and How Travelers Use It

TA-Q-BIN (takkyubin) is Japan’s largest parcel courier service, operated by Yamato Transport. Look for the black cat logo — the company is universally known as Kuroneko Yamato, “the black cat”.

What matters most for a traveler is that this network is open to individuals as a matter of course. No account, no advance booking, no Japanese address required. Carry your bag to a counter and you can send it on the spot.

The Four Situations Travelers Actually Use It For

Situation What you do When it arrives
Hotel to the next hotel Send the big bags ahead to your next lodging and travel light Next day or later with standard TA-Q-BIN
Airport to hotel Hand your bag over at the airport you land at and collect it at your lodging Same day is possible depending on the airport and the service
Hotel to your departure airport Head to the airport empty-handed on your flight home (Airport TA-Q-BIN) Send it at least 2 days before departure
Shopping that no longer fits Forward souvenirs and purchases to your lodging or your departure airport Next day or later with standard TA-Q-BIN

What to Know Before You Use It

Sending to a hotel is officially allowed. Yamato Transport’s official FAQ answers “Can I send parcels to a hotel or ryokan?” with a yes. There are two conditions, though: some lodgings do not accept parcels, and you should send so that it arrives at the property by the day before your stay [Source]. The fact that the official recommendation is “arrive by the day before check-in” is itself the flip side of a harder truth: standard TA-Q-BIN cannot be used for a same-day move between hotels.

A suitcase can be sent as it is. The official FAQ states that a Boston bag needs a cover while a suitcase does not. It also states plainly that the surface may pick up scratches or dirt. Parcels over 30 kg cannot be handled [Source].

Japanese courier service starts from different assumptions than the one in your own country. Tracking, delivery time-slot selection and redelivery are all standard, and damage or loss is not an everyday occurrence. That is why Japanese travelers forward a suitcase without a second thought every time they travel. Even so, always keep cash, your passport and your medication with you (details in “Size, Weight, and What You Cannot Send”).


Next Day Is the Baseline: Understanding Delivery Times

This is the most important section in this guide.

Standard TA-Q-BIN Delivers the Next Day at the Earliest

Yamato Transport’s official FAQ puts it like this.

“Delivery takes either 1 day (delivered the day after you send it) or 2 days (delivered two days after you send it), depending on the destination.”
— Yamato Transport official FAQ, translated from the Japanese [Source]

In other words, “send it today, get it today” does not happen with standard TA-Q-BIN. Plan on the assumption that dropping a bag off as you leave your hotel in the morning will put it at your next lodging by evening, and your itinerary breaks.

The Practical Conclusion

What you want When to send
Collect your bag at the next hotel Send it the day before you check out
Have the bag waiting for you on check-in day Send so that it arrives by the day before your stay
Collect your bag at the airport on your flight home Send 2 days before departure (3 days in some areas)

About Cut-Off Times (Read These as Guidelines)

Whether a parcel is dispatched the same day depends on where you drop it off. The guideline figures Yamato Transport publishes are these.

Drop-off method Cut-off for same-day dispatch (guideline)
Parcel locker (PUDO) 15:00 that day
Online pickup request 16:00 that day
Yamato branch / convenience store / agent Varies from store to store

Sources: [Source] / [Source]

Making the same-day dispatch cut-off does not guarantee next-day arrival. Yamato states explicitly that next-day delivery is only possible where the quoted “scheduled delivery date” already falls on the day after dispatch. Longer runs such as Hokkaido, Okinawa and the outlying islands take two days or more.

The minute-by-minute cut-off differs at every store. For a traveler there is only one safe rule.

If you are handing your bag to a hotel front desk, do it between morning and midday. Drop it off in the evening and it may not be dispatched that day at all.

Tracking is built around Japanese-language tools. Yamato Transport does have an English site, with English pages for TA-Q-BIN, Airport TA-Q-BIN and Round Trip TA-Q-BIN [Source]. But it is framed as “Living in Japan” — written for residents — and the tools for looking up rates and scheduled delivery dates have no English version. To chase a parcel, the most reliable route is to show the tracking number to your hotel’s front desk and have them check. If you would rather look things up yourself, see our Japan pocket Wi-Fi and SIM guide.


What It Actually Costs (The Rate Tables)

A TA-Q-BIN rate is set by three things: the regional block you send from, the regional block you send to, and the size [Source].

There are 12 regional blocks: Hokkaido, North Tohoku, South Tohoku, Kanto, Shinetsu, Hokuriku, Chubu, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa. Three of them matter most to travelers.

  • Kanto = Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Yamanashi
  • Chubu = Aichi, Gifu, Mie, Shizuoka
  • Kansai = Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Shiga, Nara, Wakayama

Because pricing works at block level, “Tokyo to Osaka” and “Tokyo to Kobe” cost exactly the same.

Rates on Major Routes (Cash Payment, Before Discounts, Tax Included)

Size Nagoya → Tokyo Tokyo → Osaka Within the same prefecture
Size 100 ¥1,530 ¥1,650 ¥1,410
Size 120 ¥2,040 ¥2,170 ¥1,730
Size 140 ¥2,630 ¥2,780 ¥2,090
Size 160 (the usual bracket for a large suitcase) ¥3,020 ¥3,160 ¥2,410
Size 180 ¥3,680 ¥4,480 ¥3,030
Size 200 ¥4,470 ¥5,410 ¥3,690

Source: [Source] (Yamato Transport, “TA-Q-BIN rate table, nationwide list / payment in cash”)

These are all post-revision prices, effective October 1, 2025 [Source]. They will not match the figures in older blog posts.

The “same prefecture” rate is worth remembering. When origin and destination sit inside the same prefecture, the price drops (central Nagoya to Inuyama, for example). At size 160 that turns ¥3,020 into ¥2,410. One exception: parcels sent from Okinawa Prefecture are excluded [Source].

Sending From Nagoya (Size 160, Cash, Before Discounts)

What it costs to send one size-160 suitcase from Nagoya (Aichi Prefecture).

Destination Size 160
Within Aichi Prefecture (central Nagoya to Inuyama, Tokoname, Toyota and so on) ¥2,410
Within the Chubu block (Gifu, Takayama, Mie, Shizuoka) ¥3,020
Kanto (Tokyo, Yokohama, Kamakura) ¥3,020
Hokuriku (Kanazawa, Toyama) ¥3,020
Shinetsu ¥3,020
Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe) ¥3,020
Chugoku (Hiroshima, Okayama) ¥3,160
Shikoku ¥3,160
South Tohoku ¥3,160
North Tohoku ¥3,320
Kyushu (Fukuoka, Hakata) ¥3,320
Hokkaido (Sapporo) ¥3,820
Okinawa (Naha) ¥4,680

Source: [Source]

Nagoya sits in the middle of Japan. So at size 160 the price to Tokyo, to Osaka, to Kanazawa and to Takayama is the same ¥3,020. On an itinerary built around Central Japan, that flatness works in your favor.

The Bigger the Bag, the Sharper Distance Bites

Up to size 160 the gap between routes is small. At 180 and 200 it suddenly opens up.

Size Nagoya → Osaka Tokyo → Osaka Difference
Size 160 ¥3,020 ¥3,160 ¥140
Size 180 ¥3,680 ¥4,480 ¥800
Size 200 ¥4,470 ¥5,410 ¥940

Source: [Source]

If your parcel looks like it will exceed size 180, consider splitting it into two. There is a practical reason as well as a financial one: some convenience stores will not accept parcels of size 180 or larger [Source].

Only One Discount Is Realistically Open to Travelers

Discount Amount Can a traveler use it?
Drop-off discount (carrying it yourself to a branch, agent or convenience store) ¥100 off per item Yes
Kuroneko Members drop-off discount ¥150 off per item No — membership assumes residence in Japan
Round Trip TA-Q-BIN ¥200 off per item Only if you use the same route on the way back
Digital discount ¥60 off per item No — members only

Sources: [Source] / [Source]

Going through a hotel front desk does not earn the drop-off discount. Carrying the bag to a convenience store or a branch yourself saves ¥100 — weigh that against the effort of walking a large suitcase there.

Every rate above is the cash price, before discounts, tax included. These are fixed yen list prices, so what they come to in your own currency moves with the exchange rate. Note too that when an airport is involved the shipment becomes “Airport TA-Q-BIN”, and an airport handling fee of ¥660 (tax included) is added on top of the normal rate [Source].


Three Options When You Need Your Bags Moved Today

Standard TA-Q-BIN is a next-day-or-later service, as set out above. But ways to get luggage delivered on the same day genuinely do exist. All of them are area-limited, so none works everywhere. Here are the three.

Option 1: Yamato Transport’s Baggage Delivery Service

An area-limited service that moves luggage between airports or stations and lodgings on the same day. No reservation is needed and it handles up to 200 cm in total dimensions [Source].

There are constraints, though. The delivery area, reception cut-off and delivery window differ at every branch, and you can only send from specific counters attached to a station or an airport. The examples the official page gives are these.

Section Size Price
Haneda Airport → a hotel in Tokyo’s 23 wards Size 160 ¥5,180 per item
Yamato Transport Kyoto Station-front branch → a hotel in Kyoto City Size 160 ¥2,870 per item

Source: [Source]

And here is the single most important fact for anyone traveling to Nagoya.

The only counters in Aichi Prefecture that handle this service are inside Chubu Centrair International Airport.

Yamato Transport’s official list of branches offering baggage storage and same-day baggage delivery showed only three locations in Aichi Prefecture as of July 2026.

Counter What it handles
Baggage Service Counter (inside Chubu Centrair International Airport), Terminal 1, 2F Baggage storage and same-day baggage delivery
Same, Terminal 1, 3F Baggage storage only
Same, Terminal 2, 2F Baggage storage only

Source: [Source]

There is no such baggage counter at Nagoya Station, and none in Sakae. The pattern you can use in Kyoto or at Haneda — “from a branch in town to a hotel, same day” — is not available inside Nagoya City.

Option 2: Centrair’s SAME DAY BAGGAGE DELIVERY (The Real Answer)

Chubu Centrair International Airport officially operates a service that delivers luggage from the airport to your lodging the same day.

Item Detail
Delivery area Hotels around Nagoya Station, Sakae and Nishiki within Aichi Prefecture only (some areas excluded)
Where to drop off Terminal 1, 2F
Cut-off Hand it over by 11:30
Delivery window Same day, roughly 14:00 to 20:00 (you cannot specify a time)
Price example One size-160 suitcase, ¥2,920 (varies with size and destination)
Enquiries Yamato Transport parcel counter, TEL 0569-38-8562

Source: [Source]

Translated into itinerary terms, that 11:30 cut-off means this.

  • If you land at Centrair on a morning flight, you can use it. Drop the bags, travel into Nagoya with your hands free, and your luggage is at the hotel when you get back in the evening
  • If you land in the afternoon, you have missed it. Either carry your bags with you, or use standard TA-Q-BIN and accept next-day-or-later arrival

Note that the airport states explicitly that traffic conditions, weather, unforeseen incidents and surges in parcel volume can delay the service or cause same-day delivery to be suspended. Keep anything you need immediately on arrival with you.

Option 3: Same-Day Delivery in Nagoya via Klook / LuggAgent

Klook lists a same-day luggage delivery service in Nagoya operated by LuggAgent (Nagoya Same-Day Airport/Hotel/Airbnb Luggage Delivery). Its defining feature is that it covers the hotel-to-hotel same-day move that standard TA-Q-BIN cannot do.

Section Drop-off time Delivery / collection time
Airport → hotel Drop off at the airport between 9:00 and 18:00 To the hotel front desk by 21:00 the same day
Hotel → hotel Drop off by 11:00 To the designated hotel by 21:00 the same day
Hotel → airport Drop off by 11:00 Collect at the airport between 15:00 and 21:00 the same day

The other conditions are as follows.

  • Up to 32 kg and 180 cm in total dimensions per item
  • 24-hour multilingual support
  • Insurance up to USD 500 per item (covering delay, loss and damage; cosmetic damage such as scuffs, dents, handles, wheels and zippers, along with consequential loss, is excluded)
  • To use the hotel-to-hotel service, the receiving hotel must offer a luggage-holding service (if it does not, you need to choose the Airbnb-oriented option instead)

Source: [Source]

The precise boundaries of the service area — which hotels are covered — are not spelled out in the published information. Confirm that your own hotel qualifies before you book.

How to Choose Between the Three

Your situation What to use
You land at Centrair in the morning and are staying near Nagoya Station, Sakae or Nishiki Centrair’s same-day delivery (Terminal 1, 2F, by 11:30)
You land at Centrair in the afternoon, or you are staying outside the Nagoya Station / Sakae / Nishiki area Carry your bags, or check Klook / LuggAgent
You want to move bags hotel to hotel inside Nagoya on the same day Klook / LuggAgent (not possible with standard TA-Q-BIN)
Next day or later is fine Standard TA-Q-BIN (much the cheapest)


How to Send: Step by Step

There Are Five Places to Send From

Yamato Transport officially lists five ways to send a parcel [Source].

  1. Pickup (a driver collects from a location you specify)
  2. A Yamato Transport branch
  3. A convenience store
  4. An authorized agent
  5. A parcel locker (PUDO)

“The hotel front desk” is not among those five. In practice, though, many hotels do act as an intermediary for guests. For a traveler, the most realistic first move is simply to ask at the front desk — just do not treat it as guaranteed, because it is not an officially sanctioned channel.

Route A: Send From the Hotel Front Desk (The Easiest)

  1. Go to the front desk the day before you check out, or early on the morning of
  2. Say you would like to send a parcel. Most hotels keep shipping labels on hand
  3. Give the destination address, hotel name and phone number. Having the address written in Japanese makes this far more reliable (the simplest method is to email your next hotel and ask them to send you their address in Japanese)
  4. Write your own name and contact details. The label has fields for both the sender’s and the recipient’s phone numbers
  5. Describe the contents specifically — “clothes”, “shoes”, “souvenirs”
  6. Pay, and make sure you are given the sender’s copy of the label

The shipping label is a Japanese-language form. There is no clear official guidance on what language you may fill it in. The most reliable approach is to have the front desk staff fill it in for you and to have the destination address ready in Japanese.

On the contents field, Yamato Transport’s Airport TA-Q-BIN notes state that a specific description is required, and that vague entries of the “sundries” or “daily goods” type can lead to delivery delays [Source].

Route B: Send From a Convenience Store (¥100 Cheaper)

7-Eleven and FamilyMart are the chains the official FAQ names directly as TA-Q-BIN agents [Source]. Other chains handle it too, but those two are the sure bets. Carrying your parcel in earns the ¥100 drop-off discount. Two warnings, though.

  • Some convenience stores will not accept parcels of size 180 or larger [Source]
  • Skis and snowboards cannot be sent from convenience stores or from certain agents [Source]

If you would rather not walk a large suitcase to a convenience store only to be turned away, a branch or your hotel is the safer bet.

Route C: Send to Your Departure Airport (Airport TA-Q-BIN)

This is the service for arriving at the airport empty-handed on your flight home. It carries the rule that is most often misunderstood.

Airport TA-Q-BIN delivers to the airport you depart from. Not the airport you arrive at.
— Yamato Transport official [Source]

The sequence and the conditions look like this.

Item Detail
Send by 2 days before departure (3 days in some areas)
Arrival at the airport By the day before departure
Collection On the day of departure, at the airport’s partner counter
Extra charge Airport handling fee ¥660 (tax included)
Weight limit Cannot be handled over 30 kg
Not available with Time-slot delivery service, cash on delivery
Liability limit ¥300,000 per item (tax included)
Needed to collect The sender’s copy of the shipping label

Source: [Source]

Do not throw away the sender’s copy. Collection at the counter is made in exchange for it. Tucking it into your passport wallet is the safe move.

The service covers 17 airports: New Chitose, Sendai, Fukushima, Niigata, Narita, Haneda, Komatsu, Chubu Centrair, Osaka (Itami), Kansai International, Kobe, Okayama, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Nagasaki and Kagoshima [Source].

Route D: Use It Both Ways (¥200 Off)

With Round Trip TA-Q-BIN you can send your luggage home again without filling in another label or paying another fare. It is ¥200 off per item. The return leg is valid for one month, from the date the outbound parcel is collected to the same date of the following month [Source]. It can be used to airports, golf courses, ski resorts and lodgings.

Sending Sports Equipment

Service Rate applied Convenience store drop-off Dedicated cover
Golf TA-Q-BIN The size-160 TA-Q-BIN rate Allowed Required (Golf Travel Cover ¥5,070 / Simple Golf Cover (L) ¥700 / Boston Bag Cover (L) ¥290)
Ski TA-Q-BIN The size-180 TA-Q-BIN rate Not allowed Required (Ski Cover ¥400 / Snowboard Cover ¥600 / Ski Rucksack Cover ¥400)

Sources: [Source] / [Source]

For both, sending 2 days before you play (3 days in some areas) gets your equipment to the golf course or ski resort by the day before, ready to collect at reception on the day. A caddy bag costs the same whether it holds a full set or a half set. Three or more pairs of skis or snowboards cannot be combined into a single package.

If you are heading for the ski resorts around Okumino, Gujo or Takayama, sending your board or skis from Nagoya is the easy option. The actual fare depends on the origin and destination blocks, so see “What It Actually Costs” for how the calculation works.


Centrair (Chubu Centrair International Airport): The Field Guide

Chubu Centrair International Airport, Nagoya’s gateway, has Yamato Transport parcel and baggage counters. It is the only place in Aichi Prefecture that handles both baggage storage and same-day baggage delivery.

The Layout Runs Against Intuition (The Key Point)

Terminal and floor What you can do Hours
Terminal 1, 3F Departure Lobby Collection only 6:30 to 21:30
Terminal 1, 2F Arrival Lobby Sending only 7:00 to 22:00
Terminal 2, 2F Departure Lobby Sending and collection 11:00 to 18:00
Terminal 2, 1F Arrival Lobby (sending only) Temporarily closed

Source: [Source]

You collect on the departure floor and send from the arrival floor. It is the reverse of what you would guess.

  • To collect a bag sent by Airport TA-Q-BIN from within Japan → Terminal 1, 3F (Departure Lobby)
  • To send a bag onward → Terminal 1, 2F (Arrival Lobby)

The place a newly arrived traveler wants to send from is the 2F arrival lobby; the place a departing traveler wants to collect from is the 3F departure floor. Each counter sits where that person already is — understand it that way and you will not get lost.

For collection after 21:30, the Terminal 1 3F counter has closed, so the 2F arrival lobby counter takes over. Outside Terminal 2’s hours, the Terminal 1 counters cover it as well. No reservation is needed — walk up to the counter and you can send or collect.

Do Not Confuse “Dispatched Today” With “Delivered Today”

The Centrair official page puts it this way.

If you use Yamato Transport, parcels accepted by 18:00 are dispatched the same day
— Chubu Centrair International Airport official [Source]

That is shipped, not delivered. It means a parcel handed over by 18:00 starts moving that day. To get it delivered the same day, you need the SAME DAY BAGGAGE DELIVERY service described in “Three Options When You Need Your Bags Moved Today” (Terminal 1, 2F, cut-off 11:30).

Storing Luggage at Centrair (When You Are Not Sending It)

If you only want to leave your bags for a while, the same counters offer baggage storage.

What you leave Price
Suitcases and similar ¥550 per day
Large items such as surfboards ¥880 per day
Coats and jackets ¥1,100 for 4 days / ¥1,430 for 5 to 7 days / ¥1,650 for 8 to 10 days

Source: [Source]

Watch how the days are counted. The first day is not 24 hours: the moment the date changes it becomes day two. Leave a bag in the evening and collect it the next morning and you pay for two days.

With three or more bags, cart storage works out cheaper. Temporary cart storage costs ¥880 per cart (within opening hours on the day, cash only, maximum height 145 cm) and lets you load several pieces together [Source]. Three suitcases stored individually come to ¥550 × 3 = ¥1,650; on one cart it is ¥880.

Where Location Hours
Cart storage Terminal 1, 3F, behind the central escalator 7:00 to 21:00
Cart storage Terminal 2, 2F Departure Lobby 11:00 to 18:00
Global WiFi (Access Plaza) Large ¥1,000 per day / small ¥800 per day 7:00 to 21:00 (booking ahead recommended)

Source: [Source]

Bags handed over. Now get yourself into the city.

Line up your airport transfer before you land, so you can walk straight out.

Compare Centrair airport transfer options on Klook

If you want to compare the ways of getting from the airport into Nagoya in the first place, see our Centrair to Nagoya city access guide.

Sagawa’s “Hands-Free Travel” Service Does Not Reach Nagoya

Sagawa Express, the other major courier, also runs a “SAGAWA Hands-Free Travel” service that stores luggage, sends it to hotels and sends it to airports. But its locations are limited to seven in Tokyo (Tokyo Station, Busta Shinjuku, Asakusa Kaminarimon, Nihonbashi, Skytree Town, GINZA SIX and Tokyo Midtown Yaesu) plus one in Fukuoka (Fukuoka Daimyo 2-chome Service Center). There is no location in Nagoya, anywhere in the Chubu region, or at Centrair [Source].

Let us be honest about this. Central Japan is thin on hands-free infrastructure for inbound visitors. Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka all have baggage counters in town, and Sagawa’s hands-free service operates in Tokyo and Fukuoka — Nagoya has neither, as of July 2026. Which means you work with four realistic substitutes, matched to your itinerary: the hotel front desk, the counters at Centrair, the coin lockers at Nagoya Station, and the private services sold through Klook.


Size, Weight, and What You Cannot Send

There Are Eight Size Brackets

A TA-Q-BIN size is determined by both the total of the three dimensions and the weight.

Size bracket Total of three dimensions Weight limit
60 Within 60 cm 2 kg
80 Within 80 cm 5 kg
100 Within 100 cm 10 kg
120 Within 120 cm 15 kg
140 Within 140 cm 20 kg
160 Within 160 cm 25 kg
180 Within 180 cm 30 kg
200 (the ceiling) Within 200 cm 30 kg

Sources: [Source] / [Source]

The bracket is decided by comparing the total dimensions against the actual weight, and applying whichever is larger [Source]. A bag measuring 140 cm in total but weighing 22 kg is treated as size 160.

The Ceilings, and One Constraint Worth Remembering

Item Limit
Total of three dimensions Within 200 cm
Weight Within 30 kg
Length of any single side Up to 170 cm

Source: [Source]

Suitcases are assessed on their real dimensions. Yamato Transport states explicitly that bags — cardboard boxes, suitcases, Boston bags and the like — are assessed at actual size. Measure the width, depth and height and add them up before you send. Assume “a big suitcase is size 160” and the price at the counter will surprise you.

How It Differs From Japan Post’s Yu-Pack

Item Yamato TA-Q-BIN Japan Post Yu-Pack
Ceiling on total dimensions 200 cm 170 cm
Weight ceiling 30 kg 25 kg
Size brackets Eight (60 to 200) Seven (60 to 170)
Drop-off discount ¥100 ¥120

Source: [Source]

For a large suitcase, Yamato’s higher ceilings make it the safer choice. Yu-Pack tops out at 170 cm and 25 kg, so a big case may simply be refused.

What You Cannot Send (The Parts That Matter to Travelers)

Of everything the official prohibited list covers, these are the items travelers actually trip over [Source].

  • Cash, cheques, bills of exchange and other securities
  • Credit cards, cash cards and similar cards
  • Passports, examination admission slips, vehicle inspection certificates and other documents that are difficult to reissue
  • Irreplaceable manuscripts, original drawings, tapes and film
  • Pets (dogs, cats, small birds and so on)
  • Poisons and deleterious substances
  • Fireworks, kerosene, gas canisters, thinners and anything else ignitable, flammable or volatile
  • Cremated remains, memorial tablets and Buddhist altars
  • Firearms and blades
  • Any single package worth more than ¥300,000 (tax included)
  • Unsanitary items and anything else liable to damage other parcels
  • Correspondence, and anything else prohibited by law or contrary to public order and morals
  • Parcels exceeding size 200

Your checklist before sending a suitcase boils down to three questions.

  1. Have you taken your passport out?
  2. Have you taken your cash and cards out?
  3. Have you taken your regular medication out? (You may need it before the bag catches up with you)

On Lithium Batteries

Power banks and spare lithium batteries belong with you, not in the bag you send. Products containing batteries face restrictions on air transport, and items that cannot be flown are switched to land or sea transport, which can slow delivery to distant destinations such as Hokkaido and Okinawa [Source]. If you want to send a laptop, a camera or anything else with a built-in battery, check at the counter before you hand it over.

When Sending Beats Carrying It Onto the Shinkansen

On the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen, baggage measuring 160 cm to 250 cm in total dimensions requires an advance reservation for a seat with an oversized baggage area (there is no extra charge if you arrange it at the same time as your seat reservation) [Source]. And the station stairs, the transfers and the walk along the platform are all on you.

Sending one size-160 bag from Nagoya to Tokyo costs ¥3,020. Think of that sum as buying away the station stairs, the transfers and the seat reservation, and forwarding starts to look like the rational choice. For the arithmetic on Shinkansen tickets versus passes, see Is the Japan Rail Pass Worth It?.


The Other Choice: Store It Instead of Sending It

If you do not need the bag moved to your next lodging and simply want a few hours of freedom, storing it is the sensible answer.

Coin Lockers at Nagoya Station

The coin lockers at JR Nagoya Station are run by Nagoya Station Development, and there are 12 locations inside and around the station [Source].

Item Detail
Size brackets Extra-large, large, medium and small (the mix varies by location)
Locations with extra-large lockers Bus Terminal South No. 1, Hirokoji Exit, and Gate Tower B1 — three locations
Payment Every location takes both electronic money and cash
Hours Follow the opening and closing times of the Nagoya Station entrance doors

Source: [Source]

A large suitcase needs a “large” locker at minimum, and an “extra-large” to be certain. Only three locations have extra-large lockers, so if you arrive at Nagoya Station with big bags, head for one of those three.

Prices are posted on the locker banks themselves. Because they vary by size and location, this guide does not quote figures (the operator’s official page publishes no price-by-size table, and secondary sources contradict one another). Budget a few hundred yen and you will be fine. Electronic money is accepted, so an IC card such as Suica makes it painless.

Note also that some coin lockers sit outside the availability display system. Lockers exist in places the information screens do not list. The coin lockers at the subway, Meitetsu and Kintetsu Nagoya stations are each run by a different company [Source].

Staffed Storage Near Nagoya Station (Klook)

Klook lists a luggage storage service in the Central West Meieki Building near Nagoya Station (Luggage Storage Service in Nagoya). The service displays certification from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) [Source].

Item Detail
Accepts Suitcases, travel bags, Boston bags
Limits Up to 25 kg per item and 200 cm in total dimensions
Not accepted Precision equipment (PCs), fragile items, valuables, dangerous goods, animals, unsanitary items, anything with a strong odor
Collection By 20:00. After that an additional ¥660 applies (paid on site)
Period Sold by the day (extending means booking again)

Source: [Source]

Worth keeping in mind as a fallback during long holiday periods, when coin lockers fill up fast and the extra-large ones go first.

Think About It When You Choose Where to Stay

How easy your luggage is to handle is, in truth, mostly decided when you book your hotel. Will they hold your bags before check-in and after check-out? Will they accept a courier delivery on your behalf? A hotel that does both removes most of the effort described in this guide. Our area-by-area, type-by-type rundown is in Where to Stay in Nagoya.


Frequently Asked Questions

If I send a bag today, will it arrive today?

Not with standard TA-Q-BIN. The official wording is that “delivery takes either 1 day (delivered the day after you send it) or 2 days (delivered two days after you send it), depending on the destination” [Source]. There are, however, separate ways to move luggage on the same day. Around Nagoya there are two: Centrair’s same-day delivery (Terminal 1 2F, by 11:30, hotels around Nagoya Station, Sakae and Nishiki only) and Klook / LuggAgent’s same-day delivery (which also covers hotel to hotel).

Can I send a bag from one hotel to another on the same day?

Not with standard TA-Q-BIN. For shipments to lodgings the official guidance is to “send so that it arrives at the property by the day before your stay” [Source]. Within Nagoya City, the service that does handle same-day hotel-to-hotel delivery is LuggAgent’s, sold through Klook (drop off by 11:00 and it reaches the designated hotel by 21:00 the same day) [Source]. Yamato’s own baggage delivery service does same-day delivery too, but the only counters handling it in Aichi Prefecture are inside Centrair, so it cannot be used from a hotel in the city [Source].

Can I fill in the shipping label in English?

We could not confirm any clear official Yamato Transport guidance on what language the label may be filled in, so this guide will not make a definitive claim. In practice the surest approach is to have the front desk staff fill it in and to have the destination address ready in Japanese. The label has fields for both the sender’s and the recipient’s phone numbers. Describe the contents specifically — “clothes”, “shoes”, “souvenirs”. The official notes state that vague entries of the “sundries” or “daily goods” type can lead to delivery delays [Source].

Can I send my luggage straight from the airport I land at to my hotel?

Yes. Note, though, that “Airport TA-Q-BIN” delivers to the airport you depart from; the official page states plainly that “this is delivery to your departure airport, not the airport you arrive at” [Source]. To send from your arrival airport to your lodging, you use the counter inside the airport and send it as standard TA-Q-BIN. At Centrair that means the counter in the Terminal 1 2F arrival lobby (7:00 to 22:00) [Source]. If you need it delivered the same day, use the same-day delivery service on that same Terminal 1 2F floor (11:30 cut-off).

Can I send a suitcase as it is, or does it need packaging?

It can go without a cover. The official FAQ states that a Boston bag needs a cover while a suitcase does not — while also noting that the surface may pick up scratches and dirt [Source]. If you are protective of an expensive case, bring a commercial suitcase cover. Pricing is assessed on actual dimensions, so measuring the total of the three sides beforehand lets you predict the figure at the counter.

How much does it cost?

For one large suitcase (size 160): Nagoya to Tokyo ¥3,020, Tokyo to Osaka ¥3,160, within the same prefecture ¥2,410 (all cash payment, before discounts, tax included) [Source]. These are the post-revision prices effective October 1, 2025. Carrying the parcel yourself to a branch, agent or convenience store takes ¥100 off, and where an airport is involved an airport handling fee of ¥660 is added [Source].

What happens if my luggage is damaged or lost? Is there compensation?

The TA-Q-BIN liability limit is ¥300,000 per item (tax included), and the same figure applies to Airport TA-Q-BIN and Golf TA-Q-BIN [Source] [Source]. In any case, a single package worth more than ¥300,000 cannot be sent at all. LuggAgent’s same-day delivery sold through Klook is a separate arrangement, insured up to USD 500 per item (covering delay, loss and damage), but cosmetic damage such as scuffs, dents, handles, wheels and zippers, along with consequential loss, is excluded [Source]. Either way, always carry your valuables yourself.


About the Author

Yuu was born in Nagoya and has lived here for 35 years. If you read Japanese, working out what a TA-Q-BIN shipment costs and when it will arrive takes about thirty seconds. Try to do the same thing in English and you discover that neither the fare lookup nor the delivery-date lookup has an English version at all. This guide was built to fill that gap, working only from primary sources: the official pages of Yamato Transport and Chubu Centrair International Airport. Every number carries its source.


— Yuu


Arriving at Centrair with big bags?

Book an airport transfer on Klook →Arrange your ride into the city in advance.
Written by Yuu

Born and raised in Nagoya, living in Osu. Every guide is first-hand — when something changes, I update the article. Read my story →