Sending your suitcase ahead from the conbini, and travelling Japan with a day bag

On the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen, a bag whose three sides add up to more than 160 cm needs a booked seat with an oversized-baggage area. Without that booking, it costs ¥1,000 on board. Many travellers find this out at the gate. The quieter fix sits behind the conbini counter: a stack of 宅急便 (takkyūbin) waybills and a clerk with a tape measure.

How the counter works

Takkyūbin is door-to-door parcel delivery, and at 7-Eleven it means Yamato Transport, the company with the black cat logo. Ask for a waybill and fill in the sender, the recipient and a delivery date, then the clerk measures and weighs the bag. The price depends on size, in 20 cm bands, and on distance. A full suitcase from Tokyo to Kyoto usually costs a few thousand yen, paid at the register. Some stores won't take a very large hard case, and in that case a nearby Yamato depot will.

Addressing it to a hotel

Hotels receive guests' luggage all the time, but the label has to match the booking. Put the hotel's address and phone number as the recipient, then add your name as it appears on the reservation and your check-in date, because front desks file parcels by guest. One day is usually enough between neighbouring regions, so allow more for longer routes. If you run short of words, show a line on your phone: kono sūtsukēsu o hoteru ni okuritai desu, which means "I would like to send this suitcase to my hotel."

このスーツケースを、ホテルに送りたいです。

The day in between

Pack the night's clothes, charger and medicine in a small bag, because the parcel arrives on its own schedule. Without a suitcase, a local train, a long walk from the station or a crowded city bus becomes simple again. The service also works in reverse. Most front desks will hand you a waybill at checkout, and Yamato delivers to airport counters if you send the case two days before your flight.