> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nipponstays.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Can I Send My Luggage Between Hotels in Japan? - URL: https://www.nipponstays.com/sending-luggage-between-hotels-japan/ - Published: 2026-08-19T04:11:23.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-19T04:11:23.000Z - Description: How luggage between hotels in Japan actually works: courier vs same-day hotel-group service, with prices and cut-off times checked August 2026. - Author: Hideaki - Tags: Japan, Travel Essentials, #2026-08-stay-conditions-01 Sending luggage between hotels in Japan is possible through two separate systems that solve different problems. Any hotel front desk can book a nationwide courier — typically Kuroneko Yamato — that collects a case and delivers it to your next city, usually arriving the following morning, from ¥1,650 for a smaller case on a route like Tokyo–Kyoto, more for a larger case or a longer route (checked August 2026). A handful of hotel groups also move bags directly between their own properties on the same day for a flat fee; we have used the Mitsui Garden Hotels Kyoto group's service ourselves, at ¥500 a piece including tax. The condition that changes which one you need: whether your next hotel belongs to one of these same-day group networks, or is simply somewhere else in Japan. ## The two systems side by side | | Nationwide courier (takkyubin) | Hotel-group inter-hotel service | | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Who arranges it | Any hotel front desk, on request | Only hotels inside the same group | | Cut-off time | Usually mid-afternoon at the sending hotel | Around midday at the drop-off hotel | | When it arrives | Next day within mainland Japan; +1 day to or from Hokkaido, Kyushu or Okinawa | The same day, from mid-afternoon | | Cost per piece | From ¥1,650 (Tokyo–Kyoto, 100-size), rising with size and route (checked August 2026) | ¥500 flat, including tax | | What you keep with you tonight | Anything not in the case — it leaves before you do | Same, but for hours rather than a full day | ## The nationwide option: a courier booked at the front desk Most hotels in Japan, from business hotels to ryokan, can arrange this at the front desk — you do not need to find a shipping counter yourself. The clerk fills in a slip with your next hotel's name in Japanese, your check-in date and your reservation name, and the case travels by Kuroneko Yamato or a comparable carrier. Yamato's own nationwide takkyubin rate table (cash payment, checked August 2026) prices a 100-size case (three dimensions totaling up to 100cm) at ¥1,650 and a 160-size case at ¥3,160 on the Kanto-to-Kansai route — Tokyo to Kyoto, for example. The fare is route-dependent: a case moving within a single region costs less, and one going out to Hokkaido, Kyushu or Okinawa costs more, so check your own pair on kuronekoyamato.co.jp rather than treat any single figure as a national flat rate. Add ¥660 if either end of the trip is Narita, Haneda or Kansai airport, where an airport-handling fee applies on top of the standard rate. Between two mainland Japan cities the case is normally waiting at the front desk the following morning; add a day each way to or from Hokkaido, Kyushu or Okinawa. ## The hotel-group option: what we used in Kyoto The service we have actually used ourselves is the Mitsui Garden Hotels Kyoto Baggage Service, which links Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Station to four sister properties — five hotels in total (terms last revised June 2024, rechecked on the group's own site August 2026). Drop a case at the station-front hotel, a 3-min walk from JR Kyoto Station's Central Exit, by noon and it is waiting at your destination hotel from 15:00 the same day; hand it over between noon and the 15:00 final cut-off instead and it arrives from 18:00, per the operator's own published terms (checked August 2026). Going the other way, check out of a sister property by 11:00 and collect the bag at the station-front hotel any time from 14:00 to 20:00\. It costs ¥500 a piece including tax, and anyone using the service can sit in the station-front hotel's lounge — coffee, soft drinks and a desk, free — while they wait. What made the ¥500 worth it: a full day in Kyoto with nothing to carry, between checking out of one hotel and checking into the next. ## What we have not used: airport-to-hotel delivery We have not used this one — everything below comes from the operators' own published information, not a trip of ours. Yamato and JAL ABC both run delivery counters in the arrivals halls at Narita, Haneda, Kansai and Chubu, and the case travels on the same courier network as a hotel-to-hotel booking, so the same size-based pricing applies plus the ¥660 airport-handling fee (checked August 2026). The standard turnaround is next-day into the city, not same-day; a same-day option exists on some routes if you drop the case early enough, but it is not offered everywhere and is not something we have tested ourselves, so ask the counter directly for your route. Either way, plan to arrive at your first hotel without the case already there. ## The mistake that separates you from your bag Send the case, keep an overnight bag. Whichever system you use, the suitcase can be gone for anywhere from a few hours to a full day, so anything you need before it reappears travels with you: medication, chargers, a change of clothes, and anything a child needs before 15:00 or the next morning. A small daypack solves this — do not learn the lesson by packing your only phone charger into the case you just sent away. ## Getting the paperwork right Both systems need the same three things: the receiving hotel's name in Japanese (ask your current front desk to write it, or copy it from the booking confirmation), your check-in date, and the name the reservation is under. For the courier, the sending hotel fills in the rest of the slip. For a hotel-group service, the destination hotel needs to know a guest's bag is arriving before it will accept one at the desk, so book under the same name you used to check in — a mismatch is the most common reason a bag sits unclaimed. ## When to carry it instead On the Tokaido, Sanyo, Kyushu and Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen, a case whose three dimensions add up to more than 160cm needs an oversized-baggage seat reservation — free to book in advance, or a ¥1,000 on-the-spot fee if you board without one (checked August 2026). Our [shinkansen practical guide](https://www.nipponstays.com/tokyo-station-shinkansen-practical-guide/) covers where to actually put a suitcase once you are on board. Skiers and snowboarders can send boards through the same courier network, under Yamato's dedicated ski-parcel size class. And if you only need to park a bag for a few hours rather than send it ahead, that is a coin-locker problem, not a forwarding one — see [what to do when the coin lockers are full](https://www.nipponstays.com/coin-lockers-full-japan-what-to-do/). ## Kyoto stays where this is built in These five Mitsui Garden Hotels properties carry the Kyoto Baggage Service described above — worth knowing if you are already choosing between hotels in the city, or comparing this chain against [how it stacks up against Daiwa Roynet](https://www.nipponstays.com/mitsui-garden-vs-daiwa-roynet-kyoto/). | Property | Role in the baggage service | Walk from Kyoto Station | | | --------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Station | Station-front hub — drop off or collect here | 3-min walk, Central Exit | [Check rates](https://www.trip.com/hotels/kyoto-hotel-detail-29571980/mitsui-garden-hotel-kyoto-station/?Allianceid=9711325&SID=327049682&trip%5Fsub1=sending-luggage-between-hotels-japan&trip%5Fsub3=D19120887&ref=nipponstays.com) | | Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Shijo | Sister property, linked via the hub | — | [Check rates](https://www.trip.com/hotels/kyoto-hotel-detail-1437724/mitsui-garden-hotel-kyoto-shijo/?Allianceid=9711325&SID=327049682&trip%5Fsub1=sending-luggage-between-hotels-japan&trip%5Fsub3=D19124730&ref=nipponstays.com) | | Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Sanjo Premier | Sister property, linked via the hub | — | [Check rates](https://www.trip.com/hotels/kyoto-hotel-detail-115179210/mitsui-garden-hotel-kyoto-sanjo-premier/?Allianceid=9711325&SID=327049682&trip%5Fsub1=sending-luggage-between-hotels-japan&trip%5Fsub3=D19123491&ref=nipponstays.com) | | Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Kawaramachi Jokyoji | Sister property, linked via the hub | — | [Check rates](https://www.trip.com/hotels/kyoto-hotel-detail-59482256/mitsui-garden-hotel-kyoto-kawaramachi-jokyoji/?Allianceid=9711325&SID=327049682&trip%5Fsub1=sending-luggage-between-hotels-japan&trip%5Fsub3=D19123351&ref=nipponstays.com) | | Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Shinmachi Bettei | Sister property, linked via the hub | — | — | For the wider choice around the station, see our guide to [hotels near Kyoto Station](https://www.nipponstays.com/hotels-near-kyoto-station/), or start from [choosing a Kyoto base](https://www.nipponstays.com/where-to-stay-in-kyoto/) if you have not picked an area yet. This is one of eleven questions we answer in our wider guide to [what to check before booking a hotel in Japan](https://www.nipponstays.com/japan-hotel-questions-before-you-book/). ## FAQ: sending luggage between hotels in Japan ### Can I send my luggage between hotels in Japan? Yes. Any hotel front desk can book a nationwide courier that typically delivers to your next city the following day, and a small number of hotel groups — including Mitsui Garden Hotels in Kyoto — move bags directly between their own properties on the same day for a flat fee. Which one you use depends on whether your next hotel belongs to one of these same-day networks. ### How much does it cost to send a suitcase between hotels in Japan? A nationwide courier runs from about ¥1,650 for a 100-size case up to roughly ¥3,160 for a 160-size one on a typical route such as Tokyo–Kyoto — the fare is route-dependent, so check your own city pair — plus a ¥660 airport-handling fee if either end is Narita, Haneda or Kansai (checked August 2026). The Mitsui Garden Hotels Kyoto group's inter-hotel service is a flat ¥500 a piece. ### Can I send luggage from the airport straight to my hotel? Yes — Yamato and JAL ABC both run delivery counters in the arrivals halls at Narita, Haneda, Kansai and Chubu, and the case travels on the same courier network as a hotel-to-hotel booking. The standard turnaround is next-day into the city; ask the counter directly whether a same-day option exists for your route and drop-off time. ### Do I need to pack a separate overnight bag if I forward my luggage? Yes. Your case can be away from you for anywhere from a few hours to a full day depending on the system, so keep medication, chargers, a change of clothes and anything you need before it reappears in a daypack you carry yourself rather than in the case you send ahead.