Arriving early, hotel check-in not ready
Your flight lands in the morning and the room is not ready until afternoon.
Trains, roads and flights
Sending luggage from the airport to your hotel
You land with heavy cases and tired children, and you would rather arrive with a day bag.
You can drop your suitcases at an airport delivery counter and have them sent to your hotel, so you travel in with a day bag. Narita, Haneda and Kansai airports offer luggage delivery to your hotel 1. The service is called takkyubin, a luggage delivery service between hotels or airports.
Why does it help?
Heavy cases are hard on trains with stairs and crowds. After a long flight, this one step makes the first day lighter for families with children and for grandparents.
It also helps when you move between bases, since you travel with a small bag and the suitcase follows. Read sending luggage between hotels for the second case.
How does the airport counter work?
You go to the delivery counter, drop off the bags and fill in a delivery form. Carriers include Yamato Transport and JAL ABC, with compensation for damaged or lost items and a tracking service 2. The fee varies by airport, destination and size, so ask at the counter.
Delivery can be same-day or at a designated date and time 3. Choose the date your hotel can receive.
What are the limits?
Items should not exceed 160 linear cm or 25 to 30 kg, and contents should be under 300,000 yen in value 3. Valuables, fragile items, fresh products, liquids and hazardous materials are not accepted 3.
Keep passports, medicine, chargers and electronics in your day bag, together with one set of clothes.
How do you send them, step by step?
- Message your hotel to confirm that the front desk will receive your bags, with your name and arrival date.
- After landing, collect your bags and find the delivery counter.
- Fill in the form with the hotel name, address and phone number, preferably written in Japanese by the hotel.
- Pay the fee and keep the receipt and tracking number.
- Travel to the hotel with your day bag.
For hotel-to-hotel moves, send so the bags arrive at least one day before your stay, and make sure the receiving front desk can accept them 4.
When is it not the right choice?
If your hotel cannot accept bags, or you land at a small airport with no counter, carry the bags or use a locker. See coin lockers versus station luggage storage.
If you leave Japan, the reverse is different. Read luggage forwarding to the airport before your flight for the earlier cutoff, and packing light for multi-city Japan to carry less.
For a first-day plan that uses this, see Kansai Airport arrival first day.
If heavy bags are the worry on arrival day, tell us your airport, hotel and who is travelling. We check what the hotel will accept and give you a simple drop-off plan.
Keep planning
Japan with grandparents: fewer luggage transfers
You want a route your parents or grandparents can enjoy without hauling suitcases.
Sending luggage between hotels: what to check
You are tired of dragging suitcases across cities and want to know if sending them ahead is safe.
Takkyubin, Japan's luggage forwarding
You dread dragging suitcases through stations, and wonder if someone can carry them ahead.
Coin lockers or staffed luggage storage
You have a big suitcase, a few free hours before check-in and no idea where to leave it.
Arriving at Kansai Airport: your first day
You land tired and want to know whether to head to Osaka or straight on to Kyoto.
Questions travellers ask
Can I send my suitcase from the airport to my hotel on arrival day?
Yes, at airports such as Narita, Haneda and Kansai. You drop the bags at the airport delivery counter and fill in a form. Delivery can be same-day or on a date and time you set. Ask the counter about timing for your hotel and keep the receipt.
What can I not send by takkyubin?
Valuables, fragile items, fresh products, liquids and hazardous materials are not accepted. Items should not exceed 160 linear cm or 25 to 30 kg, and contents should be under 300,000 yen in value. Keep passports, medicine, chargers and electronics in your day bag.
Will my hotel accept the luggage?
Only if the front desk agrees to receive it. Ask the hotel before you send, preferably in writing, with your name and arrival date. For hotel-to-hotel moves, send so it arrives at least one day before your stay.
Sources
Figures are checked against these sources and dated so you can see how current they are.
- Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), Luggage and storageaccessed 2026-10-20
- JNTO, Luggage and storageaccessed 2026-10-20
- JNTO, Luggage and storageaccessed 2026-10-20
- Yamato Transport, TA-Q-BIN FAQaccessed 2026-10-20
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