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January 29, 2021
The Post Office in Japan
The Post Office in Japan is one of the most efficient and helpful services you will use in the country. Staff members are usually helpful and friendly, too.
Some of the mailing services that you can get at the post office are listed as follows-
| English | Japanese | Romaji | Details |
| Surface Mail | 船便 | funabin | The cheapest method to post overseas —a 20-kilogram box will cost around ¥10,000 and take about three months |
| Airmail | 航空便 | koukuubin | The standard method for sending overseas |
| EMS | 国際スピード郵便 | kokusai speedo yuubin | This service will send a package to most places in a speedy 2-4 days, but costs significantly more |
| Surface Air Lifted | エコノミー航空 | ekonomi koukuu | An option halfway between Airmail and Surface Mail and a good middle ground between speed and expense |
| Insurance | 保険 | hoken | For the package, varies by amount |
| Registered mail | 書留 | kakitome | Proof that the mail was sent, the receiver will sign to show that it was delivered |
Express Mail Service (EMS)
EMS and Package shipping are available to over 120 countries worldwide. Please note that there are things that cannot be sent by EMS or that are banned by the destination country. Therefore before sending your EMS mail or package, please check the table below.
Prohibited Items
| Category | Sub-category | Examples of Nonmailable Articles |
|---|---|---|
| Explosives and hazardous materials | Gunpowder | Fireworks, firecrackers, ammunitions |
| Flammable liquids | Lighter fuel, paint | |
| Compressed gasses | Fire extinguishers, aqualungs, dust removers (spray type), portable condensed oxygen, helium gas, gas stove burners for camping, gas for portable stoves, gas for lighters | |
| Flammable materials | Matches, lighters | |
| Oxidizers | Bleach, peroxidative agents, oxygen generators for personal use | |
| Oxidizers | Chloroform, insecticide transpirators (heat type) | |
| Poisonous substances | Mercury, batteries | |
| Radioactive substances | Plutonium, radium, uranium, cesium | |
| Narcotics | Narcotics and psychotropic substances | |
| Live animals | Live animals | |
| Pornographic materials | Pornographic or immoral materials | |
For further reading please go to the Japan Post website.
Japan Post
Rates and Dates
Not sure how long your package will take. Well, this is Japan, so you can get an estimate even before you start the process. You can try to find out the rate and number of delivery days by entering the destination, the type of item, and the weight. You can access that service here.
Discount Rates For International Mail
The postal service provides discount services to frequent mailers. But of course, conditions apply.
You will be eligible for discounts for letter post (except for parcels) if the following are ticked.
- It applies when one sender sends more than 1,000 items of one type at once.
- Please classify your items according to the receiving country as well as the mailing method (Airmail, SAL, Surface Mail).
- Please write a receiving country (territory) name as well as “discount” in red ink in the form distributed by the post office from where you want to ship your items and bundle the form together with the items.
- Please post the items according to the schedule established by the relevant post office.
- Applies to payment of postage other than by affixing postage stamps (only those paid in cash), payment of postage by the use of a franking machine, or post-payment of postage
Just in case you were wondering if you can get discounts on shipping parcels, the answer is yes. You can get discounts for parcels if you send more than 10 items at once. So, if you are shipping more than 10 items remember to ask how to get your discount.
For even more about discounts go to the JP Post website.
Using the Japanese postal system is usually a breeze, however, if you do happen to go there on a bad day the staff members are usually helpful. If you are still having trouble go with a friend who speaks Japanese. The Japanese postal system is a well-oiled machine that processes millions of transactions daily. I am certain you will find it easy to use as the rest of us have.
