Buying goods from your favorite Japanese online shops is easy, especially when delivering products worldwide. But what happens if they don’t? How do you easily ship purchased items down to your home country without paying insane fees?
That is where a Japanese forwarding service comes in!
Japanese forwarding companies are the best alternative to Japan post. These companies act as an intermediary. They help customers ship purchased products from Japan to their intended destination. This post reviewed some of the best parcel forwarding companies in Japan.
What is a Parcel Forwarding Service?
A parcel forwarding service allows you to shop at an online shop like Amazon Japan, eBay, etc., deliver the purchased item to a certain address, and send it to a location of your choice. This service is suitable for individuals who enjoy shopping from online stores that don’t ship items to their area.
How Does Parcel Forwarding Work?
A parcel forwarding service works in a simple way. Suppose you are a resident of New York, United States of America, and intend to shop for a product that is only available in Japan.
Of course, you can visit one of those reliable online Japanese shops selling the product you want and requesting or ordering it. But, what happens if the particular store doesn’t offer international delivery? Or perhaps the international shipping fee to your country is expensive?
In that case, you’ll need the assistance of a package forwarding company. With the help of a package forwarding service, you can live in America or anywhere in the world and purchase products from any online shop in Japan.
For more clarity, here is how the process works:
Step by Step Process
So here is how the packaging forwarding process plays out.
- First off, you register for the package forwarding service. Most operate on a membership basis, allowing potential members to choose between a basic level of service and one with an extra benefit.
- Next, the service provider offers you a virtual address in Japan (Japan address) or wherever you intend to ship or buy the product from. The virtual address is a real address. It’s typically a warehouse owned by the service provider or its logistic ally.
- Whenever you intend to purchase a product in a Japanese store online, you do the usual—access the website (just as you do while shopping online). You select the product you want to buy and visit the checkout page to pay and arrange shipment.
- Here is where the virtual address comes into play. You instruct the vendor to send your order to the Japan address, which is typically the package forwarding company’s warehouse.
- Next, the forwarding company receives your items, removes the original packaging, inspects the content, repackages them, and preps them for international shipping.
- Finally, the forwarding company ships your items to your country at a discounted rate. The company takes care of customs clearance and then delivers your purchases to the address you choose, whether in America or worldwide.
Easy-Peasy, right?
Well, the truth is you only get to enjoy shopping with this process when you use the services of a good Japan package forwarding service.
That said, what are the best package forwarding services in Japan?
Here are some of the best forwarding companies to consider.
Best Japan Package Forwarding Service
- Forward2Me
- OPAS
- Tenso
- Benly Express
- Leyifan
With the service of a package forwarding company, you can shop from any online store of your choice, even if they don’t support international delivery.
However, you’ll need to go for the best to enjoy the full benefit of a Japan package forwarding service. In selecting the best, you’ll need to analyze their shipping method, cost and time, credibility, monthly fee, and other factors.
Here are some of the best Japan Packaging Forwarding services to consider:
Forward2Me
Forward2me is one of the biggest package forwarding companies in Japan. Though U-K based, they offer shoppers addresses in Germany, Japan, and Turkey.
With Forward2me, shoppers who purchase items from online stores in Japan can have them delivered to their virtual address (aka the company’s warehouse) and shipped to their home country.
Forward2Me ships products to 190 countries in two days. This is possible because they use couriers to send items rather than pretty slow snail mail.
The cost of dispatching your items with Forward2Me depends on what you are ordering. Shoppers who order home appliances should expect to pay more than those who order clothes due to the difference in size and weight.
Features
- Protection and insurance are available on multiple items (extra fee)
- Offers free Japanese shipping address
- Ship products worldwide
- Friendly customer support
Pros
- They offer different payment methods: Credit Cards, PayPal, Bank Transfer, and Bitcoin.
- You get 4 free addresses when you signup.
Cons
- Per item, the photo fee is a little bit expensive.
Pricing
- There is no standard shipping fee. Pricing is determined via the shipping calculator on their website.
Opas
Opas is another reliable package forwarding company to consider when buying products from Japanese online stores that don’t offer international delivery. Based in Oregon, United States of America, Opas connects customers with their favorite brands in Japan and the U.S.
OPAS—a mail and parcel forwarding company—has an efficient and innovative system that facilitates deliveries to companies, individuals, or e-commerce markets.
Shoppers in the United States of America, Canada, or anywhere in the world can purchase a product from a brand in Japan and have it shipped to their location hassle-free.
Unlike other parcel forwarding companies, OPAS offers numerous services and membership plans. Their free services include package consolidation, repackaging, storage, etc. On the other hand, their paid services consist of photos and scans, additional storage, return handling, and dispatching, etc.
Features
- 30 days of free storage space
- Tax-free address for business solutions and distributor service
- Bilingual customer service
- Plans start at $0 per month.
Pros
- You get 30 days of free storage.
Cons
- Only the Pro plan offers free package consolidation.
Pricing
- The shipping fee depends on package type, weight, size, and destination.
URL: https://opas.com/
Tenso
Do you live outside Japan and wish to buy items from Japanese websites? Tenso Japan can grant your wish while helping you save on shipping costs.
Established in 2004, Tenso is a parcel packaging company that helps shoppers ship goods purchased in Japan to their intended destination. They offer unique benefits like same-day shipping notifications, a 5% off express mail service rate, and free insurance to individuals who use their services.
Tenso offers consolidation services, meaning that shoppers can purchase multiple products from a Japanese store, consolidate them with Tenso and ship them to their home country.
Due to size, packages like golf clubs, umbrellas, and guitars cannot be consolidated. Also, Tenso doesn’t ship domestically to Japan. However, it offers services to those who wish to ship goods overseas.
Features
- Topnotch customer service
- Offers EMS, Surface mail, and DHL options.
- Only ship products to shoppers overseas
Pros
- Free insurance.
Cons
- Tenso doesn’t ship domestically to Japan.
Pricing
- The fee depends on the weight of the package and the destination.
Benly Express
Many shoppers love Benly Express because it makes online shopping more convenient. They provide customers with different dispatching options like express mail service, air, and sea to suit their needs.
But that is the tip of the iceberg. Benly Express boasts more perks and additional services that should get you excited.
First off, their website features a shipping cost calculator that gives you a quick estimate of your shipping bill.
Also, Benly Express supports buying from any Japanese online store that doesn’t accept payment with other countries’ VISA/ Master card or PayPal accounts. Their handling and shipping fees are affordable compared to other companies.
Features
- Offers tracking number to help you monitor your items
- Repackage products that come in bad packages
- They ship to many countries worldwide
- They conduct a comprehensive check of the content of your goods.
Pros
- BENLY Express does not charge any handling fee.
Cons
- The website interface might need more enhancements.
Pricing
- The cost of BEX depends on destination countries/ areas, package weight, and shipping method.
URL: https://benlyexpress.com/en/
Leyifan
Leyifan is another popular parcel forwarding company in Japan that offers shoppers abroad a convenient way to shop for Japanese items and send them down to their desired destination. Like other package forwarding companies, new users get a Japanese shipping address upon signing up.
If you are looking for a forwarding company that offers lots of free services, Leyifan is your best bet. Leyifan parcel packaging service offers free repackaging, registration, and storage for 30 days.
They also have automated warehousing. Unfortunately, they don’t ship products like essential oil, oil-filled radiator, rechargeable batteries, life vest, tempo drop, etc. You can check out their site for the full list of prohibited items.
Features
- Free registration and membership
- Free storage for 30 days
- Automated warehousing
- Great customer support
- Offers users Japanese addresses for their shopping needs
- Cheap service
Pros
- Affordable pricing.
Cons
- Some users complained about the slow shipping.
- They charge a 200 JPY handling fee.
- Currently, only EMS packets can be insured.
Pricing
- A cheap handling fee of 200 JPY ($1.49) per package
- The shipping fee depends on the weight of your package, including the dispatching method you use
URL: https://www.leyifan.com/en/
How Much Does it Cost to Ship From Japan?
Before considering a package forwarding service, you must conduct some research. For instance, if you intend to purchase Japanese goods and ship them to your home country, you’ll need to figure out the cost beforehand.
How much will it cost you to ship products from Japan?
The cost of shipping from Japan depends on several factors. These factors are:
- The package forwarding service
- Package dimension
- Package weight
- Destination
- Package to be shipped
Shipping cost calculators are often used to determine the costs of dispatching Japanese products from Japan to other countries.
These calculators, which are present on the websites of some package forwarding companies, consider the factors above to provide an accurate estimate.
Hack: If you buy multiple items from different stores, consolidate the items into one shipment to save money. Also, avoid using surface mail or Japan post to ship your products as they tend to be slow.
Why Use The Japanese Parcel Forwarding Service?
What do you do when you purchase products from online stores in Japan that don’t ship internationally or offer expensive shipping costs?
In this case, you can sign up for a Japanese package forwarding service.
A Japanese package forwarding service helps you buy products from online shops in Japan and send them to you anywhere in the world. With this service, you can buy rare items that aren’t available in other countries besides Japan. Plus, you can shop on Japanese sites that don’t ship internationally.
Japanese Online shops that Don’t offer international shipping
Most Japanese stores don’t ship overseas. So before shopping at Japanese online stores, you must have an idea of stores that don’t offer international delivery.
Here are a few:
- Zozotown
- Wowma
- Yahoo! Auction Japan
- Rakuma ( offers international shipping to some countries outside Japan)
- Creema
- UNIQLO
Is it Possible to Ship Multiple Packages Together in One shipment?
Did you buy multiple goods from multiple Japanese online stores? If so, you may want to save costs by shipping many items in one shipment.
But is that possible?
Of course, it is possible to ship multiple Japanese goods together in one shipment—a process known as multi-package shipping. It can save you a lot of time and money.
Conclusion
If you love to shop online, especially from Japanese online shops, you’ll love Japanese forwarding companies. These companies ease the online shopping process, making it convenient to purchase goods from Japan and send them to your location.
While selecting the ideal packaging company for your need, ensure you consider the purchased item, cost, and delivery time. Plus, all requests, questions, and concerns should be tabled to the customer services of your forwarding company.
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