Shipping From China to Japan

01Freight to Japan

The lowest first-kilogram rate of any market on this site.

Short distance and heavy capacity do most of the work. A 3 kg parcel costs roughly three-quarters of the US equivalent and lands in half the time.

02The allowance is smaller than it looks

¥10,000 generally, but clothing and footwear are assessed lower.

The general duty-free allowance for personal parcels is ¥10,000, but clothing and footwear sit in a category where the practical threshold is much lower, so apparel parcels are commonly taxed even when small. Consumption tax at 10% applies on the assessed value plus freight.

Assessment is per parcel and per consignment. Several small parcels arriving together can be treated as one consignment, which is the detail that catches people splitting a haul.

03Speed is the selling point

4–8 days by air, and clearance usually inside 48 hours.

Most air lines to Japan clear within two working days of arrival. Last mile is handled by Yamato, Sagawa or Japan Post depending on the line. Express is 2–4 days and rarely worth the premium on a personal parcel.

04Declaring to Japanese customs

A Japanese-language invoice is not required, but a clear English one is.

Describe the item, the material and the quantity; state the value in yen or the currency paid. Where a parcel mixes categories, the assessed rate follows the highest-risk item in the consignment rather than an average.

05What goes wrong

Fewer failures than most markets, with two exceptions.

Consignment splitting — several parcels arriving in the same week treated as one for the allowance — and prohibited food and plant products, which Japanese customs destroys without compensation. Quarantine applies to meat, fruit and seeds even in small quantities.

Q&AQuestions people ask about this route