Last update on November 28th, 2022 at 08:27 pm
Japanese goods are well-known for their high quality, superior technology, and reliability. This makes many consumers worldwide prefer to buy products from Japan.
Some Japanese products also cost less than those in America.
Buying from Japanese online shops also gives you access to their unique and exciting items like anime & manga, video games, and fashion which have grown globally popular in recent times.
However, it can be challenging to shop and ship products from a Japanese online store directly to your home address if you live abroad.
Some Japanese online stores don’t do international shipping. Those that do may attach exorbitant prices.
That’s why there are package forwarding services to solve this problem.
What is a Japan Forwarding Service?
A forwarding service helps international shoppers to ship their packages from Japan to the United States, Europe, and anywhere when they purchase from online shops that don’t ship directly to their home addresses.
The package forwarding service offers you a Japan shipping address where the online store can easily ship your packages after purchase.
The Japanese address will typically be their warehouse location, and that’s the address you’ll provide when ordering a product from a Japanese online shop.
On receiving your package at their warehouse, the forwarding service will ship your package to you.
This allows you to enjoy shopping for your favorite Japanese brands like Rakuten and Nintendo without any hiccups.
You can also buy multiple items and have them forwarded to you at once. This helps you save money on shipping fees.
But with many options out there, which of these Japanese package forwarding companies offers the best service?
To prevent you from falling victim to scams or an unreliable company, we’ve highlighted the best parcel forwarding companies in Japan.
Best Japan Package Forwarding Services
Here are the top 5 forwarding services in Japan:
Forward2me
Forward2me offers arguably the best parcel forwarding service when it comes to international shipping service. They’re very reliable with fast delivery times.
Although headquartered in the UK, they also have a warehouse location in Japan. This will be the Japanese address they offer you on sign-up.
You can then shop at any Japanese online store using your new address.
Features
- Get a free Japanese shipping address on sign up
- International shipping via DHL, UPS, and Japan Post
- Several payment methods, including PayPal, Visa, Bitcoin, Alipay, and Apple Pay
- Free consolidation as an additional service
- 30 days of free storage for your packages
- On receiving multiple items from different sites, Forward2me combines and repacks them to minimize shipping space
- Does not ship alcohol or packages classified as Dangerous Goods in Japan
- Offers personal shopper, a shopping service that takes the burden of the buying process off your hands. The service provider helps you shop for whatever you need on your request.
- Custom large-item shipping
- You can purchase the Protect+ for coverage over certain goods.
Cons
- High service cost
Opas
Opas operates in America and Japan. It’s an excellent package forwarding solution for online shoppers who live abroad but naturally love to shop for Japanese goods.
Although Opas is more expensive than most other Japanese forwarding services, their service is typical of higher quality.
Opas allows you to ship internationally from Japan to America and anywhere else on the globe.
Features
- Free (basic) and paid plans (Premium and Distributor)
- The free plan offers only package forwarding service
- The paid plans offer additional services to online retailers and wholesalers
- Free consolidation service for premium members
- 30 days of free storage
- Payment options include PayPal, credit, debit, and prepaid cards.
- Save up to 80% on international shipping.
Cons
- Attracts higher shipping fees than most other providers on this list, although the service quality is usually top-notch.
Benly Express
Benly Express is a package forwarding service that offers you a Japanese shipping address for free.
After registering, you can go ahead and buy products from your favorite Japanese online stores, provide your new shipping address on check out, and have your shipment delivered to the location.
On receiving your package, Benly Express inspects and repacks as required before having it shipped to your home address.
Features
- Free registration
- Supports multiple shipping methods such as Express Mail Service (EMS), AIR, SAL, and sea
- Flat package registration fee of ¥150. No membership or annual fee
- Impressive customer support
- Impressive packaging
- Inspect shipment for damage and may change the original packaging before forwarding it to the customer
- A clear shipping cost calculator
- You can request the tracking number from customer support
Cons
- The identity of the website owner is still unknown. The Alexa rank (how much traffic the site gets) is also pretty low.
URL: https://benlyexpress.com/en/
Tenso
Tenso is one of Japan’s most reliable package forwarding service providers, shipping packages worldwide.
On receiving your packages at their large warehouse, they repack and re-ship them to your door wherever you are on the globe.
You can shop your favorite Japanese online stores like Amazon JP and Rakuten without necessarily being familiar with them.
Note that there’s another forwarding service known as Tenso Japan, but that’s not the same as “Tenso.com.”
Features
- Tenso package forwarding service offers you a Japan address after signing up
- Free registration with no monthly fee. Only pay when you use the forwarding service
- Various shipping methods like EMS, AIR, SAL, and Surface Mail
- Consolidation service so that multiple items from different online shops can be shipped at once
- Provides Styrofoam packaging to protect fragile items
- Ships large packages
- Accept PayPal
- Displays a list of recommended Japanese shops to make things easier for the customer.
Cons
- It might take you time to figure out how to use the forwarding service.
Leyifan
Leyifan has proven to be one of the best services for package forwarding from Japan. Although there are a handful of dissatisfied customers (as expected), the company also has some happy customers.
Shop Japanese items and have them delivered to your country.
Features
- Free registration, after which you get your Japanese shipping address at no cost
- No monthly fee
- Free 30 days storage
- Free repackaging to reduce weight and shipping cost
- The service offers shipping discounts to long term customers
- Friendly customer support
- Timely shipping
- Compensation for loss, damage, and tax is available
- Same-day shipping every day of the year
Cons
- Error messages are in Japanese
- Users have complained about poor packaging
- Users have had issues with Payment
- Have no LinkedIn, Twitter, or YouTube page, so reaching this forwarding service via Social media can be a problem. Instagram and Facebook account audiences are small.
URL: https://www.leyifan.com/en/
FAQs
What is the Cheapest Japan Forwarding Service?
Leyifan.com offers the cheapest package forwarding service for online shoppers from Japanese stores. In addition, they provide more affordable forwarding pricing than other services, and you can choose from different carriers to ship your packages.
Why Use a Japanese Forwarding Service?
Many people naturally like Japanese products because of their high quality, especially their electronics such as video games and tech.
But getting hold of Japanese products in some other parts of the world can be quite challenging. Many Japanese online shops do not ship to most other countries.
The essence of a Japanese forwarding service is to take the hassle out of shipping Japan-based products to online shoppers abroad.
How Long Does Express Mail Take from Japan?
There are four international shipping methods in Japan, of which Express Mail Service is the fastest. It takes about 2-5 days to transport express mail to the destination country, shipped by plane.
Japan post delivers express mail internationally.
How Much Does it Cost to Ship from Japan?
Japanese stores that ship internationally typically offer the service at a very high price. Most package forwarding services are reasonably lower, although their prices vary.
To know how much it will cost you to ship from Japan, you may use the pricing tool on the service provider’s site for a quick estimate.
The estimate is often determined by weight, dimensions, and destination address. Japanese stores will typically charge a fee to ship to the warehouse. The package forwarding company will also charge their fee.
When I Order Multiple Packages, Will They Be Delivered Together or Separately?
Even when you shop online at different Japanese sites, the packages will all go to the same Japanese address, where they will be consolidated into one shipment and forwarded to you, provided you use the same parcel forwarding service for all.
This will also help you save money on shipping and delivery fees.
Conclusion
Now, there’s nothing stopping you from shopping for your favorite Japanese brands online, whether you live in America or somewhere else.
Out of the five services we have reviewed, you can go with whichever of them works best for you in terms of pricing and shopping service.
However, ensure you do your findings and speak explicitly with customer support to ensure you are all on the same page.
Furthermore, remember that there are fake or unreliable services in virtually every industry. That’s why we have compiled a list of legit Japanese forwarding services you can trust.
Never deal with a forwarding service without first checking their reviews.
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