Tokyo to Kyoto Luggage Emergency

Hi there,

I am going to Japan on Monday for the first time. I will be staying in Matsudo for a week, after which I have booked a tour leaving the tokyo area going through Nara to Kyoto (It's with Viator, if that makes a difference.) While the tour returns to Tokyo I will instead be staying on in Kyoto until I fly from Osaka to Okinawa on the 19th.

I have just learned from Viator that I can not bring my suitcase with me on the tour as there will not be room on the bullet train. This is non-negotiable and I will not be permitted to board. They urged me to leave my bag in Tokyo, however I will not be returning to Tokyo and absolutely need it for the rest of my stay. The tour operator offered me no other options. I can still obtain a full refund, however I will be left without a tour/means of getting to nara/kyoto.

What should I do? Please, please help. I am absolutely freaking out.

Thank you, -m

If you know where you will be staying, you can send it by takkyubin.

As above, use a luggage forwarding service. OR as it is only Nara, there isn't really a need for a tour. Just take shinkansen to Kyoto, drop bags at hotel and visit Nara.

As previous posters said, use luggage delivery. Of course the fee depends on the size of the luggage, normally it will be around 2000 yen.

Matsudo is not a touristic place or the focus of the transportation network so I guess you will be staying non-hotel accommodation. Maybe your friends house or airbnb or like that. There you will communicate some Japanese people. Ask them for the nearest office or convenience stores which deal with luggage delivery. Takkyubin is the most famous and popular. The staff will tell you how to deal with your luggage. They can send it to anywhere in Japan with the specified date/hours within 7 days time frame. They will suggest the best options for you: If you will stay in a Hotel in Kyoto, they will send it there, if you will stay in a person's house where you can't receive the luggage, then they will send the luggage to some Takkyubin office close to your accommodation where you can receive it. Anyway, no problem, just ask the staff. They will know the best solution.

I am of the take train to Kyoto and get a local tour guide to bring you around. I am sure that there are tour companies in Kyoto. It is a considerably tourist city and large enough for some to support the tourist there.

A couple of thoughts:
So, this is a tour where no one is allowed luggage? Very odd. Or is it the usual one piece each deal?

Second, you could take it in the train with you and ignore Viator - they are not going to stop other people taking hand bags/day bags and the shinkansen does have space (if the tour operator things otherwise, they must be pretty bad - Viator contract in other providers).

Third, get a refund (as suggested) and look for something that suits what you need - there are lots of tours and the transit part is not really saving you money by booking a tour (well, that's the approach I would take pricing something like that).

Overall, please don't stress. You can still have a great trip.

So, this is a tour where no one is allowed luggage? Very odd. Or is it the usual one piece each deal?

Just because you state a one piece limit, it doesn't mean people are going to listen. You wonder why these tours are being so restrictive with luggage? Certainly not because they never had any issue with tour takers regularly stretching the limits of what's reasonable to haul on a train car.

The case could be that the tour is popular. So although the shinkansen does allow bags on-board they do not want the case where the coach does not have space (i am guessing that is how they will bring you around). Perhaps, the tour is so popular that the whole shinkansen carriage is used by Viator! Imagine everyone with super large suitcases! There ain't no check in for this train journey!

Or it could be that the tour is not popular and the coach is only a small mini-van! No space for luggage then. Train station lockers may not have the space if the luggage is oddly shaped.

In all seriousness I would drop the tour.

Thank you all so much!!! Sorry for the late reply, I had some difficulty logging back in. I have opted to ship my suitcase rather than rearrange my entire itinerary. Thanks again, I really had no idea about takkyubin!

Thanks!
-m