mailing things back from japan.

I'm traveling with a group to Tokyo and Osaka and we are planing on doing a lot of shopping! I wanted to know information on shipping things back to the US as gift and to myself. Is shipping a way around paying duties in the US?

Its pretty easy to ship things back to the US, however it is likely to be expensive. Its cheapest from the post office, and here's their rates so you can check it out ahead of time. Consider that it may be cheaper to check an extra suitcase and pay the extra baggage charge instead of shipping the same amount of stuff to yourself.

http://www.post.japanpost.jp/english/index.html

Is shipping a way around paying duties in the US?

No, you are required to count shipped items in your customs declaration, and the $700 duty free personal limit applies the combined total of what you have on you and what you have mailed. There is also the potential that duty is applied to your mailed items when they go through customs inspection upon arriving in the US.