Luggage in Japan

Hello, I have a few questions about luggage in Japan. We will be 2 adults traveling across Japan, on April, for a three weeks period.

The first two questions are concerning parts of our trip that we want to leave our luggage so we could walk without them. Two examples are Hiroshima, which we will get there from Kyoto, but not stay there at night (we will stay at Miyajima). We want to explore Hiroshima without the luggage. The second is Himeji - we will be getting there from Miyajima on our way to Osaka, and need to leave the luggage somewhere.

1) Forward Luggage Service in the hotel: Is it recommended? Can it be done from any hotel to any hotel? Is it safe? How much time in advance should I order it? How much does it cost?

2) Locker service in JR Stations: Is there always free space in the lockers or they might be all full? Is it easy to use? Can I find it in any train station? what do you recommend, the forward luggage service or the lockers on the JR?

3) Luggage on JR trains and city trains: Is there any problem traveling with luggage in means of room for them? Holding them near us on the train?

4) Luggage to Koyasan: We will be traveling to Koyasan from Osaka for a night. Should we expect any problems traveling with a luggage to Koyasan, mainly on the cable car?


Thank you for your help!

Forwarding service takes at least one day even though your luggage is sent within the city.

Coin lockers are available at most of stations but unsure about the locker size. Your luggage may not fit in there.
And also, there are no vacant lockers sometimes.

There are luggage spaces on Shinkansen and other express trains. There is no luggage space for local trains.

You can not bring your luggage on the cable car. You must leave your luggage somewhere else.

Something quite popular is to use a luggage forwarding service and take a small night pack between major towns. That may be a possibility but I've never done that myself. I've almost always had a place to put my luggage....

I'd like to point out that lockers in the JR station have them in 3-4 sizes, I have used them before just like you of not having to pull them whiles shopping.

If ithelps, my luggage is a 28inch, and I think I used the largest lockers with little room left to squash the odd things along the top or sides.

You can use delivery service such as Ta-Q-bin by Kuroneko yamato¡ I think it is very reliable. But at the same time, I think you can carry all of your baggages if you cut down your belongings. Clothes for three days are enough since you can wash your clothes if you stay in typical Japanese "business hotels" such as Toyoko Inns, Roynet hotels, Richmond hotels or Dormy Inns.

If you bring one carry-on size suitcase and one daypack per person, you can easily take it on any public transportations (trains including Shinkansen, buses etc.). At most of the "touristic" train stations, you will find coin-lockers which will store your carry-on suitcase for about 300 yen per 1 day. I have never encountered the situation when the coin-lockers are full. However, coin-lockers for larger suitcase are rather hard to find.

Thanks!
1) For all those who wrote "large luggage", what do you mean in large? is 28 inch large?
2) One of the most important things written here is that I can't take my luggage to Mt.Koyasan on the cable car. Is there anyone who has been there and could share his experience?
3) The main places we thought of using the lockers are Hiroshima station and Himeji station, has anyone done that?
Thanks again!

A suitcase size 28 is humongous and IMHO awkward to travel with in Japan. Over the years I've travelled to Japan several times, started off with a suitcase as large as yours and quickly learned that having a large suitcase can be a nuisance. Seems each time I travel to Japan I bring a smaller suitcase. Japanese are masters in travelling light....
Enjoy your trip!

Also, most hotels have coin-operated laundry machines, so you really don't need to pack more than a couple days' worth of clothes. My latest trip was six weeks long and I had only a travel bag of about 15kg, plus a small backpack.

Officicially, Japan Rail allow you to bring two pieces of luggage, where one piece should be lighter than 30 kg and the sum of three dimentions should be less than 250 cm, less than 200 cm in length.

https://www.jreast.co.jp/ryokaku/02_hen/10_syo/01_setsu/index.html#307

So, theoletically you can bring your 28 inch suitcase. However, on most of the long-distance trains (such as Shinkansen) there is no luggage storage so that you might encounter difficulties keeping your luggage. The overhead baggage shelf is not so spacious, so you can only put the carry-on size luggage. You can refer to the ANA website for the size of the carry-on luggage.

https://www.ana.co.jp/wws/japan/e/local/dom/checkin/baggage/carry_on.h...

The largest size of coin-locker in Hiroshima station is 113.5*57.5*33.5 cm.

http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1250480697

If you are lucky, you can take the rear-most seat of Shinkansen where you can keep your large suitcase (yes, 28 inch suitcase is considered large, as you can not keep it overhead) behind your seat. But if you can't, you will encounter difficulties: You are not allowed to keep it on the aisle. So, if you stick to your 28 inch suitcase, your safest option should be using luggage delivery service. But again, as a Japanese, I strongly recommend the foreign tourist to take small size luggage as Ducth Ann and Firas did. If you use train as your main transportation tool, you should carry only carry-on size luggage.

Regarding Koyasan, the above information is incorrect. You CAN take your luggage on the cablecar - my friend and I both took our large suitcases on the cablecar last November, as did two other couples! You will have no problems, and there is plenty of space.

Just regarding taking luggage on the shinkansen- when I book my ticket I just ask for the seat that is the last in the carriage and I put my luggage directly behind me. My large suitcase fits with room to spare.

Thanks a lot!
About koyasan, since i heard a few different opinions about the luggage on the cable car, can more of you shed some light about it, thanks

My friend and I just put our large suitcasses in the last row and nobody said anything (On the Shinkansen). And we were definitely seated somewhere in the middle of the train.

That said, it may be frowned upon idk.

But it's a pita traveling with a huge suitcase. Pack lighter or use the luggage delivery service.

There was often only one big locker left for my suitcase at various trainstations (89 cm height, dunno what it is in inches) and it was about 600 yen?

We too used to put our suitcases behind the last row in the Shinkansen while our seats were somewhere in the middle. It was ok, except for one time when the train conductor clearly didn't like that and asked us to put our luggage elsewhere.
If you still need to purchase your suitcase I would suggest buying a smaller suitcase with a carry-on bag that can be attached to the pull-out handle of the suitcase. That will give you more flexibility and probably less hassle...

I travel with a rolling bag that's 13½" x 20" x 9" and a backpack where I put my laptop, camera, and purse. I use compression bags so my clothes take up less space, and I do laundry every 4-6 days. If you haven't purchased your suitcase yet, try it!

I like to add the larger lockers in Train stations tends to go first so unless you where there really early in the morning, chances are you will not find a large locker available.

As for "suitcases behind the last row" thing, I googled and found a discussion regarding to whom this space is belonging.

http://komachi.yomiuri.co.jp/t/2014/1231/695132.htm?o=2

This thread is summarized as below.

http://kirinukikomachi.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-301.html

The conclusion (given by JR Central which operates Tokaido Shinkansen) is that the space behind the last row is belonging to no one. Basically, it should be considered as first come first take. If there might be some conflict between travelers, JR Central says "Please talk over about the issue by yourselves." :).

In my experience, those who talk louder will win :) since there is no correct answer.

The above instance is about very busy day (maybe the end of the year) so this should be very rare case. In normal days, the first come first take rule should be applied.