Japanese Post Office supplies?

I'll be in Japan this summer and will probably buy loads of bits and pieces, but as I'll then be going to Korea and China, I don't want to carry them around with me, so I though I'd post them back home. My question is, do Japanese post offices sell [overpriced] supplies like boxes, envelopes, tape, etc. like most UK ones? I just don't want to have to spend precious holiday time searching for postage supplies!

Jared,

I don't recall seeing anything other than boxes and cushioned envelopes at post offices. You can find other essentials at convenience stores everywhere and also 100 yen shops.

Yes to boxes, but there wasn't any tape to buy when I was there -- they just let you use their tape instead. It's a sort of plain brown packing tape.

The boxes aren't actually all that expensive, I don't think the largest one was over 300 yen.

When I was in Japan I went to a Post Office to post a few things and the lady was very confused when I gave them to her unpackaged because I was expecting there to be envelopes etc at the Post Office. Luckily a customer was there to explain to me that I needed to buy the envelopes somewhere else, so I went to a 100 yen shop to buy them. So you wont find them at the Post Office! It's a strange concept coming from Australia.

Well the idea here is that we take packaged stuff to the post office, and they take care of the dispatch and delivery part :) Boxes and envelopes are sold, but the idea is that people buy them, take them home, do the packaging at home THEN bring the package for sending :)

If you need a bit of packaging tape to just close off the top, you can ask and they normally let you use theirs, but for extensive packaging, it is recommended to buy a roll at a convenience store or a 100-yen store.

Boxes they have, reasonably priced in my opinion, and the larger ones come with pre-cut tape. The smaller ones don't, but as above they will usually happily lend you their tape and pens to write on the boxes with.

Large used cardboard boxes are often available free of charge at supermarkets. They give out the boxes that came with the groceries. But I'm not sure if post offices offer the best deal for packages as big as that.

If you use EMS service,
Large cushioned EMS envelopes are provided free of charge, just FYI. They're pretty large and you can fit some items into them.

Tape and glue is usually found at tables nearby with forms and pens etc.

http://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/ems/service/package_en...

Otherwise arts, craft stores, and 100 yen shops have packaging material for sale.

Japan post boxes are also for sale.