Hotel/Inn holding luggage early/late

I've worked out most of our 10 day itinerary, however I didn't factor in that a lot of the sights and things we want to do we would have checked out or not checked in yet. Will most places hold your luggage early for later check in, or keep it late for pickup afterwards? Is it too risky to assume they will without trying to contact them first (which seems difficult due to language etc)
Thanks

I've always done that on my four trips to Japan at various types of hotels/inns with no problem and no advance notice was required....

Sometimes depending on location it can be more convenient to use station lockers...just an idea...

Thanks for that. I've since contacted a couple and found their web sites and most do mention thats OK.
I did wonder about lockers, but wasn't sure how common they were outside of Tokyo.