mklovesny

My hotel is suggesting they send my luggage to my next destination. Is there room for a 24"-26" piece of luggage per person on the JR trains?
I was considering sending it on when I attempt to to see the Himeji castle on route from Kyoto to Hiroshima, but other than that, I would prefer it with me, rather than shipped.
Any insight would be appreciated!

kja

There is SOME room on Japanese trains:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2274.html

Luggage forwarding in Japan (called Ttakuhaibin) is, IME, excellent and very convenient.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html

Only you can decide which options best suit your needs.

deptrai

Yes. Some cars have shelves for luggage in the back. Otherwise, I store mine behind the last row of seats.

Frances

We stopped to see the Himeji castle between Kyoto and somewhere else and we stored our luggage in the luggage lockers in the station.We spent three weeks travelling by train and always took our luggage with us.

kja

Lockers that will accommodate a piece that is 22" or larger are in limited supply in Japanese train stations. See:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2274.html

Note that these lockers have an interior box (used for the collection of coins) that limits the space more than the exterior dimensions would suggest.

kja

BTW, remember that you can travel with an overnight bag, forwarding your other stuff from place to place. I LOVE that option!

mklovesny

Hi Frances.
When you said you stored your luggage, did you have full size (24-26") pieces? I was reading that there was very little locker space for larger pieces. Where did you put your luggage when you were on the train?
Thanks to all for their advice and great links to other information!
MK

Kavey

On our first trip, we had one large case, definitely larger than 26". We did manage OK on the shinkansen but were lucky no one else had already used the limited space behind the last row in the carriage. Oddly, since shinkansen are the long distance carriers of Japan, they had far less storage space than the non bullet trains we used.

On the second trip, we took two smaller cases (and ended up buying a medium-large duffle bag in addition, as I did too much shopping) and found it much easier dealing with multiple smaller pieces than the one large one.

The takuhaibin service is amazing, we used that on both trips, really helpful, very reliable, and not at all expensive.

kmkrnn

We sent luggage forward to our net stop all the time. If you are worried re security I think they have very little issues with problems. It is so much more relaxing not having to lug a heavy case on and off. The stops are so quick I would be afraid of not making it.

Frances

We were carrying rucksacks- each 45 litre so about 30 inches by 15 inches. We also had a small daysack each. Whenever there was a large luggage locker we were able to put into it everything we wanted to leave(ie the two big rucksacks and one day sack) Otherwise we had to use two lockers.
Neither my husband nor myself can now remember where we put our luggage in the train ( our trip was 8 years ago ) but it would certainly have been within view.

eigasuki

You can take your luggage on the shinkansen, though it's not considered polite and you will notice very few if any Japanese with large pieces of luggage. There is space behind the back row of seats and leg room is generous so it's possible to have your things with you if you aren't going far.

I almost always forward my luggage - very safe and very liberating - great for getting off and spending a couple of hours somewhere - ie Himeji

If you must travel with luggage you have to get it on and off quickly as stops are short. Don't try it at busy stations at busy times of the day