Question... what transport company is a reliable company to ship your luggage in Japan? I am considering having my luggage shipped from my hotel in Tokyo to hotel in Kyoto (since I will be staying one night in Hakone before going to Kyoto).

Also do you need to notify the hotel in Kyoto they should be expecting my bag? Or they would know what to do? Any suggestions on luggage transport in general?

Thanks!

Here's all the info you need:
http://www.japanguide.com/e/e2278.html

If you do that at your hotel, most likely you will ask your hotel to do it and they will do it via a reputable company so actually you almost don't need to know which company is reliable or not. Actually I cannot think of any UNreliable company but the most known ones are, Yamato (Black Cat) and Nittsu (Pelican). There must be a few others I don't know of. Just give the address of the Kyoto hotel (ideally printed and not hand written so easy to read) to your Tokyo hotel staff and they will do it for you.

Of course it's easy to notify your hotel in Kyoto but if your name & check-in date are clearly indicated on the shipping bill, you can do without, I think.

travlr67,

The companies that kappa mentions will be the choice of the bell desk personnel at the hotel which you will be staying in Tokyo.

Just call the bell desk when your bags are ready and give them the name, address and telephone number if you have it of your next hotel and they will take care of the rest.

They will tag and wrap your luggage for you. They will also call your next hotel for you if you need baggage storage in case of your requirements being too many days in advance. I have had the first hotel store my bags for me and send them 1 week later to my hotel to arrive just in time for my arrival. The Japanese people are very accommodating. See here for further information

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html

Aloha!

Thanks! It's good to hear they are reliable (Don't want to be stuck with no clothes!).

I'm still debating on whether to carry a big backpack or bring a suitcase. Backpack just seems so much more easy to carry (i.e up the stairs, walking to hotel from train station) than a suitcase. I'll be spending 4 nights in Tokyo --> 1 night in Hakone --> 4 nights in Tokyo.

Bookmarking

I used a luggage delivery service twice during my July trip in going between hotels -- once from the Tokyo suburb of Makuhari into downtown Tokyo, then from Tokyo to Kyoto. It was great!

Both times the hotel already had an established relationship with a delivery firm. Both used the same one, which I suspect was Yamato. Sending the suitcase was 1470 yen -- a bargain.

You will need to ask the hotel concierge when they need to get your bag in order for it to be delivered when/where you want. Both my hotels wanted the bag by 4pm to ensure delivery the next morning at the next hotel.

You'll need the full address of the destination hotel. If you can print it off someplace that shows the name and address in Japanese, so much the better. I had a page printed from each hotel's website, and that was perfect.