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—-Table of contents—-
1. 5 Japan-based package forwarders for individuals
2. Shipping costs comparison
~Service comparison~
3. Rakuten Global Express
4. Tenso
5. Malltail
6. 2nd post
7. Forward2me
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International package forwarding services (International shipping services) are really useful as it allows you to shop on other countries’ online shops.
There are, however, many forwarders which ship from Japan, and you might be wondering which one to choose.
I would like to suggest the following 5 companies, and international shipping costs and services provided by each company are compared in this article so that you can choose a company best suited for you.
Let me get straight to the points before the comparison.
- If you can use the services in Japanese…
Malltail would be the best choice as it provides services at the most reasonable price of all of the 5 companies.
- If you need the package as soon as possible…
Forward2me would be the best choice as it usually delivers packages in 2-3 days.
- If you shop on Rakuten Ichiba…
Rakuten Global Express would be the best choice as Rakuten Ichiba automatically shares your purchase information with Rakuten Global Express and you can save the time and trouble in registering the information to the forwarders.
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To find a company which provides the international package forwarding services at the most reasonable price, I listed the shipping costs offered by each company in the table below.
The conditions are as follows:
- From Japan to the US
- Weight: 1kg
*EMS is a courier service by Japan post.
| Rakuten Global Express | ・EMS: 5,110 yen (5-10 days) *Max. Length : 150 cm *Max. Length+Girth : 275 cm |
| Tenso | ・EMS: 4,300 yen ←The third cheapest! ・DHL: 4,731 yen |
| Malltail | ・EMS: 2,033 yen ←The cheapest! |
| 2nd post | ・EMS: 3,400 yen ←The second cheapest! (Breakdown: 550+2,900+800*=4,250 yen (*800 yen is added due to COVID-19)) |
| Forward2me | ・UPS: 7,415 yen (2 business days) ・DHL: 4,420 yen (3 business days) *Dimensions: 17.5×22.5×14.5cm |
Some pages are available only in Japanese on Malltail’s website (the cheapest), and the entire website of 2nd post (the second cheapest) is available only in Japanese. Therefore, Tenso might be the best choice if you do not speak Japanese.
(I would like to recommend Malltail if you don’t mind using translation services such as Google translate since Malltail is a reliable company and most of the pages on its website are translated in English.)
・・・・・・
Photo credit: https://globalexpress.rakuten.co.jp/
Recommended for those who;
- shop on Rakuten Ichiba
- want to earn Rakuten Points
- use consolidation services
| Languages | English / 繁體中文 / 简体中文 / 한국어 / 日本語 |
| Countries Served | More than 70 countries |
| Identity Verification | Reruired |
| Consolidation service | ◯ (For free) |
| Deliver with | DHL, FedEx, Japan post (EMS, SAL) etc.. |
| Insurance | <Products bought on Rakuten Ichiba>
<Products bought on other websites>
※Further details: https://globalexpress.rakuten.co.jp/help/insurance?l-id=help_en_insurance |
| Other information |
|
Photo credit: https://www.tenso.com/en
Recommended for those who;
- speak Chinese or Korean
- need delivery to major countries
| Languages | English / 繁體中文 / 简体中文 / 한국어 / 日本語 |
| Countries Served | More than 80 countries |
| Identity Verification | Reruired |
| Consolidation service | ◯ (200 yen + 300 yen per additional package (Example: 800 yen for 3 packages)) |
| Deliver with | Japan post (EMS, economy airmail, airmail, surface mail) |
| Insurance | ◯ (Offers some insurance services for free. Please see this page for further information.) |
| Other information |
|
Photo credit: https://jp.malltail.com
Recommended for those who;
- can use the services in Japanese
- want to save the shipping cost
| Languages | English / 日本語 *Some pages are available only in Japanese. |
| Countries Served | More than 120 countries |
| Identity Verification | Required |
| Consolidation service | ◯ (300 yen for packages upto 3) |
| Deliver with | Japan post (EMS), Fedex |
| Insurance | ◯ (Insurance for free – Japan post EMS: upto 20,000 yen, Fedex: upto 30,000 yen.) Please see this page for further information.) |
| Other information |
|
Photo credit: https://www.2ndpost.net/transfer.html
Recommended for those who;
- can use services in Japanese
- need to combine more than 3 packages
| Languages | 日本語 |
| Countries Served | More than 120 countries |
| Identity Verification | Required |
| Consolidation service | ◯ ・upto 1kg: 500 yen ・upto 30kg: 800 yen |
| Deliver with | Japan post (EMS), DHL |
| Insurance | ◯ (The first 20,000 yen is free of charge. Additional fee is required for more than 20,000 yen) |
| Other information |
|
Photo credit: https://www.forward2me.com/warehouses/japan/
Recommended for those who;
- need international package forwarding services for inexpensive products
- need delivery to a country not shipped by the other forwarders
| Languages | English |
| Countries Served | Anywhere in the world (according to its website) |
| Identity Verification | Not required |
| Consolidation service | ◯ (270 yen per product, free storage for 30 days) |
| Deliver with | DHL, UPS |
| Insurance | × (Offers a protection service only for express courier service with extra charge. Please this page for further information.) |
| Other information |
|