Hello All, so in figuring out my logistics in moving to Japan, since I am coming from the U.S. and only have an estimate of when my COE will come and how long it would take to convert it into a visa, I have found that the best option for me would be to fly to Korea for 2-3 weeks, wait for my COE, and convert it at the embassy there. Then I will have a relatively inexpensive somewhat last minute short flight (rather than trans-Pacific during near peak season) to Japan, and then begin my apartment search once I get to Japan. In my research I have also noted that it may take me a up to month from when I land in Japan to find an apartment and complete all the paperwork/procedures etc to get an apartment.
So in other words, I will be leaving the US, 2-4 weeks before getting my visa, then another maybe ~3 weeks before I have an apartment address to ship some of my personal items to (approximately 2 suitcases worth).
Now, having researched all of the shippers, no doubt the best choice should be Yamato. They have also explained to me that for Japan, they allow a duty exempt shipment of your personal things when you move to Japan, as long as you declare everything and do it within 2 months of arriving in Japan.
Here is my problem, as explained to me by Yamato, they offer 2 services that could be suitable for me. #1 Normal TA-Q-BIN service: Anyone can send packages to anyone (i.e. self-to-self or friend-to-self), but duties will apply. Since I am leaving the US way before I will have an address in Japan to ship to, I guess I may have to choose this one and have a friend ship it to me and just pay the duty. But knowing about the duty exempt thing, I want to check if there’s a way I can go with #2 TA-Q-BIN Besso service: this is used for self-to-self shipping only, so can get the duty exempt thing. However, again because I am leaving the US way before I have a Japan address to ship to, Yamato won’t hold my 2 boxes there for that long, and so I can’t be the one to drop it off (and they check my ID) and ship it to myself.
So I asked in detail several times because I am not breaking the law, since really I am in fact shipping myself my own things and well within the allowed time (PlayStation, computer monitor, some clothes and towels fillers, etc to make sure the stuff doesn’t break and maybe a Nespresso machine if there’s room… all obviously used stuff), but this issue is because of Yamato’s very rigid shipping procedure, it seems I cannot do the Besso because I can’t be the one to drop it off that early before I have an address for them to ship to. They specifically said they will check my ID for Besso service, but I am not sure if the Yamato agent was trying to give me a hint by saying “alternatively, you can drop off your box with our partners at UPS Drop-Off.” Was she giving me a hint that the UPS Drop-off will not be checking the drop of person’s ID? Has anyone tried?
And/or is there another or better way to ship my own items in my situation? Thanks all.
by garyF1