At some point in every departure from Japan, you end up standing in your apartment looking at a rice cooker, a bookshelf, and a winter coat, asking the same question: do I ship this, or do I sell it and just buy a new one when I land? It feels like a sentimental decision, but it's really just math — volume, weight, distance, and what the thing is worth on both ends. Once you run the numbers honestly, most of the answer decides itself.
How international shipping is actually priced
International movers and couriers don't really charge for "stuff" — they charge for space and weight. Air courier services (like EMS) price by weight and are fast, which makes them reasonable for a few boxes of documents, clothing, or small valuables but punishing for anything heavy or bulky. Sea freight and international moving companies price mainly by volume — cubic meters — whether that's a handful of boxes consolidated with other shipments or a full container for a household move. Sea freight is much cheaper per cubic meter than air, but it's slow: realistically weeks, sometimes a couple of months, door to door. On top of the freight cost itself, expect destination-side charges — customs clearance, port handling, and last-mile delivery — that can add a meaningful chunk to whatever quote you first see. None of these numbers are fixed; they swing hard based on your route, the season, and how much space you actually book, so the only real answer is to get a quote for your specific volume rather than trust a rule of thumb blindly.
Why appliances are usually sell-not-ship
This is where the emotional math and the real math diverge most sharply. Japanese home appliances run on 100V power at 50Hz (eastern Japan) or 60Hz (western Japan), which doesn't match the 120V used in North America or the 220–240V used across most of Europe, Australia, and much of Asia. Even where a plug adapter physically fits, the appliance may run poorly, void its warranty, or simply not work at all. Add to that Japanese-only control panels and manuals, warranties that are void the moment you leave the country, and the fact that a washing machine or microwave takes up a large share of your shipping volume for its weight — and the math almost never favors shipping. In nearly every case, it's cheaper and less risky to sell the appliance here through resale or a 買取 (kaitori) buyback service and buy a compatible one after you arrive. See selling vs disposing of your stuff for how kaitori pricing works and when it beats just discarding something.
What's actually worth shipping
Shipping earns its cost when an item is small relative to its value, voltage-independent, or genuinely hard to replace at your destination. That typically means:
- Books, documents, and paperwork you can't easily digitize or replace
- Sentimental items — photos, gifts, family keepsakes
- High-quality clothing, especially anything tailored or hard to size again
- Professional tools, instruments, or equipment tied to your work or craft
- Specialty hobby gear that's expensive or impossible to re-source where you're headed
Notice what's missing: furniture, white goods, and small kitchen appliances. They're heavy or bulky relative to their resale and replacement value, which is exactly the combination that makes shipping a bad trade.
The rule of thumb: ship what's small, irreplaceable, or high-value per kilogram. Sell what's bulky, cheap to replace, or tied to Japan's voltage and plugs. When in doubt, ask whether the item would survive being bought new at your destination without you noticing a real loss — if yes, sell it here.
The options worth comparing
Before locking in a plan, line up the realistic choices side by side:
- International courier (air): priced by weight, fast, best for a few boxes of documents or small valuables.
- International sea freight / moving companies: priced by volume, cheaper per cubic meter than air but slow, best for larger consolidated loads or full households.
- Unaccompanied baggage: some airlines offer this as a separate cargo option tied to your ticket — worth asking about if you're only shipping a moderate amount.
- Sell in Japan and rebuy at your destination: no shipping cost or risk at all, funded partly by whatever kaitori payout you get here.
A step-by-step way to decide
Rather than deciding item by item on gut feeling, run the actual comparison:
- List everything you're considering shipping, grouped by category (furniture, appliances, books, clothing, sentimental items).
- Get a volume-based quote from a mover or courier for that list, including destination-side fees.
- Price out what it would cost to replace those same items new (or used) at your destination.
- Subtract what you could realistically get selling them here through kaitori or resale.
- Compare the shipping quote against the net cost of selling and rebuying — the smaller number wins.
Run through this once and the pattern usually repeats: furniture and appliances come out cheaper to sell and replace, while a small core of documents, keepsakes, and specialty items comes out cheaper to ship. That's not a coincidence — it's the volume-and-voltage math working as intended.
This page doesn't recommend a specific mover, courier, or buyback service, and it isn't selling anything — shipping costs vary enormously by volume, route, and time of year, so treat every number here as directional and get real quotes before you commit. For the bigger picture of what needs to happen before you go, see the full leaving-Japan checklist, try the departure-timeline tool to map out when each decision needs to happen, or check the FAQ for other common departure questions.
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