International Moving to Japan: What It Actually Costs (and Who’s Worth Calling)

International Moving to Japan: What It Actually Costs (and Who’s Worth Calling)

Shipping your entire household across an ocean is a different problem from packing a suitcase. Whether you’re relocating for work, moving in with a partner, or just starting a new life in Japan, at some point you have to decide: do you hire a full-service international mover, ship a few boxes yourself, or some mix of both? Below is a breakdown of three real options, based on what each company actually publishes about its process, plus the official Japanese customs rules that apply no matter who you use to ship your things.

Who this article is NOT for

If you’re moving with just a couple of suitcases’ worth of belongings, you don’t need any of this — that’s just checked baggage on your flight, and none of the customs procedures below apply to you either.

This also isn’t the article for you if your employer is handling your relocation through a corporate relocation package. Check with HR before arranging anything yourself; duplicate services waste money, and many corporate packages already have a mover under contract.

And if you’re moving within Japan rather than into it from abroad, this is the wrong guide — domestic moving companies and pricing work completely differently from international household shipping.

How we chose what to compare (3 criteria)

1. Actual household relocation experience, not just parcel shipping. Plenty of companies will ship a box overseas. Fewer are set up to survey, pack, insure, and deliver an entire household’s worth of belongings, then handle the Japanese customs paperwork on the other end. We prioritized companies built for the latter.

2. Network reach vs. local expertise. Some movers operate their own global network end-to-end; others are strongest specifically at the Japan side of the move. Both are legitimate strengths, worth knowing which one you’re getting.

3. Flexibility of scale. Not everyone is shipping a full house. We looked at whether a company could handle a few boxes as easily as a full container, rather than only being built for one or the other.

Quick comparison

None of these three companies publish a specific price on their own websites — all three require a quote request or survey before you get a real number.

The reviews

Crown Relocations

Crown has been operating in Japan since 1965, which is a long enough track record that it’s a name most Tokyo-based relocation guides mention. What stands out on their own site is the emphasis on continuity: a dedicated “move manager” is assigned to coordinate your relocation from initial planning through actually settling into your new home, rather than handing you off between departments. Crown also says it operates its own global network — offices in over 200 locations across roughly 54 countries — rather than relying on third-party partners at the destination end, which the company frames as better cost and quality control.

Beyond the move itself, Crown’s service list extends into settling-in support: home-finding, orientation, and language training, plus pet relocation if you’re bringing animals along with your household goods.

Pros: Long-established Japan presence; single point of contact throughout; owns its network rather than outsourcing.
Cons: No pricing published anywhere — you’re committing to a quote request before you know the ballpark; best suited to full-service moves rather than smaller shipments.
Who it’s for: Households wanting a full-service move with one dedicated coordinator managing everything.

Nippon Express (NX Group)

Nippon Express is Japan’s largest logistics company, and its international moving arm reflects that scale: 967 branches across 56 countries and close to 29,000 staff worldwide. Before quoting you, they conduct a survey of what you’re moving — 1.5 to 2 hours, done either remotely or in person — which determines both the service type and the price. You can choose to have their staff pack everything on moving day or pack it yourself using materials they provide, and the service extends to sea or air transport, storage, and unpacking with furniture placement at the destination.

The detail that matters most for a Japan-bound move: Nippon Express directly manages the export customs clearance process and the associated paperwork, which is meaningful given how strict Japan’s own unaccompanied-baggage declaration rules are (more on that below).

Pros: Japan-headquartered with direct control over the Japan-side customs process; flexible between full-service and self-pack; scales down to partial shipments, not just full households.
Cons: Requires a survey appointment before you get pricing; documentation and process are naturally geared toward Japan as either origin or destination, less relevant if Japan is just a transit point.
Who it’s for: Anyone who wants a company headquartered in Japan handling both the shipping and the Japan-side customs paperwork directly.

Seven Seas Worldwide

Seven Seas Worldwide is built around a different unit of shipping: boxes, not necessarily a full household. Their standard offering is Large (61×51×41cm) and Standard (51×41×31cm) double-walled boxes, each capped at 30kg, aimed at people sending clothing, books, sports equipment, or similar — not full furniture. If you do need to move an entire household, they also offer MoveCube® removals as a separate, larger-scale service. A genuinely useful detail: they’ll store your boxes for free at a depot in your origin country for up to two weeks before shipping, which gives you breathing room if your packing and your travel dates don’t line up perfectly.

Pros: Scales down to a handful of boxes, which the full-service movers above aren’t really built for; free short-term storage before shipping; transparent box specifications even without published prices.
Cons: No Japan-specific guidance found on their site; boxes have a hard 30kg weight cap, so this isn’t a fit for furniture or bulky items; still quote-based rather than published pricing.
Who it’s for: People sending a limited number of personal items rather than furnishing an entire home from scratch.

DIY: shipping via international post

The option none of the movers above will mention: for a genuinely small number of items, you can just pack a box yourself and ship it through the international postal service (like EMS) from your home country, rather than going through a moving company at all. It’s the cheapest path by far for a handful of parcels, and you retain full control over packing and timing.

The tradeoffs are real, though. You’re on your own for insurance, tracking reliability, and — critically — Japan’s own customs declaration procedure (below), which you’ll need to follow correctly with no company coordinating it for you. Postal shipping also isn’t realistic for furniture or a full household’s worth of belongings; it’s genuinely only a fit for personal items that fit in ordinary parcels.

Pros: Cheapest option for small shipments by a wide margin; no minimum commitment or quote process.
Cons: No insurance or customs support beyond what the postal service itself offers; not viable for furniture or large-volume moves; you’re fully responsible for the Japanese customs paperwork yourself.
Who it’s for: Anyone sending a genuinely small number of personal items, where a full moving company would be overkill.

The part every option has to deal with: Japan’s customs rules

Regardless of which company (or no company) you use, the same Japanese customs rules apply to your household goods, and getting them wrong is more consequential than most people expect.

Duty exemption eligibility. Your household effects can be imported duty-free if you’ve been living abroad for more than a year, or if you’re moving to Japan to stay for more than a year. The exemption applies to articles imported within six months of your entry into Japan — miss that window and the exemption no longer applies.

The declaration you file on arrival. If any of your belongings are being shipped separately from your own flight — which is normal for anything beyond what fits in your luggage — you need to submit a “Declaration of Accompanied Articles and Unaccompanied Articles” to Japanese customs at the airport when you land, in duplicate. A customs officer stamps both copies and hands one back to you.

Why that stamped copy matters so much. This is the detail that trips people up: your stamped copy is the document you’ll need to present later, alongside shipping documents and a contents statement, when your actual shipment arrives and clears customs. Japan Customs states plainly that they cannot redo this process for any reason — including if you lose the original stamped copy. There’s no described appeal or backup procedure. Treat that piece of paper as seriously as a passport until your shipment has fully cleared.

The six-month clock. Your unaccompanied baggage needs to clear customs within six months of your own entry date into Japan — not six months from when you shipped it, and not six months from when it arrives at a Japanese port. Plan your shipping timeline around your entry date, not the other way around.

Cars are a separate, stricter case. If you’re importing a vehicle as part of your move, there’s additional paperwork (an “Application Duty Exemption on Household Effect” form, in triplicate, plus proof of prior use and proof of your move), and the vehicle can’t be resold or given away for two years from the date of import permission.

If you’re using a full-service mover like Crown Relocations or Nippon Express, they’ll generally walk you through this declaration process as part of the service. If you’re shipping DIY, this is entirely on you — plan to read the official Japan Customs guidance yourself before you fly, not after.

Recommendation by use case

If you’re moving a full household and want one company managing everything end-to-end: Crown Relocations or Nippon Express, depending on whether you’d rather have a company with deep Japan-side customs handling (Nippon Express) or a dedicated single point of contact managing the whole relationship (Crown).

If you’re sending a meaningful amount of stuff but not furnishing an entire home: Seven Seas Worldwide’s box-based model is built for exactly this middle ground.

If it’s genuinely a handful of personal items: skip the movers entirely and ship via international post — just make sure you understand the customs declaration process first, since you won’t have a company managing it for you.

Regardless of which option you choose: don’t treat the customs declaration as an afterthought. Submit it correctly on arrival, keep the stamped copy safe, and clear your shipment within six months of your entry date.

Conclusion

There’s no single best way to move your life to Japan — it depends on how much you’re bringing and how much of the coordination you want to hand off versus manage yourself. What doesn’t change regardless of which option you pick is Japan’s own customs process: the duty exemption window, the declaration you file on arrival, and the six-month clearance deadline apply to everyone equally, movers or no movers. Get that part right first, and the choice of company becomes mostly a question of scale and budget.