Domestic letters
Adhere a 85-yen stamp to send a postcard.
Adhere a stamp of 110 yen for an item up to 50g to send a letter.
For sending a letter in a large envelop, look up postage on the internet or ask the post office.
Japan Post: Letters and postcards（Japanese and English）
Postcards and stamps can be purchased at post offices, as well as convenience stores and stores with the post office symbol “〒”.
Drop off postage-affixed postcards and letters into red mailboxes.
International letters
Adhere a 100-yen stamp to send a postcard overseas.
The postage is same for sending a postcard to any country.
The Postage for sending a letter is different depending on the country. An item up to 25g costs 120-160 yen, and up to 50g costs 190-260 yen.
Domestic parcels
Use “takkyubin (courier services)” to send packages.
“Takkyubin (courier service)” is a service that transports packages by truck.
The package will be delivered from the sender's house to the receiver's house.
It is very convenient because it will arrive 1-2 days after you send it out.
[How to send a parcel]
There are two ways to send parcels by courier.
- The courier can come to your house to pick up your parcel.
If you contact the courier company by phone or the internet, the person from the courier company will come to pick up your package.
- You take your package to a convenience store or courier service office.
It will cost you a little less if you take your package to the shipping store.
[How to receive parcels]
You will sign to receive the package when the person from the courier company comes to deliver it.
If you are not at home when the parcel is delivered, the person from the courier company will leave a "missed delivery notice" in your mailbox.
When you find the missed delivery notice, contact the courier company, and let them know the date and time you want the package to be delivered.
Some courier companies offer a service that you can request to leave your package in front of the entrance or in a delivery box.
It is very convenient because you can receive your packages even if you are not at home.
International parcels
Japan Post's international mail services include EMS, airmail, SAL, and ocean mail.
Choose a service according to whether you want to send it quickly or cheaply.
Japan Post: How to send packages overseas(Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean and Portuguese)
You can also send your packages by international courier service. There are Japanese companies and foreign companies. Search for what services each of them offers.
