How Do You Free Yourself From Your Luggage When Traveling in Japan?

Would you like to know where to leave your luggage when traveling around Japan? It’s pretty annoying to carry around your luggage, isn’t it? Today, I’m going to share how to free yourself from your luggage. There are many coin lockers and cloak services in many places. Let’s get started.

Coin Lockers 

Most stations, themed parks, and shopping malls have small coin lockers. It’s simple and easy to leave your smaller luggage, but finding somewhere to store a big suitcase can be hard. What’s more, major stations like Tokyo station might already be full because many people use them. That being said, you’re lucky if you find an empty one. As for the payment, you can use an e-money card, which is called “Suica” or “Pasmo.” In fact, you can use a Suica card not only to ride a train but also to go shopping. It acts like a kind of debit card! As of today, unfortunately, you can only buy at Haneda Airport Terminal 3 (Tokyo Monorail) station because of the lack of IC chips worldwide. Please check the website below in advance. 

https://www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/welcomesuica/welcomesuica.html

When you pay by cash, you need to find a change machine to change your bills to coins because coin lockers only accept coin currency. Generally speaking, there is a change machine near the coin lockers. How long can you leave your luggage? It’s said to be three days, but I recommend using it within a day. After a day passes, it charges extra money and, after three days, the staff will take out your luggage and move it to another location. You might get your luggage if you move to another location, but all of these steps sound time-consuming, doesn’t it? 

In that case, you should use this service below.

https://www.to-locca.com/en

ECBO

It goes without saying that you can leave your luggage when you check in and out. It’s free of charge as long as you stay at the hotel.

Shopping Malls 

In a big shopping mall, there might be a sign “ 手荷物一時預かり所,” which means cloak service. During your stay, you’re free from your luggage. 

Other Services 

Let’s say you guys are staying in Tokyo for two weeks. You guys have four suitcases in total. You’re going to stay for three nights in Tokyo and take a short trip to Hakone for two nights. And then, you’re going to another Tokyo hotel when you return. You want to enjoy another hotel in Tokyo. In that case, you’ll probably have to carry all your luggage while traveling. You might feel that it won’t be worth it to drag your suitcases around all day when you won’t really be using them for multiple days. Right?

Here’s the answer: A start-up company called ECBO based in Japan offers a unique service. They connect with businesses that want to attract customers and people who want to leave their luggage through the APP. Restaurants, hotels, cafes, karaoke boxes, and other entertainment and hospitality industry companies want customers to come to their facilities, so they offer cloak service by using space they don’t use. It’s a win-win situation, isn’t it? How to use it? It’s a breeze to use it. Just follow the APP, select your location, and find a place where they can keep your luggage. You can pay by your credit card. This must be your go-to APP. 

https://cloak.ecbo.io/en/jpn/city/tokyo/1

How was it? Carrying your big suitcase around while you’re walking around the hustle and bustle is a hassle. Generally speaking, big stations and major facilities have cloak service. Thank you for taking the time to read my article to the end. Enjoy your trip, and good luck!!

Kazu Kadowaki

I’ve been working at a trading company for many years. I live in Tokyo with my wife. Love skiing, traveling, IPAs, wine , X-treme sports, fashion, and learning English and Chinese.