How do you send skis, boards and bikes ahead in Japan?

Send skis and snowboards ahead with Yamato's Ski Takkyubin: hand the bag over two days before you ride, three in some areas, and Yamato delivers it to the resort the day before for you to collect at the front desk. The bag has to travel inside Yamato's own cover, and Yamato charges it at the 180 size rate up to 30 kg, which came to ¥3,680 cash from Kanto to Nagano or Niigata on 11 October 2026. A bike goes by ordinary takkyubin only when you box it yourself within 200 cm in length, width and height added together and 30 kg. Sagawa Express still collects by phone, though it suspended web pickup requests, online tracking and online redelivery after reporting unauthorised access to its parcel-enquiry service from 30 September 2026.

Takkyubin (宅急便, takkyūbin) is Yamato Transport's name for its door-to-door parcel service, and this guide uses the word for any send-ahead service, Sagawa's included. We read the published rules and fare tables of Yamato and Sagawa in October 2026, and every price here is the carrier's own figure for 2026.

What does each service take, and what does it cost?

Service	What it takes	Size and weight	Price (published, 2026)	Timing	The catch
Yamato Ski Takkyubin	Skis, snowboards, boots and poles in Yamato's cover	180 size rate, up to 30 kg, two sets per cover	Cover ¥400 for skis, ¥600 for a snowboard; the 180 size fare from Kanto to Nagano or Niigata was ¥3,680 cash	Hand over 2 days before you ski (3 in some areas), delivered the day before	Convenience stores refuse skis and boards
Yamato takkyubin for a bike	A bike you have boxed yourself	Up to 200 cm and 30 kg	200 size fare from Kanto: ¥4,470 to Nagano or Niigata, ¥6,220 to Hiroshima or Okayama, ¥6,540 to Kyushu (cash)	Normal parcel days; e-bikes take longer	A bike in a soft bag is refused
Sagawa round trip	Skis, boards, golf bags and suitcases, home to hotel and back	160 size rate up to 30 kg, in a cover	Snowboard bag cover ¥803; golf bag cover ¥726	Pay both ways at pickup; return valid 10 days	Web bookings suspended; phone the local office
Sagawa Cycling Without Baggage	Bags between partner hotels and terminals on the Shimanami Kaido	Up to 160 cm and 30 kg	¥2,200 a bag	Same day: drop early, collect late afternoon	Partner hotels mostly serve their own guests

Yamato's fares in the table come from its cash fare table as it stood on 11 October 2026, sending from Kanto (Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Yamanashi). Drop the parcel at a Yamato office yourself and Yamato takes ¥100 off each one. Paying by card, e-money or code puts you on Yamato's separate cashless table instead.

How do you send skis or a snowboard to a Japanese ski resort?

Book a pickup or take the bag to a Yamato office or agent shop two days before your first ski day, or three in some areas, before that counter's cutoff. Yamato puts it at the resort's front desk the day before you ski. Bring your copy of the waybill to collect it (Yamato Ski Takkyubin).

Yamato refuses a bare board bag, so buy the cover when you send: ¥400 for the 33 by 215 cm ski cover and ¥600 for a snowboard. Boards over 170 cm go in Yamato's multi cover, 84 by 246 cm, which takes up to two pairs. The 180 size rate applies whatever the cover, and three or more pairs in one parcel are refused. Yamato caps its liability at ¥300,000 a parcel.

Book the return at the same time and Yamato's round-trip service lets you leave the bag at the resort with nothing to fill in or pay on the way home. The return is valid for a month from the day Yamato took the outbound bag.

Can you send a bike by takkyubin in Japan?

Yes, boxed. Yamato carries a bicycle by ordinary takkyubin when you pack it yourself in a box strong enough to ship, within its 200 size (200 cm in length, width and height combined) and 30 kg. It refuses unpacked bikes and anything over the size. E-bikes and other electric bicycles can go too, though Yamato treats them as small vehicles and sends them by land and sea, so they take longer (Yamato). Yamato ended its Cycling Yamato service for bagged bikes on 3 October 2021, and a soft rinko bag no longer qualifies.

Sagawa's pages for personal customers listed parcels up to 160 cm and 30 kg in October 2026, which rules out most bike boxes. The exception is the Shimanami Kaido. There, Sagawa's partners ship bikes home in a ¥6,600 Sagawa bike box ordered a week ahead, taking a packed bike up to 260 cm, cash on delivery (Sagawa Cycling Without Baggage).

What happened to Sagawa's online services?

Sagawa reported unauthorised access to its parcel-enquiry service from 30 September 2026 and suspended web pickup requests, online tracking and online redelivery. Pickups booked by phone still run, so call your local Sagawa office. Sagawa's round-trip service brings both waybills to your door at pickup, and you pay both ways there. On the way home you stick on the return waybill and leave the bag at the hotel desk. The return leg is valid for ten days after pickup, and Sagawa will not deliver on the day you arrive or ski, so plan around both limits.

Can you send bags from a hotel or an airport?

From a hotel, yes. The front desk takes a parcel with a completed waybill for both Yamato and Sagawa, and ski resorts take them too. A resort's own counter rules and cutoff time apply, so ask at check-in.

Airports run carrier counters as well. Yamato's hands-free travel page lists its storage and same-day delivery counters, and it was advertising a same-day delivery offer to Haneda Airport when we checked in October 2026. Riders flying into Okinawa will find Naha Airport's Yamato and Sagawa counters, with their day rates for bike boxes, in Ride Okinawa's guide to bringing your bike.

Where can you leave an empty bike box while you ride?

At JR East Logistics' counters inside Tokyo and Ueno stations, which hold items for up to 30 days. A box over 200 cm counts as large at ¥2,000 a day in 2026, so a week costs ¥14,000 (JR East Logistics). On the Shimanami Kaido, Onomichi Station's three extra-large lockers cost ¥1,000 a day and hold bags for up to 72 hours. A rider finishing in a different town from the start can skip storage and ship the box to the last hotel instead.

Quick answers

How many days ahead should I send skis with Yamato?

Send skis or a snowboard with Yamato's Ski Takkyubin two days before your first ski day, or three days ahead in some areas. Yamato delivers to the resort the day before you ski.

How much does it cost to send a snowboard by takkyubin in Japan?

Yamato charged its 180 size rate for a snowboard in 2026, which was ¥3,680 cash from Kanto to Nagano or Niigata, plus ¥600 for the required snowboard cover.

Can I send a bike with Yamato?

Yes, if you box it yourself within 200 cm in length, width and height combined and 30 kg. Yamato ended its bagged-bike service on 3 October 2021, and e-bikes travel by land and sea.

Is Sagawa taking online bookings in October 2026?

No. Sagawa suspended web pickup requests, online tracking and online redelivery after reporting unauthorised access from 30 September 2026. Phone pickups still run.

Can I send a ski bag from a convenience store in Japan?

No. Yamato's convenience-store partners refuse skis and snowboards, so take the bag to a Yamato office or agent shop or book a pickup.