Your airport declaration and your shipment are connected—even if the boxes arrive later.
Treat the declaration as part of moving day
Japan Customs explains that household goods arriving separately may use the unaccompanied-articles procedure. Its published guidance requires two declaration copies at arrival, with a customs-confirmed original returned for later clearance. It warns that this process cannot be redone if missed or the original is lost. Check the current arrival procedure with Japan Customs before flying; do not assume that an ordinary passenger declaration automatically covers the shipment.
Keep a travel folder in your hand luggage, not in a carton. Add the shipment contact details and inventory reference so you can explain clearly what will arrive separately.
Connect the shipment to your arrival
Japan Customs generally requires unaccompanied articles to clear within six months of arrival. It instructs shippers to identify parcels and shipping documents as unaccompanied baggage and name the owner as addressee. Clearance may require the confirmed declaration, transport documents, contents statement, passport and receipts. Commercial or costly goods can require general-cargo procedures.
Ask your clearance representative to review the arrival date and shipping plan together. Keep the stamped original secure and confirm how it must be provided. A photograph can help your own records, but should not be assumed to replace a required original.
Measure the home before deciding what to send
Obtain the floor plan and measure doorways, stair turns, lift openings and the space for major furniture. A piece that fits the room may still not fit the route into it. Ask the destination contact for measurements rather than relying on a listing photograph.
Check electrical equipment against manufacturer instructions and the destination supply before shipping it. Decide which furniture is genuinely useful in the new home. Reducing the shipment deliberately is better than paying to transport pieces that must immediately go into storage.
Keep restricted items out of mixed cartons
Ask about food, plants, animal products, medicines, batteries and other potentially restricted items before packing them. Customs and other agencies can have separate requirements. Do not hide a questionable item under a broad description such as kitchen supplies.
Give unusual goods their own inventory entries and ask what documentation or packaging is needed. If an item cannot travel through the chosen service, resolve that before collection. This is particularly useful when you have both an air consignment and a sea shipment, which may accept different contents.
Plan for the weeks between arrival and delivery
Prepare a modest arrival kit for work and daily life. Confirm that the receiving address can accept delivery and ask about parking, stairs and appointment arrangements. If your housing is temporary, decide where the shipment will wait and how redelivery is arranged.
Kratos can discuss packing, collection and the proposed international moving scope. Ask for confirmation of the Japan route and destination arrangements for your dates; customs release and transport estimates should not be treated as a guaranteed delivery appointment.
BEFORE YOU GO
Your move, one check at a time.
- Review the arrival declaration before your flight
- Keep the confirmed original safe
- Coordinate your arrival and shipment dates
- Measure furniture and destination access
- Check unusual items before packing
Official sources & further reading
Customs guidance checked 29 September 2026. Requirements depend on your circumstances and can change. Confirm the current process with the relevant authority before shipping.