Sending Gifts To Japan Without International Shipping
Don't want to deal with international shipping? Here are alternatives to domestically sending your gift to someone in Japan.
Why send gifts to Japan?
While your family can buy and send you a package to Japan, sending international packages to Japan takes time and money.
So, we thought of different solutions to get gifts from you to your friends and family.
Alternatives to sending gifts to Japan
Alternative 1: Amazon Japan
If you’re worried about the Japanese language barrier, no worries. Amazon Japan allows you to change your language when using its site.
Since Amazon, including Amazon Japan, is such a powerhouse in online shopping, it has everything from toys to books, games, home goods, sports, beauty, technology, office, and music.
Is there a specific store your person likes? Well, Amazon Japan lets you browse specific shops and brands, such as Pokemon, Sega Toys, EPOCH, Disney, etc.
Not sure what to shop for? You can search in different categories on Amazon Japan, including toys, books, games, home, sports, beauty, technology, office, and music.
For this option, you’ll need to create an Amazon Japan account.
Alternative 2: buying digital gifts and subscriptions
Digital gifts are one of the easiest ways to give an item to someone in Japan without physically sending them an item.
Many stores offer digital gift cards. Please note that you must use the Japanese site to purchase these cards. Here are some popular e-gift cards from which to buy.
Other digital gifts include paying for an online course such as Rosetta Stone or Skillshare and a subscription box such as Bokksu for Japanese regional snacks and tea, Blue Bottle for coffee, or Aardvark Tea for tea.
If you are curious about gifting a box of items to someone in Japan, you can look at Subsc. It is an online shopping mall that creates subscription boxes for various items. Depending on the items, you can cancel even after the first box, making it a perfect one-time gift for those from abroad to Japan.
Tips to know when shopping online in Japan
Here are a couple of tips for your Japanese online shopping.
Tip 1: Google Translate extension
Many other online shops, such as Hands, Nitori, Uniqlo, Muji, and LOFT, tend to have English sites. However, their English sites are very different, and they usually do not have an online store or shop option.
Which leaves the Japanese website as your only online shopping option.
If you have a language translation extension on your browser, such as Google Translate, that will greatly help you.
Translated Hands website using Google Translate
While not everything will be translated or perfectly aligned correctly, a translation extension helps tremendously when shopping for and buying your gift.
Tip 2. Inputting their Japanese address
If you want to buy an item from any of these online Japanese shops, you will send it to their Japanese address.
Here are a couple of things you should be aware of
Know the kanji and English translation of their Japanese address: for example, if their address is 4-2-8 Shiba Koen, Minato-ku, Tokyo, the written order is reversed: 東京都港区芝公園４丁目２−８in Japanese.
Japanese input: some Japanese sites want you to input half-width characters, while others want full-width characters. Use this website to help with any character conversions.
Some websites only accept Japanese credits. Most major retailers will accept foreign cards, but you won’t know until you check out.
Additionally, you should tell your person about an incoming package. Most of the time, the delivery person will ask for the receiver's signature.
Sites to shop for English gifts for those in Japan
Here is a list of websites you can use, along with Google Translate, to get gifts and send them to your friends and family in Japan.
Just be sure to let them know they should be expecting a package.
Clothing:
Home goods items:
Books: for English books, look for the kanji “洋書.”
Amazon Books (filter by the language)
Kindle (Search for your book and find the online Kindle version)
Electronics:
In closing
While sending a package from your home country to Japan is an option, it can be time-consuming and expensive.
Fortunately, there are a couple of alternatives to make gift-giving easier and a little more efficient. Amazon Japan and translation extensions allow you to shop online in Japan and domestically send something to your person in Japan.
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