Tokyo packages: delivery, redelivery and collection

A missed-delivery slip means you need to arrange another handover. A locker notice means you need to collect a parcel already in the building. Read which one you have before booking another delivery.

You'll need the carrier's receiving options and your building's instructions about access and unattended deliveries. A request accepted online does not unlock the entrance or give permission to use a shared corridor.

Scope and source check: 8 September 2026. This guide covers ordinary home parcels in Tokyo, with links to national carrier services. Registered mail, refrigerated parcels, payment on delivery and other special services can have different rules. Use the options shown for your actual tracking number.

Read the slip before choosing a time

Look for 不在票 (fuzaihyō — an absence slip) or 不在連絡票 (fuzai renrakuhyō — a missed-delivery notice). Keep the paper until you have the parcel. Find these details:

• The carrier's name: Yamato Transport, Sagawa Express, Japan Post, or another delivery company.
• The tracking number and attempted-delivery date.
• Any storage deadline or contact instructions.
• Any note saying the parcel is in a locker or with a reception desk.

Open that carrier's official service: Yamato redelivery, Sagawa redelivery, or Japan Post receiving services. A QR code on the paper may also take you there. If it does not work, type the tracking number into the official site instead.

Choose a date and time the form actually offers. Read the confirmation before closing it. Save the booking details and be available for the whole selected period, including the entrance intercom.

Cutoff times vary by service, so use the carrier's current form. If the form offers tomorrow but you need the parcel today, contact the delivery office named on the notice. Ask whether collection is possible and when the parcel will be there.

Doorstep delivery needs permission and access

Packages can be left without a face-to-face handover when the service permits it. For example, Yamato's member doorstep service allows eligible deliveries to a chosen place. Refrigerated parcels are excluded. So are parcels where you must pay for the goods or the delivery fee when they arrive. The sender can also prohibit doorstep delivery.

Yamato requires you to follow your building's rules. A locked entrance can prevent delivery even when you selected your apartment door. If the driver can't get through the entrance, arrange a time when you can answer the intercom or choose another eligible receiving place.

For another carrier, check its own instructions. The options may differ from the ones you're used to.

A locker number is not your apartment number

A 宅配ボックス (takuhai bokkusu — a parcel locker) can use a PIN, a key, a resident card or another system. Follow the instructions on your building's equipment. Do not assume a light colour, code length or locker numbering pattern is universal.

If the notice gives a locker number, use that number rather than your apartment number. If the code fails or the compartment is empty, photograph the notice and the error. Contact the carrier about the delivery record and the manager about the locker. Avoid repeated guesses or opening other compartments.

A full locker does not automatically send your parcel to a nearby convenience store. Check tracking, then use the full-locker recovery guide to choose another receiving place.

Arrange collection before travelling

Confirm the collection office, opening hours, readiness and required identification before leaving home. A parcel may still be on a vehicle. The nearest office on a map is not necessarily the office holding it.

Sagawa's collection instructions ask you to contact the delivery office in advance and bring the notice and official identification. For a different carrier or special parcel, follow its own document list. If your ID shows a different address, ask what else you need before making the trip.

Lost the slip? Start with the shop's dispatch email or order history. Sagawa specifically directs you to the sender if the tracking number is unknown. Send the shop your order number and ask which carrier has it.

Returns follow the label's service

Before taking a return to a convenience store, check that it accepts the service on your label. Read the seller's return instructions before choosing a counter.

Lawson's ordinary paper-label parcel service accepts Japan Post Yu-Pack labels; Yamato and Sagawa labels are outside that service. App-generated returns can have their own participating stores and instructions. Keep the acceptance receipt and tracking number until the seller confirms receipt.

If tracking says delivered but the parcel is missing, contact the carrier with the notice and delivery details. Keep the tracking number until you have the parcel.