Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2012
In Japan, your average supermarket may carry 15 types of breakfast cereal, and import specialty stores might carry different choices. Online, however, the varieties on offer grow exponentially. In fact, you could probably order enough to fill your average supermarket with nothing but cereals, granolas and oatmeals. Big brands, small brands, organic, gluten-free, with regular fruit, with exotic fruit, sweetened with honey or molasses, the list goes on. Extend the example to jeans—organic cotton, the spectrum of colors, sand-washed, stonewashed, shotgun-blasted (a real example)—or any other product you can think of, and it becomes clear: the selection of goods for consumers here is limited—and overly expensive.
With the increasing ease in shopping for anything online and from overseas, managing choice and separating the wheat from the chaff represent the new paradigm of e-commerce. As more retailers target buyers in Japan (indeed their sales here have spiked since 3/11), the range of choice, price and variety skyrockets. If you’re tired of what’s on offer (or you just hate leaving the house), Metropolis offers you some options—and caveats—for e-tailers that ship to Japan.
accessories
They come in generic, designer, and custom. You can find generic types all over the web and if you like the look, your search is over quickly. Here in Japan, take a walk along Ginza to look at designer cufflinks, or hop over to Isetan. You will be out ¥50-60,000 for a design you like. Otherwise, Vvego.com was formally launched less than a year ago (after some years of pre-market testing and research) by pilot Robert Porter. The site is aimed at those who seek the interesting, even the rare in accessories. Eelskin wallets, check. Cufflinks made with a titanium base and featuring mastodon ivory (you read that right, that is just about the only kind that is legal now), check. Talk to Porter about any custom requirements.
books
In the beginning was the word, and it was “Amazon.” But the world of online book selling (not including e-books, an entirely separate category) has grown. Abebooks.com offers access to a large community of booksellers (and in several languages). It is particularly strong on textbooks and non-fiction (and often price-competitive with Amazon). Bibliophiles are offered collectibles: first editions, signed editions, early printed books (15th century), and Victorian-era pop-ups.
clothes
For staples for men, women and children at prices lower, and sizes bigger, than Japanese boutiques and depato, try MandMDirect.com, a UK discount site. The site doesn’t look like much, which is maybe how it manages such low prices. For women’s fashion, try shopbop.com, or hit up Gap, Old Navy, Piperlime, and Banana Republic for both sexes, who are now shipping direct to Japan.
Caveat: Know your size (US, European and Japanese).
shoes
Outside Japan I have not had trouble finding shoes for my size-11½ feet. In Japan, most stores (particularly outlets) do not carry men’s sizes beyond 10½ (27.5 in local terms). The shops carrying larger sizes are not always in the most convenient places.
Many good North American online stores will not ship outside the US and Canada (the sites mentioned left do). Reasons are usually to do with licensing agreements. The workaround is to use a remail service [see box-out below]. This adds to the cost, but offers a much larger variety.
Caveat: However shoes are shipped, be ready to pay duty.
perfume/cosmetics
Many European and US brands are not available in Japan. LuckyScent.com has a huge variety covering not just colognes and perfumes but deodorants, soaps and other related products. They carry a cult favorite in Japan, Escentric Molecules. Best of all, if you’re not sure an item is for you, you can order a sample or two, to try and decide. For Metropolis readers, LuckyScent will add a bonus of eight free samples of various colognes and perfumes on any order over $50—just use the code JAPAN. Another site, Strawberrynet.comproudly offers free shipping all over the world, including a filter to shop by brand, and a bunch of special offers for multiple purchases.
lingerie
For gift-giving (or forgiveness-seeking) fellas, and ladies looking to treat themselves, Ysandre.com specializes in top European lingerie brands. As with many other online shops, offerings change. If there’s something you like, follow the “Moscow Rule”—and don’t assume it will be there tomorrow.
Ysandre.com is offering Metropolis readers free shipping to Japan for orders over $250, which is a considerable saving (it is US-based). When ordering use code JPN SHIP at checkout.
Caveat: Know your sizes in EU, US and Japanese terms. Email questions to Ysandre about how a certain brand fits or is cut.
foodstuffs
After 3/11 the necessity of keeping a minimal amount of supplies was impressed upon many people’s minds. iHerb.com offers a large variety of staples such as cereals, dried fruits, flours and pastas, as well as supplements and vitamins. Not only does it offer Japanese language support, but orders can be shipped (at reasonable shipping rates) to Japan directly within around five days. Metropolis readers can get an instant $5 discount (no minimum order) using the code ABC123, plus any order over $50 will receive one free sample.
Caveat: Know how long your orders will keep.
pharmaceuticals
If you’re not keen on asking friends to send you a “care package” of items unavailable in Japan, ordering online can provide an alternative.
Rules are complex and enforcement can depend on perceived intention as much as the item in question (e.g. if you’re already receiving pain medication from a clinic here, it might be easier to explain receiving painkillers from abroad).
It’s advisable to check the specifics. For instance, Viagra in Japan only comes prescribed in 25-50mg tablets. The sale here of imported 100mg tablets has led to arrests. In general, customs and police are not interested in what you do in private (except completely outlawed substances, of course), but take the term “personal use” literally. Check the box-out [below] on some due diligence steps.
GoldPharma.com is close to a gold standard. The site supports 23 languages, and is strong on preparations from EU countries and companies. Most are over-the-counter or among the mildest available. This limits the site, but if you know what you want and it’s available within the EU, it’s most likely there, and can get to you in Japan.
Caveat: This is not the site to use when seeking products not explicitly approved in Japan—even if they’re not forbidden either. Gold Pharma adheres to a strict line on that.
Drugs-Med.com ships commonly ordered products to Japan, and some different combinations from those available. SuperDrugSaver.com stocks commonly ordered products, particularly analgesics, at very reasonable prices.
When you search for these sites, you’ll find more favorable comments than unfavorable. Their phone and chat lines work. There are often discount coupons (search under name of site plus “discount coupon”).
Canadian pharmacies have not been listed here, because some flagrant ripoffs have been perpetrated under names including the words “Canadian pharmacy.” Nevertheless, some above-board western Canadian pharmacies can provide higher doses of certain analgesics—though you might have to pay to visit a foreign clinic for the required prescription in English.
buyer beware
1 Check the site name and put the phrase “Complaints [name of company]” into a search engine. If many complaints pop up from people saying they paid and did not receive the product, or were buried in spam after ordering, move on.
2 To find the site administrator (which can also yield a phone number different from the listed service line) use a search engine for one of the “Whois” tool sites. Once there, copy and paste the site name and run it. If addresses or contact details are sketchy, the company might not be 100% trustworthy.
3 If the website has both a phone support number and customer chat online available, invest the time and check that both work. They might be on a different time zone, but when you have someone live, you can ask whether they ship to Japan, what shipping methods they use, if there are discounts not listed on the site (there often are), etc. Double checking through online site support helps and can give you a record of what has been offered and agreed to.
Remail Services
If sites don’t ship to Japan—and you don’t fancy getting friends to resend items to you (and incur the cost)—there is another option.
Remail services act as your shipping address abroad. Simply ship your online purchase there, and they will mail to you for a small fee. For more info (and other shopping options), visit the Foreign Buyers Club of Japan (www.fbcusa.com/cs).
For US purchases, one option is WeSendToYou.com. To test, we ordered a pair of leather shoes. They were ¥28,000 on Amazon.jp and Rakuten—and out of stock. We located the same pair on Amazon.com for $118 (about ¥10,000) and used the address provided by WeSendToYou. Free expedited shipping on orders over $100 delivered the goods to the California address in two days. We paid a $40 (about ¥3,000) shipping fee to the remailer—and they were at Narita customs in ten days. A ¥1,300 duty fee brought the total to… ¥14,610—half the Japan price.
For European retailers who don’t ship outside the EU, try remailers like AddressGermany.com, SwitzerlandMaildrop.com, and UKpostbox.com. Most offer parcel remailing as well as regular mail forwarding.
Caveat: Be aware that duty may apply—especially on goods like leather shoes and fragrances. Check the Japan Customs website: http://meturl.com/jcustoms.
