Cheapest Shipping from Japan to the Philippines

cheapest shipping from Japan to Philippines

How to ship personal goods internationally to the Philippines

Wondering how to send packages from Japan to the Philippines? By reading this article, we can assume that you are searching for the best and most cost-effective, i.e. cheapest shipping services from Japan to the Philippines. Doing some research into this matter can be beneficial, as most people think they have to use standard postal services. However, you can save a considerable amount of money if you use other services, depending on the quantity you are shipping and what you are shipping. You may read this article because you need to ship oversized items from Japan to the Philippines, which are too large for regular postal services to handle. Here, you will discover the various shipping options available to decide upon the best and most cost-effective option for you when shipping from Japan to the Philippines. The amount of goods you are shipping is a critical factor in selecting the shipping service. You should not draw any conclusions about which services are cheaper (air, sea, postal) until you have read the whole article.

Six Methods of Shipping from Japan to the Philippines

There are six primary methods of shipping parcels from Japan:

Air Cargo

Sending your cargo by air is suitable for smaller quantities but at least over 45kgs which is the minimum. So, if you are shipping freight less than 45kgs, you may find air freight to be expensive. Shipments over 45kgs can have discounted rates applied. So, the per-kg price for air freight over 45kgs is much more considerably less than loads of 10kg or 15kg. The service by air freight is not available when shipping to family members, relatives or friends in the Philippines. Shipments must be cleared customs as unaccompanied personal effects and one must be moving out of Japan to utilize this service of air cargo shipping.

Sea Cargo- Less Than Container Loads (LCL) cargo

Unless you are shipping enormous quantities requiring a full container, your sea cargo from Japan to the Philippines is likely to be an LCL. When sending an LCL cargo, your freight is consolidated, along with others who have LCL quantities, to make up a full container. The space in the container is paid for by the freight's various owners, depending on the proportion of space their cargo uses.

Container space is allocated on a cubic-meter basis, and the minimum volume is typically one cubic-meter (1cbm). To give you an idea of weight, one cbm of water weighs one metric ton.

LCL sea freight is a cost-effective shipping method if you have at least one cubic meter quantities to ship. This service is available for those who are moving to or returning to the Philippines, however, it is not available when shipping gifts or sending some items to family members or friends living in the Philippines from Japan. Commercial goods can be shipped as LCL cargo. Many cargo consolidators offer the consolidation services from Japan to the Philippines every week.

Sea Cargo- Full Container Loads (FCL)

At a certain point, it will become more cost-effective for you to rent the whole container. Doing this, you will be shipping an FCL. If you have over 10cbm of freight to ship from Japan, you should consider using an FCL. Just like LCL this services is not available when shipping to friends or family members. Considering the large space, this shipping method is mainly for commercial shipments.

Courier Services

FedEx, DHL, and UPS are reputable courier services, and they will provide you with door-to-door service for shipments. This service means that you do not need to deal with customs clearance, as the courier covers this in their service.

Courier rates typically start around 0.5kg for small packages, and there are separate rates for documents. Some couriers, including FedEx, offer an express delivery service with their air freight service.

These services are more suited to smaller items and non-personal effects. Couriers generally do not like shipping personal stuff in case of complications with custom's clearance. However, for general items, or purchased products, couriers are a reliable, no-hassle option.

Japan Post

Traditional postal services are most people's first thought when considering shipping a package overseas. With Japan Post, it is only cost-effective if you are sending minimal quantities and lightweight packages. They also have weight and size restrictions, so it is not suitable when shipping a large quantity or more than a few boxes. These restrictions are similar to other traditional postal services. You can naturally ship to someone in the Philippines without leaving Japan. Japan Post would be the cheapest shipping method if you are shipping a very small amount.

Balikbayan Box

If you are from the Philippines, you may already be familiar with Balikbayan Box. It is a door-to-door services designed especially for the Filipino residents in Japan and you can use this convenient door-to-door shipping services when sending goods to your family as well. The great thing is that unlike the above mentioned cargo service by sea (LCL) or service by air, rates are available even for small shipments and you can take advantage of Balikbayan Box even when you are shipping small amounts. There are several companies who offer this service, so you may want to contact them and ask for the rates. This service is by sea and they consolidate boxes from many customers and after arriving at the port of Manila they arrange domestic delivery to various part of the country. Our company does not offer this service.

Other Shipping Options

There are several different options that you can consider for your shipping options, including hand-carried couriers and roll-on-roll-off car shipping. However, we have excluded these services as part of this article, as they are very specific, and don't generally include personal belongings.

Conclusion

You have a variety of services available to you for shipping your belongings or other cargo from Japan to the Philippines. Hopefully, after reading this article, you will be able to find the best and the cheapest shipping services from Japan.