Hi everyone! Today I would like to write a blog post about international shipping. Over the past years, I have experience shipping packages overseas, such as to the US, the Philippines, and China via the Japan post office. Right now, my mom who lives in Japan helps me pack items that I ordered online, and then ships the package to where I live overseas.

Every time my package is sent internationally, I have always prayed that my package will arrive safely.

There was only one time that the package was lost; most of the time, the package arrived safely. I always use a shipping service called “EMS” provided by Japan Post because it is known as the most reliable and fastest shipping service. But for international shipping, delays and items getting damaged are expected, in my experience.

To avoid these incidents for your package, I recommend that you wrap fragile items with bubble wrap and put in some soft materials such as unused towels to fill in the gaps in the shipping box. It is also important to choose a good quality shipping box and use strong tape to avoid the box getting wet or damaged by unwanted incidents. I think it is good to be ready for any situation, like how postal staff overseas will handle your precious package while they deliver it to the receiving address.

For international shipping, you might want to consider picking items that are lightweight, since your shipping cost will go up depending on the weight. Also, fragile items such as China might get damaged, and bottles of liquid may break if there is an issue with your packaging.

Each country has different regulations on allowing items into their country, so please check with your local post office staff and ask for their advice before shipping.

For your reference:

Nonmailable Articles in International Mail (Universal standard) by Japan Post:

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/use/restriction/index_en.html

A package shipped to China from Japan will take about one week to arrive. Most of the time, you will get the package with no issues. Two times, however, I’ve received a text message from China Customs needing to visit their office for clarification on my items and paying additional customs via their app.

Usually, I get many spam text messages from random phone numbers, so I didn’t notice soon when I received the text message from Customs.

Here is a screen shot of the message I received.

And this is the translated version…🔽

I asked my friend who can speak Chinese for help in calling the office, but when she called them, they said that they could not give any information about my package due to their privacy policy. You are right…！ The text message I got also mentioned that the package might need to be returned due to their policy, etc… so I went to the office by taxi myself.

Apparently, according to Chinese Customs regulations, items with a total cost below 1000 RMB (about $150) including shipping, are allowed to be imported into the country. However, for my package from Japan, the total cost was written as more than 1000RMB. Usually, I fill out the shipping label and email it to my mom in Japan, and she helps me send it overseas. After the Customs staff checked each of my items thoroughly, they understood that the actual cost was within their regulations and they released my package.

I probably waited for about 30 minutes at the office until my package was released. I paid the customs fee of about $25 and the handling fee of about $1.5.

The location of the customs office mentioned in the text message was actually not quite right. I asked one of the staff who was working at the area where my taxi driver dropped me off, and he helped take me to the actual customs office. Xie xie ni!

Location: 中国邮政速递物流(北站路揽投部)

Address: 沈河区北站路78号邮政大厦1楼大厅12号窗口

There are many customs offices, so please consider this information as just for your reference.

The 2nd time I received a message from the Customs office, it was written like this. 🔽

The translated version is included below.🔽

The message this time noted that I didn’t have to visit customs. Instead, I needed to pay the customs fee via the provided link.

I tapped the link, and it took me to this blue-colored page below, and next I tapped the section I circled in red…

The next page showed my tracking number and Customs fee, so I tapped that circled area in red and paid the customs fee via my cellphone. The package was delivered to my place within 3 days.

In general, I don’t feel any inconveniences living in China since I can find most of the things I need. But I feel so special when I receive a package from Japan.

These are the items that I have received from Japan so far.🔽

Candy, a box of Japanese sweets, rice crackers, matcha powder, nuts snacks, seasoned seaweeds, a sweets-making set, Japanese tea, a few books, a small cutter and a craft board, kid’s clothes, glutinous rice flour, and a box of cookies, etc.

If your package from Japan (or somewhere else) doesn’t arrive on the expected day, please check the text messages on your cell phone. There might be a message from the Chinese customs office.

Thank you for reading my blog!