You don’t have to drag a big suitcase around. Forward it to your hotel, leave it at the front desk, or put it in a locker — any one of these makes the whole day easier.
🚚 Send it ahead to your hotel
There are baggage-forwarding counters in the arrivals hall. Show them your hotel’s name and address and they will send your suitcase there. ★ It usually arrives the NEXT day — keep whatever you need today (medicine, charger, a change of clothes) with you. You can also send bags hotel-to-hotel, or on to the airport when you leave.
🏨 Leave them at your accommodation
Most places will hold your bags at the front desk, both before check-in and after check-out, and usually for free. That frees up your first morning and your last afternoon. If the words are hard, show them the phrase instead.
🧳 Coin lockers and left-luggage offices
Stations have coin lockers — pay with an IC card (Suica/Pasmo) or cash, and collect your things the same day. ★ Lockers big enough for a full-size suitcase are few, and at busy stations they fill up by late morning. Major stations also have staffed left-luggage offices.
🚃 Before you take a big bag on a train
★ Avoid the commuter rush. It varies by line, but roughly 7:30–9:30 on weekday mornings and 17:30–19:30 in the evening are packed, and with a big suitcase even getting on and off is hard. Above-ground lines like the Yamanote stay busy all day. Stand near the doors and keep your bag at your feet. On the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu shinkansen, bags over 160cm (the three sides added together) need a seat with an oversized-baggage space, reserved in advance.
✈️ The day you leave
The last day works the same way. Leave your bags at the hotel in the morning, or send them ahead to the airport, and you get a light final half-day. ★ Sending to an airport normally has to be done the day before, and airport counters have cut-off times too.
Fees, opening hours and size limits differ by company and station, and they change. This is general guidance — check at the counter, or on the railway’s or delivery company’s official page.