Are you arriving before check-in time on your arrival day? Or when does your plane leave later in de day or evening on your departure day? Usually, your hotel is happy to keep your luggage for you. Sometimes, however, it might be necessary to bring your luggage with you while you are in transit. You can often make good use of your time and do some sightseeing on the way. So it is good to know that almost every station in Japan has a coin locker system that can hold small and large suitcases. Very practical if you want your hands free to enjoy sightseeing!
Sizes and Prices
There are several sizes of coin lockers, but it is good to bear in mind that on smaller stations there are usually only a few larger capacity lockers.
This is an example of the sizes and prices of the coin lockers at Tokyo station:
– 55 cm Height × 34 cm Width × Depth 57 cm: 400 yen / day
– 84 cm Height × 34 cm Width × Depth 57cm: 500 yen / day
– 103 cm Height × 34 cm Width × Depth 57cm: 700 yen / day
Prices are generally between 200 yen-700 yen/day, depending on the size. The coin locker price is based on a midnight to midnight rate, not a 24-hour rate. Therefore, if the luggage is placed at 10 am One day, it must be picked up before midnight that night, or else, a higher rate will be charged. Sometimes, the limit is up to 2 am, so it must be checked on the locker signs. If the belongings are left in the locker after this time, more money must be inserted before the luggage can be accessed.
How to Use a Station Coin Locker
Are you using IC cards (Pasmo, Suica, etc.) to pay for the coin locker? Then you must press the ‘Deposit’ button on the touch panel. The screen indicates which of the boxes are empty. The bags are deposited, the locker is closed and paid for with the card. To pick them up, the ‘Retrieval’ button is pressed, the card is read by the reader and the locker will open automatically. Nowadays most coin locker systems will have an English explanation and menu option, so using the coin lockers should not be too complicated anymore.
You can pay the charge with 100-yen coins, and some systems also accept IC cards. If IC cards are not accepted, and you don’t have enough 100-yen coins there will usually be a machine to change money. Or, you can also go to the nearest convenience store or supermarket to get change. Once the coins have been inserted into the slot, you can open the locker with the key, store the luggage, close it, and carry the key.
In large stations, you can follow the signs for coin lockers. And in small stations, it is usually easy to find them near the exit of the station.
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