Japan’s 20,000 post offices open their doors, making independent travel easier for Taiwanese visitors

In preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Japanese government aims to attract 40 million tourists to Japan and is actively working to attract more visitors. Recently, Japan Post announced that starting this spring, 20,000 directly operated post offices will introduce a translation system and provide services such as luggage storage and hotel delivery in urban areas and tourist spots. This is great news for the growing number of independent Taiwanese travelers.

According to NIKKEI Chinese, an increasing number of tourists visiting Japan want to send local specialties back home via post offices. To prepare for future increases in service volume, Japan Post is removing language barriers. Starting in April this year, using translation engines and other applications, they will support services in three languages: Chinese, English, and Korean. This automatic translation mechanism can be activated by simply speaking into a tablet terminal and can easily translate product names such as “Yu-Pack” (a parcel delivery service) and other postal terminology.

Additionally, a luggage storage service will begin in March and will be implemented at around 1,000 post offices in the future. At post offices in busy locations such as station fronts and tourist spots in central Tokyo—where many visitors come—luggage will be stored in unused spaces. The expected fee is 300–600 yen (approximately NT$79.2–158.5). Japan Post stated that reservations and payments can be made via smartphone, and users can even easily check the availability of post office space.

Besides temporary storage, Japan Post has also started offering a service to send luggage to the visitor’s hotel or next destination via “Yu-Pack.” Each suitcase will be charged between 1,000–2,000 yen (approximately NT$264.2–528.3). With post offices joining in to offer this service, it is expected to relieve the frequent saturation of coin lockers and temporary storage facilities, serving as a veritable “gift pack”-level service for foreign travelers struggling with bulky luggage during independent trips.