Exporting Antiques

[Moritsuchi]

Hi all,

 

I'm currently living in Japan, but as my time here nears its end (my flight home will be in 3-4 months), I'm starting to think about how to best get my treasures from all the flea markets yahoo auction etc. home. This includes apart from a slightly rusted yari (and a hinawaju I am currently buying) mainly a lot of archaeological stuff, jomon/yayoi/kofun period pottery, stone tools, arrowheads, beads, some sword fittings, medals, coins etc. None of it was more than like 30-40.000yen (200-250USD/EUR) per piece. I've read that pieces with a value under 200.000Yen are exempt from needing an export license, is that true? My Japanese is sadly not enough to really get legal language and read the law myself and understand it, so I hope maybe some of you have experience with such smaller things. Also I don't have a reciept for most of the stuff, and the reciepts I have are hardly more than a piece of paper with a price, "Antique goods" and a stamp. 

 

Greetings, Florian

[Alex A]

Hi Florian, 

 

I don't know the ins and outs exactly of what you have but just thoughts in a very simplistic way as to how i might go about it.

 

Put everything in boxes and just ship back to someone you know.

 

List everything with values for customs with an explanation your heading home and shipping your collection in advance. List the correct customs tariff, for antiques used to be 9706.00.00.00, maybe it still is.

 

Whatever you get taxed, you get taxed.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Use UPS, as last time i looked they were the only ones shipping pointy things.,