Going to Japan... with swords...

[Rivkin]

Gentlemen! I have not been in Japan for close to 10 years already, and even before I always used someone's services to help me with registration etc..

This time I want to fly in with a case of swords. Probably Tokyo rather than Osaka. Haneda? 

How bad should I expect it to be?

 

Thanks a lot in advance for any suggestions.

[Bugyotsuji]

Japanese bureaucracy loves repetition of the obvious. The facts, the facts, the facts, well in advance, then again in advance, and finally on the spot, and make sure to keep all records. That you did tell them in advance. In Japanese even better. Even then, they will surely ask for some detail you had not anticipated. Keep your explanations minimal. Be prepared to be taken off to a separate room where they may ask you to fill out forms in Japanese.
 

If you have connections or invitations from Japanese dealers, Togishi, etc., make sure to have all that correspondence, contact details etc., ready to hand.

 

A regular courier might be able to help you with detailed advice, but trade secrets etc., would they be willing to share?

 

Expect it to be a hassle, and to take several hours of everyone’s time at the airport, but ultimately not absolutely impossible.

 

(Just to get the ball rolling here.)

[raaay]

Just back from Japan  a few weeks back , my friend had two swords with him , we contacted the customs at Narita " we were maybe a bit  lucky "  within 15 minutes 4 police arrived and went through the customs checks and registering the two blades the whole process took about 45minuites , but as Piers says above it can take a lot longer !

 

But please note and to be confirmed you can only bring in 3 swords at a time into Japan , this is what we were told  , i believe you can leave with as many as you like as long as you have all the proper paper works .

[Gakusee]

Narita is more experienced (faster) than Haneda. At Haneda, sometimes mishaps or misunderstandings might happen, although infrequently. 
 

I never told anyone anything in advance and turned up at the airport but was always prepared as per the below. 

 

So far I had:

- all my sword related paperwork (NBTHK certificates, why I own them - eg life NBTHK membership, ToKen UK membership, NKBKHK membership etc - clearly “certifying” me as an obvious nihonto nerd) plus

- who in Japan will assist with the torokusho shinsa.

- examples of the form that I need (from previous such visits) from the police/ customs

- sometimes a letter to customs from the friend/ dealer who will deal with the torokusho process on my behalf

- documented (or at least verbal) reason why the blade is being brought (eg polish, Juyo Shinsa etc) 

 

They like to know who will take care of the licensing and registration process there, so having the contact details (and correspondence or letter from) of some dealer or reputable intermediary / friend who is the Nihonto circles (we are lucky to have 3-4 Brits in there, but also people like Bob Hughes, possibly Gordon, Paul Kremers, etc) will be paramount. 
 

On the way into Japan: only three blades are permitted. Unlimited on the way out. 

 

Make sure to declare the blades import on BOTH slips of paper you have to fill out (or on the electronic registration forms). Both of these are at the back towards the bottom of the form. 

[2devnul]

Hi,

 

Interesting topic! Can you bring a blade without any papers? No NBTHK or even old Torokusho copy? How they determine if it is Nihonto? What happens if you bring none-Nihonto replica (not Iaito, sharp sword)? 

Thanks! 

 

[Rivkin]

Thank you very much, this is very helpful. I did not know about three blades. Yes, for some reason there are a lot of Brits in Japan.

 

The real challenge I am trying to solve is polishing about 30 blades accumulated over many years.

It looks like hand carrying them there is not an option. Sending the blades by mail, 10 at a time and then bringing them back in a suitcase appears to be more viable. I have a possibility of staying there for couple of months also...

 

Any restrictions on sending them to Japan? Did it many times before, but all my agents there retired one after another in the last 5 years . I guess we are all getting older.

Edited December 4, 2025 by Rivkin

[Brano]

1 hour ago, Rivkin said:

Thank you very much, this is very helpful. I did not know about three blades. Yes, for some reason there are a lot of Brits in Japan.

 

The real challenge I am trying to solve is polishing about 30 blades accumulated over many years.

It looks like hand carrying them there is not an option. Sending the blades by mail, 10 at a time and then bringing them back in a suitcase appears to be more viable. I have a possibility of staying there for couple of months also...

 

Any restrictions on sending them to Japan? Did it many times before, but all my agents there retired one after another in the last 5 years . I guess we are all getting older.

I think the 3-piece limit per import also applies to postal parcels
For postal shipping I recommend using EMS
You can contact Paul Kremers at tsuba.info@gmail.com

 

[Rivkin]

1 hour ago, Brano said:

I think the 3-piece limit per import also applies to postal parcels
For postal shipping I recommend using EMS
You can contact Paul Kremers at tsuba.info@gmail.com

 

Thank you very much! It looks like I'll have to send many parcels :(. 

[atm]

Beware that shipping is not without its own headaches. A couple of months ago I tried to ship a blade to Japan via U.S. Post Office Express Mail International. I carefully followed the instructions of Robert Hughes, who was going to coordinate submission to shinsa. My package cleared outbound U.S. Customs. But despite my blade being over 700 years old, someone at the U.S. post office rejected the parcel before it was loaded on a plane and sent it back to me because the "destination country rejected shipment"--in other words, they erroneously thought that all Japanese swords are illegal to export to Japan. I later learned that a very experienced U.S. dealer had the exact same experience with his shipment of blades to Japan within a week of my shipment. That dealer was able to successfully reship with a new description of "Traditional Japanese Art." I, on the other hand, decided right now is not a good time to try shipping to Japan, so I'll wait for shinsa some other year.

[Bugyotsuji]

If you are bringing in 30 blades, I wonder if there might not be some special governmental cultural dispensation, seeing that you are also providing work for traditional Togishi. 

[Rivkin]

26 minutes ago, atm said:

I later learned that a very experienced U.S. dealer had the exact same experience with his shipment of blades to Japan within a week of my shipment. That dealer was able to successfully reship with a new description of "Traditional Japanese Art." I, on the other hand, decided right now is not a good time to try shipping to Japan, so I'll wait for shinsa some other year.

This problem I often ran into - air companies screening the packages and if the guy doing it presses the red button, there are no upper echelons checking and no responsibility, its out and back. Its much worse in states like California, so thinking about actually shipping them from Chicago, for example.