It’s safe to bet that many foreigners in Japan, especially those without access to an automobile, have scratched their heads and wondered how to get Object A from Point B to Point C, especially if Object A is a very heavy piece of furniture. In the past I have even wrapped up a used television in a large Japanese furoshiki (wrapping clothing) and carried it in a taxi for several kilometers, but there has to be a better way!
One excellent resource in this regard is Akabou, masters of the Tiny Red Truck. Akabou is a network of independently owned small truck operators organized into local cooperatives, who handle anything from shipping used appliances from one house to another to small-scale complete moves. They have reasonable rates (usually clocked by the kilometer, like a taxi), and will also move items from the house to the truck, and vice versa. With their wide network, you can ship just about anything within Japan using Akabou, though the best prices are for local area shipping. Note that the truck bed size is limited (length 1940mm, width 1410mm, and 1400mm, max. payload: 350 kg), so a large move might require several Akabou trucks.
The official Akabou website is in Japanese only, but several local Akabou Cooperatives advertise or handle requests in English. These locales include:
- Yokohama (http://www.porters-express.com/page/english.html)
- Nagoya (http://www.mb.ccnw.ne.jp/h-akabou/english.htm)
- Tokyo Metropolitan area (http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~fwkc9604/akaboue.htm)
If they cannot handle your request, they will probably refer you to someone who can. I’ve used Akabou before, and found it a very reasonable, friendly service to use.
© 2004 Wendy J. Imura.