How to Buy from Rakuten Japan and Ship Overseas

The most direct way to get something from Rakuten Japan to your country is Rakuten's own forwarding service, Rakuten Global Express. You order on Rakuten Ichiba with its Kawasaki warehouse as the delivery address, and the warehouse combines your orders and ships them abroad. Signing up is free, but you must verify your ID before anything can leave Japan. Everything below comes from the official pages I read on October 26, 2026.

How do you buy from Rakuten Japan and ship overseas?

Found something on Rakuten Japan? Put it in your cart first. You can set up forwarding later at your own pace, without rushing every step on the spot or losing the item you found. When you are ready, follow these steps.

1. Create a free account. If you already have a Rakuten Japan member ID, log in with it.
2. Verify your ID. Under Japan's Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds, everyone has had to verify since April 1, 2013, including people who live abroad. You can shop before you verify, but nothing ships until you do.
3. Find your shopping address on My Page. It is your own address at the warehouse, for use with this service only.
4. Order on Rakuten Ichiba. Enter the shopping address as the delivery address and pay by credit card. Cash on delivery, freight collect and e-collect are not accepted.
5. Wait for the parcel to arrive. Rakuten Ichiba parcels show up on My Page automatically, a little while after they reach the warehouse. Storage is free for one month in principle.
6. Combine orders. Several orders can go out as one parcel at no extra handling fee. Auto-packing cannot combine parcels, so request packing by hand if you want to combine.
7. Pick a method, pay and ship. The service offers Economy Air, Standard Express, Super Express and Sea Mail, though not every method serves every country. Fees are paid with the card on your Rakuten account, PayPal or Rakuten points.

The "delivery date" you can choose at checkout is the date the parcel reaches the warehouse in Japan, not your home. It trips up a lot of first-timers.

What do you need for Rakuten Global Express ID verification?

There are two ways. Face verification needs one driver's license or ID card that shows your photo, name, date of birth and address together, and takes about 5 to 10 minutes. It is not available in every country or region. If your card is missing any of that, or has handwritten parts, you upload documents instead, which takes about a week.

Uploads must be JPEG or PNG and 5MB or less. PDF is not accepted. Documents in the language of your country are fine. Documents in a family member's name, and mailed copies, are not accepted. After you verify, your first shipment can only go to the verified name and address. You can add other addresses after that.

How much does shipping from Rakuten Japan cost?

The fee depends on weight and box size. On the official shipping estimate, enter the destination, postal code, weight in grams and the box size in cm to see a price for each method. The quote leaves out optional services, import duty and other taxes, and the final fee can differ. As one example, the top page shows 3 bottles of sake (5,120g) sent to Taiwan by Standard Express in 2 days for JPY 10,440, and says it is only an example.

I run the estimate once, then decide whether to wait for a few more orders. Combining is free and storage is free for a month, so that month is your window to bundle. After a month with no shipping request, the parcel is disposed of and a fee is charged.

Will you pay import duty?

That depends on your country, and the quote does not include it. Two examples: the Taiwan country page says goods worth NT$2,000 or less are duty-free, up to six times per half-year. For the US, when this site checked on October 19, 2026, the RGX US page ruled out Economy Air and limited Standard Express and Sea Mail to parcels over JPY 410,000, and US Customs (CBP) said the duty-free treatment for parcels of 800 dollars or less was suspended. Check your own customs office before you order.

What can't Rakuten Global Express ship?

From the official banned-items page: power banks count as stand-alone batteries and cannot go by international post. Other lithium batteries must be inside the device, with packs under 100Wh, cells under 20Wh and two per parcel at most. Spray cans, gas canisters, lighter fuel, drinks of 25% alcohol or more, perfume and nail polish cannot be sent, and chilled or frozen goods are not accepted. Each country page adds its own rules.

Gadgets and appliances: A power bank counts as a stand-alone battery and cannot go by international post, so this route will not get a power bank bought on Rakuten Japan to you. Phones, laptops and earbuds with built-in lithium batteries can go, but each pack must be under 100Wh, two per parcel at most, and the battery must be inside the device. Country rules vary: the Taiwan page, for example, says Super Express checks wireless and communication functions and Economy Air does not take health or beauty devices.

An item missing from the list is not guaranteed to ship. Check both the quote screen and the banned-items page before you order.

More reading

To compare buying agents and local dealers, see Belkin BPD018 power bank review. To pick gear, start with Gadgets.

Links to Rakuten Global Express are plain links. This site earns nothing from that service.