After my plans to send stuff home was thwarted by a pandemic, I had to come to terms with the fact I would now need to pack and ship several boxes home somehow. In the end, I was probably always going to have to resort to a shipping company since I vastly underestimated how much stuff I actually had.
Whittling It Down
First I had to finish separating the clothes and various other items I didn’t need or want anymore. Some things needed to be thrown away because they were worn down or just really old. Other things I just realized I didn’t wear or wasn’t that attached to anymore. Once I had created a large pile in my hallway I asked a friend to give me a lift to the secondhand shop. With that gone my hallway felt larger and I felt a little relief.
The Packening 1
After weeding out all the clothes and miscellaneous stuff I didn’t want or need anymore, my first round of packing was to see how much of what was left would fit into my suitcases. While I’d narrowed down my winter wear to a solid set of well-worn pieces, the downside was that a lot of these were bulky items, like a few sweater dresses. I also had a sheepskin rug and a couple of jackets I needed to get back which took up quite a bit of space. Thinking I might need to just pay for an extra bag, I kept going to see how much I would fill.
Just my running clothes took up a good half a suitcase. I was starting to worry. I realized I was not going to be able to fit all my clothes into 3 suitcases, let alone all of my other stuff. Godzilla figures, books, camera equipment, and laptop. Fours years worth of stuff all needed to come with me. I had hoped I could ship some of this a bit at a time via airmail, but with the effects of the pandemic that was no longer possible (or at the very least incredibly inefficient). I was going to need boxes and a shipping company to get all this home.
Test Pack
Before I decided on the shipping company, I wanted to try and figure out exactly how many boxes I would need. With the help of one of my JTEs, I made a trip to a home center to get a few boxes of varying sizes. My plan was to fill these and see how much was left. Or even fill, take out, and refill a few times to try and gauge how many boxes I’d be sending.
It turned out 3 would not be enough.
While most of my winter clothes fit in 1 box, I had a lot of other miscellaneous things to bring back with me (the Godzilla figures for one). See, the downside to being good at neatly stacking and putting things away in smaller boxes is that you end up with more stuff than you realize. I have a small apartment and everything is put away neatly. I would be leaving all the furniture behind and some other things like kitchenware and some room decorations, so I didn’t think I had that much to bring back. I failed to realize just how much of my stuff I had stowed away.
Searching for Shipping
I started researching international shipping companies but wasn’t getting many results. I was also a little frustrated with how they did their pricing. A lot seemed to be by weight but I obviously wouldn’t have the total weight until I finished packing, and even then it could be inaccurate since I was using a basic bathroom scale. I didn’t want to wait until I had completely finished packing to get the booking process started. After asking for recommendations in a JET Facebook group only one company was suggested.
They were able to give me their pricing/estimates for shipping by sea and air and after receiving estimates from 2 other companies, I decided to go with the one I was originally recommended. Japan Luggage Service would ship to the port nearest my town and their prices were a little better than the other quotes I received. I was going to have to just swallow the high cost of getting all my stuff back (~$800-$1000). I hadn’t planned on paying that much but considering my flight was being covered by my school and this was the first time I’d be “moving house”(and internationally), I guess it averages out ok.
Return to the Home Center
I had an idea of the price and what limit I was working with. The base cost was for 1 meter cubed of space, so if I’m paying for it, I may as well use it up. I needed double-thick cardboard for sea shipping and a few more boxes. I got another ride back to the home center, only to find the sizes available were not what I was looking for. Awesome. They only had the extra thick boxes in one of the sizes I wanted. I bought 3 in that size and a roll of bubble wrap for my Godzilla figures. Then we checked out a couple more home centers to see if they had the other sizes. No such luck. Only the first home center even had the extra thick ones. Oh well. I could at least start with what I had.
The Packening 2
To keep things organized, I bought some smaller boxes to divide things up and make it easier to pack in the bigger boxes. I spent a whole weekend packing things into these smaller boxes as well as into the 3 large boxes I had bought. I tried to write down the contents of everything since it was required for the paperwork but honestly, I skipped the minutiae of some of the smaller stuff because I couldn’t be bothered. Do I really need to count every single keychain and phone strap souvenir I have? If I estimate how many books I have and am off by a couple is it really such a big deal?
I had quite a lot of printed material (books, magazines, postcards, letter sets) and that weight can add up fast. I’m on the 3rd floor of the building and there’s no elevator so I needed to be mindful of the weight. I did some switching around to try and distribute the book weight throughout the boxes, with the smaller boxes on the bottom and clothes to fill the rest of the space. I was semi-successful.
Taking a Break
Surprisingly, I was mentally and physically exhausted after a weekend of packing. Even though I hadn’t been doing anything that strenuous, I think just being on my feet all day long and trying to constantly organize and rearrange everything really took it out of me. Looking at how much was still sitting out also kind of made me feel like I had a long way to go, even though I knew that some of it was being left behind. I took a popsicle break and then tidied everything up. I stacked the boxes I had finished and organized what was left to assess what still needed to be packed.
Once everything was neat, I felt better. I realized there wasn’t as much left to pack as I thought and I could briefly relax. I put together the things that would be left behind and bought a few more small boxes to put things in. I realized the closet had emptied out a bit and most of my clothes were packed except for what I needed. I was making good progress. Still needed more boxes though.
The Final Home Center Run
I made one last run to the home center with my JTE during lunch and bought 3 more big boxes as well as 3 of the long boxes. I also picked up a better roll of tape. The previous weekend I had taped up 3 boxes with a roll of cheap stuff that screeched whenever you pulled it and kept tearing which made everything take longer. I paid for a nicer roll of thicker, quiet packing tape for my own sanity. I was also positive these would be the last boxes I would need.
The final pack, for real this time
I spent a second full weekend packing. This included reopening one of the boxes to remove some weight. This is where the long boxes came in. I figured if I put more of the books and DVDs, the heavy stuff, in the smaller long boxes, even if I filled them they wouldn’t be too heavy to carry. This would remove some of the weight from the bigger boxes and I could fit more clothes and miscellaneous items. I filled the 3 long boxes with my books, magazines, and some stationary and was able to fit most of my clothes in the larger boxes. My Godzillas were occupying most of one box along with some plushes to fill space. In between were boxes of various souvenirs and merch I had bought in my 4 years in Japan. The whole time I was trying to keep (mostly) meticulous track of the number and type of items in an excel sheet for the shipping paperwork.
I did some math to try and make sure I was under the base limit and wouldn’t incur additional charges (90% sure I’m ok) and finished taping the last box shut on Sunday. I was able to keep the weight of most of the boxes down to a reasonable level, with maybe one being a little heavy for 1 person to carry. In the end, I had 6 large boxes and 3 long boxes that are stacked on my floor taking up about half of my apartment. I packed away most of my clothes so now I should be able to fit what clothes I have left (plus camera equipment and laptop) in my 2 suitcases and carry on bags without needing to pay for extra luggage.
Relief and Reflection
After dedicating 2 full weekends to packing my belongings, I am so happy it is over. I have to wait for my school to reserve my flight home before I can arrange to ship it, so, for now, it’s just sitting taking up floor space. A constant tangible reminder that I’m really leaving soon. I never thought I would spend 5 years of my life living in Japan (4 of those working) and I’ve come to really enjoy my lifestyle here. Even though I would like a bigger kitchen and a little more space, I really did enjoy my little apartment. It was enough. And I think because it was my first real apartment as an adult, it’ll always hold a special place in my memories.
Through the packing process, I think I’ve also realized how much stuff I buy. Japan is bad for encouraging this with limited edition items (like all the special aluminum coke bottles which yes I did pack those the cherry blossom ones are beautiful), and of course, there’s the fandom side of buying all the keychains and posters and other merch for your favorite shows or characters. I think that is something I won’t really have to worry about once I leave Japan and don’t have easy access to those kinds of things. The other side is souvenirs and hand made goods. I’ve done quite a lot of travel in my 4 years in Japan, way more than I ever did back home. And in the desire to commemorate and remember those trips I tend to buy souvenirs. Especially if it is a special or local product.
And if I see handmade goods, as someone that enjoys crafting, I want to support that person and buy from them. So I have a lot of miscellaneous handmade keychains, masks, and purses. Adding on to that, I am bad for buying fabrics and patterns and other things I think I could use for decoration or in a future craft project. I recently bought some summer weight fabric when the mall reopened with the intent to sew some shirts even though I probably won’t have the time to do that for another year.
Moving forward, I want to focus on other ways of remembering my trips instead of just buying something that looks cute. I want to put more effort into my photography so I can capture the views and the experience. I also want to maybe try something more artistic, like an art journal, that might force me to spend more time in the moment rather than rushing to the next attraction. And when I do buy something, I want to be more intentional in what I buy. I want to get something with more use or meaning, like my alpaca blanket from Ecuador or sheepskin rug from the Isle of Man which provide comfort and warmth during the winter. Or try more foods which I can enjoy while there but won’t take up luggage space.
Getting back to Japan though, my time here is coming to a close. I really enjoyed living here, and want to come back again someday, but realistically I can’t have my dream career here. I need to get back to biology and conservation, where my heart is, and try and build a career for myself.
