Shipping To The US With COVID-19 Restrictions

This pandemic has affected every aspect of our daily lives and has robbed away a lot of the conveniences that we used to enjoy and take for granted.

Just about a year ago, it would be hard to imagine that the most affordable and reliable postal system would shut out services delivering to so many countries. But the fact of the matter is that Japan Post has stopped accepting airmail and EMS parcels to the US since April 2020 and as of today the status remains the same.

After waiting for 10 months with no end in sight as to when this restriction can be lifted, JapanHomeMaker has decided to set up a temporary satellite office in the US to help with distribution of orders from Japan. Starting February 2021, a representative from the San Francisco Bay Area, where JapanHomeMaker's hometown used to be, will help out on sending out orders domestically within the States.

For orders with one or several small items only, JapanHomeMaker will consolidate them in one big box and ship out weekly to the SF office by private courier service UPS. From there, the manager will sort them and forward the packages to your US addresses by US postal service.

This mainly applies to customers who have chosen Registered SAL before August 2020 or e-packet shipping options from Japan. These are the cheapest shipping methods offered by Japan Post and the amount of shipping paid is not enough to cover the extra cost required for switching to couriers such as DHL / FedEx / UPS on an individual basis. However, by combining all the small orders together and sending in one box, it is more cost effective and makes things workable with private service.

For US customers with many items in their orders and chose Japan Post's EMS express as the shipping method, JapanHomeMaker has already been shipping your packages from Tokyo directly by UPS & Yamato Express which are logistics partners. This will not change as long as mail suspension to the States is still being enforced.

JapanHomeMaker will clear all the US backlogs within the month of February and priority will be given to those orders which have been delayed for a long time. It is very unfortunately for some of you who have been waiting for more than six months but JapanHomeMaker promises your orders will reach you eventually.

This shipping arrangement through Northern California may be extended to Canadian customers in the near future if Canada remains on Japan Post's mail suspension list. Please always check "Shipping Guide" for shipment schedule and updates.

Let's hope that 2021 will be a better world. Take Care!