This is exactly the kind of small, everyday decision where "just carry it" quietly costs you a miserable travel day. Mio doesn't care about vibes — here's the math on all three options.
1. Coin lockers (coin rokkā) — roughly ¥400–900/day by size (illustrative), and you pay per calendar day. Perfect for a few hours exploring one city hands-free. Catch: the big lockers that fit a suitcase are limited, and near major stations (Tokyo, Kyoto, Shinjuku) they fill up fast, especially mid-morning.
2. Luggage forwarding (takkyūbin / takuhaibin, e.g. Yamato) — roughly ¥2,000–2,500 per large bag (illustrative) to send it hotel-to-hotel or hotel-to-airport. It typically arrives the next day, so it's brilliant for travelling light between cities: send the big bag Tokyo→Kyoto and travel with just a day bag.
3. Hotel hold — usually free. Most hotels hold your bag before check-in or after check-out. But it only helps same-city, same-day — it doesn't move your bag anywhere.
| Your situation | Mio's pick | Rough cost |
|---|---|---|
| A few hours in one city, then back to your hotel | Coin locker | ~¥400–900 |
| Checked out, but sightseeing until your evening train (same city) | Hotel hold (free) or locker | ¥0–900 |
| Moving Tokyo → Kyoto and don't want the case on the shinkansen | Forward it (takkyubin) | ~¥2,000–2,500 |
| Last night → airport next morning, big bag | Forward hotel → airport | ~¥2,000–2,500 |
| Locker needed for 3+ days in one spot | Compare: forwarding may beat lockers | locker ¥1,200–2,700+ |
Notice the last row: at 3+ days, stacked locker fees start to approach a single forwarding fee — and forwarding actually moves the bag closer to where you're going next.
Forwarding usually arrives the next day, not the same day. So the play is to send the big bag the day before you move cities, then travel with a small day bag holding one night's essentials. Don't forward it the morning you leave and expect it waiting at lunchtime — that's the one way this backfires.
Smart combo: forward the big case Tokyo→Kyoto the night before, use a coin locker for your day bag while you sightsee in between, and let the hotel hold it once you arrive. Each tool for the job it's cheapest at.
Same-day in one city → coin locker or hotel hold (cheap or free). Moving cities with a big bag → forward it for ~¥2,000. The "right" answer isn't about convenience — it's that ~¥2,000 buys a much better travel day, and a stacked-up locker bill for several days can quietly cost you the same anyway.