How to Buy from Japan: Every Way to Get Japan-Exclusive Items, Pros and Cons

How to buy from Japan depends on where the item is sold. Some Japan-exclusive items ship straight to your door, and others are sold only on Japanese websites that deliver within Japan. This guide lists every way we know of, with the pros and cons of each, so you can pick the one that fits the item.

In short:

First check whether Amazon.co.jp or the store itself ships to your country. If it does, ordering directly is usually the simplest way.
If the store ships only within Japan, a proxy or forwarding service can help, but some stores say in their terms that they may cancel such orders.
If the item is sold out, resale and used markets are left. If you’re visiting Japan, you can buy it in a store.

Which way fits your item?

Where the item is sold	Ways to get it
On Amazon.co.jp, and it ships to your country	Order directly from Amazon.co.jp
At a Japanese store that ships internationally or has an international site	Order from the store
At a Japanese store that ships only within Japan	Proxy service or forwarding service (some stores may cancel these orders)
Sold out	Resale and used markets
Only in stores in Japan	Buy it in Japan, or resale later
Not exclusive to Japan	A store in your own country

Order directly from Amazon.co.jp

How it works: to buy direct from Japan, check Amazon.co.jp first. It ships many items to other countries through AmazonGlobal, its international shipping. For items that qualify, this is usually the most direct way.

Costs: the item price, shipping, and import charges. Shipping is a fee per shipment plus a fee per item. The lowest per-shipment fees listed, as of November 2026:

US: ¥2,400 (about US$15)
UK: ¥2,734 (about £13)
Canada: ¥3,800 (about C$34)
Australia: ¥1,500 (about A$14)

Conversions use the exchange rate on November 6, 2026. Your card is charged in yen, so the amount you pay depends on the rate that day.

Per-item fees come on top, and the rates can change. See Amazon.co.jp’s Global Shipping Rates for your country. Import charges appear on the final checkout page. For a real order with every cost in US dollars, see our Amazon.co.jp ordering guide.

Pros:

One order, one payment, delivered to your door
No service fee on top of Amazon’s own charges
Some editions with Amazon.co.jp exclusive bonuses can ship to other countries too (see What Is Tokuten?)

Cons:

Not every item ships to your country. Some sellers on Amazon.co.jp ship only within Japan.
For a single low-priced item, shipping can be a large part of the total, so other stores or resale may be worth comparing for that item.

Best for: items on Amazon.co.jp that ship to your country.

Don’t use a proxy service for items on Amazon.co.jp. If an item ships to your country, order it directly. Step by step: How to Order from Amazon Japan to Your Door.

Stores that ship internationally themselves

How it works: some Japanese stores ship to other countries from their own site (such as AmiAmi and CDJapan), and some run separate international sites (such as Animate International and Premium Bandai).

Pros:

You order from the store itself, with no service in between
Store bonuses may come with some items (check the store’s product page)

Cons:

International sites may not carry everything the Japanese site does
Shipping options and countries differ by store

Best for: items from stores that ship to your country.

We checked 20 stores in Which Japanese Anime Stores Ship Internationally?

Proxy services

How it works: a Japan proxy service, such as Buyee, ZenMarket, or WorldShopping, buys the item for you from a Japanese website, receives it at its warehouse in Japan, and ships it to you. Some Japanese stores, such as HMV and Shochiku Store, mention WorldShopping in their own guides.

Costs: what you pay for, in general:

The item price
The service’s fee (per order, per item, or a percentage, depending on the service)
Shipping within Japan, from the store to the service’s warehouse
International shipping
Import tax and duties in your country, which may come on top

Fees differ by service and change over time, so check each service’s own fee page before you order.

Pros:

You can buy from Japanese websites that ship only within Japan
You can buy from Japanese marketplaces such as Mercari and Yahoo! Auctions (Buyee and ZenMarket handle them, and list Yahoo! Auctions as “JDirectItems Auction”)
Packages can be combined before international shipping (an option at Buyee; the first consolidation is free at ZenMarket)

Cons:

Service fees on top of shipping, and an extra stop at the service’s warehouse
Some Japanese stores say in their terms that they may cancel orders that look like resale or that go to forwarding addresses, so a proxy order may not go through
Some items can’t be shipped to other countries. Buyee and ZenMarket each list the items they can’t ship.
With WorldShopping, store points and coupons can’t be used

Best for: items from Japanese websites and marketplaces that ship only within Japan.

Forwarding services

How it works: with a Japan forwarding service such as tenso.com, you get an address in Japan. If you’re wondering how to buy from Japanese websites yourself, this is one way: you order from the store, have the item sent to that address, and the service ships it to you. Toranoana’s guide points to tenso.com.

Costs (tenso.com, as of November 2026): a handling fee based on weight (from ¥50, about US$0.30), international shipping, and ¥200 (about US$1.30) plus ¥300 (about US$1.90) for each added package if you combine packages. Fees can change, so check its fee page.

Pros:

You order directly from the store, so you see the store’s own page and price
Handling fees can be low for light items

Cons:

You order on the Japanese website yourself, often in Japanese
tenso.com’s guide says forwarding services must check your identity by law, so you may need to submit ID
Some stores say in their terms that they may cancel orders sent to forwarding addresses (see Which Japanese Anime Stores Ship Internationally?)

Best for: stores that ship only within Japan and accept forwarding addresses, when you can get through the checkout yourself.

Resale and used markets

How it works: once an item sells out, it may still turn up on resale and used markets. eBay has sellers who ship from Japan. Items on Mercari and Yahoo! Auctions can be bought through a proxy service such as Buyee or ZenMarket.

Pros:

A way to find items that have sold out

Cons:

Sellers set their own prices, which can be above the original price.
Check whether the listing is new or used, and whether the bonus is included.
With ZenMarket, used items from Mercari or auctions usually can’t be compensated, according to its fee page. ZenMarket and Buyee offer photo services, so you can see the item before it ships.

Best for: sold-out items.

Buy it in Japan

How it works: if you’re visiting Japan, you can buy store-only items in person. Japan offers tax-free shopping for visitors, and the system changed on November 1, 2026.

Pros:

You get items sold only in stores, and you can see them before you buy
No international shipping

Cons:

Only works if you’re in Japan, and popular items may sell out early

Best for: items sold only in stores, if you’re visiting.

See Where to Buy Anime Merch in Japan and Tax-Free Shopping in Japan.

A store in your own country

If the item isn’t exclusive to Japan, a store in your own country may carry it. See Best Anime Merch Websites in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

What we haven’t verified

We’re based in Japan, so we can’t test ordering from other countries through these services ourselves. We haven’t verified:

How often Japanese stores actually cancel proxy or forwarding orders
International shipping fees through each proxy or forwarding service
Import tax and duties in each country
Which items each service can’t ship to your country

Tell us

Bought something from Japan through one of these ways? Tell us your country, the way you used, delivery time, and costs through the Contact page. We’ll add it to this guide as “reported by a reader” (country and date only, never your name or email).