# What should you pack for Japan carry-on only, and will the bag fit on the Shinkansen?

> OneBag Kit · https://onebagkit.com/carry-on-packing-list-japan/  
> Updated: 2026-10-17 · Published: 2026-10-17

Japan's bullet trains have their own bag-size rule: JR Central says bags whose three sides total 161 to 250 cm need a seat with an oversized baggage area, while one of 120 cm or less can generally go by your feet. A cabin-size bag holding about a week of clothes matched to the month in the JMA table below: that's our pick. The cost is laundry on the road and little room for shopping, unless the extras go ahead by luggage forwarding.

## Will your bag fit on the Shinkansen?

![A green backpack on a low slatted luggage rack, with a pair of sage slippers, a terracotta coin purse with three plain coins, and a triangular rice ball wrapped in a dark band.](https://onebagkit.com/img/brick-spot-carry-on-packing-list-japan-640.webp)

JR Central's luggage page, read on 17 Oct 2026, sets the rule in its own words: "Oversized baggage with a total of three dimensions between 161 and 250 cm (64 and 98 inches) must be placed in the baggage space located behind seats with an oversized baggage space. If you wish to use this space, a reservation is required when purchasing your ticket." The reservation is free, priced the same as an ordinary reserved seat. Without one, JR Central charges "a baggage fee (1,000 yen including tax)" and the bag goes in a space the conductor points to. Anything over 250 cm "cannot be brought on board".

| Length + width + height | Where it goes, per JR Central | Reservation |
|---|---|---|
| 120 cm or less | Generally by your feet in an ordinary car | No |
| 160 cm or less | Overhead rack (about 42 cm deep on the Tokaido Shinkansen) or the deck storage area | No |
| 161 to 250 cm | The space behind a seat with an oversized baggage area | Yes, at no extra charge |
| Over 250 cm | Not allowed on board | Not possible |

The reservation rule applies only on the Tokaido, Sanyo, Kyushu and Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen, according to JR Central's FAQ; conventional lines don't need one. The older free allowance still stands: two pieces "weighing 30 kg or less and with total dimensions of 250 cm or less (and no longer than 200 cm)", with umbrellas, walking sticks and handbags not counted.

## Worked example: Tokyo to Kyoto with a roller and a backpack

A traveller on [r/HerOneBag](https://www.reddit.com/r/HerOneBag/comments/1wttx9y/3_weeks_in_japan_october/) planning three weeks from Tokyo to Kanazawa, Kyoto, Hakone and back hoped to fit everything into a small roller carry-on plus a backpack as the personal item, given all the moves between cities. Against JR Central's numbers, those two bags work out like this:

1. A roller at 55 × 40 × 25 cm, the limit JR Central quotes for "airline-eligible carry-on suitcases", adds up to 120 cm. That matches JR Central's own by-your-feet example of 25 x 40 x 55. For the flight in, though, ANA and Japan Airlines also cap a carry-on at 115 cm added up (both read 17 Oct 2026), so a roller at that full size is 5 cm over on those two airlines.
2. A backpack at 40 × 30 × 15 cm adds up to 85 cm and can sit on the rack.
3. That is two pieces, each well under 250 cm, so both ride free and neither needs a reservation.
4. Swap the roller for a checked-size case at 80 × 55 × 32 cm and the sum is 167 cm. On the Tokaido Shinkansen between Tokyo and Kyoto, that case needs a seat with an oversized baggage area, booked with the ticket.

The Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa isn't on JR Central's list of lines that require the reservation. For a hard case, measure it with the wheels and handle in, as the [measuring guide](https://onebagkit.com/how-to-measure-a-carry-on-bag/index.md) shows, because a case that reads 159 cm on its label can measure over 160 cm in full.

## Medicine: what Japan's health ministry allows in

Japan sets its own limits on medicine brought in for personal use, separate from airport security. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) lists these amounts as not needing an Import Confirmation, read on 17 Oct 2026:

- "Poison, Deadly poison, Prescription drug : Up to 1 month supply"
- "Drug for external use (excluding Poison, Deadly poison, Prescription drug) : Up to 24 per one item"
- "Injectable drug and Syringe for the drug: Up to 1 month supply", for pre-filled syringes or self-injection kits only
- "Other Drugs, Quasi drugs : Up to 2 month supply"

Above those amounts, MHLW says "you have to apply for Import Confirmation, and receive it before you leave home, and show it to the officer at customs." Japan Customs' page 9005 gives the same categories, worded as dosage "for less than one month" and "for less than two months".

Some medicines need more than that. MHLW's Narcotics Control Department lists narcotics such as morphine and fentanyl, and stimulants' raw materials such as lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse), as needing permission before you enter Japan. It says amphetamine, the active ingredient of Adderall, "cannot be imported into Japan, even for treatment purposes." Its controlled-substances list, dated 12 December 2024, puts pseudoephedrine among stimulants' raw materials, with this exception: "Any substances containing 10% or less of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine are excluded." This page quotes the rules and can't say which list your medicine is on. For screening the same pills at the airport, see [carry-on medication rules](https://onebagkit.com/carry-on-medication/index.md).

## What changes month by month

Average daily high and low in °C and monthly rainfall in mm, from the Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991 to 2020 normals for Tokyo, Kyoto and Sapporo. Averages hide single cold or hot days. The last column is our suggestion from those numbers, not a JMA figure.

| Month | Tokyo high / low | Kyoto high / low | Sapporo high / low | Rain, Tokyo / Kyoto | What we'd change in the bag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9.8 / 1.2 | 9.1 / 1.5 | -0.4 / -6.4 | 60 / 53 | Insulated jacket worn on the plane; Sapporo's high below zero adds hat, gloves and boots |
| Feb | 10.9 / 2.1 | 10.0 / 1.6 | 0.4 / -6.2 | 57 / 65 | Tokyo's driest month on the normals; a compact umbrella covers it |
| Mar | 14.2 / 5.0 | 14.1 / 4.3 | 4.5 / -2.4 | 116 / 106 | Tokyo's rain doubles from February: the shell goes back in; Sapporo still wants the winter kit |
| Apr | 19.4 / 9.8 | 20.1 / 9.2 | 11.7 / 3.4 | 134 / 117 | Kyoto's high and low sit 11 degrees apart: a light sweater for evenings |
| May | 23.6 / 14.6 | 25.1 / 14.5 | 17.9 / 9.0 | 140 / 151 | Kyoto's average high passes 25: short sleeves by day, a fleece for Sapporo |
| Jun | 26.1 / 18.5 | 28.1 / 19.2 | 21.8 / 13.4 | 168 / 200 | Kyoto close to 200 mm: quick-dry clothes and a compact umbrella |
| Jul | 29.9 / 22.4 | 32.0 / 23.6 | 25.4 / 17.9 | 156 / 224 | Kyoto's wettest month and over 30 °C: more tees, or wash more often |
| Aug | 31.3 / 23.5 | 33.7 / 24.7 | 26.4 / 19.1 | 155 / 154 | Kyoto's nights stay near 25: no warm layer for the evenings |
| Sep | 27.5 / 20.3 | 29.2 / 20.7 | 22.8 / 14.8 | 225 / 179 | Still summer clothes, but Tokyo's rain climbs past 220 mm: the shell comes back |
| Oct | 22.0 / 14.8 | 23.4 / 14.4 | 16.4 / 8.0 | 235 / 143 | Tokyo's wettest month; one long-sleeve layer, two if Hokkaido is on the route |
| Nov | 16.7 / 8.8 | 17.3 / 8.4 | 8.7 / 1.6 | 96 / 74 | Sapporo runs about 8 degrees colder than Tokyo by day: a warm jacket only if going north |
| Dec | 12.0 / 3.8 | 11.6 / 3.5 | 2.0 / -4.0 | 58 / 57 | A warm coat for all three cities, and a hat and gloves for Sapporo |

## Japan in October and November

A traveller planning two weeks in Tokyo, Hakone and Kyoto in October [wrote on r/HerOneBag](https://www.reddit.com/r/HerOneBag/comments/1w8u3pr/2_weeks_in_japan_in_october/) that they found it hard to translate warmer-than-Central-European autumn weather into a pack list. JMA's October normals give a direct answer: highs of 22.0 °C in Tokyo and 23.4 °C in Kyoto, with lows near 14 °C, and Tokyo's wettest month of the year at 234.8 mm. A rain shell and one long-sleeve layer fit that range.

November splits the country. Another [r/HerOneBag poster](https://www.reddit.com/r/HerOneBag/comments/1x6yzrj/anemic_fashion_lover_attempts_a_capsule_wardrobe/) going as far north as Sapporo and as far south as Osaka in November wrote that the bag had to cover winter and autumn together. On JMA's numbers, Sapporo's November high of 8.7 °C sits below Tokyo's low for October. If the north is only a few days of the trip, the warm jacket can be worn on travel days so it never takes bag space.

## Plugs and voltage

JNTO, Japan's national tourism organisation, says "Power outlets use Type A plugs" and that voltage is "uniformly 100 volts, A.C.", at 50 Hz in eastern Japan and 60 Hz in the west, including Kyoto and Osaka. It adds that dual-voltage devices "should work wherever you are in Japan", while others need a step-down transformer. If a charger's label gives an input range that starts at 100 V or lower, it belongs in that first group. On newer Shinkansen models, JNTO says there are outlets next to the window seats. Power banks follow airline rules, covered in the [electronics guide](https://onebagkit.com/packing-electronics-carry-on/index.md).

## Sending the big bag ahead

JNTO's Hands-Free Travel counters send bags between airports, hotels and some convenience stores, with example limits it gives as "items not exceeding 160 linear cm, within 25 to 30 kg in weight, contents are under 300,000 yen in value". Valuables, fragile items, fresh products, liquids and hazardous materials aren't accepted. JR Central's own LUGGAGE EXPRESS, a paid service, takes bags up to 200 cm in total from a hotel or station to the next hotel on the same day.

One [r/HerOneBag trip report](https://www.reddit.com/r/HerOneBag/comments/1x60h4r/trip_report_2_weeks_in_japan1_bag_personal_item/) from two weeks in Japan describes forwarding the main luggage twice and spending three days without it each time, with a packable backpack as the main bag during those stretches. If you forward a bag, whatever you need for those days, including medicine and chargers, has to travel in the bag you keep.

For the flight in, the ANA, Japan Airlines and Jetstar rows in [carry-on limits by airline](https://onebagkit.com/carry-on-size-and-weight-limit-by-airline/index.md) give each airline's cabin-bag size and weight.

Official sources (read 17 Oct 2026): [JR Central luggage information](https://global.jr-central.co.jp/en/info/oversized-baggage/) · [MHLW medicines for personal use](https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/kenkou_iryou/iyakuhin/kojinyunyu/topics/tp010401-1_00001.html) · [MHLW Narcotics Control Department](https://www.ncd.mhlw.go.jp/en/application2.html) · [MHLW controlled substances list, dated 12 Dec 2024 (PDF)](https://www.ncd.mhlw.go.jp/dl_data/keitai/cotrolled_substances_list20241212%20.pdf) · [Japan Customs 9005](https://www.customs.go.jp/english/c-answer_e/sonota/9005_e.htm) · [JMA normals, Tokyo and Sapporo](https://www.data.jma.go.jp/stats/data/en/normal/normal.html) · [JMA normals, Kyoto](https://www.data.jma.go.jp/stats/etrn/view/nml_sfc_ym.php?prec_no=61&block_no=47759&year=&month=&day=&view=p1) · [JNTO plugs](https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/plug-and-electricity/) · [JNTO FAQ](https://www.japan.travel/en/faq/) · [JNTO Hands-Free Travel](https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/getting-around/luggage-storage/)

## FAQ

### What if every oversized-baggage seat on my train is taken?

JR Central asks you to book a seat with an oversized baggage area on another train. Like other reserved seats, these go on sale one month in advance, and JR Central suggests booking well ahead because some trains get crowded.

### What happens to a big bag if I miss my train?

A missed reservation can leave you a non-reserved seat on the next train, depending on the ticket, but JR Central says oversized baggage can't go to a non-reserved seat. To take the bag on the next train, it asks you to buy a new reserved ticket for a seat with the baggage space.

### Is there a limit on cosmetics or contact lenses?

Yes. MHLW lets you bring cosmetics "Up to 24 per one item" and disposable contact lenses "Up to 2 month supply" without an Import Confirmation, and its own example allows up to 24 lipsticks, whatever the brand or colour.


## Related OneBag Kit guides

- [Carry-on medication rules: pills, liquid medicine and insulin (US, UK, EU)](https://onebagkit.com/carry-on-medication/index.md): airport screening for the same pills, and other countries' border limits
- [Carry-on size and weight limits by airline: 35 airlines compared](https://onebagkit.com/carry-on-size-and-weight-limit-by-airline/index.md): the ANA, Japan Airlines and Jetstar cabin-bag rows for the flight in
- [How to pack light for cold weather in a carry-on](https://onebagkit.com/cold-weather-carry-on-packing/index.md): which winter layers to wear and which to pack, for a Hokkaido leg
- [How to do laundry on a one-bag trip](https://onebagkit.com/how-to-do-laundry-one-bag-travel/index.md): washing on the road, so a week of clothes lasts the trip

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