Tip 182: Delivering fruits thru Japan Post

I have always had no complaints with Japan Post, but only good experiences. Recently, received a nice fruit package from my mother in law in Ishigaki island. 2 Ishigaki pineapples and 3 Ishigaki mangoes. She has been sending fruits to us (only fruits so far), at least once a year. She insist that this year's pineapples and mangoes are the sweetest and we do not deny it. Did not get Okinawan papayas this year. Japan Post have been branding itself as a gift delivery company where each post office would promote different local gifts and souvenirs to encourage its residents to send gifts to friends and relatives in Japan especially during the summer season, a popular month for gift giving.












I am also particularly impressed by Japan Post' next day delivery service of any letters within Tokyo, free redirect mail service for 1 year if you move anywhere within Japan (they take the trouble to be precise when sorting mail and then stick a label of your new address free of charge), commitment to deliver new year cards even if you send them last minute within a few days prior, and its prompt package deliveries.












I sent a package to London from Tokyo last year by sea and was informed that it would reach in 1 month. Got it in 2.5 weeks. I sent a package from London to Hong Kong by sea and was told it would reach in 1-2 months. Got it after 3 months! Its interesting how different postal offices in the world respond to customers. In Japan, they do not like to overpromise, but instead work round the clock by hiring temp workers or clocking in high overtime so they never miss their KPIs. Other countries just accept things as they are, lost mail or not.












Other key contribution of Japan Post include its lowest transaction fee for remittances and its higher yield postal savings deposit rates. This has made the postal savings system the largest financial institution in the world, since it began accumulating small deposits from peasants into pools of capital that were aggresively invested in railroads and heavy industry development in the Meiji modernization. I do hope the privatization of Japan Post would not end its legacy of efficiency and its historical significance.












Back to the topic, Tomomi told me the fruit gift package that she saw at the Okinawan post office was around 5000 yen ($50). That is quite a lot for 5 fruits. True enough, local farm products in Japan can be expensive. How much does 2 pineapples and 3 mangoes cost in your home country? Do leave a comment for good comparison. By the way, I posted photos of my archive of different fruit trees I found around Tokyo and Kawasaki.

(Photos show Haruka's sweet tooth inspiring a smile for my camera finally. From top to bottom, the tree and yellow fruits of the grapefruit, Japanese persimmon or kaki, loquat or biwa, kiwifruit and kumquat or kinkan).