AmForward , shipping things from the US to Okinawa

So if you want things from America in Okinawa, you have a few choices. Since you are reading this in English, it’s overwhelmingly possible that you have a US based FPO or APO address, but since you’re here, you probably want something from Amazon, Target, Walmart, or another American based retailed that won’t ship to said address! This is annoying, but there is a solution!

The cheapest (probably) way is to order from Amazon Japan, which will ship to off-base addresses. If you live on base, don’t despair! You can ship to any connivence store (Family Mart, Lawson, or 7-11). For more info see our page on ordering from Amazon Japan.

If none of these work, there is still hope. A company we have used several times with good luck is “AmForward”. This is a place in Oregon (no sales tax!) that will let you have an American address, suitable for USPS, UPS, FedEx, and ‘other’ delivery. They will then package up your items and ship them via USPS to your FPO/APO address.

We have had three separate shipments with them. As we don’t use it a lot, we have paid by the shipment. It’s free to register and get your address to give to the despicable online retailer who won’t ship to APO/FPO. Then they charge the actual USPS rate plus about US$9 per shipment (on the pay per use plan). We’ve done it happily 3 times. It sucks to pay $9 plus postage to get something that probably had free shipping in America, but it’s often the only choice. For one fee they do consolidate, so if you have a few small things you can only pay one $9 fee plus postage.

If you don’t have an FPO/APO address, they will ship to your physical address in Japan as well. Obviously this will cost a bit more for international shipping, but if there is that one American thing you have to have it may be worth it! The set fee (~US$9) will be the same, but the postage will be higher.

Let us know what you think!