Coin Lockers in Japan: Sizes, Prices and What If They’re Full

A coin locker in Japan costs roughly ¥300 to ¥1,200 per use per day, with small lockers at the bottom of that range and suitcase-sized ones at the top (all prices in this guide as of September 2026, taken from official railway and airport pages). Sizes are standardised enough to plan around: a cabin bag usually needs a medium locker, and a full-size checked suitcase needs a large or extra-large one. When every locker is taken — which Japan’s own tourism bodies warn happens at busy stations — the fastest fixes are a real-time locker availability map, a staffed baggage counter, a bookable storage spot, or forwarding the bag to your next hotel instead.

Below are the published figures from the operators themselves, the dimensions you can measure your bag against, and a fallback ladder for the moment you find a wall of red “in use” lights.

How much does a coin locker in Japan cost?

There is no single national price. Each railway company and airport sets its own rates, and even within one company the fee changes by station and by locker type. The Japan National Tourism Organization’s own guidance is deliberately broad: it says the cost “varies on the size” and that you should “expect to pay between 300 and 600 yen.”

Tokyo’s official tourism guide quotes higher figures than that, and Kintetsu Railway’s published table goes higher still for its biggest lockers. Here is what each operator lists, as of September 2026.

Note the last two rows. Haneda prices its Terminal 1 and 2 lockers per day but its Terminal 3 lockers per 24 hours. Those are not the same unit, and the difference sits on the airport’s own page — so read the rate label on the locker bank in front of you rather than assuming a 24-hour clock.

What size coin locker do you need for your suitcase?

Locker depth and width are close to identical across operators. What changes is the height, which is what decides whether your bag fits standing up.

These are published dimensions, so you can check them against your own luggage before you travel.

A practical reading: a small locker takes a daypack or a tote, not a wheeled bag. Tokyo’s official guide describes its small size as fitting “a small carrier bag” and its medium as suiting “small carrier bags and A4-sized bags,” with large reserved for “large carrier bags.”

Kintetsu’s chart shows how thin the large-locker supply can be. At Kintetsu-Nara, one of its best-equipped stations, it lists 163 small, 107 medium, 254 large and 65 extra-large lockers — so the biggest size is the scarcest even where total capacity is high.

Can you pay with Suica, or do you still need coins?

Both exist side by side, and which one you get depends on the locker bank rather than the station. Plan for either.

Tokyo’s official guide is blunt about the older hardware: “Only 100-yen and 500-yen coins can be used to pay for some lockers.” Kintetsu says the same of its standard banks — “you will need to use 100 yen coins” — while its newer Smart Lockers take cashless payment by IC card.

The newer systems can go the other way entirely. JR East’s Multi Ecube lockers “only accept cashless payment such as IC cards and QR codes,” and the page adds plainly: “Sorry, cash is not accepted.” JNTO notes that “in many modern facilities it is possible to pay by various IC transit cards.”

Airport lockers tend to be the most flexible. Narita lists cash, credit cards, transport IC cards and other cashless options; Haneda’s Terminal 1 and 2 lockers are listed as taking cash or credit card, electronic money and QR codes.

The takeaway is to keep a handful of ¥100 coins and a charged IC card, because a locker that rejects one will usually take the other.

How long can you leave a bag in a coin locker?

Three days is the common station limit, but airports run longer and the wording differs by operator.

Nishitetsu states its lockers are for use “within 3 days.” If your storage “exceeds three days,” you have to contact staff, and during the separate storage period “you will be charged the equivalent of the locker usage fee.” Its page also warns that “any stored items that are not collected after 30 days will be disposed of by us.”

Narita Airport lists a maximum of 8 days for its lockers. Haneda allows use “within seven days from the first day of use,” after which items are moved into storage for 30 days.

Access hours matter as much as the day limit. Kyoto City’s subway guide gives locker access as “approximately 5:30 am – 11:30 pm” and says that outside those times “you will not be able to take items out or put them in the lockers.” Kyoto’s official hands-free sightseeing service phrases the general rule as: “Lockers can be used anytime when the station is open.” If your train leaves before dawn, check that you can actually reach your bag.

What to do when every coin locker is full

This is not a rare event. JNTO warns that “in very busy locations, the lockers fill up very quickly,” and Tokyo’s official guide says its major stations have “walls of lockers of various sizes, but be aware that they can fill up very quickly.”

Work down this ladder rather than walking laps of the station.

1. Check availability before you walk

Tokyo Metro stations are covered by Locker Concierge, an official locker finder that spans more than 50 stations including Shinjuku, Shibuya, Tokyo, Ikebukuro, Ueno and Roppongi, with an interface in English, Japanese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, and Korean. Kyoto City’s official HANDS FREE KYOTO site points visitors to the equivalent check for JR Kyoto Station.

Checking a screen first is the cheapest step, because it tells you whether to keep looking in this station or move straight to option 2.

2. Reserve a locker instead of hunting for one

JR East’s Multi Ecube system allows reservations, which changes the problem from luck to planning. Its premium membership is listed at ¥500 per month as of September 2026, bundling a free month of booking fees with discounts on delivery services. Send services are listed at Ikebukuro, Ueno, Shinagawa, Tokyo and Shinjuku, with receive services across more than 40 stations in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama and Tochigi.

3. Book a staffed storage spot

Shop-based storage takes bags that no locker will, including oversized cases. As of September 2026, ecbo cloak’s help centre lists ¥500 per day for a bag with a longest side of 45 cm or less and ¥800 per day for a suitcase over 45 cm, tax included, with a 20 kg weight limit. It also flags an exception: “Exceptions apply for certain locations including JR stations, which is 1000 yen per bag regardless of size.”

Read its charging unit carefully, because it is not hourly and not a rolling 24 hours. Charges accrue per business day: at a shop open 10:00–18:00, dropping a bag at 17:00 and collecting it at 10:00 the next morning counts as two daily charges, and at a 24-hour facility any storage spanning two calendar days counts as two.

4. Use an airport baggage counter

If your bag problem is at the airport, staffed counters exist alongside the lockers. Narita lists JAL ABC and Sagawa Express across its terminals plus a Narita International Airport Promotion Foundation counter in Terminal 2, with “three charge levels” applied “according to baggage size (small, medium and large).”

Narita does not publish those rates centrally — its page says charges “vary by company so please ask for further information from the company you intend to use” — so treat the counter as a capacity solution and confirm the price at the desk. Hours run from around 06:30 to 21:00 or 22:00 depending on the location, with some Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 desks staying open until one hour after the last international arrival.

5. Forward the bag instead of storing it

Often the better answer is to stop carrying the bag at all. Tokyo’s official guide describes three routes: airport delivery to your accommodation from Haneda or Narita, typically arriving the next day; hotels arranging onward baggage transport to your next destination; and dropping bags at a designated convenience store to be sent on.

Narita lists Yamato, JAL ABC and Sagawa Express delivery counters, some with same-day service inside narrow windows: Yamato’s same-day service hours are given as 06:30–10:30 with limited delivery areas, JAL ABC’s as 06:30 to 14:00 for select hotels, and Sagawa’s order acceptance as 06:30–14:00 covering 10 wards in Tokyo and selected hotels in Urayasu City.

Kyoto runs a city-backed version of the same idea. HANDS FREE KYOTO covers delivery from Kyoto Station to your accommodation, between accommodation facilities, and from your accommodation back to Kyoto Station, alongside storage for items too big for a locker. Its own page notes that “service is not available at some accommodation facilities,” so confirm your hotel is covered before relying on it.

Where the official sources disagree

The price ranges do not line up, and it is worth knowing why before you budget.

As of September 2026, JNTO’s national guidance tops out at ¥600, Tokyo’s official guide puts extra-large lockers at about ¥1,200, and Kintetsu lists up to ¥1,500 for its extra-large size. JR East describes the cause directly: “Fees vary depending on stations, locations and locker features.”

Practically, budget against the upper figures. A broad national range is useful for a rough estimate, but the number printed on the locker in front of you is the one you pay.

Frequently asked questions

Do Japanese coin lockers charge by the day or by 24 hours?

It depends on the operator, and the official pages are not consistent. Haneda lists Terminals 1 and 2 “per day” and Terminal 3 “per 24 hours” on the same page. Narita and the railway operators quote per-day rates. Check the label before you commit a bag overnight.

Will a 28-inch checked suitcase fit in a coin locker?

A large or extra-large locker is the realistic target. Published large sizes run to roughly 86 cm tall (Narita) and extra-large to 113.5 cm (Nishitetsu), with Haneda listing one size at 175 cm tall. These are also the scarcest lockers, so have a fallback from the ladder above.

Can I store a bag for a week?

Not in a typical station locker. Nishitetsu’s published limit is three days, after which you must contact staff and pay a separate storage charge. Narita allows up to 8 days and Haneda up to seven days from the first day of use, so airport lockers or a staffed counter suit longer gaps better.

What happens if I forget my bag?

Operators move it to separate storage rather than discarding it immediately. Haneda transfers over-limit items to storage for 30 days. Nishitetsu charges the equivalent of the locker fee during its separate storage period and states that items uncollected after 30 days will be disposed of.

Is a locker or a storage service cheaper for one day?

For a single day, a locker is usually cheaper. As of September 2026, a small station locker starts around ¥300–400 against ¥500 for a bag with ecbo cloak, and a suitcase-sized locker runs ¥600–1,200 against ¥800 — or ¥1,000 at JR station locations. The service wins when lockers are full, when your bag is oversized, or when you want the certainty of a booking.

Sources

• Luggage & Storage — Japan National Tourism Organization (accessed 2026-09-30)
• Luggage & Storage — Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau (Go Tokyo) (accessed 2026-09-30)
• About Multi-Ecube — JR East Station Retailing (accessed 2026-09-30)
• Size and Number of Coin Lockers Located in Major Stations — Kintetsu Railway (accessed 2026-09-30)
• Coin Locker Information — Nishi-Nippon Railroad (Nishitetsu) (accessed 2026-09-30)
• What is the pricing for ecbo cloak? — ecbo cloak Help Center (accessed 2026-09-30)
• Coin-Operated Lockers — Narita International Airport (accessed 2026-09-30)
• Baggage Storage — Narita International Airport (accessed 2026-09-30)
• Baggage Delivery — Narita International Airport (accessed 2026-09-30)
• Coin Lockers — Tokyo International Air Terminal (Haneda Airport) (accessed 2026-09-30)
• Locker Concierge — Tokyo Metro / Metro Commerce (accessed 2026-09-30)
• Coin Lockers — Kyoto City Transportation Bureau (accessed 2026-09-30)
• Luggage Services — Kyoto City Tourism Association (accessed 2026-09-30)
• What’s the best service for you? — HANDS FREE KYOTO (Kyoto City official) (accessed 2026-09-30)