Checked on 30 September 2026 against the official pages of Japan Post, Yamato Transport and Sagawa Express (redelivery, holding periods, ID, English support), the government My Number Card site, and the Immigration Services Agency’s Q&A on online applications.
The short answer
- The slip in your mailbox (fuzaihyo) means a parcel came while you were out. Find the number first: 6 or 11–13 digits for Japan Post, 12 digits for Yamato, an office number plus a tracking number for Sagawa.
- You can request redelivery by phone, online or on LINE. In English: Japan Post 0570-046-111, Yamato 0120-67-9625 (both daily 8:00–21:00). Sagawa has a multilingual chat.
- You have about a week. Japan Post holds items for 7 days, Yamato for 7 days counting the day of the first notice, Sagawa for 8. After that the parcel goes back to the sender.
- Never sit on a registered-mail notice. A new residence card you chose to receive by post, and your My Number notification letter, both come by simple registered mail.
- To collect at the counter, bring ID showing your address and the notice. Yamato lists the residence card as accepted ID. My Number notification cards and letters are not ID.
Knowing this, you can get your parcel inside the deadline without making a phone call in Japanese. You also avoid sending your residence card or My Number letter back to the office that mailed it.
You come home from work and there is a small slip in the mailbox. Handwritten Japanese, and a lot of numbers. Something was delivered, you can tell that much. But who do you call, and what do you say? A Japanese friend says, “Just scan the QR code.” The page it opens is in Japanese too.
- What is a fuzaihyo, and which number do I need?
- How do I request redelivery? Phone, web or LINE
- Can I request redelivery in English? English phone numbers
- How long is a parcel held? About a week, then back to the sender
- Why does a registered-mail notice matter? Your residence card and My Number letter
- What ID do I need to collect at the counter?
- Lost the slip, or got a “missed delivery” text?
- Does redelivery cost anything?
- Which one are you?
- FAQ
- Summary
- Related reading
What is a fuzaihyo, and which number do I need?
A fuzaihyo (不在票), officially a “notice of absence” (ご不在連絡票, go-fuzai renrakuhyo), is the slip a delivery driver or postal carrier leaves in your mailbox when you were not home. Sagawa’s terms define it as the slip that tells you your parcel has arrived (Sagawa Express office pickup terms, in Japanese).
Whichever way you request redelivery, you will be asked for the number on the slip. Each company uses a different one.
- Japan Post: the 6-digit or 11–13-digit number on the notice (Japan Post redelivery form, in English)
- Yamato Transport: a yellow slip. Use the 12-digit tracking number. The date on the back is when the driver came. Box G is a toll-free automated line with instructions in foreign languages (Yamato: When Receiving an Attempted Delivery Notice)
- Sagawa Express: the office number (営業所番号) and the tracking number (お問い合せ送り状No.). If you cannot find the tracking number, Sagawa tells you to ask the sender (Sagawa redelivery page, in Japanese)
A Yamato slip also has the driver’s direct number (box F). Yamato’s English page warns that drivers may not be able to help in English, and points you to the box G number instead.
How do I request redelivery? Phone, web or LINE
Japan Post redelivery works by phone (the number on the slip, a 24-hour automated line), online, on LINE, or by posting the slip itself back. Online requests only cover redelivery to your home, meaning the address on the slip. To collect at a different post office, call or post the slip (Japan Post Q&A, in Japanese). On LINE, you send your preferred date and time in a chat with Japan Post’s official account, 郵便局［ぽすくま］ (Japan Post LINE page, in Japanese).
Yamato redelivery works through the 24-hour automated line (0120-17-9625), the QR code on the slip, LINE and the Yamato app. On LINE you send the words 日時変更 (“change date and time”), then the tracking number. The automated line has same-day cut-offs by time slot (Yamato automated phone service):
| Yamato delivery slot | Automated line cut-off |
|---|---|
| Morning (before noon) | 7:00 the same day |
| 14:00–16:00 or 16:00–18:00 | 12:40 the same day |
| 18:00–20:00 or 19:00–21:00 | 17:40 the same day |
Sagawa redelivery works online (no account needed), by calling the number on the slip, or through its official LINE account. Online, you can also switch to picking the parcel up at a Sagawa office or a delivery locker.
Registered mail has a faster route. Japan Post will redeliver registered mail it could not deliver during the day by about 21:00, if you phone by about 17:00 that day. Phone hours vary by post office (Japan Post registered mail, in Japanese).
Can I request redelivery in English? English phone numbers
Yes. All three companies list English support on their official sites.
- Japan Post: 0570-046-111, daily 8:00–21:00. It is a paid call and does not work from PHS or some IP phones. There is also an English redelivery form, but online requests only cover delivery to your home (Japan Post redelivery form)
- Yamato: English Customer Service on 0120-67-9625 (toll-free), daily 8:00–21:00 (Yamato English FAQ). The 24-hour automated line is 0120-17-9625. Online redelivery is in Japanese only
- Sagawa: the multilingual chat on the contact page. Staff answer from 8:00 to 18:00, every day of the year; an AI chatbot covers the other hours (Sagawa contact page)
If you do call in Japanese, you need three sentences. 再配達をお願いします (saihaitatsu o onegai shimasu, “Redelivery, please”). 番号は〇〇です (“The number is …”). 〇日の〇時から〇時でお願いします (“On the …, between … and …”). Read the number straight off the slip.
How long is a parcel held? About a week, then back to the sender
- Japan Post: 7 days for mail; if it cannot be delivered within 7 days it goes back to the sender (Japan Post Q&A). Yu-Pack parcels are also held for 7 days (same). International parcels from overseas are held for 15 days, or one month for items with duty to pay (international mail Q&A)
- Yamato: 7 days counting the day of the first notice, 3 days for chilled (Cool TA-Q-BIN) parcels. You can request redelivery as many times as you like within that period (Yamato FAQ, in Japanese)
- Sagawa: online redelivery can be requested for 8 days counting the day the first notice was left, 4 days for chilled parcels (Sagawa Smart Club FAQ). A parcel you switch to office pickup is held for 8 days counting the first delivery attempt (4 for chilled)
How to count: if a Yamato notice arrives on 1 October, 1 October is day one and you have until 7 October. With Sagawa, until 8 October. Japan Post only says “7 days”, and its Q&A does not say when the count starts. Request a Japan Post redelivery the day you find the slip.
After the deadline the item goes back. Yamato returns it after checking with the sender; Sagawa handles it as the sender instructs. Yamato and Sagawa do not extend the holding period. If you miss it, contact whoever sent it (the shop, the company, the city office) and ask them to send it again.
Why does a registered-mail notice matter? Your residence card and My Number letter
The driver leaves the parcel at the door, or drops the letter in the box. Where you come from, that may be normal. In Japan, registered mail is handed over only against a seal or a signature (Japan Post, in Japanese). If you are out, you get a notice and the item goes back to the post office. The exception is a detached house with a delivery box that meets Japan Post’s standards and a request form on file; registered mail can then go in the box, but not cash registered mail or restricted-delivery mail (Japan Post delivery boxes for detached houses, in Japanese).
Japan Post has general registered mail, cash registered mail and simple registered mail (簡易書留, kan’i kakitome). Cash registered mail is also how you send wedding or funeral money when you cannot attend. Official documents can come by simple registered mail. Two matter most for foreign residents.
The first is a new residence card when you applied online and chose to receive it by post. Following Immigration’s Q&A, you send a return envelope with stamps for simple registered mail, together with your current residence card. The new card is mailed to your registered address, and the destination cannot be changed (Immigration Services Agency online application Q&A, Q6, in Japanese).
Ignoring that notice is costly. With postal collection, your renewal or change takes effect when the card is delivered to you. Immigration warns that if two months pass after your period of stay expires without you receiving the new card, you can no longer stay in Japan. While the card is not in your hands, you also cannot leave on a special re-entry permit. How postal collection compares with collecting at the counter is in renewing your visa online.
The second is your My Number notification letter (個人番号通知書, kojin bango tsuchisho). It comes by simple registered mail about two to three weeks after you are registered as a resident, and foreign nationals get one too. If you are out, a notice is left; request redelivery before the holding period ends (My Number Card site FAQ, in Japanese). Once the holding period passes, it goes back to the city office. Contact the city office where you registered.
That letter is also marked “do not forward” (転送不要). Even with a change of address filed at the post office, it will not follow you to a new address. If you have just moved, check which mail will not reach you in Japan Post change of address.
What ID do I need to collect at the counter?
If you cannot be home for a redelivery slot, you can pick the item up yourself. What to bring differs a little by company.
- Japan Post: ID that shows your name and address (examples given: driving licence, My Number card, passport), a seal or signature, and the notice. The old My Number notification card is not accepted (Japan Post Q&A, in Japanese). Japan Post’s English guide for international students tells you to call the number on the slip first and say you will come in person
- Yamato: ID, something showing the tracking number (such as the notice), and a seal (a rubber Shachihata stamp is fine) or signature. The residence card is on Yamato’s list of accepted ID. The name and address must read the same as on the label; a romanised “yamato taro” counts as the same reading (Yamato FAQ, in Japanese)
- Sagawa: always contact the office before you go, and bring the notice and official ID such as a driving licence
Your My Number notification letter is not ID either; it only tells you your number. The residence card appears in every category of Japan Post’s ID list for restricted-delivery mail (Japan Post accepted ID, in Japanese). On the same list, a passport counts in some categories only if it has an address written in it. Bring your residence card to the counter and one card shows both your name and your address.
Lost the slip, or got a “missed delivery” text?
If you lose a Japan Post slip, ask the post office that tried to deliver it; it has to check which items it took back (Japan Post Q&A, in Japanese). For Sagawa, if you do not know the tracking number, ask the sender.
Sometimes a text message says a parcel could not be delivered because you were out. Do not tap the link in that message. Japan Post warns that fake emails and texts posing as Japan Post are circulating to steal personal and credit card details, and that many try to rush you, for example “pay within 48 hours or the delivery is cancelled” (Japan Post fraud warning, in Japanese). Sagawa also warns about fake emails, texts, calls and LINE messages in its name.
Not expecting anything? Delete it. Expecting a parcel? Check with the number on a paper slip or on an official site you open yourself, not through the text. If you are worried, you can talk to your local police station or call the police consultation line #9110. The scams that target foreign residents most are in scams in Japan.
Does redelivery cost anything?
| What | Cost |
|---|---|
| Japan Post redelivery of registered mail | Free (Japan Post registered mail page) |
| Japan Post English line 0570-046-111 | You pay for the call |
| Yamato English line 0120-67-9625 and automated line 0120-17-9625 | Free (toll-free) |
| Residence card by post after an online application | Stamps for simple registered mail on your return envelope |
Whether Yamato and Sagawa charge for redelivery itself is not stated on their official pages. Japan Post’s English line is a paid call, so try the English online form or LINE first and you may not need to call at all.
Which one are you?
- There is a slip in your mailbox: find the number and request redelivery today by phone, online or LINE. If Japanese worries you, call the English line.
- The slip is for registered mail from Immigration or the city office: do not wait out the 7 days. Request it today, or take your residence card and the slip to the post office counter.
- The deadline has passed: contact the sender and ask them to send it again. For a My Number letter, phone the city office where you registered today.
- A text or email says you missed a delivery: do not tap the link. If you are expecting something, check today with a paper slip or an official site you open yourself.
- You are travelling or going home for a while: before you leave, file a notice of absence at the post office. Your mail is held for up to 30 days.
FAQ
Q. What is a fuzaihyo?
It is the slip left in your mailbox when a delivery came while you were out. Japan Post, Yamato and Sagawa all call it a notice of absence (ご不在連絡票). You use the number on it to request redelivery.
Q. How long is a missed delivery held in Japan?
Japan Post holds it for 7 days. Yamato holds it for 7 days counting the day of the first notice (3 days for chilled parcels), and Sagawa for 8 days counting the day of the first notice (4 days for chilled). After that it goes back to the sender.
Q. Can I request Japan Post, Yamato or Sagawa redelivery in English?
Yes. Japan Post’s English line is 0570-046-111 and Yamato’s is 0120-67-9625, both daily 8:00–21:00. Sagawa has a multilingual chat on its contact page, with staff from 8:00 to 18:00.
Q. What do I need to collect a parcel at the post office?
ID that shows your name and address, a seal or signature, and the notice. My Number notification cards and notification letters cannot be used as ID.
Q. Does my residence card come by registered mail?
If you applied through the online residence application system and chose to receive the card by post, it comes to your registered address in the return envelope you stamped for simple registered mail. The permission takes effect when you receive it, so request redelivery as soon as you see a notice.
Q. I got a text saying I missed a delivery. Is it real?
You cannot tell by looking. Japan Post says fake texts in its name are circulating and tells you to delete suspicious ones without tapping the link. If you are expecting a parcel, check with a paper slip or an official site you open yourself.
Summary
On a missed delivery notice, look for the number first: 6 or 11–13 digits for Japan Post, 12 digits for Yamato, an office number and tracking number for Sagawa. You can request redelivery by phone, online or on LINE. In English, call Japan Post on 0570-046-111 or Yamato on 0120-67-9625, or use Sagawa’s multilingual chat.
You have about a week before the item goes back to the sender. Registered mail is handed over only against a seal or signature, and a residence card sent by post and the My Number notification letter both come that way. When you see a registered-mail notice, request redelivery the same day.
Official sources: Japan Post Q&A on holding periods / Yu-Pack holding period / international mail Q&A / what to bring to the counter / lost notice / redelivery form (English) / LINE / registered mail / accepted ID / fraud warning; Yamato: Attempted Delivery Notice / Automated Phone Service / English Customer Service / holding period FAQ / accepted ID FAQ; Sagawa redelivery / contact and multilingual chat / office pickup terms; My Number Card site FAQ; Immigration Services Agency online application Q&A. All checked on 30 September 2026. Phone numbers and hours can change, so check the slip and the company’s official page before you call.
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WHO WROTE THIS
mori
Japanese. I read the ministries’ own notices, orders and Q&As in the original, and I start from what my Nepalese and Sri Lankan friends in Japan actually ran into. I do not write about what I have not checked or been told.
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