STORE GUIDE
Buying from Rakuten (Japan) and shipping it to the US
Last updated: September 26, 2026
Rakuten Ichiba is Japan's largest online marketplace, and it's a good source for table tennis gear you won't easily find in the US: Japan-market rubbers and blades, national-team editions, and a wider range of colors and thicknesses than most US shops stock. Prices are in Japanese yen at Japan's domestic price, which after currency conversion is often noticeably lower than the same item's US retail price — even after adding international shipping.
The catch: Rakuten Ichiba is built for shoppers in Japan. The checkout is in Japanese, and most shops only ship within Japan. To get an item to a US address, you need a Japan-based forwarding service. We recommend Rakuten Global Express (RGX), Rakuten's own forwarding service, since it works with your existing Rakuten account instead of requiring a separate sign-up with an unrelated company.
How to buy, step by step
- Sign up for Rakuten Global Express (free). You'll get a personal Japan warehouse address tied to your account — this is what makes forwarding possible.
- On the Rakuten Ichiba product page, enter that RGX address as your shipping address at checkout, and pay by credit or debit card.
- Your order ships to the RGX warehouse in Japan first, not directly to you.
- Once RGX receives it, it shows up in your RGX dashboard. Pick an international shipping method there and pay that separate shipping fee.
- RGX ships it on to your US address. Track it from the same dashboard until it arrives.
US shipping cost
RGX's Standard Express service to the US takes roughly 5–10 business days once your order has been packed and handed to them, and is priced in flat weight brackets rather than per item:
| Package weight (up to) | Standard Express fee |
|---|---|
| 500 g | ¥4,560 |
| 1 kg | ¥6,350 |
| 5 kg | ¥16,700 |
| 30 kg | ¥77,490 |
A slower Surface (sea) mail option is also available and is cheaper, but takes about 60–90 days — only worth it if you're not in a hurry.
Buy more than one item at a time if you can. The fee is a flat rate per weight bracket, not per item, so having RGX forward several lightweight items (like two or three rubber sheets) in one shipment typically costs the same as forwarding just one — cutting your effective shipping cost per item substantially.
Good to know before you buy
- Payment: pay by credit or debit card on Rakuten. Cash on delivery, convenience-store payment, and bank transfer aren't compatible with forwarding.
- Not eligible for forwarding: items from Rakuma, Yahoo! Auctions, and Mercari (Japan's flea-market and auction sites), and personal parcels from friends or family.
- Customs duties may apply when your package arrives in the US, depending on its declared value. This is separate from, and in addition to, RGX's shipping fee.
- The delivery estimate above covers RGX's leg of the trip only. Leave a few extra days for the Japan-side shop to prepare and hand off your order before that clock starts.
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