FromJapan vs Neokyo 2026: One Won't Inspect, One Won't Wait

Read the first line of each fee table and the contest is over. Neokyo ¥350. FromJapan ¥500.

Buy one thing and Neokyo costs you ¥350 more.

The reason is further down the same table. Neokyo charges ¥500 to pack every parcel. Add the fee and you are at ¥850. FromJapan is still at ¥500.

But that is not the interesting part. Read what each ¥500 actually buys and you find two services selling opposite things.

The ¥350 becomes ¥850

Neokyo’s service fee is ¥350 per item. Multiple copies of the same item inside one Buy Request count once (official).

Then packing arrives as its own line: ¥500 for parcels up to 2kg, plus ¥150 for each additional kilo. The fee covers “an appropriately sized cardboard box and packing materials (bubble wrap/padding).”

FromJapan charges ¥500 per item and carries no line for standard packing at all (official).

Priced as what the proxy takes, goods, international postage and Japan domestic postage excluded:

The crossover lands on the fourth item. Neokyo’s packing charge is fixed per parcel, so every item you add dilutes it.

The two ¥500s buy opposite things

Neokyo’s packing fee includes insurance and tracking, stated on the fee page.

And on the same page, under what the service fee covers, sits this:

Important point : Neokyo does not inspect or authenticate the item as part of the service.

Purchase from the seller, a channel to ask questions about the item (though not negotiation, and not authenticity), support, receipt and storage in the warehouse for up to 45 days. That is the list.

FromJapan’s ¥500 is a Product Protection Plan, and an inspection is in it: confirmation that the correct item arrived without significant damage.

So:

Both give you insurance. Inspection is the fork.

Though FromJapan’s inspection carries its own limits worth reading: “Checking for subtle flaws or damage, an item’s functionality, authenticity, or anything else that requires specialist knowledge is not included.” And secondhand condition (stains, dents, scratches, discoloration, broken parts and chips) sits outside the plan entirely. We took that apart in our Doorzo comparison.

The one selling inspection gives you the narrower window

This is the comparison worth the article.

FromJapan, on international shipping cover: if the package arrives damaged or with items missing, contact Customer Service within 7 days of the package’s arrival. Maximum compensation is the amount shown on the delivery slip. Shipments sent without tracking are not eligible (official).

Neokyo, on lost or damaged parcels: contact us as soon as possible so we get in touch with Japan Post right away. So the shape is different: Neokyo forwards a claim to the carrier rather than paying it itself. And then:

Warning : we will be able to forward your claim to the carrier only if it has been brought up within 5 months following the original shipment date. (official)

Seven days, or five months. The service that sells you an inspection gives you a window twenty-one times narrower.

A parcel lands overseas. You open it, check the condition, and write in. All of it inside seven days. If it arrives while you are away, that is the end of it.

The winner flips three times

One: item count, at four

Covered above. Neokyo’s fixed packing charge means volume moves the answer.

Two: order value, at ¥14,500–24,500

FromJapan marks up the exchange rate. Its own rate of ¥149.93 to the dollar sits 5.04% above market (measured 3 August 2026, in our currency investigation).

Neokyo bills in yen. “All transactions on Neokyo are made in Yen,” its fee page states. No spread, but your card issuer’s foreign transaction fee applies instead, typically 1.6–3%.

Net difference: 2.04–3.44% against FromJapan.

Against that, Neokyo carries a fixed ¥500 disadvantage. Solve for where a percentage disadvantage overtakes a fixed one:

Past roughly ¥14,500–24,500, Neokyo wins on currency alone, sooner if your card charges less.

Three: carrier

Quoted at 2kg to the United States:

Cheapest against cheapest, FromJapan’s UPS is ¥298 under. DHL against DHL, Neokyo is ¥144 under.

The count matters as much as the rates. FromJapan offers five; Neokyo is effectively DHL only. Choosing between fast and cheap is a FromJapan feature. Neokyo is the unusual case where the fast option is the cheap option, as we also found in Doorzo vs Neokyo and again in ZenMarket vs Neokyo, where its DHL quote came in at less than half of ZenMarket’s.

⚠️ FromJapan’s UPS rate carries conditions. Outside UPS’s standard delivery area, an extended area surcharge of ¥2,820 (or ¥80/kg, whichever is higher); further out, a remote area surcharge of ¥3,040 (or ¥90/kg). Land in an extended area and ¥4,700 becomes ¥7,520, ¥2,522 above Neokyo.

Priced through

A ¥2,000 item bought N times, 2kg to the US: goods, fee, packing and international postage. Japan domestic postage, duty and currency are excluded.

Cheapest against cheapest (Neokyo DHL ¥4,998 / FromJapan UPS ¥4,700)

DHL against DHL (Neokyo ¥4,998 / FromJapan ¥5,142)

Few items, FromJapan. A basket, Neokyo. The line sits at five to eight items on cheapest-against-cheapest, and at one to three on DHL.

Storage, and the conditional charges

FromJapan gives fifteen days more. But it cannot be extended, and ends in disposal. Neokyo’s shorter window can be bought forward at a weekly rate.

The number of conditional charges differs sharply.

⚠️ Neokyo’s “unpacking” charge applies if a parcel has to be opened again: ¥1,000 plus the packing fee, so ¥1,500 on a ¥500 parcel. FromJapan’s repacking fee starts at ¥1,500, near enough the same number by coincidence.

Which one to choose

Choose Neokyo if

• You are buying four items or more, the packing charge dilutes
• Your goods run past ¥14,500–24,500, the currency difference overtakes it
• You want the total in yen with no spread applied
• You need it fast: DHL at ¥4,998 is the lowest courier rate of the four major services we have measured
• Time may pass before you can check the parcel, the claim window is five months
• You are shopping ZOZOTOWN, minne, magi or Yahoo! Shopping

Choose FromJapan if

• You are buying one to three items
• You want to choose your carrier, five options against effectively one
• You want the inspection: right item, no significant damage
• You need 60 days of storage and will not need more
• You can open the parcel the day it lands, seven days to claim
• You will ship tracked (untracked is not covered)

True either way

• Authenticity is not covered. Neokyo states it does not perform it; FromJapan excludes it from the inspection by name
• Duty and import tax fall to the recipient
• US-bound EMS is unavailable through either service

The pattern holds across all seven major services: the number on the first line of the fee table is rarely the number that decides your total. It holds against Buyee too, where FromJapan’s ¥500 flips twice.

FAQ

Which is cheaper, FromJapan or Neokyo? Three things move it: item count, order value and carrier. On fees alone Neokyo overtakes at the fourth item, because it charges ¥500 to pack every parcel. Priced through, the line sits at five to eight items comparing each service’s cheapest rate, and at one to three comparing DHL against DHL. Past roughly ¥14,500–24,500 of goods, the currency difference hands it to Neokyo regardless.

Isn’t Neokyo’s fee ¥350? The service fee is ¥350 per item. But every parcel carries a ¥500 packing fee (2kg and under; ¥150 per extra kilo). One item is therefore ¥850 against FromJapan’s ¥500, ¥350 more.

Does Neokyo inspect the item? No. Its fee page states: “Neokyo does not inspect or authenticate the item as part of the service.” What is included is the purchase, a question channel excluding authenticity and negotiation, support, receipt, and 45 days of storage.

What happens if my parcel arrives damaged? FromJapan requires contact within 7 days of arrival, caps compensation at the amount on the delivery slip, and excludes untracked shipments. Neokyo forwards the claim to the carrier rather than paying it, and states it can only do so if raised within 5 months of the dispatch date.

Which marks up the exchange rate more? FromJapan, at ¥149.93 to the dollar, a 5.04% spread above market (measured 3 August 2026). Neokyo bills in yen and applies no spread, so your card issuer’s foreign transaction fee (typically 1.6–3%) applies instead.

Which is cheaper to ship with? At 2kg to the US, FromJapan’s UPS is the lowest single rate at ¥4,700; comparing DHL against DHL, Neokyo wins at ¥4,998 against ¥5,142. But FromJapan’s UPS rate can attract an extended or remote area surcharge of ¥2,820–3,040 depending on your address.

Which gives longer storage? FromJapan, 60 days against 45. But FromJapan’s cannot be extended and ends in disposal, while Neokyo’s can be carried forward at a weekly rate.

The bottom line

The first line of a fee table tells you nothing about these two. Put ¥350 beside ¥500 and packing reverses it on one item, volume reverses it back at four, and order value reverses it a third time.

What remains is the question of what each ¥500 buys.

Neokyo tells you up front that it will not look. It will insure and track the parcel, hold it in the warehouse, and forward a claim to the carrier. But it will not check whether the contents match the listing, and it says so before you order. The five-month claim window is of a piece with that candour.

FromJapan sells the inspection. Right item, no significant damage. Yet secondhand condition falls outside the plan, authenticity is excluded by name, and the window to claim is seven days.

Few items, opened promptly, carrier of your choice: FromJapan. A basket, expensive, checked whenever you get to it: Neokyo.

If inspection is what has you looking at a different service entirely, it is one of the four things a switch genuinely changes. Five others do not move whichever company you use.

And neither of them will guarantee that a used object matches its description. Open the parcel the day it lands, with a camera running. That part is yours either way.

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Neokyo’s fees, packing charge, storage terms and inspection wording were verified 26 August 2026; its shipping rates were measured July 2026. FromJapan’s fees and storage terms were verified 22–23 August 2026 and its shipping on 11 August 2026, these are not same-day readings. Currency was measured 3 August 2026. Totals exclude Japan domestic postage (actual cost on both), duty and import tax, the currency spread (handled separately above) and conditional surcharges. The 1.6–3% card foreign transaction range is typical rather than universal and varies by issuer.