Re: [94attendees] Big in Japan: Some Essential Travel Tips

[Benn Oshrin <[e-mail]>]

On 10/26/15 2:03 PM, Dave Dolson wrote:

> I read that the Suica card can be used for lockers at train stations.
> Does anyone know if these lockers are large enough to hold luggage, what
> the work-flow is, if there is a time limit and other “fine print” that a
> foreigner might not notice?

Every station has lockers (コイン ロッカー), not every set of lockers
takes Suica/PASMO (but most do). The lockers are various sizes, most can
easily hold a standard roller bag. The machines that take IC cards
generally also offer instructions in English.

There are various youtube videos demonstrating them if you want to see
it in advance, eg:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qmoJmqfMOY
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdhaPKigyi8
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEr1yet0XLo

It's a typical workflow for lockers: Put your stuff in, close the door,
go to the station, follow the prompts to pay. If you use an IC card, use
the same card to unlock at the station when you return.

As far as fine print... pay careful attention to where your locker is,
especially in a larger station like Tokyo or Shinjuku. I don't mean what
locker number, I mean which set of lockers. There are many, all over the
place, and of course they look similar. Also, lockers do fill up. At
peak times you may have to look around to find an available space.

-Benn-