Can anyone help with shipping from Vancouver to Japan?

[dprime]

I'm trying to find a way to bring my car from BC to where I live now in Fukuoka. If possible Id like to find a ship landing in Kyushu. I know most people don't recommend this due to the cost but my car is kind of rare/special to me so Id rather not sell it or have it sit for 5-10 years while I live in Japan. Most of the process I think I understand, but I'm having trouble finding a RORO boat. I got a quote from a container shipping company but the port handling fees, container fees etc add up. The $2000 I got quoted to move the container across the ocean is now sitting around $4500 because of fees. I understand that RORO is much cheaper and I've seen people saying they paid anywhere from $1000 to $2500 to ship from Vancouver so I hope that I can find something similar going in the other direction.

Any advice for shipping or the import process is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Sastrad]

It is my understanding that there is no RO-RO boat that goes from Canada to Kyushu. The closest may be Osaka. However, Moji is a large port near Hakata, and have shipped from there (export).

While containers are more expensive, it may be your only option if you want it to land in Kyushu. The other thing is registering it in Japan. If you haven't done the importation of a vehicle before, you should find yourself a customs broker who has. We have imported before and relied heavily on the customs broker to clear our vehicles.

[dprime]

Thanks for the response, Steven

I'm open to all feedback on what the experts here think is the best way to go about this. I'm trying to do as much as I can myself to save money but also as a learning process for a side business I talked about with my wife's cousin, an experienced mechanic with a shop here in town. I figured a Kyushu port would be better because it would mean we could go to port easily to clear it and trailer it to the shop, but I'm trying to find the best balance of price/security and convenience.

For example if I have to pay $4000 to ship it to Moji and $3000 to Osaka, but I need to factor time, travel and transport to get it home from Osaka, then its money well spent to just get it shipped straight to Kyushu in a nice secure container. If its $4500 or more to Moji and $2000 to Osaka then its a more difficult decision.

I did talk with an importing company in Yokohama (Camel Japan) and they seemed reasonable, but since the car is due for a tune up I thought Id take the time to do a light mechanical restoration over a few weeks before inspecting/registering it. Mostly things that I can do myself: pads, bushings, fluids, lines and a sensor or two. If the shop needed to start in on my to do list to get it to pass inspection, it would put me well above the initial quote pretty quickly I think.

I had a shipper tell me about a ship from Vancouver to Kanda, Kitakyushu but I've lost contact with him. I sent an email today to try to get back in touch but after looking through this forum I thought I might as well ask here for advice. Think this is something a foreigner can tackle on his own with the help of a few knowledgeable natives?

[jdmvip]

This is a question we've never had and I hope you find what you're looking for.
I'm not sure what car it's for but have you considered parking it and just buying something in Japan while you're there?

I think the biggest challenge would be getting the car into Japan, I guess you'd need a broker to help and advise with the process.

[dprime]

Selling crossed my mind but Id probably rather let it sit and pick up something fun/cheap instead. Its an old Porsche with a rare colour and option. I have some sentimental attachment to it. I think to sell in the Canadian market and buy similar in the Japanese market Id have to come up with another few grand, and while it would have fewer miles it wouldn't have the colour or the option package that mine has. If I can ship it here for 3 or 4 grand all in I think Ill be out ahead.

I've considered parking it too. Its nice to drive it when I visit home. I looked at some old Japanese cars and BMWs to tide me over but letting my car sit 6-10 months at a time for the next few years at least would be pretty hard on it. I heard back from the Vancouver/Kanda shipper and he said his office is very busy at the moment but hell let me know what he finds out later this week. He said he can assist with clearing customs. In the mean time if anyone has any other advice its much appreciated.


As for the import process, once I have it through customs and I can take it to the shop and Ill need to make a few changes. The model that was imported to Japan and the model that was imported to the states (where my car is originally from) had the same emissions equipment which I'm told makes the emissions test a little bit easier to go through as they have a car to match it to. Ill need to change the headlights to RHD and the blinkers are already converted to amber instead of red. My odometer is in miles but the speedo is in both mph and km/h. Hopefully that doesn't have to be changed, anyone know? My car is originally from California and is in pretty good shape, but Im not sure what inspectors look for aside from what I can find on the internet. Are their any common problems that older cars run into when trying to pass shaken? If I'm missing anything else please let me know.

[Kombat0001]

I think we need to see pictures of said rare porsche... sounds interesting

[dprime]

Nothing like a 73 RS or speedster or anything, but its mine and I like it

Its a factory widebody, the package included the fenders, spoilers, brakes and suspension from the 911 turbo but with an NA engine. It was an expensive option so not many were sold. About 1400 coupes were made world wide from 1984 to 1989 (compared to around 10,000 turbo coupes the same period). Its one of maybe 10 or so in this colour, which is one of my favourites. Its debatable how desirable they are since they are actually slower than the narrow body version due to weight and aerodynamics, but its nice to have the iconic look and a few upgrades without the added expense of turbo maintenance.

I cant post links until I have a few more posts but if you search Google images for "iris blue porsche m491" the first couple of pictures are my car.

[Sastrad]

I cant post links until I have a few more posts but if you search Google images for "iris blue porsche m491" the first couple of pictures are my car.

I looked at your Porsche on Pelican Parts forum. Nice car for sure. I have mixed feelings about suggesting to bring it here to Japan. First of all;
-cost of shipping
-cost of importing and registering it. I am guessing about 100,000 yen/2 years, and about 50-62,000 yen per year in road tax.
-risk of being damaged (Japan has a higher collision rate that Canada)
-exporting to Canada
-re-introducing it to Canada (OOP inspection, GST, duty)

From a financial side, you will have to figure if its worth it to bring to Japan. On the flip side, when you return to Victoria on holiday, you have a car to drive.

[IanB]

Very nice car from the pics, I can see why you'd want to bring it with you.

[dprime]

I looked at your Porsche on Pelican Parts forum. Nice car for sure. I have mixed feelings about suggesting to bring it here to Japan. First of all;
-cost of shipping
-cost of importing and registering it. I am guessing about 100,000 yen/2 years, and about 50-62,000 yen per year in road tax.
-risk of being damaged (Japan has a higher collision rate that Canada)
-exporting to Canada
-re-introducing it to Canada (OOP inspection, GST, duty)

From a financial side, you will have to figure if its worth it to bring to Japan. On the flip side, when you return to Victoria on holiday, you have a car to drive.

I've had some of the same doubts, but overall I'm comfortable with the risks/expenses. I thought about how some of the people drive here (Fukuoka is apparently notorious nation wide for terrible drivers) but then an accident can happen anywhere. Best you can do is drive safe and being cautious of others. Annual costs are definitely pretty ridiculous in Japan. Not to mention tolls and parking. But in the end I really like cars and especially old european cars. I think most cars that I want to buy here would have similar costs, other than the shipping of course. Shipping it back to Canada will be expensive, but I've already paid tax to bring it into the country once. I haven't researched but if I bring it back as a personal belonging when I return will they ding me again? I suppose it wouldn't surprise me... but I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

So as it is now I'm pretty set on bringing it here. I dont think I will regret the decision, I miss driving and tinkering with it.

I had a conversation with the shipping agent yesterday who says he can do the shipping with a RORO to Kanda for about jpy250,000 (including brokerage/customs clearance) which seems more reasonable. I will probably go ahead with it in the next month. I still need to get all the other details lined up. One thing he said was that I would need to pay 8% tax on it as a commercial good. What I have read said that its not taxed as it is classified as personal belongings provided that Ive owned it for more than 12 months before I came here and as long as I dont sell it for two years after I arrive. Hopefully its tax exempt because that would make it at least 200,000 cheaper for everything. I filled out a customs declaration for it when I entered and I kept a copy of the form. Ill message the shipper and try to get it sorted.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions so far.