What did you order or the post deliver? (Japanese N Gauge)

[Kingmeow]

Was Customs an issue coming back?

[cplchanb]

5 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

Was Customs an issue coming back?

you can declare up to $800 duty free so i would imagine it would be alright from that photo to the untrained eye (can pass off as toys ). that is unless he had even more gifts that he bought 

Edited May 8 by cplchanb

[Ekiben]

7 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

Was Customs an issue coming back?

No issues whatsoever. Total value was about CAD500 so we were well below any limit that might exist, but customs didn’t even bother to ask… just waived us through at YVR after we filled out the touch screen form. Maybe having a cranky 2 year old coming off an 8-hour flight was like having a free pass, because nobody wants to deal with that!
 

i was surprised that nothing went off at security at Narita since  I had a bunch of stuff in my carry on. i thought all those small  parts would appear kind of sketchy on the scanner. They must be used to people travelling with trains  😃

Edited May 8 by Ekiben

[deathletter]

I got my first shipment from RG-Rokko. Shipped using FedEx on the 6th of May from Japan and arrived here in Texas today (the 8th of May). I will buy from them again. The package was 17.5 x 14.5 x 12 inches (45 x 37 x 30 cms) and weighed 5.3 kgs which is slightly less than 12 pounds. I mention this because if I would have purchased the same amount of items from buyee, the package probably would have been twice the size.

 

This order contains: 

TOMIX 2720 JNR Chi 1 (with wood) ｘ 9

TOMIX 2721 JNR Chi 1 (with clay pipe) ｘ 9

TOMIX 2774 JNR Chiki 7000 ｘ 9

KATO 23-579 Type U50A container (Sagawa Express) ｘ 12

KATO 23-575-A ISO tank container (NRS / INTERFLOW) ｘ 3

KATO 23-503-B U41A type container (Zero/NISSAN) ｘ 10

KATO 23-503-A U38A Container (Nissan Land Transport) ｘ 10

KATO 8058 Taki 9900 Nippon Oil Transportation ｘ 2

KATO 8058-1 Taki 9900 Nippon Oil ｘ2
KATO 10-1573 JRF Koki 200 (No JRF mark/No container loaded) - 2 car set ｘ 7

KATO 10-1377 Tora 90000 - 8 car set ｘ 3

 

Here are some pictures: 

 

Edited May 8 by deathletter

[chadbag]

11 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

Was Customs an issue coming back?

At least in the USA they don't care.  The recent time we came back they didn't even care much to ask details like they have in the past.  And if you are traveling with your family each person gets $800 worth.  Even that infant you're traveling with.  

 

I've never had an issue with customs no matter what I had coming back to the US.  Except once when they randomly chose one of our bags to get scanned and they kept asking me if I had any knives or anything.  They were trying to get me to confess.  I said I thought I might have a ceramic kitchen knife in one of my bags but otherwise nothing.  So they finally asked, after asking me the same question in different ways about a dozen times, if they could search.  I said that was fine.  They opened it up and went into where there scanner thought the elusive knives were and found our stash of nail clippers.  Japanese nail clippers are the best and we had bought a bunch to give as gifts.  I guess on the scanner they looked like butterfly knives or some other sort of knife that is verboten.  They thanked me, closed it back up, and we were on our way.

 

 

[chadbag]

2 hours ago, deathletter said:

I got my first shipment from RG-Rokko. Shipped using FedEx on the 6th of May from Japan and arrived here in Texas today (the 8th of May). I will buy from them again. The package was 17.5 x 14.5 x 12 inches (45 x 37 x 30 cms) and weighed 5.3 kgs which is slightly less than 12 pounds. I mention this because if I would have purchased the same amount of items from buyee, the package probably would have been twice the size.

 

This order contains: 

TOMIX 2720 JNR Chi 1 (with wood) ｘ 9

TOMIX 2721 JNR Chi 1 (with clay pipe) ｘ 9

TOMIX 2774 JNR Chiki 7000 ｘ 9

KATO 23-579 Type U50A container (Sagawa Express) ｘ 12

KATO 23-575-A ISO tank container (NRS / INTERFLOW) ｘ 3

KATO 23-503-B U41A type container (Zero/NISSAN) ｘ 10

KATO 23-503-A U38A Container (Nissan Land Transport) ｘ 10

KATO 8058 Taki 9900 Nippon Oil Transportation ｘ 2

KATO 8058-1 Taki 9900 Nippon Oil ｘ2
KATO 10-1573 JRF Koki 200 (No JRF mark/No container loaded) - 2 car set ｘ 7

KATO 10-1377 Tora 90000 - 8 car set ｘ 3

 

Here are some pictures: 

 

 

 

oohhh.   Mmmmmm.   KoKi and containers....

 

[bc6]

@deathletter You should post to my favorite thread, Nice haul btw that's a LOT of stuff. 

 

[RS18U]

14 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

Was Customs an issue coming back?

First up, this is from a Canadian perspective.  We did a 3 week trip to Japan this March and when we came back all Canada Customs (YVR) was interested in was the dried fish package we brought back for our son, but they did not ask to see it, just a couple of quick questions about it.  Did not care about the wood products, or the train stuff.  We declared everything, including gifts.  My wife was close to her limit since she had to buy a new suitcase and she bought Japanese, but I was well under.

 

However, past trips they have asked to see a list and the receipts so I am always prepared for that question.  Our 2018 trip had that question and I handed the package over, the customs official looked it over, looked at me and said "you've done this before, haven't you?"  Yup, and waved through.  I find for both trips to the US and back to Canada it really depends on the officer you are dealing with.  I have had way more issues going into the US (with nothing to declare) than coming back with 'stuff'.

 

I used to travel internationally extensively for business so getting through customs at various countries became pretty routine.  Be polite, don't try to hide anything, answer the questions, have the paperwork ready.  No issues if you follow these simple rules.

[cteno4]

1 hour ago, RS18U said:

I used to travel internationally extensively for business so getting through customs at various countries became pretty routine.  Be polite, don't try to hide anything, answer the questions, have the paperwork ready.  No issues if you follow these simple rules

wise man. I’ve traveled all over the world and used the same approach and never an issue and I’ve been in some odd situations traveling. Also if some official in a podunk airport grabs your rechargeable batteries and charger saying they are not allowed on the airplane you say “ok” and not “why are you taking the charger then?!” Be nice, be ready, and be read to bend some…

 

jeff

[Kingmeow]

On 5/8/2024 at 2:57 PM, cplchanb said:

you can declare up to $800 duty free so i would imagine it would be alright from that photo to the untrained eye (can pass off as toys ). that is unless he had even more gifts that he bought 

 

$800/person is true for the US but I was curious about the Canadian limits.  We came back from 15 days in Japan in September with no Customs issues at EWR.

 

My next trip you can bet I will be planning how to bring back as much train stuff as possible, legally.  🙂  I even have a sinister plan to bring old underwear.  At the end of the trip, don't do laundry there but rather throw them out so you have more room for trains!  I wonder how my wife will react to that plan of attack???  🤣 🤣 🤣

Edited Friday at 01:12 PM by Kingmeow

[deathletter]

My order was less than $800 including the shipping costs. I made sure of that. The only time I went over $800 I was charged customs fees. 

[AMoonRabbit]

Got my SL Galaxy stuff today courtesy of RG-Rokko!

Snuck an oval of track and controller in with my to work so I can "test" it whilst on my night shift

 

[RS18U]

12 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

 

$900/person is true for the US but I was curious about the Canadian limits.  We came back from 15 days in Japan in September with no Customs issues at EWR.

 

My next trip you can bet I will be planning how to bring back as much train stuff as possible, legally.  🙂  I even have a sinister plan to bring old underwear.  At the end of the trip, don't do laundry there but rather throw them out so you have more room for trains!  I wonder how my wife will react to that plan of attack???  🤣 🤣 🤣

Good luck with your wife!  I am sure she will understand.  Fortunately mine does.  Love the idea of leaving old clothes behind.  Or do you need a new suitcase?  Buy a bigger one than what you took over 😉

 

Personal exemptions in Canada are:

- Less than 24 hrs: $0

- 24 - 48 hrs: $200, must have the goods with you

- Over 48 hrs: $800 CDN ($585 USD; ¥91,015) , must have the goods with you

 

 

[Tony Galiani]

Did something I rarely do and purchased an out of production model on eBay.  We had ridden this train from Aomori to Hirosaki in February and, for some inexplicable reason, I really liked it.  Model wise it is also nice as it is relatively short at only four cars.  On our trip north, I also saw the only remaining DD-16 so I found a model of that on line and purchased it as well.  Of course Suruga-Ya then offered a model of it for about a 1/3 of the price so now I have more DD-16s than does JR East (which operates that sole remaining unit.)

It's not the travel to Japan that is so expensive, it is the model train buying that accompanies the trip that turns out to be so costly.

Ciao,

Tony

[Kingmeow]

10 hours ago, RS18U said:

Good luck with your wife!  I am sure she will understand.  Fortunately mine does.  Love the idea of leaving old clothes behind.  Or do you need a new suitcase?  Buy a bigger one than what you took over 😉

 

Personal exemptions in Canada are:

- Less than 24 hrs: $0

- 24 - 48 hrs: $200, must have the goods with you

- Over 48 hrs: $800 CDN ($585 USD; ¥91,015) , must have the goods with you

 

 

 

Yes, a second suitcase would work but we try to not check luggage if at all possible due to the fiasco after the flight waiting and looking for it.  We went to Japan for 15 days last September with only carry on even though we flew Business and could have checked luggage for free.

 

That's another thing.  On lower class fares they charge a handsome fee for checked luggage!  We just got back from Portugal (sorry, no train shops ☹️) and TAP Portugal wanted $90 for each piece of checked luggage!!!  😲

[Tony Galiani]

We often take a collapsible fabric bag when we travel and then - if/when we fill it with items - bring it on board as an extra carry-on.  Don't think this would work on a basic economy ticket but depending on what cabin your are in, or your status with the airline or what credit care you use, it may be an option.  We travel with rolling backpacks which are pretty small and I just loop the straps of the fabric bag over the handles of the rolling bag and it is pretty easy to manage.  You can see a picture in my thread about my winter trip to Japan.

One caveat - since it is a soft sided bag, delicate items need protection.  We managed okay on our last trip as I did not have too much but some cheap plastic boxes from Daiso could be useful to protect items like paper building kits and such.

Ciao,

Tony

[cteno4]

Ditto I would always have a small, lightweight nylon duffle bag in my main bag when traveling on vacation to bring home bought stuff in. Small enough to use as a carryon. The little duffle brought back all sorts of weird goodies from all over the world. Lots of strange looks at security as they would always end up pulling out all the odd items I had collected on the trip.

 

But these days it’s harder to have anything but a single small carryon on some international flights. I couldn’t figure out why as planes didn’t get smaller, but then we were on a flight routed through Heathrow with an extreme carryon restriction and it turned out it was so folks could bring massive carryons of duty free items that were exempt from the carryon restrictions. Some came on with a couple of suitcases worth of stuff!

 

Jeff

[deathletter]

Okay.... More items that I purchase in the last year and one that arrived yesterday.

 

KATO 10-1573 JRF Koki 200 (No JRF mark/No container loaded) - 2 car set ｘ 5 - Pre-order from model train plus that arrived in early March

KATO 23-583 UT13C tank container (Mitsubishi Chemical Logistics/2 pieces) x 10 - Pre-order from model train plus that arrived in early March

KATO 10-504US Pocket Line Series Steeple Cab Electric Loco - Bought in October 2023 at the Dallas area train show in Plano, Texas

MicroAce A9537 D51-22 JNR Steam Locomotive - Arrived in the mail yesterday and purchased on ebay. The seller lowered the buy it now price by more than 25%.

 

I decided to buy the Koki 200s and containers because I got tired of seeing the older ones priced so high and I refuse to buy them at those inflated prices.

 

 

Edited Saturday at 01:48 AM by deathletter

[chadbag]

On 5/10/2024 at 7:17 AM, Kingmeow said:

 

Yes, a second suitcase would work but we try to not check luggage if at all possible due to the fiasco after the flight waiting and looking for it.  We went to Japan for 15 days last September with only carry on even though we flew Business and could have checked luggage for free.

 

That's another thing.  On lower class fares they charge a handsome fee for checked luggage!  We just got back from Portugal (sorry, no train shops ☹️) and TAP Portugal wanted $90 for each piece of checked luggage!!!  😲

 

typically airlines to Asia (at least Japan) give even the lower classes one or two bags checked at no cost.  (But not anywhere else I've seen).  We always are at the limit of bags and the last few times bought new cases in Japan and brought them back paying the fee for a second (since AA only allowed one, unlike JAL and ANA)  (no use paying the fee to get an empty case there).  We always bring back a ton of stuff, only a minority of which is train stuff usually.  I guess the Japanese airlines hold that level of service and other airlines feel compelled to try and keep up with it.

 

We've never had permanently lost bags and only once had a delayed bag on the arrival in Japan -- United didn't get one of our bags on the plane and paid us to get some clothes and stuff as well as delivered the bag a day or two late.

 

[chadbag]

@deathletter  That's a lot of tank containers.  That's cool.  I have a small assortment of the tank sort and KoKi 200 but you have me  beat by a long mile.

 

[deathletter]

@chadbag I have more of the Kato koki 200 8042 versions (I got good deals on them) along with a Tomix or 2. I have many more Kokis because I am a JR/JNR freight guy. I do have some passenger cars but I would like to get rid of most of them.

Edited Saturday at 04:51 PM by deathletter

[Martijn Meerts]

Been a while since I got new N-scale stuff.. Last weekend I received:

 

- Tomix 0 series shinkansen NH16 formation

- Kato EF55 with old passenger car set

- Kato C12 with Temu 300, Tora 45000 and Yo 5000

- Tomix E2 power unit (replacement for the Tomix 300 series that had zinc pest)

 

Obviously, all of this came from our favourite no batteries, no glue seller 🙂

 

[bc6]

"Obviously, all of this came from our favourite no batteries, no glue seller 🙂"

 

I know who that is lol.

[RS18U]

On 5/11/2024 at 9:34 AM, chadbag said:

typically airlines to Asia (at least Japan) give even the lower classes one or two bags checked at no cost.  (But not anywhere else I've seen)

We have settled on ANA for our trips to Japan as they went way above what I was expecting to make sure we made connecting flights to Sapporo (2017) and Hiroshima (2018) (fun to see the back parts of Narita Haneda).  They also allow for an extra bag at no cost compared to the Canadian airlines.  But we have to use Air Canada to get to Vancouver (YVR) from Nanaimo (YCD).  They are both Star Alliance so AC is obliged to use the ANA baggage limits.  Works for us, although AC can make even the 13 minute fight from YCD to YVR a painful experience 😵

 

Back on topic, my wife says Canada Post delivered a large box "from a hobby store in Osaka, Japan".  Of course I am on the road 4 hrs one-way away so my unboxing will need to wait till I'm home.  Pretty psyched to see my first order though!

Edited 23 hours ago by RS18U
Get the right airport!

[chadbag]

9 hours ago, RS18U said:

We have settled on ANA for our trips to Japan as they went way above what I was expecting to make sure we made connecting flights to Sapporo (2017) and Hiroshima (2018) (fun to see the back parts of Narita Haneda).  They also allow for an extra bag at no cost compared to the Canadian airlines.  But we have to use Air Canada to get to Vancouver (YVR) from Nanaimo (YCD).  They are both Star Alliance so AC is obliged to use the ANA baggage limits.  Works for us, although AC can make even the 13 minute fight from YCD to YVR a painful experience 😵

 

Thank goodness the rules are that the baggage limits of the main flight apply to the connecting flights in N America.   Unfortunately our last flight was purchased as an Amerian Airlines flight even though it flew on JAL so we just had the 1 bag limit.  (US Carriers used to have 2 bags as well to Japan despite charging for every other place in the world but recently they've mostly gone to 1 bag).