I ordered my shamisen and accessories 2 months ago and it shipped out Oct.18 and went overseas around the 20th. So for those of you have the same experience did it take 2 months and a half or maybe 3 months? I live in the USA California
Hey there.
I’m Japan based, so I don’t have direct experience with ordering a shamisen from Bachido - but I can give you a sense of things since I do mail parcels out with a degree of regularity.
Prior to the halting of large parcel airmail, the turn around was pretty much 7 days + time spent in customs.
Since the shutdown, it’s multiple times that. I sent a box of stuff stateside in the middle of July and it didn’t land until late September. Any package now is also going to be fighting the standard Holiday glut too. So honestly, it’s really not behind schedule quite yet.
Shipment by boat is just a horrorshow for turn-around times.
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Hi Rose,
I ordered a shamisen and accessories in early October. The accessories shipped on the 20th of October and, as of yet, have still not been received by the USPS stateside. The shamsen is still being constructed and hasn’t shipped yet, as far as I know.
From what people were saying over the Summer, 2 months for shipping to the US is normal (I’m in Washington State), but given the time of year longer times are unsurprising. I was expecting the accessories at least to have shown up in the US by now, but with the amount of things moving through the USPS presently, they may well be here and just sitting in a very, very long queue (and thus tracking hasn’t updated). I’m just guessing though.
Do update this thread when your stuff arrives. Since we ordered around the same time, it will be interesting to see if there’s much variation in when things arrive.
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Yeah I followed the Japan posting website and imputed my order code, then gave the website my email at the bottom to email me if the package comes.
Well i don’t know tbh about the states, but few ago i tried to send a packages to central america and the japan post service told me that i couldn’t sent by airmail “EMS” seems that some countries have banned that.
Pretty good news I just got my shamisen, I’m still waiting on my accessories, so I don’t have strings or bachi to be able to play 
. I received my shamisen January 7th.
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Yaaay congratulations!
Cool unboxing and nice shamisen. I got excited although it wasn´t even my package 
I hope you get your accessories soon.
Btw, you got your package on Christmas but Julian calendar 
Hey, nice! Congrats, I hope your accessories show up soon.
I’m still waiting on my accessories, too (which coincidentally also shipped on October 20, 2020, same as yours). Still waiting on my shamisen also, but that hasn’t shipped yet, as far as I know. Ordered a Raven on October 8 2020 (my birthday, as it happens!), but as of now it’s still being constructed. Things always grind down to super slow if they happen to span the holiday season.
USPS finally updated the status of my accessories, yay!
The odd thing, though, is that they’re in New Jersey. Their destination is Seattle, Washington, and they came from Japan. To end up in NJ from Japan, the package would have either had to go the long way around the planet (!!) or go straight past its destination.
In any case, how the package ended up on the other side of the country is a fascinating mystery, but I’m glad they’ll likely be here soon.
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Update: My accessories arrived today!
That makes it 3 months from shipping to arrival, pretty much exactly. I would guess, though, that things ordered now would arrive a bit faster, what with not having to deal with the end-of-the-year holiday rush.
Hello, so I am currently waiting for my accessories, did Japan post ever email you about them not being able to track your package and that you had to got to your local post office? I just got an email a week ago that it’s been over 90 days so Japan post can’t give me any updates past that time. I am about 3 months in I think
I stopped using Japan Post’s website to track the package once it left Japan. After that I started watching the tracking number on the USPS website. It had the “Pre-shipment” status until last week, at which point the status showed it was in New Jersey.
I did just check JP’s website, though, and its tracking data updated as well. I never got an e-mail from them. Did you e-mail them first, or did they just contact you out of the blue?
On the website I told them to email me if my package is delivered. That’s how I knew my shamisen came.
You could tell the USPS to give you tracking/delivery updates instead. Just enter the tracking number into their website (it will be the same tracking number from JP’s website), and I believe there should be an option to have them e-mail or text you updates.
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Wow, I didn’t know that. It is my first time getting mail from Japan. Thank you. I just check, it gave more info than the Japan post website, helped me stop worrying about it
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Yay for reason my stuff is in transit in new jersey even though, i’m all the way in California 
Hey, nice! Glad to hear it 
Weird that stuff bound for the west coast is getting routed through NJ, but I’m sure there’s some reason for it.
i ordered one and had shipped dhl express it arrived in about 4 days.
Yeah, DHL still does airmail. I got my husband some hakama last april and they got to the US in the pre-COVID time frame. It took about a week, if I recall; Got from Japan to the US in about 3 days then took 4 days to get from Oregon to Seattle (lol).
The shipping for a shamisen is pretty steep, though.
I ordered mine early Nov of 2020. It finally arrived around mid-Feb 2021. So it looks abt 4 months. Japan Post through Sea from SaiTamara Japan.