Short answer
Three days, counted from the day you put the bag in — not three times twenty-four hours. On day four the locker is emptied and your things are moved into the operator's storage, where the meter keeps running. After 30 days they are disposed of.
The other thing nobody tells you: the next day's charge starts at 2:00 am, not at midnight and not on the hour you arrived.
What to do now
- 1Photograph the locker number and the station name
before you walk away. If the bag is ever removed, this is the first thing you will be asked for.
- 2Count your deadline from the day you deposited, not from the hour.
A bag left on Monday evening is due out by Wednesday, whatever the time.
- 3If you are already past the limit, go to the station office
rather than the locker. The locker will be empty and the operator will not leave a note in it.
- 4Take your passport.
You will not get the bag back without identification and a form.
The rule, as the operators write it
Two operators publish their locker terms in full, and the wording is almost identical. Tokyu's terms say use is limited to “three consecutive days including the day use begins” (使用開始の日を含めて連続3日以内). Keio's says the same.
That phrasing matters more than it looks. It counts calendar days, so a bag deposited at 11pm has already used one of its three days by midnight — and by 2am it has used two.
| Stage | What happens | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1–3 | Normal use. Charged again each day at 2:00 am. | Locker's daily rate |
| Day 4 | Locker opened, contents moved to a place the operator designates | — |
| Up to day 30 | Held for you. Reclaimed with ID and a completed form. | Daily rate × days held |
| After day 30 | Treated as abandoned and disposed of | Proceeds kept against fees |
The 30 days are counted from the day you first used the locker, not from the day it was emptied — so the clock you are racing is shorter than it sounds.
These are Tokyu's and Keio's published terms. Most operators we checked follow the same three-day pattern, but not every operator publishes its terms, and none of the JR companies publishes locker dimensions or time limits in English. The sticker on the locker door is the authority for the locker you are actually standing at. If it is only in Japanese, the number you are looking for is usually written as 3日.
What it is not covered for
Both operators cap their liability at ¥30,000 for anything lost or damaged, and both list cash and valuables as items you may not store at all. If you are leaving something worth more than that, a coin locker is the wrong choice regardless of the time limit. We compared the cover across every storage option here.
If three days is not enough
Do not try to reset the clock by moving the bag to another locker in the same bank — you are simply paying twice and starting a new three-day count on a bag you have already had to handle. Staffed counters take luggage for far longer, and one of them takes it for 30 days. The long-term options and their real prices are here.
FAQ
How many days can you leave a bag in a Japanese coin locker?
Three, counted from the day you first put the bag in — so a bag left on Monday must be collected by Wednesday. Tokyu and Keio both publish this as three consecutive days including the starting day.
What happens if I leave my luggage longer than three days?
On the fourth day the locker is opened and the contents are moved to a place the operator designates. They are held for 30 days counted from the day you first used the locker. You pay a storage fee equal to one day's locker rate multiplied by the number of days stored.
How do I get my bag back after it has been removed?
You go to the operator, show identification and fill in their form. Keio states this explicitly. Take a photo of the locker number and the station when you deposit the bag — you will need to say exactly which locker it was.
What happens after 30 days?
You are treated as having given up your claim to the contents, and the operator disposes of them. The proceeds are kept against the storage fee. There is no further grace period.
When exactly does the next day's charge start?
At 2:00 in the morning, not at midnight and not 24 hours after you deposited the bag. So a bag put in at 9pm and collected at 7am the next morning has been charged for two days.
Official sources
Check the source directly if your journey depends on a detail.
Checked against official Japanese sources · Last verified September 3, 2026