Hi there,
I will finally make my way into Japan around the end of april 2007. Does somebody have any experience of entering the country without a carnet. I have a German registration and will fly the bike from Seattle USA. Any advise is very welcome.


Thanks Uwe

Hi Uwe, I did bought my car to Japan last year without a carnet, customs are no big deal, u can pass easily, except ur no. plate, from my knowledge germany is not a part of 1949 treaty, u may be illegal to go on the road

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also check this out, it's my experience, I failed my trip in japan because my car was registered in PRC China, which is not a party of the 1949 treaty, the trip was ruined... ;(

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2016 LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 4 SDV6

That may be true you come by ferry, as you did Grant.
Customs told me before that international ferry is the only official way to come without a Carnet. So, if you ship in a container or by air, you need a Carnet.
Although not *officially* legal, with a carnet you should have no problem riding a German bike. Others have done it in the past.

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Japan touring information

Hi there, interesting post,
I would like to know if these informations are still updated for instance is it still possible to arrive in japan by ferry without a carnet? I am driving a ktm 990 with italian plate and planning later on to register it in japan on my name because I am living in tokyo but still considering to ship it back.
thanks
e+

The short answer is, you can't register a temporarily imported vehicle, period. Even if you could, the paperwork is terrible and the testing required VERY expensive.

If entering at Wakkanai via Sakhalin island, customs may allow you to do temporary import w/o carnet. Two Canadians did it last year, but they had carnets as backup just in case). At other ports, it may be a bit more difficult. If you are living in Tokyo, telephone (not e-mail) customs at the port you wish to enter and find out the procedures.
Ask how to use customs form C5014 according to these rules:
http://www.customs.go.jp/kaisei/zeik...-S46k0849.pdf:

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Thank you Chris,
I will follow your suggestion and post here if finally i can land in japan without too many problems, my idea was to enter from fukuoka though.
ciao
e+

Hi everybody on the 19th August 2011 I was able to enter in Japan without Carnet de passage en douane at the Sakaiminato port using the C5014 form, it was lengthy but it worked. I came by ferry from Vladivostok through Korea and to Sakaiminato japan (dbs ferry www.dbsferry.com).

The main point are:
1)Be informed on the laws and regulations before entering because the officers will try to tell you a lot of bullshit.

2)Fortunately my Japanese friend called in advance Sakaiminato port authority (as Chris_in_Tokyo suggested to do) because when i got there they asked me if i knew the procedure to use the c5014 form (as they did not know) and as i mentioned the name of my friend they recalled the phone call they had and so they start believing me.

3) I spent 12.000 yen for douane fees and 5.500 for 1 month insuarance (my bike is a 1000 cc ktm adventure)

4) the whole procedure took maybe 2 hours at the port and other 2,5 hours at a small used car shop where I issued the insurance ( they called different police departments, governmental offices, JAF ...)

5) In different location and different officers/people told me that I needed :
Jaf confirmation, International driving plate, international licence (that i have but is not necessary for bilateral agreements) all obviously unnecessary.

6) I did not need any proxy or guarantor as mentioned in the c5014 form.


A german couple of friends entered one week later in Wakanai (Hokkaido) and they had Carnet but the Custom there prefered to use the C5014 and not did not stamp the Carnet.

You can PM me if need any explanation or Chris_in_tokyo anyway knows much more than me.

Note that this is only possible if entering by ferry.
If you ship as cargo, you will need a carnet.

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Japan touring information