Ship Precious Belongings to Japan

Hi, we're Dani and Evan. We're risking everything we have to start a new life in rural Japan. We're navigating the complicated Japanese immigration process, restoring an 'akiya' abandoned house into a guesthouse, and building a small homestead business and honeybee farm or abandoned farmland. But I'm starting this campaign because we are having trouble getting some boxes of belongings shipped from the United States...

Back in 2021, we said goodbye to our beloved homestead in New Orleans, Louisiana. As we were preparing to leave the US, we thought we'd thought of everything. We decided to store a small amount of belongings with a Japanese shipping company, at their Houston office. We didn't live in Texas, but we thought that storing our boxes in a major port city would make later shipping an easier process.

Fast-forward to today, and we're realizing it's more complicated to ship belongings than we'd previously thought. When moving to Japan, there is only a six-month window after obtaining residency to ship something as duty-free, "new resident household goods". This also requires a one-year visa. Our residence visa turned out to be a special six-month Startup Business visa, and even though it's almost guaranteed to turn into a one-year Business Manager visa at the end of the six months, that still won't allow us to get our belongings through Japanese customs. It's a bit of a catch-22, as we need a one-year visa to ship, but we have to wait until after the six-month "new resident household goods" deadline has passed to get it. Did we mention that the Startup Business visa is a brand-new program, and we're likely the first people in our city to be granted one? It's possible that immigration laws haven't been updated to include this newly-created six-month visa.

We've exhausted ourselves trying to find other solutions, including discussions with other shipping companies, and any other ways to ship household belongings internationally. Trust me when I say they've all been dead-ends. We even asked for help from various Japanese professionals, to no avail.

It seems our only option is to use the same company, but to send our packages by airmail, which is much more expensive. Also, they will not be duty-free, and will be taxed by Japanese customs upon arrival. The initial rough estimate from the shipping company is $8000. This includes storage of our belongings ($750), freight + fuel charge ($6000), and handling + various fees ($750). This amount does not​ include duty or taxes that will be incurred.

This shipping amount is much, much more than the initial quote we budgeted for. We are on a very fixed budget, with no income until 2024, so we simply cannot afford this increased expense. Every dollar in our savings account is already allocated to go towards our guesthouse renovation, honeybee business, professional immigration assistance, or modest living expenses until we start earning an income.

Please understand that the belongings in storage are not frivolous items. And it's not even that many boxes! It's less than a pallet. When we began preparing to leave the US, we went through the difficult, but methodical process of narrowing down what to keep. We sold or donated almost everything else. Then we divided the remaining items into two categories: the things we needed for daily living, and those we could live without for a few years. We filled the trunk of our car full of the necessities, and drove them through Mexico before stuffing them into suitcases to bring to Japan. We put everything in the second category into storage: irreplaceable childhood memories, collectables, vintage items, and other things we could never replace.

If, by some miracle, we end up receiving more donations than the $8000 shipping costs, all proceeds will go 100% towards our endeavors on Ōmishima island, in Imabari, Ehime, Japan. We love this tiny island, and hope to contribute to the community as much as we can. We've purchased an 'akiya' house that has been abandoned for decades, and our dream is to restore many historic 'akiya' and unused farmland, that would otherwise continue to deteriorate. The renovation is being done with local materials, while supporting small local businesses, and we're putting a lot of effort into restoring the tools and items found in the house, the ultimate form of recycling. We hope to raise our future family here, and be an integral part of this small but vibrant community.

Thanks for your consideration,

Dani & Evan Benton

You can stay up to date with our story on our various Benton Homestead pages:

Ōmishima, the island we love.

Us, in front of our 'akiya'. The house was abandoned for 10 years. We have the blessing of the former owner's son, who lives nearby, and monitors our progress.

Ponkan, our rescued 'noraneko' street cat. He's an old man with a deep voice, slowly learning how to accept love.

Evan cooking dinner in the living room, during renovations.

Evan repairing the sub-floor using hand tools found in the garage.

Evan and our first honeybee ladies welcomed to Apiary #1.

Himesama (Princess), one of the many 'norainu' street dogs we plan to pay out-of-pocket for spay and neutering. She's the friendlist, and we hope she will be our pet doggo soon.