Contrary to US Post, the Japan Post still offers surface shipping
Japan Post: Comparing shipping types
I used this surface shipping from Japan a few times, and usually it took about 2 months, but my last shipment that has just arrived took whole 3 months; so long, in fact, that the Swiss Post tracking wasn’t even showing it anymore after 3 months had elapsed.
It is not a complaint but I did not believe the Japan post website which states 2-3 months, so I was a bit afraid that my under-declared unassuming sneak-under-the-customs-radar little indulgence was lost while insured at a fraction of its price…
Lots of countries offer surface mail delivery and not just Japan.
A clue to what transport is used is in the word “shipping”.
Actually, having worked in logistics back in the day in the UK, “shipping” is a catch-all for moving stuff from one place to another, regardless of whether it’s on a ship, plane or courier bike. Used to twitch my eye but you get used to it.
I used the surface mail not because of the price, but that, for a few purchases in the last 15 years or so, each about a few hundred francs, these parcels did not attract any unwanted attention from the customs. I hope this also happens with the latest one…
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I’m curious (nosey) as to what you are buying from Japan.
Just a few toys - a few Kyosho RC cars, and a non-luxury watch or two (Japanese brands) for a couple hundred. All that could be bought locally/in Europe as well but for much higher prices. And that was a few years ago when Japanese Yen exchange rate was not that favorable as recently. I use a forwarding company tenso.com; it has another business buyee.jp but buyee.jp forces you to use their currency exchange service and that’s where they make money; but that’s the model of other buy&forward companies as well. Some Japanese shops need local registration so there is no easy way to bypass a buy&forward intermediary. Some shops allow one to buy from abroad but ship locally only and that’s where a package forwarder comes into play.
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Finally, after 3 months, a packet arrived from Japan using the surface mail mode, and there is no sign of Swiss customs inspection despite Post showing the customs clearance in the packet tracking; not even a green “Abgabefrei” sticker.
I think no one even pulled out the customs declaration (from the packet forwarder) from its transparent puch (perhaps it is transmitted electronically), and, to my horror, the original invoice was inside the box.
Not that the watch was very expensive, it was a couple of hundred, but I had to pay the Japanese sales tax because the seller didn’t ship abroad.
BTW, what’s that whole fetishism of the “original box”, and why it has to be so big, I’m paying a lot of money for a thing that would either gather dust in garage or I’d have to throw it away. Maybe I should sell it instead 
Unfortunately, it is none of these “luxury” brands so I guess no one would buy it.
But I read stories about people buying a watch abroad, bringing it on their wrist while having these bulky boxes shipped and being stung with a duty by Swiss customs who assume these empty boxes are a proof of an undeclared import
I think it’s only significant if you are buying a luxury special edition watch that you intend to keep and pass down the family. Occasionally you see examples of watches in boxes on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow and the fact the watch is in good condition, has the original box and any of the paraphernalia that goes with it adds to the value.
Totally with you on the massive comedy box, though. I got an Omega watch a few years ago and the box is ginormous.
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