Betsy
Old School Grand Master
I'm lucky in that my daughter lives in Tokyo and I can get her to send or stash for when I visit. I'm mostly on Yahoo Auctions, with Japanese being my second language it's fun to search and browse whilst watching out for key info on parts condition. Very interested in this thread- many thanks @Betsy for the shipping info- when she sends stuff over my daughter always uses EMS...
EMS are cheaper because they don't charter their own flights like the big carriers, FedEx, DHL, UPS et al.. they buy space in the cargo hold of commercial airlines making your delivery cheaper and offsetting the cost of your foreign holiday..