Fuss-free bouquet to Tokyo?

March 28, 2012 2:17 AM

What happens when flowers are delivered to private houses in Tokyo?

I want to send flowers (unnanounced) to a friend in Tokyo, from where I am in Europe, via an online service like Interflora. But I would like to be sure first that this very probably won't cause my friend any hassle, such as having to stay in to wait for a delivery date or go somewhere else to pick them up, should she not be in when they come. She is in a normal family flat in a fairly central district. Does anyone please know if there are any particular modalities about flower delivery in Japan I should be aware of?

posted by runincircles to Grab Bag (2 answers total)

Best answer: This isn't exactly an answer, but since there's nothing else... I've sent flowers to a place of business (not a private residence) in Japan a few times, all from within Japan (so no Interflora-specific info, sorry). In each case, I was able to specify a general time frame for delivery, like "2pm-4pm" level. I don't see why this should be different for a private residence.

Since I was able to choose the time, I haven't had to worry about what happens if no-one is there to take delivery. In general though what happens in Japan in this case is that the delivery staff either leaves the item on the doorstep/other appropriate place (if no signature is required) or writes out and leaves a special "Sorry we missed you" slip with instructions for scheduling another delivery. (Sometimes they will also call the number they have for you, if they are there at a time you led them to believe would be okay rather than just randomly turning up with your Amazon fix.) If you call before 5 or so it's usually possible to get them to come back that evening; if not, you can always get them to come back the next day. (If you won't be around then either you can schedule for a later date; most courier companies will have a default availability window of at least a week or so, although maybe not for perishable items; for obvious reasons I've never probed the limits there!)

So my guess is that if you use Interflora to send flowers to a private residence, the worst-case scenario if no-one's home is that the recipient reads the note when they arrive home later and reschedules delivery to a time that's convenient for them. Good luck!
posted by No-sword at 4:38 PM on March 28, 2012

Response by poster: thanks muchly!
posted by runincircles at 12:12 AM on May 28, 2012