Bring Japanese Order Into Your Suitcase.
A centuries-old Japanese way of packing, finally written down for Western travelers.
The packing method my mother taught me at her inn, from the videos, step by step.
All four booksPacking · Visitor · Inn · Warmth🔊 Tap the video to play it · sound on · about 1½ minutes
The Japanese way to pack any trip into one carry-on. Leave behind the things you never use. Travel with nine pieces of clothing and one square of cloth.
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Japanese WisdomGenerations of tradition
Practical StepsEasy to use. Any trip.
7-Day Money-Back Guarantee
No questions asked. If the book doesn't change the way you pack, reply to your delivery email within your first week and you'll get a full refund.
You pay
Through a secure checkout, with your card or Apple Pay. I never see your card number.
The book is ready
Right after you pay, on your phone, your tablet or your computer.
It stays in your email
The download link is emailed to you, so you can open it again any time.
Nothing ships, and there is nothing to install.
What packing too much really costs
Nobody adds it up. So here is one trip, priced the way it really happens.
The overpacking way
- Checked bag on many US airlinesabout $35 each way
- Carry-on fee on budget airlinesoften $50 or more
- Packing cubes, compression bags, gadgets$30 and up
- A bigger suitcase every few years$100 and up
- A lost or delayed checked baga ruined first day
My mother's way
- One small bag you carry onno bag fees
- One square of cloth, a furoshikia few dollars
- Nine pieces of clothingalready in your closet
- A little washing each eveninga few minutes
- The knowing of howthis book, $27
Your numbers will differ. The point does not: one round trip without a checked bag pays for this book.
Real pages from the real book
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This book has a companion: the Visitor Method.
Get both books together for less, or take the whole collection for the best price of all.
The Packing Method and the Visitor Method, for your next trip to Japan.
You save $10All four books in one order: packing light, visiting Japan, a calmer home and a warmer winter. 481 pages.
You save $29The answers to the things that go wrong
- Too many clothes and still nothing to wear? The nine-item rule · p. 19
- One square of cloth that replaces your packing cubes, laundry bag and gift wrap · p. 27
- Clothes that come out flat, not crushed: the upright fold · p. 34
- Shampoo all over your clothes? Toiletries that never leak · p. 45
- A bath towel taking half your bag? The tenugui · p. 55
- The things experienced travelers leave at home, and the questions that decide the rest · p. 61
- What to wear on the plane so you arrive fresh · p. 68
- The long-flight kit, everything at your feet in four compartments · p. 79
- Two weeks with five days of socks: arriving like an inn guest · p. 91
- Always room for gifts on the way home · p. 98
- Printable lists for three days, one week and two weeks · p. 116
“I wrote this so the way my mother packed for her guests would not disappear.”
I did not learn to pack from a luggage store. I learned in my mother's small inn in the Japanese countryside, watching guests arrive with one small bag and leave the same way, and watching her fold, wrap and pack so that everything took half the room it should have.
Most of that knowledge was never written down. It was shown across a table and repeated because it worked. I have lived in the United States for over forty years, and I still pack exactly the way she taught me. I collected the reasoning behind her habits and turned it into clear steps for the trips you take today.
This book is not about buying gear. It is about carrying less, paying less, and enjoying the trip instead of your luggage.
Stop Checking a Bag.
Pack Two Weeks Into One Carry-On With Nine Pieces of Clothing.
In Japan, traveling light is less about squeezing harder and more about deciding better before the suitcase is even open. Fourteen chapters of the Japanese method, trip by trip: the nine-item wardrobe, the upright fold, the furoshiki cloth that replaces half your bags, toiletries that never leak, the long-flight kit, and the things experienced Japanese travelers simply never pack. One bag. One book. Yours forever.
See all 14 chapters
- The inn guest's one small bag
- The nine-item rule
- Furoshiki: one cloth, five jobs
- The upright fold
- Toiletries that never leak
- The tenugui towel
- What stays home
- Dressing for the plane
- Shoes that come off easily
- The long-flight kit
- Quiet manners on board
- Arriving like an inn guest
- Leaving room for omiyage
- Lists for 3 days, 1 week and 2 weeks
Simple answers.
No subscription, no special app, and no drawer full of packing gadgets.
Is a paper book coming in the mail?
No, and I say it plainly so nobody is surprised. It is a PDF, a book you open on your phone, your tablet or your computer the moment you pay. Nothing arrives in the post. You can print any page at home, and the packing lists at the back are made to be printed and kept in your suitcase.
I'm not good with computers.
You don't need to be. You tap one button and the book opens, the way a photo opens. If it doesn't open for you, reply to your receipt email and I will help you myself, or give your money back. Either way, you won't be left stuck.
Is this a subscription? Will you charge my card again?
No. One payment, one time. No membership, no monthly anything, no free trial that turns into a bill.
What if I lose the file?
The download link lives in your email, so that is the thing to keep. If you can't find it, reply to your receipt email and it will be sent to you again.
Is this only for trips to Japan?
No. It's the Japanese way of packing, and it works for any trip: a cruise, two weeks in Europe, a visit to family.
Do I need Japanese products?
No. A large scarf or any square of cotton works as a furoshiki, and a thin cotton hand towel works as a tenugui. The book shows you what to use from what you already own.
Will it fit my airline's carry-on rules?
The method is built for a standard carry-on plus one personal item. Size and weight limits vary by airline and change often, so always check your carrier before you fly.
What if the book is not right for me?
Reply to your receipt email within seven days and your money comes back, every dollar. And you keep the book anyway. That is the promise my mother made to every guest who walked through her door.
Your suitcase does not need more space. It needs a better method. The Japanese Way.
Pack your next trip the way Japanese inn guests always have: one small bag, nothing wasted.
Get the book now →