Store FAQ

Browse the site and add the hanko, accessories, and other products you desire to your basket. Some products may have several options you must specify when ordering. You can look at your shopping cart and edit options, or check out when you’re ready.

If you want a custom hanko or personalized item but aren’t sure how your name should be written in Japanese, select the “FREE CONSULTATION” option and we’ll get in touch with you via e-mail after you place your order.

Your hanko embodies your identity, so the size and style of your hanko are up to your personal preference, but we can show you data for the most common types people get for different uses.

Please note that the size of the hanko limits how many characters can be legibly carved.

For practical use in Japan, except for businesses and artists, hanko should be round. For unofficial or playful hanko use, there are no set rules; your imagination is the limit

We offer gift wrapping as an option for individual products. You’ll have a chance to add additional notes at checkout, if you have specific instructions for your order.

Our wood and premium hanko are vegan-friendly and use no animal products, as are our stone Rakkan-in hanko. Most of our hanko cases use animal hide but we do offer synthetic hanko as well.

All of our listed prices are listed in Japanese Yen (JPY), and transactions will be processed in Yen. Stripe or PayPal will automatically convert your currency to yen for the transaction, so there should be no problem paying with your PayPal balance or credit card in your local currency.

For your convenience we have a function that lets you convert the site’s prices to USD. This is just an estimate based on the current exchange rate, and may vary slightly from the exact amount that will be charged in your local currency.

Once you’ve confirmed your order on the checkout page, Stripe will process your payment information and charge your card. If you select PayPal you will be brought to the secure PayPal payment page or popup. Once you’ve completed the payment form you’ll be brought back to our site, and your card will be charged immediately.

All payment information is handled through Stripe or PayPal’s secure portals; we do not collect or retain any of your payment information.

Once we lovingly put your order together, we ship everything with EMS, Japan Post’s Express Mail Service.

Our online orders are fulfilled by our flagship store in Tokyo. Depending on the volume, we may have one of our branch stores fulfill orders.

EMS calculates our shipping rates by weight and destination country, so our cost varies from package to package. However, to keep things simple, we have set up flat shipping rates depending on which “zone” we ship to, and we offer FREE shipping for orders over a certain amount. Click here for more information on our Shipping Policy.

As soon as we have finalized your hanko design, we should be able to ship your order by the next business day. EMS averages between 2 days for local deliveries to 14 days for distant countries. If there is an issue with your order on our end we will contact you via e-mail immediately.

Import duties are imposed by your government for international imports, and unfortunately we have no control over how those charges are levied. Your carrier may hold your package until you’ve paid the duty, and even send it back to us if you refuse to pay.

It is considered the responsibility of the receiver to understand and pay these duties, so please check with your government to find out how they are calculated in your country. There is often a threshold, so unless your order goes over a certain amount you shouldn’t have to pay, but we can’t guarantee this.

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, we offer returns for non-personalized products, minus the actual cost of shipping. However, personalized items are individually carved and cannot be re-stocked, so we cannot offer returns/refunds for carved hanko or nametags. Thank you for your understanding.

If you decide to cancel your order or change the letters for your hanko, inform us IMMEDIATELY by responding to your order confirmation e-mail, or through our contact page, including the order number and your specific request. If your hanko hasn’t been made yet, we can refund you the full amount or modify the design to reflect your wishes. Please understand that we can’t “uncarve” a hanko that’s already been made, and we cannot issue refunds for hanko orders that have already been carved. Non-personalized items can be returned for a full refund, please contact us within 72 hours of delivery to initiate a return. Please understand that shipping fees are non-refundable, and our cost will be deducted from any refund issued.

We carve each hanko with the characters you specify on the product order page, or the characters we submit to you for approval when you select the free consultation. Please confirm the name in the product options before you submit your order, or check “FREE CONSULTATION” on the product page.

Hanko designs are stylized and it may not be immediately recognizable, but if there is indeed a mistake on our part, we will do our best to rectify the situation.

As soon as your order is ready, we ship it as quickly as possible. You can track your order through EMS’s tracking page. Various things outside of our control may delay delivery, but if you haven’t received your order within 20 days of it being shipped, please respond to your order confirmation e-mail, or contact us with the order number.

Please contact us within 72 hours of receiving a damaged shipment, including the order number and photos of the damage and we’ll try to help come to a satisfactory solution. We package your order with care, and EMS is very gentle with their packages.

Oh no! We offer a 10-year guarantee for our hanko, so if your seal gets damaged then please contact us and we will carve you a replacement for free. If you lost a hanko you ordered through us, contact us with your order number and we can offer you a discount for a replacement.

Please note: if you registered your hanko as ginko-in or jitsu-in, you’ll want to inform the institution with whom it’s registered. You may need to re-register your replacement hanko, as each hanko is individually carved and therefore unique, like a fingerprint.