You sent your suitcase ahead to your next hotel, but it is not there when you arrive. The front desk cannot find it either. Before assuming that the hotel has lost your luggage, it helps to understand how hotel-to-hotel luggage forwarding usually works in Japan.
The hotels are not directly passing the suitcase from one property to another. A courier company transports it, while the hotel front desks act as the drop-off and receiving points. Hotel staff will often help with an inquiry, but they are not controlling the delivery itself.
Start by showing the shipping slip to the front desk of the hotel where you are staying. The luggage may already have arrived but be held because the name on the shipping slip does not match the reservation name.
If the hotel still cannot find it, use the tracking number on the slip to contact the courier company. The courier can check where the luggage is, whether delivery was attempted, and which address was written on the shipment. The front desk may help you make the call, especially if communication in Japanese is difficult, but the tracking information comes from the courier.
If the suitcase has been delivered to the wrong hotel, do not immediately travel there without speaking to anyone. First ask your current hotel for help. The hotel where the luggage was delivered, the hotel where you are actually staying, and the courier company may need to decide whether the suitcase should be sent again or collected in person. Having the hotels communicate with each other can also reduce confusion over names, booking dates, and who is allowed to receive the luggage.
It is also important to remember that not every accommodation can send or accept forwarded luggage. A hotel with a staffed front desk may be able to receive it, while an unmanned property or self-check-in accommodation may not. A suitcase cannot check itself in, however determined it may be.
Similar hotel names can cause problems as well. Large chains may have several branches in the same city, sometimes with only a small difference in the property name. Writing the wrong branch or choosing a similarly named hotel can send the luggage to the wrong place.
Hotel front-desk staff are generally familiar with luggage-forwarding procedures and can often help you work out whom to contact and what information to provide. Try not to panic. Show the front desk your shipping slip and explain the situation calmly, then use the tracking number to confirm the delivery with the courier company. The hotel is usually the best first point of contact, even though the courier company is the one managing the shipment.