Buying from Japan...Accuphase or Luxman what are the costs ? import duties etc

This comment applies to new units: AXISS Audio, the Accuphase importer, has reduced the MSRP by 20% in the US for new Accuphase equipment. Although, the US prices are still higher than the domestic MSRP in Japan, when you add all the other costs, the gap gets reduced significantly. In addition, it will be difficult to get the 110V version in Japan and as others said, in case of need for service you will need to seek a third party as the official Accuphase channels, most likely, will not provide support due to the unit being a gray market import. 

Disclosure: Locrian Audio is an Accuphase dealer.

It's not worth the hassle to deal with a foreign entity. Let the dealer work for you and he's deserving of some compensation. Is your time of value? Do you like leading a stress-free Life? If you answer no then I would buy it from a foreign company and hope for the worst just so you can enjoy your life more

I was just asking if anyone has actually bought from Japan and what was their experiences were, clearly it sound like you have not.

I have purchased an M4000A amplifier and a big Kenwood turntable from HiFiDo in Japan. They arranged the shipping through FedEx, boxed things up extremely well and each shipment arrived within 7 days of shipping. 

Shipping was a little expensive but worth the trouble.The boxes were so nice I saved them in the attic.

I also use step down transformers and cannot hear any difference in sound quality nor can I measure any. 

Cheers, Alan.

You can google USA customs duty. There is a gov't site that lists everything by category.  Did I say EVERYTHING? I found it when I was importing a TT from Japan. BTW there is no duty for record players or record player parts (my TT and my recent tonearm, for example) from Japan, and most sellers from Japan are aware of how to label shipments. My TT was clear sailing. You can always pay someone if you discover there is a duty on a specific item... and you don't have the time or temperament to deal with bureaucracy. Remember Japan Market uses 100 volt 60 cycle, so include a transformer in your plans (just because the plugs are the same doesn't mean it will survive, or perform to design specs).