Job Discussion Forums

[JimDunlop2]

VanKen... Sure... You COULD do that... But that would just be way too easy and make waaay too much sense.

[VanKen]

[sethness]

You should be able to use any American appliance in Japan, so long as it's a 2-prong plug. If your laptop's plug is 3-prong, but the cord's separate from the rest of the hardware, then you can almost certainly get a replacement 2-prong cord in America or here.

This also applies to desktop PCs...those 3-prong plugs we have in America are easily replaced with 2-prong plugs.

As for the voltage difference between Japan and the US, it's so small as to make hardly any difference. I've freely used in Japan appliances I bought from the Philippines and America.

Coming from Europe, however, is a different story altogether-- you'd need a power adapter (costs about $13 US, 1,500 yen) for sure to change 220v needs into 110volt Japanese wall socket standard. ANd watch the amp requirements...if you're not careful, you may buy a wimpy converter that can't handle the amp-draw of your appliance. In general, 50 amps or better is good for anything in a household.

[Albright]

Indeed, the adaptor makes much more sense than potentially ruining a power strip. In fact, I think my family has one somewhere in this house, because we used to live in an old apartment that didn't have three-prong outlets, but we had a three-prong washing machine... I should have thought of that sooner.

Good thinking, VanKen.

[widget]