Job Discussion Forums

[Mamasita516]

I am leaving for the Kanto district in a little under two months and I'm confused. I've looked on this board and other web sites and I am getting conflicting information. I'm not very smart about electric appliances and what all the watts and hz mumbo jumbo means. I just would like to know, can I bring my flat iron. It says 125/250V AC 50/60HZ 100W. What does that mean? Can someone explain to me in VERY SIMPLE TERMS?

[callmesim]

Are you sure it says 125/250V because it shouldn't work in the US if my understanding is correct. US runs on 110V and Japan 100V. So provided your equipment says 100/2**V, you're fine.

[JimDunlop2]

No. You are not fine. Buy an iron in Japan when you get here. They're not that expensive.

Voltage in Japan is slightly lower than in North America. Although most devices can compensate for that difference, some things will have a tough time. Basically anything with a heating element or a motor that spins will not work 100% in the other country.

When you come to Japan, electric devices that rely on a spinning motor or heating element will get less power than they need. An iron will not get as hot and an electric mixer will not spin as quickly.

If you take a Japanese device back home, it will fry because it's designed for less power and you are feeding it more. Heating elements will get too hot and motors will spin too fast.

This is why, when you go to Akihabara and want to buy, say a hair dryer, there are signs up saying that they are for USE IN JAPAN ONLY and if you need one for elsewhere, there is another section of the store dedicated to those appliances as well.

I wrote about this a while ago in another thread.... Someone was asking about their computer working in Japan so the post is focussed with that in mind... Here is an excerpt from my post:

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There seems to be a lot of overall confusion about how power (electricity) works... So, for anyone who failed physics back in school, this is for you.


First, to supply electricity to your computer, you are converting AC current (alternating current) to DC current (direct current) such as what is used in batteries... In AC current, the polarity (plus/minus) are constantly changing at a rate of 50 or 60 cycles per second (Hertz). If you were to draw this on a graph, you would get a beautiful "sine wave" which peaks at +100V and 0V.

Once you have converted the power to DC current, there is no more "50 Hertz or 60 Hertz" because the power is no longer fluctuating. It is now flowing at a steady +12 volts.

Now let's talk about amperage and wattage. If you look on most electrical devices, a label will tell you how many Amps (amperes) or miliamps (mA) your device needs to operate. It isn't enough, for example, that you are providing 9V to your digital camera. If your digital camera says it needs 1200mA, you need to provide at least that amount of power or it won't work. Amperes describes the amount of power needed by a device. Voltage is the "pressure" required to get it there. Voltage forces amperes into your device. This is measured in WATTS. Watts = Volts x Amps. For example, something that needs 110V power and 0.5A is sucking up 55W of power.

You don't have to worry about most of this with your computer. Your power supply should happily accept 50/60Hz AC input and spit out 12V DC capable of powering anywhere from 250W to 400W worth of devices (including your motherboard, hard drives, CD drives, floppy, etc.. etc... etc...)

Here is some great reading...

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/power-supply1.htm

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Thread reference: http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=21256

More reading here: http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=3174

(Again, specific to another kind of device, but good information).

[Mamasita516]

Jim-
Well...the first part made sense Okay, I got it. I will not bring my flat iron...or my hair dryer. The only electronic thing coming with me is my laptop. Cool...thanks.

[Mamasita516]

[ava77]

I brought my hairdryer and flat iron from Canada and they are both fine. The hairdryer is a conair quiet 125v 60Hc 1600w and the flat iron is a hairdresser one that is 125v 60Hc 120w. I hope this helps. I have never had any problems using them in Tokyo.

[JimDunlop2]

ava: There are plenty of people who have done so succesfully... But I would be very cautious, as not all irons and hair dryers are built the same...

I suppose I should add that I am pointing out the worst case scenario -- that your appliance will break. The best case scenario is that they will work fine but they will still likely be somewhat underpowered.

I have a friend with an American waffle iron... It works but takes longer to make waffles as the temperature of the heating element doesn't get as high.

[ava77]

Canada may be different. I also brought a George Foreman grill and had no problem. Maybe I was just lucky! You are probably right better safe than sorry.

[Khyron]

Canada is not different. It's the same as the States, powerwise.

[earthmonkey]

Bring your iron! It will run a little cooler here and might not last as long as it would've back home.

[sallycat]

or you could buy an iron for 900 yen (that's what? $9?) at jusco and save space and weight in your luggage.

[David W]

Talk about bringing coal to Newcastle. Apart from a laptop and/or I-pod etc, you're wasting your time bringing electrical stuff to Japan. Just buy it here. It's not expensive.

[Rikki]

I don't know if your flar iron will work or not, but adaptors are easy to find and take all the guess work out.

Japan might be the land of electronics, but not a lot of Japanese people need a flat iron, so the selection is really limitted.

Also remember that the summers here are super humid, so your hair might look great in the morning but be a fizzy mess by noon. Consider getting a product to lock out the moisture.