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LITTLE PEACHES

i'm moving to japan this august..eek in a month...i wanted advice in general about what to expect, what is absolutely neccessary and what isn't. i'm learning some basic japanese now. what else do i need, should expect, should bring, shouldn't bring...

oh and i know the us and japan have the same power adapters, but different wattage, i don't know what direction to look for guidance, can anyone lend a hand?

thanks in advance!

wayne432 · Joined: 05 Jun 2008 Posts: 255

FAQ 2 for you

And FAQ 1 too

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

What to expect? That's going to vary a lot depending on your situation. Did you see the question a bit further down the page called "What to bring, what not to bring?"- that's probably going to have some good info in it for you.

If you are looking for general advice, you are very likely to find it in the FAQs or in a recently posted thread. Spend a bit of time researching and then come back with any specific questions you may have so we can help you out.

lady gator linguist · Joined: 02 Jul 2009 Posts: 9

Hello, Little Peaches. I lived in Japan for a total of 7.5 years. So let's see...

1. If you're taller than 5 feet 4 inches and/or not so skinny, have feet larger than size 7 (24 in Japan), then you should bring as much clothing as possible. (Just summer/early fall clothes should suffice for now; ship your winter clothes to your school's address AS USED CLOTHING so you won't have to pay duty.)

2. Bring toothpaste, shampoo, and deodrant. Japanese brands are not particularly strong, and for me, their shampoo actually burned my scalp.

3. If you're bringing a laptop with a DVD player that is not Blu-Ray or region free, you will need to reset your DVD region if you rent DVDs from a Japanese store. Japan is Region 2 whereas the U.S. is Region 1. Your laptop will run slightly slower than usual since the voltage is 100V vs. 110V in the U.S. However, the plug is the same.

4. After you set up your bank account and obtain your Alien Registration Card in Japan, get a membership to GoLLoyd's so that you can send money home to the U.S. The fee for each bank transfer is 2000 yen plus whatever your U.S. bank takes out for their fees. It's very convenient and easy.

5. After said Alien Registration Card, get a cell phone as well. Everyone uses one there. SoftBank is the best one since they have English and Japanese menus which are user friendly. They also have customer service reps who can speak English.

Good luck!

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

Very true about the clothes and shoes, although if you live in a large city you do have a few options.

I have very sensitive skin and have used Japanese shampoo successfully for the 11 years I have been here. lady gator, did you try a lot of brands? Just because one Japanese shampoo burned your scalp doesn't necessarily mean they all will.

I have an allergic reaction to some moisturisers and other skincare products, but I don't then assume that all moisturisers in that country will cause the same reaction.

Shampoo is a heavy and bulky item to lug over with you and it may well not be necessary to after all.

I also don't understand the issues people have with toothpaste- I find the Colgate and Aquafresh here to be completely indistinguishable from what I could get in my home country, and many Japanese brands to be quite inoffensive, even if they are different from what we have at home, I can deal with that.

I also successfully use a stone crystal deodorant that I bought at the local drugstore here without problems, and find the ordinary deodorants to be acceptable as well.

I recommend trying a few things before automatically writing off all Japanese products of a particular item as crap- be a bit adventurous, people!

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

I, too, don't understand the deal with toothpaste. Here's my solution.

Bring enough for a month. In that time, sample stuff until you find what you like. If you can't find anything, get Mom to send what you want from home. You're going to probably bring enough stuff like shampoo and toothpaste to last you a while anyway.

There are American toothpastes and hair care and skin care products here. They are usually easy to find.

Deodorant and antiperspirant are not the same, and I would highly recommend bringing the latter, not the former. Japan has plenty of deodorant, but I find that incredibly perfumey (for males, that is; oddly enough, women here don't use that much in the way of fragrances overall, so I assume that includes perfume and deodorant). Try out samples in the drugstores, and decide what you want Mom to send.

Conor_Ire · Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Posts: 34 Location: Tokyo

I can't find anti-perspirant anywhere!! Bring some of that.
If you have a cirrus atm card you can only use post office and seven eleven atms ( as far as i know ). I freaked out when the atms were spitting my card back out and giving me error messages!

English won't get you very far either , so keep studying japanese!!

Try to make friends as soon as you step of the plane!!
Or even make friends on the plane!!

And enjoy it!!!

lady gator linguist · Joined: 02 Jul 2009 Posts: 9

Aspara,

I DID try several Japanese shampoo brands but I had the same reaction to all of them. You are correct in saying that some brands might be different than others, but after several years of this I grew tired of trying them all. So I either brought some items over when I went overseas during my long school vacations or went to Yokota Air Base where my friend lived to get the products I liked. I have sensitive skin as well. If Japanese products work for you, that's great. One person's junk is another person's treasure.

As for clothing and shoes, Tokyo and Yokohama had begun to get more American stores, so I could shop at L.L. Bean, Eddie Bauer, or Talbots. When I first lived in Japan 11 years ago, that wasn't the case. On occasion, I could shop at UniGlo for tops. (My 7.5 years were non-consecutive.)

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

Did you try Zara, Benetton or Gap? I've been in Japan 11 years (also non-consecutive- I first arrived in 1995) and those have been about my only sources of clothes here- I'm 5'9" with most of my height in my legs, but Zara's pants are plenty long enough for me- very rare to find long enough pants elsewhere- I even have trouble back in NZ with that.

wayne432 · Joined: 05 Jun 2008 Posts: 255

Clothes are no issue unless you're around 6'6" I think...
Shoes though will cause some trouble. If your size is over 28 cm, then you will have to look at special shops or special order.

Clothes are quite expensive if you compare to some other countries. If it's just one thing, then it's fine, but if you want to buy a whole mess. I recommend buying things from your home country and shipping them to Japan.

seklarwia · Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:50 pm Post subject:

LITTLE PEACHES · Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:10 pm Post subject:

Thank you so much! I have read through the FAQ's, but was looking for advice like this! Keep it coming it really is helpful!!

THANKS!

just an FYI...i'm a small lady...5'4 with small feet...i'm not too worried about the clothes, but thing that we don't think about or take for granted here, like deoderant.

Several of you have said women don't wear perfume, so don't bring it? i don't wear a lot as it is, but is it offensive or "weird" if i do wear it?

seklarwia · Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:58 pm Post subject:

You know how sometimes we can smell women coming before we see them, or how some women wear so much perfume that you gag when they pass by? Back home this a common, but I can honestly say I've have yet to witness it here.

In school especially, its not really a good idea to wear strong smelling deoderant or any perfume.

LITTLE PEACHES · Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:10 pm Post subject:

thanks! i think i'm going to go ahead and leave perfumes at home, i'm not a very smelly person in general.

Anyone have advice on HOW to pack....i'm not looking forward to trying to pack so much Stuff!

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

"How" to pack?

Bring 2 seasons clothing. Ship the rest.
Bring at least one nice suit for a wedding or funeral. You never know. It can also be used for an opening or closing ceremony.
Ship heavy stuff (books, CDs, for example) 2-3 weeks before you leave.
Bring recipes, photos, address book.
Think of what you would wear at home and work in a single week, and double that. If you are a clothes horse, you might want to bring a little more. Don't go overboard.

Reconsider any special stuff (in-line skates, surfboard, big music player, etc.) that might be better left at home in your early stages and shipped later if at all.

One large bag and a carry-on should suffice. I brought those, plus a laptop and a garment bag, and I can easily say I overpacked.