Job Discussion Forums

[amalone]

My boyfriend and I are moving to Osaka for a year to work for ECC. Any advice on what to bring? Perhaps items that are readily available here in the US but not in Japan?
Thanks!

[Cool Teacher]

Many things you can get here but if you or your boyfrind are large then bring plenty of clothes that fit you. Actually suits don't fit me well in Japan because of my arms being longer than averdage Japanese so bring suits.

[steki47]

Deodorant
Shoes in your size

[Bread]

[seklarwia]

Definately shoes if you are bigger than a UK size 5.5/6 (these are the largest sizes I commonly see for women. But even these sizes are too big for many of the cute clubbing shoes.)

Clothes if you are not built like the average Asian.
I'm average by western standards (possibly slightly smaller than the UK average these days) but I can nearly never buy clothes because even when I can find something remotely the right size, the sleeves or legs are often too short and I'm quite broad across the shoulders. And don't get me started with the bust of fitted shirts.

...so of course, if you have any womanly curves bring lots of underwear. I'm only a 34DD/E (depending on the style) but I've never been able to buy a bra out here.

Deodorant/anti-perspirant if you are particularly sweaty. They do sell some powder deodorants that do the job if you don't sweat profusely. I now buy Rexena which is actually Sure in the UK (same tick logo, same bottles, same fragrances; just a different name) which although is a little more expensive than some of the Japanese brands, does the job fine (and I do sweat!) and is available in all of my decent size supermarkets and Cainz Homes. We also have the Nivea roll-on and minature. I've tried some other brands like 8x4... they're okay in cooler weather... I wouldn't trust them in the summer.

If you are of a darker complexion/tanned and wear foundation, you might want to bring make-up. I have to bring or have foundations sent. I also have very sensitive skin and have had issues with whiteners in cleansers so have Clinique products shipped in by a HK based country in between trips to the UK (each order is almost 3000 yen cheaper than buying it from the www.clinique.co.jp)

Some people will say toothpaste... you can easily get toothpaste with flouride out here. And yes, you can get toothpaste in regular minty flavours and some of the more interesting flavours are not half bad either. Plenty of decent toopthpastes and mouth wash out here so don't waste your luggage space by bring loads of the stuff. Just don't get tricked like I was one day when I was in a rush: I grabbed a bottle of yellow Listerine without reading, assuming it was citrus flavoured (like in the UK)... it was herb Listerine and tasted like carbonic acid

If you are a fan of Marmite/Vegemite you might want to bring that. Peanut butter, although expensive, is available.

Don't know what ethniticy you are, but if you require special hair care (such as straightening treatments or hair oils for Afro hair) you'll want to bring that.

And if you are not from the US or anywhere else with a similar voltage and wattage as Japan (e.g. the UK), you'll want to check out any electronics you plan to bring. Laptops are fine, but things like straightners/hairdryers may not work properly. And larger items such as games consoles may require an additional transformer.

You might want to consider bringing a small medicine supply. One thing that people often complain about is medicines here. I've been lucky enough not to have gotten really sick (apart from my scheduled kidney/urinary track infections which my UK GP keeps me armed for, the worst I've had was a mild cold which was easily dealt with some paracetemol and honey and lemon tea) but dosages of prescribed medicines are often lower than what we are used to and many complain that the Japanese alternatives for our medicines don't work. And around here at least, doctors are reluctant to prescribe any "real" medicines... one of my JTEs was walking around with a chest infection for 6 weeks before her doctor would prescribe anitibiotics!
Just be careful that you are not bringing any medicines containing banned substances.

And I also bring in large quanities of oral contraception because it's free in the UK and even when I'm not going back to the UK in time, it only costs my mother a couple of pounds postage to send it. You can buy it from online pharmacies or get a Japanese doctor to prescribe it, but that doesn't come cheap.

Mmm... minds gone blank thanks to the influence of Bon-enkai alcohol... maybe I'll think of other things to ramble on about later...

Edit: You might want to ignore most if not all my UK references... somehow missed that you were from the US Evil nomihodai!

[Bread]

[seklarwia]

[kathrynoh]

I got really caught out with prescription medicine. Got a year's supply for my doctor but didn't realise until just before I left that for more than a few months you need to get a letter from your doctor and get it approved by the relevant japanese department to bring medication in with you.

I wouldn't worry too much about casual clothes. I'm a big size but bought stuff here at places like Forever 21. I've also found some of the shops don't stock bigger sizes in shoes in store but do have them online.

I bought heaps of tampons with me because I thought they were hard to get here but they pretty easy to find in the shops. I've also had no trouble with makeup or skin care but then I used Shiseido before I moved here. Also with makeup, you can get the major brands like MAC etc at department stores. The only issues is if you want a cheaper alternative because it's hard to know if they have whitening.

I really regret not bringing my hot water bottle with me. The ones you buy here are plastic and don't hold the heat as well as my rubber one at home!

[my_way]

tampons and hair color are the only things i don't buy over here.
as the previous poster said, i wouldn't worry about clothes unless you are really big...plenty of choices such as gap, zara, h&m, etc.
i shop at japanese stores too, but can rarely find a pair of pants that fit correctly.
if you like to shop and take the time to look around you won't have any problems......in fact it's just the opposite....too much cool stuff!

[seklarwia]

[my_way]

the op is moving to osaka and wont have any trouble finding most things

[Rakuten]

Besides maybe some of your favourite food items from back home- you can get most everything from your home country in any of the major cities in Japan.

Assuming neither of you are not too tall/large, many of the major chain Japanese clothing stores (UNIQLO etc.) as well as American/Foreign chain/clothing stores will have larger sizes (maybe a little more expensive).

For women- I've heard complaints about Japanese birth control, tampons, and deodorant- so you may want to stock up on that. (To Seklarwia: wow, oral contraceptives are free in the UK?? Damn, the US needs to step up and get with the times. My gf pays nearly $30 USD per month for hers and that is WITH medical/prescription coverage! No wonder we're leaving...)

I've lived in Osaka before on a study abroad- it's a great city and you won't find it lacking for much in the way of "back home" conveniences at all. Have fun in Osaka! Jealous you guys got placed in Kansai (my first choice)- but I ended up getting placed in Chubu/Nagoya. Enjoy your time over there!

[Apsara]

[sabina]

[Bread]