Hello, I’m currently a high school student. I’m from the United States, and I‘m planning to go to University in Japan within the next year and a half or so. That will be my first time moving and having my own place, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice to me, both about moving to Japan, what my expectations should be, and even just general things, like what I might need to buy when I get there?
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**What will I need?**
Hello, I’m currently a high school student. I’m from the United States, and I‘m planning to go to University in Japan within the next year and a half or so. That will be my first time moving and having my own place, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice to me, both about moving to Japan, what my expectations should be, and even just general things, like what I might need to buy when I get there?
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Most things you can get in Japan that you can in the US, except what surprised me or at least inconvenienced me the first time I went there (this was in 2006, so some of this may have changed) were the following, which in retrospect I would have packed more of had I known:
-Deodorant (especially if you use something for sports or just generally stronger than a very mild spray)
-Ibuprofen or Tylenol (may have changed since then but these couldn’t be bought OTC in Japan back then)
-Any and all types of clothing if you are larger (be it wider or taller) than an average sized Japanese person. There are a few places that sell “western” sizes but they are rare and/or very expensive.
I think I would first worry about 1) applying and getting accepted to a university and 2) having at least $15,000 USD in the bank to prove you can support yourself while attending university in a foreign country with no social safety nets.