Incoming JET here. I was going to bring my usual game consoles (Switch, PS5, gaming laptop) with me to kind of ease that transition those first few weeks, but yesterday an AJET at the QnA session advised against it. My pred left me a TV and monitor, so it’s not like that’s the part that bothers me, but I was just unsure if there’s something against keeping it in my carry-on since my flight allows two checked, one carry-on and a personal (which will probably be the bookbag I keep my two laptops in).
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When I went on JET I met a guy at the airport who had a couple of consoles including a PS4 and a laptop in his hand luggage. You can take whatever you like as long as it’s permitted by the airline/flight/ticket.
Current JET here! I currently have my gaming laptop, my Switch, and my 3DS, but I do miss my PS5 a lot. I think it’s important to consider how much you play your PS5 overall, as it is pretty big to pack. But your happiness and mental health is important, especially in easing the transition as you said. If you play online games with friends, I also think that’s important because you’ll want to keep those connections and support during your move and adjustment period.
Also realistically speaking it will have to go into your checked bag because it’s such a big electronic, and going through TSA with it—in America you have to separate all big electronics into their own bins to go through the machines. It will be safer in a checked bag and cause you less stress overall. Also don’t worry too much about lugging it to your prefecture. The hotel they bring everyone to will offer a baggage delivery service so you’ll go with your Prefectural Advisor on the Shinkansen with the luggage you chose to hold on to. Your luggage will be delivered to you at most a few days later. Congratulations on getting in to the program!!!
Always take advice from JET alumni with a grain of salt. At the end of the day they only know their experience, and often their experience is 10-15 years out of date. I had an alumni at my Q&A session tell me that if you used a local bank you wouldn’t be able to withdraw money at all outside of your prefecture. Yeah turns out the banking industry solved that issue 10+ years ago. So there may have been significant logistical hurdles to bringing consoles when that alum was a JET, but that doesn’t mean that that’s the case now
i managed to fit all my clothes and personal items into the two checked in luggages.
The carry on will have my ps5, switch, and laptops. All padded with a medium thickness blanket. Lining the interior.
My personal item is a backpack, and that’ll have all my documents, and clothes for orientation.
On the bus when we arrive, I’m going to bring my personal item and carry on, and ship the two luggages.
My husband brought his gaming PC as one of his checked bags (hard case, foamed lined). It survived the trip there and back.
Why did they say not to take them? I’m not gamer so I didn’t, but I have friends who did. It might come down to a luggage space question – the more gaming stuff you bring the less other stuff you can bring, so what’s more important to you? You can definitely bring at least the switch, that’s small. Maybe you don’t want to bring both laptop and PS5? But maybe you do, it really depends on you. Packing questions are really individual.
I popped mine into my carry-on and it was fine. Bring it if you have the bag space.
I brought mine in my carry-on to avoid it being thrown around. I have far less time for gaming here but still wouldn’t be without it. It was also a lifesaver during my 2 week hotel quarantine!
When left Japan and flew back to my home country, I kept my laptop, PS4 and Switch in my carry-on backpack, to make it easy to pull out when needed. All devices survived the trip. I would assume flying to Japan would be the same.
I’m definitely bringing my PS5, Inzone Monitor, and Nintendo Switch.
Anyone advising against it would just be weird. Take it if you want. Just be aware that not all games sold on disc in-country will support English language, either audio or subtitles or menus, but they are region-free. You can buy games digitally from your country, but you’re wired into buying using your home currency, you can’t use a payment method from any other country on your account.
DLC and games must be region matched to play together. So if you buy a Japanese disc, you can’t buy DLC on a UK account and have it be compatible, for example. So beware of that as well.
You should also be aware that some games do matchmaking based on your account region, not your physical location, so you might run into some issues playing online with regards to latency. Best looking into that, but its a small minority that do that. Usually Ubisoft games.
I brought my PC switch PS4 and ps5. No challenges at all
I just did this in March. I was extremely stressed about tit for months and considered a lot of different ways of doing it. Here’s what I ended up doing (and it worked out fine).
I bought a special carrying case for the PS5 on Amazon. Not a super expensive one. I really just got the one with the smallest dimensions that would fit the PS5, headset, and two controllers. It was just small enough that I could fit it inside a carry-on-sized suitcase and fit a few other small things and my Japanese textbooks in there as well. And I actually had the suitcase, a backpack, and another small bag with snacks that I brought on the plane. You will have to take the PS5 case out of the carry-on when you go through security.
I found this to be the best option because you can keep your eye on it and make sure it doesn’t get smashed around. And with it being in another suitcase it is relatively easy to wheel it around the airport and fit some other stuff too.
One thing to keep in mind, if you have a connecting flight on a smaller aircraft, the carry-on might not fit in the overhead bin. You’ll want to check the allowable carry-on dimensions for each plane if you can to make sure your suitcase is okay. I was in business class so they let me take it anyway, though they wouldn’t have if I was in coach. And the suitcase was quite heavy with the PS5 and a few books. I couldn’t lift it myself, but a nice passenger helped me put it into the overhead bin on the big flight (which is the only time you’ll really need to lift it.)
Also, this probably won’t apply to you, but I actually arrived in Tokyo about a week before I needed to be there and left my luggage in the luggage storage at the airport. I was very worried that they would smash the PS5 on accident or something, but it could not have gone more smoothly. Got it back and it works fine. I’m so glad I brought it. It was worth all the stress.
I came on the JET programme 2021. I brought my PS4 in my backpack as carryon on JAL because I didn’t trust any airline to not chuck my luggage carelessly into the airplane or off of it. It was definitely a hassle but worth it as I could make sure it wasn’t damaged during transportation. When I got to the Keio Plaza, I was able to exchange it and put it in my other luggage so I didn’t have to travel with it on my back all the way to my prefecture.
Also because I came in 2021 I knew I was going to be stuck in quarantine and needed something to keep me from going insane.
BRING IT!!! I didn’t think to bring my PS4 as it would, in my mind “take up too much of my carry-on space.” I miss the hell outta mine and I will be bringing it with me when I go home for Christmas.
If it’s important to you bring it! I brought my ps4 pro with me + other consoles. Not sure why the presenter said it was a bad idea?
Just be aware it’s hit or miss buying ps5 discs that have English support. So I stick with digital only myself. Switch game discs are ok though, if the game has a US release it will have English support.
Pre-COVID JET here: I brought my PS4 and Switch dock in my checked (I made sure to wrap them and accessories in lots of packed clothing and towels to ensure they were well-padded), and my Switch and gaming laptop in my carry-on, and it was fine.
Unless they were concerned it might get damaged on the way to Japan, that’s a strange thing to recommend against.
People bring their PCs, laptops, and other gaming systems and accessories to Japan all the time. You’ll be good with your PS5, Switch, and gaming laptop.
I’m not sure what airline you’re taking, but I had no issues bringing my switch and 3DS on JAL earlier this year. I’d be kinda surprised if an airline banned video games. So many people bring them on flights to other continents because they’re so long.
Bring it bro, I brought my Xbox One with me many moons ago and quickly realized that no one in Japan plays Xbox ðŸ˜
If it makes your life better bring it!
JET who came last year here: Stick that thing in your backpack and bring it. I did (together with my laptop, my wife’s laptop, my tablet, and my camera. Worst thing that happened was that the guy at the airport had a little bit of a laugh when he asked “Any electronics in your carry-on?” and I said “….maybe” and pulled everything out xD
The people saying not to bring consoles are just people who don’t understand the hobby.
Gaming is a hobby. And for some people, it’s their favorite one.
Does the ps5 take space? Yep. It takes up half my carry on. But one or two fur jackets can do the same, and I’m sure there are/ have been people who bring a LOT of clothes that they won’t even need.
Hobbies are important. If you value it enough to bring, then sacrificing some space for it just makes sense.
I brought a PS4 with me. Not bringing it would have been a mistake, especially since COVID happened while I was here. 😂
Love my PS5 in the countryside here. Nice relief from Jlife sometimes
Sure why not? Just carry it with you, don’t put it in your luggage. Just fyi, I bought a gaming laptop, liked to game back home, but kinda lost the desire to here haha. Not saying you will but you’re going to be in JAPAN I hope you go out and not spend your days playing video games 🙂
Take your stuff. If you’re willing to carry it, why not?
I brought my 3DS and games and never regretted it. Also traveling between US and Japan, my switch has always come with me.
Radically, you could sell the ps5 and probably get the same amount to buy a used or even new one here (they’re in stock now).
I’m not sure how data transfer or cloud saving works for PS5 (I’m more a Nintendo person) so it might be a dumb suggestion, but just a suggestion. If you’re super inaka it might be inconvenient, but online PS5 are in stock in almost all major electronics shops. You could even get some points to use in store if you figure that system out.
I know that for a switch, the memory card doesn’t transfer from system and you need to the old and new system to move all your save data and information, although you have cloud save data option for some games. I’ve honestly never been married to my save data so I would just sell and buy in Japan considering how low the yen is.
Sell one and buy in Japan, bring the console you didn’t sell. I’d suggest sell ps5 and bring your switch. But again, could be more work than it’s worth for you and just a suggestion.
I brought my PS4, a mini projector, a small JBL speaker, my laptop, and my tablet in my carryon in 2022 lol. It sucked to carry but I’m glad I have them with me.
OP I did this 🤣🤣🤣. But it was worth it. Get a console backpack. You will have to check it through TSA multiple times. Your back will suffer. But again it was worth it.
Fellow gamer here. I brought my PS5 to Japan. I departed April 2022. Then you were only allowed 1 checked and 1 carry on. My PS5 went into the carry on and my monitor in the checked bag. DO NOT PUT PS5 in checked bag. 1. You may find it will get broken. 2. It will flag up on the TSA machine and you will need to show them it. PS5 is huge so you’ll need to pack under and around it. Hope this helps 🙂
Take whatever you want. Plus, you’re in the homeland of the PlayStation, having a PS5 is a surefire way to net you some gaming buddies at the very least.
I brought my ps5 last year from the UK with no issues. I had it in a backpack on my back as my handluggage had absolutely no issues in any of the airports: Edinburgh, Qatar, Narita or Haneda
Why the heck not lol. If you want to bring it, go for it!
A friend of mine from the same incoming group brought all her consoles- in a large carry on duffle bag that she lugged around. It was heavy, but like… if you can do it, why not?
If you’re someone who often plays games for fun, relaxation, stress relief, and so on, you’ll defs regret not bringing it.
Ignore their narrow-minded advice and just bring them over. If your luggage weighs more than what you are allowed to bring on your flight, you can always box them and have them delivered to your address in Japan.
I’m a current ALT going to my 2nd year. My advice would be to take advice from others including your predecessors and even your BOE with a grain of salt. Always re-evaluate if the advice comes from a legal standpoint or if it’s just from a personal view. For example, sometimes they want us to bring less luggage because it creates less work for them, not necessarily something you are forbidden to do. You will have your own experience when you arrived here. Don’t be so “obedient” lol
When I moved to Japan last year I brought my bicycle (checked) and my PS5 in my backpack as carry on. No problems internationally nor the domestic JP flight after.
I brought a gaming laptop and a switch. I don’t know why your personal time matters to the previous alt matters. I would have gone insane if I didn’t have an easy way to game and socialize with my friends back home and video chat with family.
If you use those items often then bring them.
I brought along my ps5, my gaming laptop, my Nintendo switch OLED and my two PSPs, in the same backpack. Carried 14kgs on my back, but I’d say it was completely worth it. Faced no problems at all.
I came August of ’22 and I bought all the things you’ve mentioned. They were physically a hassle to bring but I am very glad I bought them, especially my PS5.
I had absolutely no issues carrying any of it from my home country to Japan – I did have to keep it all in my carry-on though.
I use my PS5 for everything and there is no need for any kind of cable in Japan. It’s probably one of the best decisions I made regarding JET.
Like other folks said, take everything you hear with a grain of salt. ESID, and a majority of the time things are on a case by case basis.
Congrats on getting in!
I’m taking mine. There’s no rule against taking consoles, just make sure it’s not packed in a way that’s difficult to open at security check. They might ask you to unwrap it and put it through the xray machine.
At our what to pack info session we were told to bring our gaming consoles and leave our hairdryers etc. as they can be cheaply replaced. Just be aware of if you need an adapter was our advice. Our jets all came home within the last 2 years.
I went in 2018, brought ps4 and switch, bundled the ps4 in my clothes and packed it super tight and took switch in carryon, had absolutely no issues. I’m actually trying to remember a fellow JET who didn’t have a console of some sort with them! It definitely eases the boredom if you are in the countryside, and there were plenty of fun gaming parties we had too
Seems your question has been throughly answered but here is my take anyway. I was on Jet and then stayed in Japan, moved back to the US, and have now moved back to Japan. I’m a gamer. My experience with gaming consoles is they are a commodity item. Pretty much the same thing wether you buy it in Japan or the US. When I moved back from Japan to the US I sent an original Xbox, an Xbox One, and a PS3. I wish I had just sold them all and bought new or used.
Why? One, I spent just as much on shipping them as it would to buy them again. I realize you are talking about brining in your luggage, but a PS5 is not small, and that space is going to be needed for clothes, gifts, and toiletries, extra deodorant, shoes, maybe some winter stuff, etc. If you end up shipping that stuff because you brought a PS5 that is just money you could put towards a new one. Sell it and bring the money.
Two, you are going to be busy your first few week to few months! There is a good chance you won’t have time to really play it. It will just sit there and when you look at it you will wish you had brought something else. By selling you can purchase a new one when you are ready.
Three, there is a chance your PS5 could break on the way. I’m sure you would pack it wisely, but things happen. Cash on the other hand is pretty hard to damage. Sell it and buy a new one that has a warranty and hasn’t been mishmashed through an airport/airplane. Also, that PS5 isn’t light.
Bonus four, you might get a pretty good deal! The yen is weak right now so your dollar will go further and there is a chance you will get points at whichever store or online retailer you buy it from. In other words, there is a chance you don’t lose any money, or possibly come out ahead. Bonus 4.5, peace of mind. For me, I’d be really worried about it breaking or getting stolen, etc.
Hope that helps!
Ninja edit: The PS5 is also not in short supply any longer. I ordered one from Amazon about two weeks ago and it arrived 2 days later. Note that this was a few days before FFXVI launched so people were buying PS5s. No worries about a shortage at this point.
I have been thinking about bringing my Xbox Series S with me, but I’m scared the school kids will laugh at me for not having a Playstation 😂
>but yesterday an AJET at the QnA session advised against it
Why?
I really don’t see why you wouldn’t want to bring one. There isn’t a region lock or anything.
>I was going to bring my usual game consoles (Switch, PS5, gaming laptop) with me to kind of ease that transition.
I’m not sure how video games would help you in any way transition into Japan.
Take it with you on the flight. It’s better to not ship computers where they will most likely be handled pretty roughly and could get lost. It’ll take up some room, but if you time the shipping of your clothing it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. I personally flew over with my PS4 and flew back with my PS5 while shipping the bulk of my clothing both times. I felt much better knowing that it’s protection was in my own hands.