Buying a laptop in japan OR before I leave

I need a new laptop and I’m debating on waiting until I am in japan or getting one in my country before I leave (canada).

My partner says that Japan will have good tech that I wouldn’t be able to get access to here so it may be interesting to wait and buy there, I am thinking if I go that route I will just get some stickers for the keys since they’ll be in japanese.

But honestly I do not know much about computers and I’m not sure if it would be more pricy to buy here or to buy there, plus I don’t know exactly what to look for so it might make shopping in my non native language tricky. Has anyone gone the route of buying a laptop in Japan or have an opinion on whether it would it be easier to buy one here and take it with?

25 comments
  1. The Japanese and Canadian keyboard layout is different.

    Not so different, but for me, it was annoying enough for me to want to bring a laptop from home instead of buy one in Japan.

    Depending on your school, you may have to use a Japanese keyboard there, but your time may or may not be limited to classroom usage.

    I’d advise you to Google pictures of the two layouts and compare them.

    As always with the JET Programme, YMMV and ESID.

  2. Get it in Canada. It will be much much easier for you to find a good deal when looking on websites that you are more accustomed to as opposed to trying to navigate a Japanese website. Most of the computers in the tech stores are also nothing special. The internal components are almost exactly the same; same specs, same manufacturer, similar price (if not higher in Japan). The only thing that will be different is the brand logo on the outside. I also found that the brands that are for sale in the major stores feel much cheaper than the price would suggest.

    As many have also pointed out, the keyboard layout will be different. I can still type Japanese perfectly well with my current keyboard, so it doesn’t really have any benefits. You will also have to worry about all your settings defaulting to Japanese. Even if you are good at Japanese this will still become annoying after the first couple weeks.

    Edit: A minor extra is that having a slightly different computer than the “normal” ones your students are used to will be an interesting topic to bring up when outside of classes. I showed students the English keyboards and they would bring their computers over to see how different they were. It’s a little difference that most don’t think about when learning a new language.

  3. Japan is not so tech crazy that you can get stuff only here. It’s not 1987. That said, get it at home.

  4. Easier to buy in Canada and Japan has about the same tech as in the west. It’s not gonna be any cheaper out here and as said in other posts the keyboard layout is different as well as you’ll have to change a bunch of language settings on initial start up. It’s worth it to just get it back home.

  5. Warranty is the main concern. It will be easier to get it serviced in the country you bought it.

    Others have mentioned the keyboard layout is different. This bothers some people. I think you get used to it quick. But nothing is stoping you from going into the settings and changing it to a standard English keyboard.

  6. If you want a tiny ass backspace key and space bar, go with a Japanese laptop. Otherwise, just get a laptop in Canada and change the language and keyboard settings for Japanese where necessary.

  7. The laptops you can get in Japan are the same laptops you can get in Canada. A con for Japanese laptops is that the keyboard layout is different, so typing from muscle memory would lead to a fair amount of mistakes. The only pro I would see with buying tech in Japan is the current exchange rate, I recently bought an iPad and when I converted it over to CAD it was cheaper than the Canadian price. I don’t know how the exchange will be when you arrive though. Also if you plan to buy from Apple teachers get an education discount.

  8. “My partner says that Japan will have good tech that I wouldn’t be able to get access to here so it may be interesting to wait and buy there, I am thinking if I go that route I will just get some stickers for the keys since they’ll be in Japanese.”

    Good tech? Questionable.

    You won’t need the stickers, though. Some keys are in different places, but they’re all labeled in English.

  9. Laptops here are pretty expensive, even really shitty ones. Definitely buy a laptop in Canada. The “Japan as a hub of technology” is definitely an outdated image and a holdover from the 80s and 90s. Computer literacy levels are actually pretty low here

  10. I bought a mac book before my time. Had to get all sorts of extra attachments to make it work / connect everywhere. Even had to use hardwired internet chords.

    Do not recommend buying a mac for the job – I use it plenty for my job home now though so it wasn’t a total loss but it was a pain

  11. It’s gonna be a lot cheaper outside of Japan. Contrary to intuitive thought, electronics are super overpriced here, especially TVs (but also computer parts). This is at least partially because Japan has banned importing tech goods from Korea, so they have a bit of a local monopoly going on. I personally brought my desktop over and then paid to have my monitors shipped over later, because it was actually the cheapest option for me.

  12. I would buy it in Canada. When I was looking into getting a hardy laptop for gaming and art, I honestly couldn’t find anything comparable in Japan within the same price range as America. Both online and in person, the Japanese laptops were just very expensive for some lackluster specs.

    (also yes the keyboard is so annoying. Looking for where the dash mark is, having 2 or 4 options on one key and no idea how to get the ones that don’t use shift, can’t show off my typing skills with a Japanese keyboard)

  13. my advice is **do not buy any tech in Japan that you can get elsewhere**. tech here is so SO much more expensive. The only advantage is that you’ll know for sure you have the right electrical plug but you can always use an adapter.

  14. You can easily get a laptop with the same specs in Canada as you could in Japan. And tbh, it would be cheaper to just get it in Canada. Also note, you can find a laptop without a Japanese keyboard in Japan but they tend to be more expensive. Adapting to a Japanese keyboard isn’t hard but if you don’t have to, then don’t.
    All in all, it’s easier and cheaper to just get it in Canada.

  15. There are some pieces of tech that Japan still does really well (gaming consoles, cameras, etc.), but generally, if you want a good laptop, especially for gaming, it won’t be Japanese. Decent Japanese manufacturers are out there (I have heard good things about Mouse, for instance), but there’s plenty of other brands from around the world that are just as good and better. You’ll also likely pay more in Japan for a high spec laptop than you will in Canada (the yen is incredibly weak and laptops are imported).

    That said, if you want a basic machine to watch YouTube, surf the net, work with Word and Excel, and maybe play like, Candy Crush every now and then, and you don’t mind the odd keyboard layout (maybe you’ll be writing a lot of stuff in Japanese at your next gig) then it’s probably fine to buy a decent low to mid-range Fujitsu or Mouse brand laptop here.

  16. I actually ordered a Razor laptop from the US, and had a friend ship it to me here in Japan for the sole purpose of avoiding a Japanese keyboard layout.

  17. I got my laptop just before I left my country and only ever had one problem. I couldn’t use eTax because my chrome preferred language wasn’t set to Japanese, but that’s a problem you will have even if you buy the laptop here and set your preferred language to English.
    And if you ever need Japanese keyboard you can buy a keyboard in Japan.

    What you however should do is buy your phone in Japan. IPhone might be the exception but phones in Japan will have the FeliCa chip enabling the use of osaifu-keitai and using your phone as a commuter pass. Not to mention logging into my number card services. This is possible with dongle IC chip readers for your hard work laptop too, don’t think laptops here usually have IC readers but they might.

  18. Any tech you’re buying in Japan that wasn’t made here will be more expensive and a year or two behind the latest stuff. Definitely buy before you come!

  19. If you’re in a high-sales-tax (GST+PST or HST over 10%) province, you’ll find some laptops to be cheaper in Japan depending on brand.

    As an example, the HP Elitebook 650 with 12th gen Core i5, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, integrated graphics, and 1080p LCD screen on each country’s respective HP Online Store:

    Japan: 147400 yen tax-in

    Canada: 1679 CAD without tax (= roughly 189000 yen)

    Granted, this is because HP is one of a few manufacturers that has a facility in Japan. If your maker of choice does, it may be worth buying here, shop around to find out.

    Also, if you want physical durability, can’t beat a used Panasonic laptop from a secondhand store here in Japan.

  20. Japan is incredibly BAD for technology. Your partner’s information is outdated.

    Japanese electronics stores will have stock of laptops from like 2010 that they try to pass off as new and sell for $1,000.

    Keys are in english, but the layout is Japanese.

    ​

    Tech is generally cheaper outside of Japan.

  21. As someone who tried using a Japanese laptop the first 6 months, I really recommend getting one from Canada… its so much simpler, and usually when you make big long-term purchases and you don’t speak much Japanese, you’ll have to cart someone around with you to help translate. If you do ending up buying it in Canada though, be aware of getting an international adaptor, or at least checking what plug the laptop cable is.

  22. So, different take.

    Depending on who you buy with, this could be a problem if you buy it in Canada. For instance, with Lenovo, Japan is not party to their international warranty service. So, any laptop not from Japan, CANNOT be covered by an international warranty.

    Meaning if you have any issues, you have to ship it to a IWS country and then get someone else to ship it back to you.

    Just something to consider.

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