Packing for a year abroad in Tokyo, need some advice!

11 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

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   **Packing for a year abroad in Tokyo, need some advice!**

   Hiya! I leave tomorrow for my year abroad in tokyo, i need some help with packing!!
   1. Do i need to bring a puffer jacket? I’ve noticed it doesn’t get too cold in the winters, so would a puffer jacket be a waste of space?
   2. Will my (UK) Dyson Airwrap actually not work? I use it everyday for my hair and it would really be a shame if i had to leave it behind. It says it wont work due to the voltage difference – is this actually try or just a precaution? If that is the case, does anyone recommend any similar tools that are sold in japan for a decent price?
   3. will my other electronics work? such as laptop chargers, hair straighteners, etc? (all UK bought)

   Any other packing tips and advice is greatly appreciated!!!

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2. >Will my (UK) Dyson Airwrap actually not work?

   Nothing with a motor or heating element will work. The UK uses 230v power, Japan uses 100v power.

   >If that is the case, does anyone recommend any similar tools that are sold in japan for a decent price?

   You could buy the exact same thing, just the Japanese version?

   >will my other electronics work?

   That depends. Generally speaking if it has a wall wart/power brick it should work. Anything that just plugs into the wall probably will not. Anything with a motor or a heating element definitely will not.

   Every modern electronic device has its input voltage(s) printed on it somewhere. For things like phone chargers and laptop power bricks it’s on the wall wart/brick. If it says something like “Input: 100-240v 50/60hz” it’s universal and it will be fine. If it says “Input: 230v” it won’t work.

3. (1) you could always buy one here
   (2) and (3) depends on each device. Japan operates on 100V, UK 230V. Look at the small printing on the device. If it says “Input: 100 ~ 240V” the device will work fine, else if “220 ~ 240V” or similar then it won’t work, leave it home and get a similar item here.

4. I would say it does get cold here in Tokyo ! Also depends where in Japan you will be.

5. >I’ve noticed it doesn’t get too cold in the winters

   The last 2 Tokyo winters were stupidly cold. Bring a jacket or buy one here if it will take up too much space.

6. Hey there! I’ll leave for Tokyo to study abroad there for five months in about two weeks, so I’m facing the “What to bring?” issue myself 😀

   I’m definitely bringing my own puffer jacket because I freeze quickly and I would rather sacrifice some space inside my suitcase than spend money on a new jacket. But that’s personal preference! What I’d recommend though, is to bring winter boots if you have a weird (big) shoe size. I’m female and wear a EU 40 or 41 and it would be a pain for me to find shoes in Japan.

   Another tip would be to bring a bit of medicine, like the standard ibuprofen or paracetamol. Many Europeans tend to get sick in their first few weeks of staying in Japan due to stress, the excessive use of air condition, and more but it’s not always worth seeing a doctor for a cold. You could get ibuprofen and paracetamol over the counter in Japan, but the dosages are usually much lower, for example the European standard ibuprofen is 400mg while in Japan most over the counter ibuprofen are only 150mg. So, I would rather sit out my cold with my medicine instead of having to figure out where to get what medicine and how much to take for it to equal the European dosage 🙂 You are allowed to bring a month’s worth of such standard medication without having to get a 輸入確認書 (yunyūkakuninsho) for it.

   I might be able to think of more, but that’s it for the moment!

7. It gets cold! Plus, you’ll be walking outside a lot and generally be more exposed to weather. I’d bring a warm coat and scarf for sure.

8. Just came back to UK from my year abroad!
   1. Bring it if you want, otherwise you can buy a pretty inexpensive down jacket from Uniqlo (folds up too) when the time comes for it, I brought mine around November/December time.
   2. No, it won’t. The voltage difference means things like straighteners/curlers/hair dryers won’t work. Your best bet is to get something from Don Quixote, I brought super cheap straightener the first time and it melted, so recommend going up a bit. My friends and I all quite liked the Salonia brand for inexpensive but durable hair styling equipment.
   3. Laptop/phone chargers work, just need an adapter, but again this is stuff you could buy from Don Quixote or Daiso for a few hundred yen, like buy a plug with several USB outlets for your phone etc.

   Other tips:
   1. Bring deodorant, toothpaste and sanitary products – the stuff in Japan is not nearly as effective, and the summer is pretty hot so I highly highly recommend bringing your own. Same goes for toothpaste. And it’s best to have sanitary products your comfortable and used to rather than have to experiment with new ones.
   2. Depending on shoe size, bring your own shoes. I’m size 5.5 UK, and was at the limit of Japan sizing, my friends with size 6+ really struggled/couldn’t find shoes in their size so keep this in mind.
   3. Most other things can be brought there, second hand clothes are in good condition and cheap, kitchen/living supplies can be pretty inexpensive, and depending on where you are going sometimes students that are moving out also leave a bunch of free stuff for the newcomers to have!

9. > I leave tomorrow for my year abroad in tokyo

   You working there?

   Edit: I ask just to make sure OP knows the visa-on-arrival is only for 90 days, I assume they know but it wasn’t clear from their post.

10. Take the puffer jacket. Tokyo is not too cold but the wind makes it feel colder in the winter! Its better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it!

11. Take the puffer jacket. Tokyo is not too cold but the wind makes it feel colder in the winter! Its better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it!