Hey everyone, moving to Japan in a week and i wanted to ask! What are some things you guys regret not bringing from home? I’ve heard things like deodorant but what other things?
by Sea_Minute9840
Hey everyone, moving to Japan in a week and i wanted to ask! What are some things you guys regret not bringing from home? I’ve heard things like deodorant but what other things?
by Sea_Minute9840
22 comments
Where are you from
What do you like etc
All the important information missing
I recommend you bring sand from the Gold Coast, a pyramid from Egypt and seven bags of snails from New York
My RV
When I first moved here I didn’t bring all of the documents I should have. So I definitely recommend that. Otherwise, you can get pretty much everything. It just might cost a lot.
Whimsy.
Nothing because everything I need I can get in Japan or find a reasonable substitute. All my clothes and electronics have been replaced, the cooking and baking stuff I did bring will last decades, my hobby stuff is from Japan anyways. No reason to bring anything perishable.
MEDICINE AND DEODORANT.
No Pepto bismal, the regular Tylenol/advil here id equate to back home baby aspirin, the cough drops/cough medicine is more like candy (no numbing agent or actual medicine in them, just menthol and mint), as a woman: yeast infection or UTI creams or treatments for a just in case, and so on.
Medicine is controlled a lot more strictly here so unless you want to go sit at a clinic all day for a prescription, and even then the medicine you get here is so weak compared to what I was used to that it felt like it barely did anything. Pain relief here seems to be almost nonexistent unless you are dying (I’m being facetious obviously but it’s how it seems sometimes :p ).
Whenever a friend comes down or I go back home I always bring an entire pharmacy back and stockpile.
Also deodorant. You can get it here (almost only online unless you live near a specialty shop or you’re just lucky with your local drugstore) but it’s really expensive. Like, 1400円 for a tiny little half size one that barely lasts a month. I didn’t realize my deodorant budget was going to be on par with my Netflix and Spotify subscription like a new monthly bill 😂
Anyways. Medicine (try to think of even things that maybe rarely happen to you like sore throat spray or nasal spray for really bad colds, because trust me, when it hits that once a year or once every two years you’re going to be sooooo glad you have relief in house), and deodorant.
Everything else I have slowly adapted to (:
If you’re married, bring a valid copy of your wedding certificate.
Good table knives. I KNOW they use hashi for the most unbelievable eating experience, but their knives suck for cutting bread or even meat.
A friend told me about it when I moved here, and I didn’t care about it, but now, after living here for almost three years, I really want some good table knives.
I sort of regret not bringing everything we left behind in a storage locker (mostly old books, sentimental things).
Not because we NEED them or can’t get them in Japan, but because now we’re stuck with a storage locker in our home country and after you’ve been in Japan for 6 months you can’t bring it as “unaccompanied baggage” anymore. So I possibly have to pay import tax on all of it.
We didn’t bring it all over at the start because we didn’t know how long we’d stay, how big our place would be, etc. So probably the right decision, but yeah, I kinda wish we just either got rid of more stuff or brought more stuff over.
My recommendation then is to try to bring all of your worldly belongings with you if you can. And of course, to reduce those things before moving (since most won’t be that useful to you in Japan, or will cost more to move it than to buy it again).
ADVIL!!!
if you workout, good gym supplements, but iherb sells it
May or may not apply, but if you have a period and you prefer tampons, bring a bunch with you. There are only one or two varieties available at drugstores here and the applicators aren’t on par with what’s available in the US/Europe.
My cat, hopefully I’ll be able to bring her next year
I ended up regretting not getting an international driver’s license. I was told converting my license would be a one week tops ordeal with the option to do it same day if you just arrive early enough at certain driver’s license centers. And while that’s not incorrect per se, that’s only true if you live in Tokyo. I live in Fukui and it ended up taking me 5 months to get it just because my prefecture wants to cunduct an interview even though there’s technically no such requirement for converting my license, and while the interview was easy and they were very accomodating with my garbage Japanese skills, I had to wait for them to have the time to conduct it.
Also bring toothpaste. And bras if you are female with curves. Finding clothes as a curvy person is hard in the EU, it’s even harder in Japan. They have so many cute clothes, that only comes in “free size”.
Frangers
Cosmetics in my skin tone. Strong painkillers.
Medicine, deo and if you’re female: take a stash of your preferred female hygiene products along.
Meds, favorite snacks and mostly comfort items from home.
Lifetime supply of Reese’s peanut butter cups
As a Brit, bring a LOAD of your preferred tea bags!😆 I’m buying out a Tesco’s worth of Yorkshire tea for next time I go for a long stay🫡
Tums. Nothing here compares to a western extra strength tums.
Cheese curds. I miss poutine 😭 Granted, you can’t bring dairy in from another country but … I still wish I could lol.
I did bring big costco bottles of Tylenol and Tums, Deodorant and toothpaste. Even some mac and cheese and protein powder. Also brought a few comfort items that seem silly when packing but I’m so glad i brought them.
I did this because I read threads like this and it help better prepare me 😊