Coming to Japan - what not to forget

[mojojojo]

Hi guys n girls, im 10 days away from arriving at narita airport after getting a contract with NOVA (please dont hate me). im in the final process of getting my stuff together, packing and whatnot. i wondered if anyone had any advice on stuff not to forget to bring, ive got all the basics down but feel like im gonna miss something major that ill need to survive in nihon. any suggestions? also, ive read about the way japans a major gift giving society and wondered what to bring in the way of lots of gifts from my home country (england) to give to my neighbours, students etc.
cheers guys!

[Dutch Baka]

bring a dictionary :p ( buy the computer one) ... im going to japan to next year, and i will bring lotts of dutch postcards with me, and some dutch small clocks.

bring pictures from your familie with you, to show.

i dont know so much, havnt been in japan myself yet... :?

ganbatte with nova , hope you enjoy it

greetings dave

[PopCulturePooka]

Reagrding the gift thing.

I did the same. Took up quite a fair bit of my luggage with gifts actually. And never ever met my neighbours, or anyone likely to get those gifts. I ended up using some myself and taking some back home after two years.

Its not that I didn't want to meet my neighbours. Its that they never did anything to meet me or interact with me etc. I actually found this to be quite common with foreigners I spoke with. Most had never ever met their neighbours, nor had the gift giving gone on, and it wasn't for lack of trying by the foreigner. But then I'd read that the custom as a whole was dying in Japan.

I dunno, just dont get too carried away or you might be using a lot of luggage space for things you could use.

Reagrding giving gifts to students. Don't. Nova will get very suspicious about and its against the rules anyway. Maybe a few gifts for the branches Japanese staff. Maybe. But even then...

As for things from home. Toothpaste and if you use them, good quality toothbrushes (if you're fine with cheap and nasty stock standards don't worry). Deoderant. Condoms. Decent Aftershave. If you're into it and have the cash to afford it (maybe at duty free) mens cologne's like CK or Ralph Lauren stuff as its rather hard to come by in Japan. Smelling good and looking nicely groomed will instantly elevate you amongst a bit higher than pretyy much every salaryman and most foreigners you'll meet. Haha.

English language software if you intend on using a PC.

Oh yes. If you have shaved or cropped or buzz cut hair, try and pick up a pair of ahir clippers
http://www.beststuff.co.uk/images/wahl_premier_cut_clippers.jpg
That have international voltage conversion built in. They aren't common in Japan, hair dressers barely use them and you'll save a bundle of money in the long run.

[Mike Cash]

The hair clippers are readily available throughout Japan. Prices start at about 3,000 yen. I can't imagine where you must be shopping if you think these are hard to find.

[RockLee]

CondomsAmen to that..japanese condoms are worth s**t !!! :souka:

[mojojojo]

thanks for the help chaps, ill take your advice and calm down on the gift thing - maybe a few postcards or a few touristy keyrings at most. already been warned by numerous mates about the shoddy nature of jap condoms so that was already on my list!!
firsthousepookas post about the voltage conversion thing reminded me - im only bringing one electrical item with me - my mp3 player that has a rechargable battery from the mains plug. what kind of transformer will i need for this? where do i get one and are they expensive? would it be worth getting one for just this one item? actually scratch that last one, i cant live without rock!
cheers

[Harvey]

Don't forget to bring DEODERANT! About 4 months worth.

[PopCulturePooka]

The hair clippers are readily available throughout Japan. Prices start at about 3,000 yen. I can't imagine where you must be shopping if you think these are hard to find.
Really?
One guy told me he had trouble finding them.

Myself I had bigger troubles getting hair dressers to use them at Image A.

Jojo. Check your Mp3 players transformer that it uses for charging. If the voltage is 100 - 240 V then it should be fine anywhere in the world and all you need is a plug changer to change it to the standard Japanese plug type (I think you can find what they are on this site)

[Harvey]

Originally Posted by mikecash
The hair clippers are readily available throughout Japan. Prices start at about 3,000 yen. I can't imagine where you must be shopping if you think these are hard to find.

Really?
One guy told me he had trouble finding them.

I brought my clippers with me from the states too.

[PopCulturePooka]

Amen to that..japanese condoms are worth s**t !!! :souka:
Oh yeah! And you dont want to run out and have to call people back home to send you more.

[Mal]

Amen to that..japanese condoms are worth s**t !!!


Wish I had known about that before my first trip over there.

Evidently "OH **** IT BROKE!" is instantly recognizable in a variety of languages.

[PopCulturePooka]

Wish I had known about that before my first trip over there.

Evidently "OH **** IT BROKE!" is instantly recognizable in a variety of languages.
Threres also a few... sizing issues.

[Mal]

Threres also a few... sizing issues.


Why do you think it broke?

Addendum: I also have no farking clue what kind of material they make those cheap pieces of rubbish out of. American brand condoms you can stretch over your damn noggin if you wanted to.

Anyway, here are some helpful condom related tips for people who are interested (all based on personal experience).

1) If there is lube that needs to be applied, never, ever use an oil based one. It will disintigrate the cheap *** Japanese condom like it was made out of tissue paper.

2) Make sure that whatever condom you find isn't a Korean manufactured one. Chances are it'll be even narrower than the J-made one. This is based solely on my personal experience and I am not making any claims to the size of various nationalities manhoods - thank you very much.

3) There is such a thing as a "large size" Japanese condom. It's not really that much larger tho, so if you have a certified trouser snake you're still not going to be happy.

4) www.fbcusa.com - I love this site. Their selection kind of stinks, but you can American sized condoms there as well as other toiletrys. One big downside - It will take about a month to get to you. If you poke around there are actually a few mail order sites that pretty much just specalize in this kind of stuff.

5) Various friends of mine have reported to me that they have sighted American brand contraceptives in varous places around the country. To date I haven't recieved a report on the contents of the packages - i.e. are they actually American products, or Japanese products branded under the American companys name. Also my friends could be completely full of ****. If anyone happens to see and can investigate, please let us know :D

[budd]

isbn
0-312-32007-8
1-56691-672-0