This is an odd questiuon so sorry in advance. Luggage, what type did people bring to Japan, how didi you pack, and is there any advice you current JET's wish you had known about it?
The people before me said that I shouldn't worry hugely about the weight limit, as long as I was ballpark the check in desk was going to be fine with it because they were just focused on getting us checked in and through (this was in the UK Heathrow departure btw, we had two check in desks just open for us, it was kind of chaotic). JET had made suck a huge deal about how if our luggage was even the tiniest bit over we'd be selling our kidneys to afford the charges or have to throw stuff away etc, that I didn't believe the other JETs, even when group A peeps said the same (I was group B), so worked really hard to cut mine down and completely didn't need to. I wish I had just chilled out.
Americans can take two checked bags. 50lbs each and then there's an extra fee to go up to 70lbs. I packed my biggest suitcase to the max because after arriving in Narita, the JET genki crew took it from me. My 2nd checked bag was closer to 50 just because that was the bag I needed to take to Tokyo with me and didn't want to have a huge bag in the hotel. I also had my laptop bag and a bigger duffle-like bag as carry-ons.
*Luggage - 2 of the biggest suitcases, filled to the weight limit. *I would have brought fewer outfits for work and more casual clothes. *The cheapest, smallest, lightest omiyage possible (if any at all). *Don't need to bring any toiletries, aside from a travel kit. Save the luggage space and just buy them when you arrive.
Really? Deodorant that works for mah stink and toothpaste that cleans mah teeth are two things I can VERY rarely find. Also as a woman makeup is a necessity at times and it's quite expensive here. Lotions/creams will often have whitening in them and if you can't understand/speak/read Japanese it's best to bring your own. Soaps, shampoos and the like are no problem as far as I know for the ladies. Maybe men have it easier on the other stuff, too?
I once was quite particular about the products I used. I found that I can work with the Japanese stuff these days.
For example: Deodorant - Gatsby Powder something Toothpaste - Aquafresh (although admittedly I do have a tube of Colgate that I had a hankering for) Toothbrush - GUM brand, umm... regular strength bristles Facial moisturizer - Nivea Mens Q10 something Lotion - Nivea Skin Milk Shampoo & conditioner - Lux Super Rich Body Soap - Biore something
Yeah, I don't have a clue about what the make-up equivalents are like.
Yeah, I have no problem with soap and whatnot, but I have stuck with using American toothpaste and deodorant.
Personally, I don't often wear makeup, but I've noticed it IS insanely expensive in Japan, so I would suggest bringing that along if there's something you can't live without. For stuff like eyeliner and lipgloss you can get that fairly cheap at Muji if you don't care about brand names.
Also, don't waste space bringing things like towels or things like that. Just bring the bare essentials for when you arrive, and you should think about preparing some winter boxes in advance to have someone ship to you in the fall. That way you won't weigh your suitcases down with a heavy coat when you won't use it right away.
Yeah, I brought one ginormous suitcase (which I couldn't even fill because of the weight limits), one smaller suitcase (packed to the gills), one large backpack, and my laptop case. I also shipped over a box of books using the special m-bag (books only) rate, and I definitely recommend doing that if you're planning on bringing more than two books with you. It took about two months for the box to make it to my apartment in Japan, but I didn't really need it before that, and if you plan in advance you can send it off a month or so before you leave (rather than the day before, as I did). You might also consider sending winter clothes by post because you definitely won't need them right when you arrive and they take up a lot of suitcase space
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Just at the post office. They have a special rate for shipments that contain only books. Ask for an "m-bag". Of course, if you're sending from the US, it may be more expensive now than it was three years ago since they've gotten rid of sea mail. In fact, I'm looking at the USPS website now, and I'm starting to think m-bags may not be such a great option after all if you still have to send it by airmail. If you're not sending a huge volume of books, maybe you could try to fit them into one of the flat-rate boxes?
OK, to start - DO NOT overpack your bag. My first flight was delayed cause a bunch of idiots acted like they would never again see a store and had bags that weighed like 70 pounds each. So, our plane was too heavy to take off. They had to change our arrival gate to the gate next to our next flight because the it had to be held for like 40 minutes for us. Oh, and guess what? Because of that, a lot of people's luggage was delayed by like 2-3 days cause it got lost. Stick to the weight limit. I had a 45 pounds bag and a 49 pound bag and a 40 pound carryon and a laptop case. That was plenty. No need to be ridiculous about it
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*I would have brought fewer outfits for work and more casual clothes.
*The cheapest, smallest, lightest omiyage possible (if any at all).
*Don't need to bring any toiletries, aside from a travel kit. Save the luggage space and just buy them when you arrive.
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For example:
Deodorant - Gatsby Powder something
Toothpaste - Aquafresh (although admittedly I do have a tube of Colgate that I had a hankering for)
Toothbrush - GUM brand, umm... regular strength bristles
Facial moisturizer - Nivea Mens Q10 something
Lotion - Nivea Skin Milk
Shampoo & conditioner - Lux Super Rich
Body Soap - Biore something
Yeah, I don't have a clue about what the make-up equivalents are like.
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Personally, I don't often wear makeup, but I've noticed it IS insanely expensive in Japan, so I would suggest bringing that along if there's something you can't live without. For stuff like eyeliner and lipgloss you can get that fairly cheap at Muji if you don't care about brand names.
Also, don't waste space bringing things like towels or things like that. Just bring the bare essentials for when you arrive, and you should think about preparing some winter boxes in advance to have someone ship to you in the fall. That way you won't weigh your suitcases down with a heavy coat when you won't use it right away.
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Here's the page of information for shipping prices to Japan, by the way: http://pe.usps.gov/text/imm/il_010.htm#ep1628203
Also, my apologies if you're not an American, as most of that information is US-specific (although I'm pretty sure m-bags exist in most countries).
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