As you can probably imagine, you won't have any problems with your daily supplies shopping in a big city such as Tokyo. However, as for clothing, since Japan experiences 4 very distinct seasons, be sure to bring adequate clothes for both cold winters and hot summers. Also, especially Americans and Europeans may have difficulties finding clothes and shoes in their size, so please keep this in mind.
Women are advised to bring a sufficient amount of underwear and stockings. Furthermore, medicine in Japan, despite being more expensive, is actually weaker and produced at lower dosages, so it helps if you prepare your own supply before entering Japan.
The same goes for families with children. Some of the brands you are used to may not be available in Japan, so once again, please keep this in mind and make the appropriate preparations. There are some items which are not available outside of Tokyo. If you have any concerns on what you should take with you or what you will be able to purchase in Japan, just contact us and we will be happy to assist.
Voltage in Japan is set to 100V, which means that any foreign electrical appliances that do not support multi-voltage use cannot be used in Japan. In some cases using a transformer solves this problem, although it can be cheaper to simply buy a new Japanese product.
Japanese televisions run on an NTSC system and satellite receivers also differ from those abroad. Therefore, unless yours is a multi-system TV, you will not be able to use it in Japan. The same is true for DVDs or VTRs. Since you may not be able to watch or record DVDs which you have brought from back home on Japanese TVs, you will either have to bring your own TV, or purchase a new overseas model TV at a tax free store in Japan.
The chart below outlines some of the basic broadcasting system differences.
| System | NTSC | PAL | SECAM |
| Country of use | USA | Germany | France |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | UK | Saudi Arabia | |
| Japan | Netherlands | Other Middle Eastern countries |
|
| Korea | Denmark | Russia | |
| Taiwan | Other EU countries | Cuba | |
| Mexico | Australia | Eastern Europe | |
| Philippines | New Zealand | ||
| China (incl. Hong Kong) | |||
| Thailand |
As of July 24. 2011 all terrestrial broadcasting in Japan will become digital. For more information on this, please refer to the website of The Association for Promotion of Digital Broadcasting:
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