Flight and luggage information

April 18, 2007

Depending on your country, you’re most likely to go to Japan by plane. Each travel company has a weight limit for luggage and hand luggage [for Lufthansa Airlines, for instance, the limit is 20 kilos for the main luggage and 8 kilos for the hand luggage; check the website of the company you’re traveling with for more detailed and up-to-date information]. Therefore, it is very important for you to know precisely what you should or shouldn’t take. Some stuff can be bought cheaply and from almost anywhere; other stuff is quite hard to find.

THINGS YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY TAKE WITH YOU ~

Plug adapters

Japanese plugs are different from European and American ones, both in shape and in voltage input. Be sure to bring a variety of adapters for your laptop computer, camera charging cord etc. It’s advisable to go to an electronics shop and ask for an adapter for Japanese plugs; they’ll be sure to help you. You can also buy adapters from here [usually from the convenience store near the cafeteria], but if they’re out of stock or they don’t have the type you need, things could get troublesome.

Hint: Laptop cords usually need an SE type adapter, while camera charging cords, hairdryer cords use either an A or C type adapter. Be sure to test the adapter you buy before coming to Japan and change it at the shop or buy a different one if it doesn’t match. Alternatively, you could buy such an adapter on the Internet.

Medicine

Needless to say, the medicines in Japan are radically different from those in Europe or in any other part of the world. When you come here, it’s advisable to bring painkillers, cold medicine, stress-relievers [you may suffer from time lags, homesickness or whatever ~ don’t buy really strong ones though, you’ll turn into a vegetable], as well as medicine for any kind of particular affection that you suffer of [heart diseases, asthma etc.] Later on, you can consult with a doctor who can prescribe you the appropriate equivalent medicine in Japan.

Thick clothes

A thick jacket, some sweaters, a scarf etc. are mandatory if you will be studying at Oosaka Gaidai. The weather can change three or four times a day, and in the first month of your stay [April] it can get very cold. Don’t take too many clothes with you though, as you can purchase more once you get here.

Money

The first scholarship is given around the end of April, so it’s advisable to have at least $1000 with you when you arrive. It’s advisable to exchange the money into Japanese yen in your own country, as there aren’t too many places around the university where you can do so. Alternatively, you can apply for a Visa Classic or Visa Electron debit card – and it’s good to know that the only ATMs from where you can withdraw money [in Japanese yen, regardless of the currency that your bank account is in] are the postal service ones [the Japanese postal service also fulfills basic banking roles].
“But why the heck do I need that much money for?” you may ask. Well, these $1000 are enough to cover the basic expenses of your first month here: food, drinks, necessary books, cigarettes [if you’re a smoker], as well as an electronic Japanese language dictionary [which is a must for Japanese language students – you can find plenty of them even at the university convenience store], a laptop [everyone here gets one sooner or later] and other such items. It’s also advisable to buy a bicycle, as most students [and even some of the teachers] use bicycles a lot and it’s a cheap, fast and healthy way to get anywhere.

THINGS YOU SHOULDN’T NECESSARILY BRING ~

Books, notebooks etc.

You’ll find plenty of Japanese language books at the Oosaka Gaidai bookshop [and I’m sure other universities have this kind of books as well], and you can also copy or borrow such books [dictionaries, grammar, kanji etc.] from the library. A simple conversation guide will do; you can always buy the rest later on. As for notebooks, ball pens, pencils and so on, you can find them really cheap at the campus convenience store.

Too many clothes

Japanese fashion is quite different from the rest of the world, and so you’re bound to stand out even if you wear the most sophisticated or expensive clothes from your home country. It’s best to wait and buy the clothes you need here; some shops [like UNI-QLO] offer really good deals, and you can also refer to second-hand shops.

Flight and luggage