What to Bring to Japan

Will be be planning your trip to Japan soon? I know I will be! I'll be writing another post soon on how to plan a trip to Japan, but first I'd like to mention some things you should take to Japan. These are items that are obvious and then items that I learned I needed from experience.

Yen, Debit Card, Passport

These are your obvious items to bring. Just in case it's not obvious to some I'll explain in detail and give tips. Yen is the currency of Japan. I recommend getting $500 dollars worth of Japanese yen to go over with. Here's where the debit card comes into play. When you finally get to Japan, to go a convenience store like a 7/11 and take out more yen with your debit card as you see fit. Remember to also call your bank and let them know you'll be going out the country so they won't stop your card. If you can't get cash out then you'll have a big problem on your hands because Japan is still a cash based country even though some places do take credit cards now. And finally your passport. If you have an existing passport make sure in advance that it is not expiring soon. If you don't even have a passport you will be needing one. You can obtain a passport through the post office. Once you have filled out all the paperwork they'll mail you your passport in about 6 to 8 weeks, so don't wait last minute for this!

I've only got coin yen (1, 10, and 50 yen) on me.

Your Own Pillow

This sounds silly but it's really good advice. especially for those who are sensitive sleepers. Not all, but many hotels I stayed at in Japan had pillows with beans inside them. I don't know about everyone else but I can't sleep on bean pillows. They're just not comfortable in my opinion and it makes me lose sleep. I suggest bringing your own pillow so you won't have to worry about losing sleep. We want to make sure you have enough energy to explore Japan!

Medication

Another obvious item but it needs to be mentioned. If you are on any medication prescribed by your doctor please bring it with you. A hospital visit in a different country with a different language doesn't sound ideal. Not only prescribed medicines, but bring everyday medicines just in case. What happens if you get heartburn, a fever, sore throat, or an allergic reaction? You need to consider bringing other medicines for these circumstances. And if you think that you'll be able to get medicine from a store in Japan you may be facing a bigger problem. If your Japanese isn't good to where you don't know Kanji, then you won't be able to buy medicine because you won't be able to understand what the containers are saying. Make it easier on yourself by bringing your own medicine. But make sure the medicine is allowed in Japan because Japan has strict laws in drugs.

English to Japanese Dictionary

This item is for those unfamiliar with Japanese. Now, you can always just speak English the whole time and it might work out for you depending on what parts of Japan you'll be visiting. But for those actually wanting to make the effort should have a dictionary on hand. You will most likely want to say something to someone. You'll know what you want to say but not the Japanese word for it. An English to Japanese dictionary will help you. You'll look up what you want to say and it'll have it's Japanese meaning. Even if you don't know how to speak in full sentences just saying a word will get your point across.

Maps

Now when I say maps, I'm not talking about those boring maps you see of the country that just has a bunch a lines and arrows. I mean maps that are detailed and have pictures of landmarks. I don't know about you but I'm the kind of person that gets around by using landmarks, not street names. Using a map that shows where all the landmarks are in the city is very helpful. I usually use the city's bus map to do this and then I get double use out of it. Bus maps are super easy to read than those maps in guide books.

Comfortable Shoes

I can't stress this one enough. Bring comfortable shoes to walk in! You will be walking a lot while in Japan. Yes, you can use public transportation but you will still be doing a lot of walking if you plan to do some shopping, visit temples, or climbing mountains. As cute as boots, heels, and flats are they are not reliable. Tennis shoes are the way to go. You'll thank me later.

Clothes

This also seems obvious but you may think because you're going in the summer you won't need sweaters but I'm here to tell you that you will, and here's why. Some parts of Japan has crazy weather. The sun could be blazing one minute and in the next it could be raining. Not only that, but if it's hot outside stores may blast their air conditioning, making it freezing cold. The key to dressing in Japan is to dress in layers.

Toiletries

Bring your own toiletries that you love and are used to because they most likely won't be in Japan. That means pack your shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, and anything else you can think of. Definitely bring deodorant because Japan is a big fan of the spray and roll on types. 

Nintendo 3DS

This is for my fellow geeks out there. Bring your Nintendo 3DS with you! If you bring it to Japan you'll be getting a ton of regions in Japan completed for your streetpass maps. It's super fun to see all the people you'll pass on the streets with your 3DS. My friends and I call them "green people." This is because when you have people at your streetpass plaza waiting for you your 3DS lights up green. So have fun collecting your green people!

And that's everything I recommend you bring for your trip to Japan. I hope I helped in making your trip easier for you. You'll be hear from me soon on here but until then you can check me out on my social media pages.

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What to Buy at the Asian Market

A few posts ago I wrote about Japanese Markets in America. It got a ton of attention and was received well with all of you. If you haven't seen it yet, here it is: http://japantherapyneworleans.blogspot.com/2015/11/japanese-market-in-america.html.

After this post I got a few messages about what to buy at these Japanese Asian Markets. My first thought was you can just buy whatever it is that you like, but then I realized that the people who asked were people unfamiliar with Japanese food and never went to an Asian Market before. Now, I'm here to give you my personal shopping list when I go to the Asian Market. Keep in mind that I am not the cook in the household, my husband is. So a lot of my stuff are snacks and easy fixes.

Here we go!

Snacks and Candy

So I'm going to be generalizing this one. There are so many snacks and candies to choose from and they're all really good. You really can't go wrong with any of them. In the picture is Pocky and Pretz. Pretty much anything made by Glico and Meiji will be delicious. My favorite Japanese candy is Apollo Chocolate. It's a mix of chocolate and strawberry flavor. 

Swiss Roll Cakes

These cakes are so good! I love them. I remember finding them in Japan when I studied abroad so when I found them here in America I was ecstatic. These little cakes are great in the mornings with a cup of milk. They come in various flavors but my favorites are the creme and strawberry flavor.

(If you couldn't tell already, I love strawberry flavor).

Dorayaki

This is for those who are more adventurous. Dorayaki are traditional Japanese snacks. It's a pastry with red bean paste inside. Think of it as red bean paste in between two small pancakes. If you're into traditional sweets and are okay with red bean paste then you should like these.

Ramen

I know many of you are familiar with cup noodle or other variations of it that is referred to as ramen, but this is a better quality of ramen. Think of it as a ramen kit. In this bag you get broth and noodles, everything else you'll have to buy separately. My husband buys these when we want to have a ramen night for dinner. This packet serves both of us. We love the Tonkotsu flavor which is pork. We add in pork tenderloin, green onion, bamboo shoots, and bean sprouts. It taste great. I hope you give this a try because it definitely beats those cup ramen brands.

Drinks

Another one I'm generalizing for is drinks. You really can't go wrong here either because they're all great drinks. I personally love the melon soda the best. Ramune is always fun to have on occasion though. There will always be green tea available if you are a green tea fan and not into the carbonated drinks. And then there's Calpis (Calpico). I'm still not sure of this drink. It has a milky texture and kind of like a yogurt flavor. I don't think it's something I would buy for myself but I'd drink it if someone bought it for me.

Mochi Ice Cream

Mochi Ice Cream is amazing! They come in many flavors and are a great bedtime snack. Everyone should already know what ice cream is but for those of you who may not know what mochi is it's like a gummy rice. It's really good, but if you don't like gummy texture you might want to try this with caution. My personal favorites are the strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate chip flavors. Other flavors are coffee, mango, red bean, and chocolate.

Rice

Now I'm getting more into the cooking aspect of shopping. This is the brand of rice we like to buy. It's called Nishiki. It's really good. We use this rice when we have teriyaki burgers, curry, or gyudon (beef bowl) for dinner. We cook the rice with our Japanese rice cooker that we also bought from our local Asian market. This rice is like candy, that's how good it is.

Curry

There are many brands for curry but we buy the Golden Curry brand ( you can get this brand at a grocery store). It's great and easy to make. Curry is a fast and easy dinner in Japan. It is one of the most common dinners to make. When in Japan, I like to go to Kokoichi but this does the job when I'm not in Japan. Here's the YouTube video by Japan vlogger Micaela, that my husband uses, on how to make curry.

Miso Soup

I love a really good miso soup. I'm still kind of on the search for a really good one. So far I can only get really good ones at two local restaurants. There are two kinds of miso: red and white. I prefer the taste of the white miso over the red because the white isn't as fishy tasting, if that makes sense. The brands in the picture are pretty good though. Some brands may require you to buy your own seaweed and tofu so check the bag.

And that's what I buy when I go to a Japanese Asian Market. I hope this helps in your ventures at your local Asian market. Like I said, I'm not the cook in the house so there weren't many cooking related items on this list. If you could tell, I'm more of a snacking kind of person. Let me know what you like to buy from the market or what you think I should try.

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