I’m going on my first trip to Japan in a few days. I’ll be taking along several electronic devices that will need to be charged while I am there. The charging thingies (being American thingies) are set up to work with 120v 60hz current.
Now Japan has 100-110v and 50 or 60hz current but the same flat, dual-pronged plugs as we have in the USA. I’ve heard conflicting advice on whether I can consider Japanese juice to be effectively the same as USA juice. I am sure there must be some differences, but the question is: do these differences matter? Can I charge my USA things in Japan or will it hurt my gear or cause a blackout in the entire nation of Japan? (Kidding about the blackout, of course).
Also-- I’ve searched and found a few threads discussing things people should and should not do when they visit Japan, but if anyone (particularly Japanese or expats living there) wants to throw in some advice, please jump right in!
I had no problems running my American electric devices in Japan, except for the minor matter of an old electric clock. Said clock ran a tad slow owing, I presume, to the differences in cycles per second.
Another positive note is that the electric devices (a refrigerator and a stereo, among others) I purchased in Japan worked with no problems–not even the clock on the stereo was out of whack–when I used them in the US.
I spent five and a half years stationed in a nice town near Tokyo. I’d be happy to give you some hints on what to do and not do. What kind of things are you interested in (so I can give you some on point guides)?
Just got back from Osaka – which is the 60 hz part of the country. I had absolutely no problem with electrical or electronic equipment, and my daughter, who was a student there, had no problems the entire year she spent there.
The only problem is that 2-prong non-polarized outlets are still common in older Japanese buildings. If any of your charging thingies has a grounded plug (3 prongs) or a polarized 2-prong plug (one prong wider than the other), you might need an adapter.
Here’s some info on taking appliances overseas, etc. It can be kind of tricky, some motor-type appliances will be okay, others will burn out or not run. If you using battery powered things and charging the batteries sep., you should be okay. Charging while using the device might be a problem.
Thanks to everyone for their help. I suppose I’ll just use the Japanese outlets like I would American ones.
Monty, I am not totally sure what I will be doing. I have a bit of an odd approach when I travel overseas. I never really plan on visiting any attractions or tourist sites; instead it is normally my intention to go to the country and simply live there for a week or so.
And my visit is complicated a bit by the fact that I am something of a picky eater. In Japan my Diet (pun intended) will get in the way mostly with my dislike of seafood, mushrooms and eggs. Beyond those however, I hope to be able to try all kinds of different things.
Now I will be on a bit of a budget, so advice on finding cheap “businessman hotels” once I’m there (I have booked a hotel only for the first 3 days) is appreciated as well as how I can find grocery stores that stock “western” items such as cheese and bread.
Anything with a rectifier should work. It converts the AC to DC so the frequency doesn’t matter anyway. Most electronic appliances have rectifiers. An AC motor will run slower than usual. I can’t think of anything that would actually fry or not do anything at all.
Well, the Japanese national legislature isn’t actually called diet anyway. That’s just one English translation of the Japanese word for it.
You shouldn’t have any problems getting fed. There’s quite the variety of restaurants there, even cheap ones.
I’ve stayed at a capsule hotel and it’s very reasonable. Instead of $100 a night, it was $30 a night (this was in 1995 and 1996). The only hassle with that is that you have to check out every morning and check in every afternoon. Since they’re usually located next to, or incredibly near, a train or subway station, you can store your stuff in a locker at the station during the time you’re checked out.
I’d avoid shopping at the so-called western specialty supermarkets as they’re pricey, and that’s saying a lot since Japan is generally an expensive place to be. Check for a place called D-Mart (yes, that’s actually the name in Japanese). It’s a chain of discount stores which also includes, IIRC, Daikuma and Daiei stores. You can get cheese, bread, and other western foodstuffs there, all without paying the gouge prices that the specialty supermarkets charge for being western specialty supermarkets.
Oh, if you find yourself near Fujisawa City, be sure to check out the Planetarium and Children’s Museum. The museum is fun because you get to play with all of the exhibits–there’s no “no touching of the exhibits” rule.
