Conquer Your Suitcase: The Only Japan Packing List You'll Ever Need (From Someone Who's Been There, A LOT!)

Pack like a pro for your Japan trip

So, you're heading to the land of dazzling neon, serene temples, and the world's politest people? Before you can fully immerse yourself in the magic of the Land of the Rising Sun, there's that age-old travel puzzle: what to pack for Japan?

Now, you've probably stumbled across a gazillion Japan packing lists online, and let's be honest, most of them offer pretty solid advice. They'll tell you to pack clothes. Shocker, right? Of course, you'll need your trusty tees, comfy shoes, and a couple of pairs of trousers (if you don’t want to get arrested). But after three decades of hopping across the Japanese archipelago – from the snowy peaks of Hokkaido to the sun-kissed shores of Okinawa – we've learned that packing for Japan is about so much more than just the obvious.

Pro packing list for Japan

This isn't your run-of-the-mill "things to pack for Japan" spiel. Forget the "extra underwear" reminders. This is your insider's guide, stuffed with the things to pack for a trip to Japan that you might not have even considered – the little lifesavers that will make your journey smoother with more fun and less stress. Trust me, after 30 years of regular trips, we've learned a thing or two about packing like a pro for this incredible country. So, ditch the overpacking anxiety and let's dive into the what-to-takes vs. the leave-at-homes!

What to pack for a trip to Japan?

Travel essentials

While you can buy just about anything in Japan that you forget to take with you, here are a few things that you shouldn’t leave home without.

·      Yen: While credit cards are becoming more widely accepted, cash is still king in many smaller establishments and for transportation. It’s relatively easy these days to withdraw yen from Japanese ATMs but having some cash on hand for the first day or two will give you peace of mind and save a lot of stress while you’re nursing that jet-lag.

·      Travel adapter: Most electrical wall outlets in Japan take a plug with two flat, parallel pins, like the North American type A plug. If your device has a type B plug (with three pins) or a plug with different pins, you should take a Japan plug adapter with you.

·      Passport / credit card copies: Tourists are required by law in Japan to carry their passports at all times, so you can’t leave yours safely tucked away in the hotel safe. We advise taking a photo of the photo page of your passport and of the front/back of your credit cards and either sending these to yourself by email or printing them out (and leaving these in the hotel safe). Should you lose your passport or cards, this will save a lot of headache having them replaced/cancelled.

·      Sim card / e-sim: You can pick up a sim card at your arrival airport or in any convenience store once you arrive, but you’ll be without a phone/data until then. Organising this before you leave for your trip will safe you time and stress.

·      Print-out of the name and address of your hotel: You will need the address for the paper immigration form, but having a print-out is also very handy for showing to taxi drivers.

Clothes

As Japanese people will proudly explain, Japan has four seasons, and the clothes you pack will depend on where in Japan you’ll travel and the time of year. We think you’re old enough and gorgeous enough to decide for yourself what clothes to bring. There are a few things that we would recommend, however.

·      Easy-on/easy-off shoes: You’ll have to take your shoes off at many temples and even in some traditional restaurants. Footwear that’s not going to take years to lace up is a good idea.

·      Comfortable shoes: This is a no-brainer but, as much as you wanna look pretty on Insta, you’re going to put in a LOT of steps every day. And remember, a lot of the outdoor attractions are gravelled rather than paved, making heels hard work.

·      Socks/liners: You might intend to wear sandals most of the time, especially in summer, but, as we mentioned above, in many cases you’ll have to take your shoes off to enter temples, etc. It’s not considered good form in Japan to run around in bare feet, so have a little pair of socks or sneaker liners in your bag to slip on.

·      Slippers: A lot of hotels will provide disposable slippers to wear in your room, but some only provide the plastic, reusable ones. Not only are these hygenically questionable but they are also pretty small. While you can buy cheap slippers in 100-yen stores, you might want to bring a pair with you so that you can feel at home in your hotel room all the more quickly.

·      Lightweight scarf/shawl: A very light-weight cotton scarf that will fold up and not take up too much room in your bag will be very useful for (a) covering bare shoulders when entering a temple/shrine and (b) wrapping up when you go from the blazing heat of the Tokyo summer to the Arctic temperatures inside an air-conditioned metro train.

·      Sunglasses: It can be difficult to find sunglasses in Japan, since the locals tend not to wear them. They are also very much a “seasonal item”, so tracking a pair down outside July/August could be tricky.

Toiletries & medication

Toiletries are going to eat up a lot of your baggage weight allowance, so weeding out the essentials from the unnecessaries will save you space in your bags and maybe even an excess-baggage fee.

·      Prescription medications: Bring enough for your entire trip. While standard OTC medications for colds, tummy problems, etc. are widely available from Japanese pharmacies, they may not be what you’re used to and foreign prescriptions may be impossible to fill. Keep any medication in the original packaging and bring along a copy of the prescription and a letter from your doc confirming why you need it. Be aware that some drugs are prohibited in Japan altogether.

·      Deodorant/antiperspirant: Deodorants are not as widely available in Japan and are much milder (read: less effective) than you might be used to.

·      Toothbrush: Most hotels will provide you with a toothbrush/toothpaste kit if you don’t have one with you, but many find Japanese toothbrushes rather small. Pharmacies will have a bigger range, but bringing your own from home won’t take up much space in your case.

·      Travel laundry detergent: If you plan to do some laundry during your trip, you might consider bringing some laundry detergent from home. Hotels that offer laundry facilities will have single-wash packs of detergent for you to buy but Japanese washing machines usually wash with cold water only and the detergent tends to be much harsher. It can be hard on your clothes and on your skin (if your skin is sensitive).

Your luggage

Let’s have a quick convo about your luggage itself. You might be tempted to take the biggest suitcase you can find: “all the better to fill up with goodies to bring home”. But don’t forget that Japanese hotel rooms tend to be small and any space you have to move around can quickly be filled by a large case or two. We might have a workaround for you here. Many hotels will have a luggage holding room, so pack what you need for a day or two into a smaller bag that you can take up to your room and leave your big suitcase downstairs.

If you plan to travel around Japan a bit, you’ll have to keep in mind that there are restrictions on the size of suitcases that can taken on to the shinkansen. And even if you intend to use a luggage forwarding service in Japan, a larger suitcase will cost more. Don’t forget either that elevators in Japanese train stations are still few and far between and you might find yourself having to lug your mega-case up and down dozens of stairs.

Check the weight restrictions for your plane tickets (bigger hard-shell suitcases can easily weigh around 25% of your baggage allowance even when empty) and think about how you can keep weight and bulk to a minimum. With that in mind: what can you leave at home when packing for Japan?

What not to pack for a trip to Japan?

Of course, you’ll have a few items that you personally never leave home without. For Japansophy’s Auntie Pat, it’s her Irish teabags. But we’ve seen so many items on Japan packing lists that you can easily do without. There are a number of other things that, yes, you could definitely use on your trip but which are readily available in Japan and make nice little souvenir items to bring home for yourself.

·      More than 4-5 outfits: As we mentioned above, many hotels have coin-operated laundry facilities available for guests, and Airbnb’s will generally also have a washing machine. Shopping for the latest Japanese fashion or thrifting in Tokyo’s numerous second-hand stores is top of the Japan-trip bucket list for plenty of tourists, too. Just bear in mind that sizes do tend to be on the smaller side in Japan and clothes that are bigger than a US/European M can be trickier to find. If you wear a men’s US shoe size 12 (EU 44) or a women’s size 8 (EU 6.5) or bigger, you might be out of luck: while living in Japan, Japansophy had to resort to buying online from a Japanese transvestite store for shoes to fit her big ol’ European flippers.

·      Hairdryers/straighteners: Practically every hotel room will have a hairdryer (admittedly of varying degrees of effectiveness) and many mid-class hotels will have hair straighteners / curling tongs, etc. for guests to borrow.

·      Toiletries: We touched on this above, but unless you need/want particular haircare or skincare products, your hotel is likely to have everything you need. If not, you’ll find little travel-sized packs of shampoos, conditioners, cleanser, etc in every convenience store. We’ve seen many Japan travel experts warning their viewers to absolutely bring hand soap and a hand towel with them, because you’ll find neither of these in Japanese public rest rooms. While it’s true that hand towels or dryers are still a rare feature in a Japanese public toilet and most Japanese carry little hand towels around with them, it’s now – since Covid19 – as normal to find soap dispensers in Japanese rest rooms as it is anywhere else. You can pick up cute little hand towels in 100 yen stores to save you having to drip dry. And just in case, we can recommend a little packet of soap sheets that will take up next to no room in your bag.

·      Reusable shopping bag: In an effort to cut down on plastic waste, which in Japan seems like something of a sisyphean task, Japanese shops will now ask you if you want a plastic bag and will charge a few yen if you do. So having a resuable shopping bag with you makes sense... but you can pick these up in Japan too and they make great light-weight, practical souvenirs.

·      Umbrella: If you prefer to have a little fold-up umbrella with you at all times, by all means go ahead. But you can grab yourself one of the iconic clear plastic umbrellas that are umbiquitous in Japan for around 600 yen. If you’re saving that 600 yen for... let’s say... five onigiris for lunch, your hotel is likely to have umbrellas that you can borrow.

·      Perfume: You’ll want to smell sweet on your trip but strong perfumes or colognes are something of a no-no in Japan, especially in restaurants, where they are said to interfere with the sense of taste, and crowded trains, where you’re forcing others to breathe in your favourite scent, whether they like it or not. Leave yours at home and treat yourself to something new from the duty free on the way home!

·      PJs: Many hotels, especially business hotels, provide guests with kimono-type nightwear. Check your hotel’s webpage to see exactly what amenities they offer.

All packed and ready to go

So there you have it – your insider's peek into packing like a seasoned Japan traveller. Forget the generic lists; these are the essentials honed over three decades of adventures in the Land of the Rising Sun. We hope these Japan-specific tips will prove valuable in planning and enjoying your trip. Did we lock the back door? Did we leave the gas on? DID WE FORGET KEVIN?? Maybe you have a tip you’d like to share. Leave us a comment below and tell us what’s on your Japan packing list. Now, go forth, pack smart, and get ready to create unforgettable memories.