Packing for Japan

This was my first time abroad on my own and with nobody around to ask for advice I had a lot of unanswered questions about packing. Thankfully we have the Internet! Here's some of the packing advice I found online and things I found out during my 2 weeks in Japan.

I guess it depends on whether you'll be walking to and from stations and hotels or getting a taxi everywhere. But for most sightseeing trips, for those without ridiculous amounts of money, I would say:

Rucksack! Rucksack! Rucksack!:

I purchased a 60 litre rucksack with a detachable 15 litre daysack (£80). This turned out to be just right for 2 weeks.

Once I detached the daysack, to take on as hand luggage at the airport, I never zipped it back onto the rucksack. It had all my valuables in it so I didn't want to walk around with it on my back. Instead when I had to move from hotel to hotel I carried the rucksack on my back and put one of the daysack straps over my head and carried it in front of me. I looked a bit like a fat turtle, and when I fell over I was even more like one, but it became the easiest way to carry things. So you could even just buy a 60 litre rucksack and a separate daysack if you want to do the same thing.

The 60 litre rucksack fit snuggly into any overhead compartment on the trains and wasn't too large to get on a bus or coach. The back straps could also be zipped away which turned it into a holdall and this became useful for carrying it short distances where lifting it on and off my back would become more effort than it was worth. However I wouldn't recommend using it in its holdall form for too long as it can really hurt your shoulder!

It's up to you but if you're going for 2 weeks sightseeing and can't fit everything in a 60 litre rucksack I think you're possibly taking too much!

The process I went through whilst packing was something like the following:

• Packed what I thought I needed.
  
• Halved almost everything and took it out. For example I packed 4 pairs of jeans! So I took out 2. I may have even gotten away with just 1 pair by washing them and letting them dry overnight.
  
• Zip up the rucksack, put it on your back. Can you stand/walk?
  
• Weigh the pack somehow. I stood on some scales and worked out the difference between just me and then me with the rucksack on. This might be a bit over the top to do but I had no idea of the weight and wanted to make sure there was no trouble getting it on the plane.
  
• As this was my first time abroad on my own, and without anyone to advise me, I was a little anxious about packing. So I ended up packing and unpacking a few times. Each time I would decide I really didn't need something. I'm glad I did this because my rucksack was just right in the end.

To give you an idea on what to take, here's what I took:

• 2 pairs of Jeans
  
• 1 pair of shorts
  
• 3 t-shirts
  
• 3 shirts (This gave me a good combination of outfits as they could be worn on their own, buttoned up over a t-shirt or open over a t-shirt)
  
• 1 hoodie (nice if it's a cold day, which there were only 2 of on my trip. Pretty bulky item, however I didn't take a coat.)
  
• 6 pairs of socks
  
• 6 pairs of boxers
  
• 1 pair of trainers
  
• 1 evening shirt
  
• Black belt
  
• Jeans belt
  
• 1 towel
  
• 1 pair of trainers (make sure they are good for walking in! I took flat sole trainers and had serious foot ache after a few days. Ended up buying a new pair of trainers in Japan)
  
• 1 pair of shoes (If you're going somewhere posh!)
  
• Small umbrella (I found this to be a better choice than taking a waterproof coat. Next time I'll buy a big umbrella in Japan and leave it there when I depart)
  
• Wash bag and typical contents
  
• Glasses
  
• Contacts
  
• Plug converter (I bought this at the airport before leaving)
  
• iPod + charger
  
• Mobile phone + charger
  
• Camera + charger
  
• Extra batteries for camera (there was no way I was going to miss a shot due to dead batteries! Ended up lending them to others)
  
• Extra SD cards for camera (take more than you expect to use, you'll be surprised!)
  
• Passport/papers (I photocopied these and kept the originals in my hand luggage and the copies in my rucksack)
  
• Cash, cash and more cash! (I didn't take travellers cheques and I'm quite glad. Cash was easy, simple and safe. I could also use my maestro card in the seven-eleven stores which were pretty much everywhere. There was a small charge for this.)

I think that was everything!

Since returning I now realise I wash my clothes far too much! You can usually get 2 or 3 days wear out of your clothes as long as you bath/shower daily and change your underwear! Everyone on the tour had stinky shoes but as we were all in the same boat nobody cared. We were lucky enough to have a laundrette nearby most places but when there wasn't I would wash my clothes in a sink or bath with a bit of soap or shower gel. Most things would dry overnight. If something doesn't dry in time and you have to move on then you can wrap it in a plastic bag and hang it up again at your next destination. Washing your clothes whilst travelling is better than taking enough clothes to last the whole trip! I don't think anyone would be able to carry that much!

Creased clothing was an issue for me at first but I soon forgot about it. In fact it seems that whilst wearing a creased shirt the moisture from your body eventually makes the creases disappear!

If you're not too attached to them, donate or throw away clothes and the bulkiest items (shoes, hoodies, jeans) to make room for gifts. Remember to wrap items in your clothes for padding if you're putting them in your main luggage.

If you don't want to leave behind that precious hoodie or coat you can tie it to your hand luggage. You could even do this with shoes. It will give you more room for things inside your bags that you can't tie to the outside, such as lots of Pocky! You can buy sweets, books and other typical gifts at the airport and take them on as a second item of hand luggage. I was worried they wouldn't let me on the plane because I had bought so much! It's best to ask for a large plastic bag from one of the shops so you can fit all the items into it and tie a knot in the top to stop things falling out into the overhead compartments.

That's all I can think of right now, but if you have any questions about packing or just about Japan feel free to leave a comment!

Mike said on Thu 2008/06/12 22:25 JST:

Those packs are great because if they fit properly the weight is transferred to your hips making a big difference. You are also right about packing as little as possible! I would have gone with only one pair of jeans!

Chris said on Thu 2008/06/12 22:33 JST:

Hi Mike. You're right, it was surprisingly comfortable for the weight. Even with 3 bottles of sake inside!

GoddessCarlie said on Thu 2008/06/19 09:29 JST:

I'll be posting what I plan to be taking over to Japan soon. I have to fit two people's stuff into my bag, so I really have to try and pack light!

Chris said on Thu 2008/06/19 15:22 JST:

You could always wear 2 rucksacks, one on your front and one on your back.... I guess that wouldn't work lol

Shoes, hoodies and jeans are the bulkiest items. So if you can do with the shoes already on your feet, hang a hoodie from your rucksack instead of putting it in your bag and take lighter trousers you should find quite a bit more room.

Lynn said on Mon 2008/07/07 16:17 JST:

Really useful advice for packing :D When I go, I will have to re-read this!
I was wondering if there would be any use for a laptop or if computer cafe type things are pretty widespread?
Or perhaps the decision to bring one would depend on the purpose for which one goes to Japan.

Chris said on Mon 2008/07/07 16:53 JST:

Hi Lynn, I didn't see any internet cafes on my trip, but I didn't really look that hard because every place I stayed at, be it a hotel or a traditional ryokan, had free internet access.

If you're moving around a lot and only need internet access for email or updating a blog then I'd suggest leaving the laptop at home and checking with your hotels to make sure they have internet access. Our tour guide had a laptop with him and he was often annoyed at having to carry it around. In the end I was quite happy to get away from the computer for 2 weeks :)

Just Sweet said on Sun 2009/03/22 06:42 JST:

very awesome your rucksack and very ideal when you have a travel to any places,it is like a closet you bring.