The Ultimate Japan Packing List: 2025 Edition | Don’t Make This Mistake

The Ultimate Japan Packing List: 2025 Edition | Don’t Make This Mistake

having just been to Japan and being notorious for overpacking I wanted to share with you my ultimate Japan packing list and all of the lessons that I’ve learned from my trip And trust me there’s a lot Let’s dive into it The next station is [Music] Hey guys Hong here and today we are going to go through everything that you need to know to pack for Japan We’ll walk through both the essentials and the more niche things that you could easily forget Let’s pack First off luggage space So if you haven’t seen the meme for packing for Japan it looks a little something like yeah so it’s a meme and kind of sarcastic but kind of true at the same time So I did 8 days in Japan as part of my 14-day Asia trip and I packed everything into this tiny Mono suitcase and a backpack Honestly it kind of worked I left around half the suitcase free in preparation for buying things which was good because I did buy a lot of things but it was mainly Oh it’s a Kirby Oh wow What the So yeah it was mostly a bunch of small things but I did manage to fill half a suitcase worth of claw machine prizes and gacha pal prizes So in short if you’re planning on doing any level of shopping you may need more room than that And if anyone wants a review on the Mono suitcase then let me know cuz I have thoughts What people often do is to check in a fairly large empty suitcase so that you will have all of that available space for all of your purchases in Japan If and when you stop by some of the famous Japanese stores like Don Kyote you will probably come back with more than just a large suitcase worth of stuff just from that store alone Personally I would recommend at a minimum having about half a suitcase worth of space available but you could also purchase a suitcase in Japan and it can be much cheaper there depending on where you’re coming from So that’s also worth considering The other thing that’s worth considering though is how you are going to get around with all of that luggage Japan does have services to send your luggage from wherever you are to basically wherever you’re going This is to make it easier for you to get around Say taking the train from Tokyo to Osaka You don’t have to lug all of your luggage onto the train itself However the downside to this is that the luggage often arrives a day or two after you do So it only really works well if you are staying for long durations of time The reason this exists is that there is just simply not enough room to pack all of your suitcases and things onto the bullet train On the bullet train already if you are bringing a large like check-in style suitcase then you will already have to reserve a special seat with enough room for that luggage Normal suitcases will fit overhead but not if you have multiple of them Walkways can be quite steep and the train stations have a lot of stairs So that makes for moving around with all of these rolling bags and things a major pain All of these are things to consider I would also bring a backpack or a day bag that you can bring around as Japan typically does not have free bags Bags cost money in Japan So if you have a bag with you or you’re carrying a backpack that you can just toss your purchases into it will make your life a lot easier Okay enough about luggage space Next let’s talk about electronic devices and charging them Japan’s outlets are similar to the US and you can get away without any special converters or adapters However there are some differences that you will need to know Japan’s outlets are typically the A type outlet with the two flat parallel prongs and there are a lot of outlets in Japan that do not have the third grounding prong The voltage in Japan is 100 volt versus the USA’s 120 volt So check if your device is able to handle the different voltages The frequency is between 50 and 60 Hz while the standard in the US is 60 Hz Phone chargers typically should work fine in Japan and you shouldn’t have any issues there However if your device does require the third prong such as larger devices like laptop chargers you may have a harder time in some places and you may need an adapter for that Many newer hotels do have those charging clocks with the USB ports built into it So those could come in handy as well if you need Moving on to our next item This is the ultimate Japan packing guide So we have to include this The next item is your passport That’s it Don’t forget it Also check if you need a visa for your visit depending on which country you’re coming from If you’re coming from the United States you won’t need a visa However you still will need to register and do immigrations online before entering Japan The next thing you may need to pack is a SIM card You’ll want a mobile data plan which will make your time in Japan much easier as you can look things up and live translate menus and things without the need to rely on Wi-Fi So you could purchase a SIM card in advance But I go much more into depth on this and plenty of other things in my 10 things you need to know before going to Japan video so check that out Next let’s talk cash In Japan cash is king and you will still need cash as the country still widely uses cash Though credit cards are becoming more widely adopted You still will want to have at least some cash on hand especially if you are traveling outside of Tokyo as many of the shrines and temples along with street vendors don’t take card Though if you are staying inside of Tokyo itself you could get away with not having cash but I’d still have some on hand The cheapest way to exchange currency is usually at home where you get the best exchange rate And typically you can exchange currency through your bank With some banks you can call the bank and request the exchange or do it online and have it mailed to either your house or to a local bank for pickup Personally I would exchange at least around $200 to $300 to have that on hand Having a money purse or a coin pouch will come in handy as well as you will end up with a lot of coins especially if you’re going to the plethora of gacha machines that they have throughout the country as they only take 100 yen coins We actually won a coin purse from one of the gacha pond machines which was quite convenient All right next let’s talk credit cards Again credit cards are becoming more and more widely adopted and I used mine for the vast majority of the purchases I made in Japan But again not every place takes credit card Even better if you have a credit card without international transaction fees use that Notify your bank in advance of your travels if it requires this so that your card won’t get locked out while you’re over there Though most credit cards with a chip nowadays don’t require you to do this anymore Pro tip if you’re making a credit card transaction in Japan sometimes it will prompt you if you want to charge the transaction in Japanese yen or your home currency like US dollars And you may be tempted if you’re from the US for example to pick US dollars because you’re more familiar with that But don’t pick that Always do Japanese yen as it will give you a better conversion rate than the US dollar option and you can save some money If you don’t have a car without international transaction fees and you’re making large purchases and you don’t want to deal with those fees then you can bring a debit card and withdraw cash from ATMs as needed Japan has ATMs all over and they’re very easily accessible including in nearly every single convenience store and train station and they’re easy enough for foreigners to use as well All right now let’s talk clothes What should you pack well Japan does have all four seasons and we’ll focus on Tokyo for the sake of this packing guide In the spring in Tokyo from around March to May the weather goes from an average high of around 57 to around 74 All of which fairly in the comfortableish range In the summer we’re looking at a high of 79 to 89 for June through August which can be pretty hot Fall starts off at 82° F going down to 63° F bringing the hot temperatures back down to cooler weather in September through November And the winter is surprisingly consistent with a high in the low 50s for December through February When I went in the summer it was all shorts and t-shirts and it was hot When I was there in December I had thermals and layers and a winter jacket In the colder months in particular you do want to be able to layer because it can be fairly cold and windy outside But as soon as you step indoors anywhere it can get really hot and humid like really fast So you want to be able to be flexible with your layers in the winter But in the winter I do highly recommend thermals It can get very cold My personal recommendation for bringing clothes is to bring the essentials and then to buy clothes there as needed Especially if you’re staying in Tokyo you have a lot of access to really convenient stores and things do tend to be a lot cheaper there even in major stores like Unilo So if you’re already planning on doing some clothes shopping then pack a bit less and wear the things that you buy to save space Unilo also has really good thermals Just saying It also can rain in pretty much any month in Japan though November through February sees the least amount of rain So you could pack a small umbrella if the weather is looking like it’s going to rain a lot or you just bring a rain jacket Or the easier option is probably just to buy an umbrella there should you need it And one thing to know in Japan is that they love to use those cheap clear white umbrellas And if you buy one there and you leave it on an umbrella rack in front of a restaurant or a store I’ve heard that people can take them either accidentally or willingly Why well I’m not entirely sure but I have heard a lot of stories of people losing their their cheap white clear umbrella But it’s just something to keep in mind if you do buy an umbrella there As for shoes do you need more than one pair of shoes i personally don’t think so If you have one really good pair of sneakers and I highly recommend getting a really really comfortable pair because Japan is all about walking and you will be walking a lot I bought a pair of Ono specifically the OnCloud surfer shoes And the shoes really made a big difference in keeping my feet from being as sore as they would have been otherwise But man we walked to like 20 to 30,000 steps per day So my feet were still sore just less sore than they would have been For shoes along with clothes I would suggest bringing solid quality items and then buying the rest as needed because again things are fairly affordable in Japan Next tip bring a water bottle because you will need a lot of water for all that walking Moving along Do you need a swimsuit here’s an interesting one If you’re going to swim at either the beach or the hotel pool or a water park then yes you do But if you’re just going to an onen or a hotring you won’t What that’s right In Japan the onen is split by gender and you typically aren’t allowed to go in with swimwear When you enter you split up by gender and go into a locker room change out of everything and then go through a shower and then from there go into the onen itself It can be a bit strange for foreigners but that’s just how it is over there In the onsen you will also need to cover up any tattoos with patches So that might be something that you need to bring Onens or hot springs do sometimes have small patches for you to cover up small tattoos but they typically don’t have larger patches for larger tattoos Some other things you want to consider bringing are hand sanitizer because many restrooms don’t have soap and a hand towel because many bathrooms don’t have paper towels or hand dryers Again why i’m not sure For such a clean and hygienic country this is kind of shocking Newer modern places typically will have soap and some means of drying your hands but older places temples shrines and even some places in the city like Tokyo Station won’t have those things So you may want to bring your own A personal pack of tissues is also good to have as well All right the next thing is insect repellent And let me tell you Japanese mosquitoes are no joke They bite and they bite hard While typically you can’t bring insect repellent on a plane or something you should purchase it from the pharmacy as soon as you get there Mosquitoes are out pretty much every month in Japan except for the extreme coldest ones typically December through February But even then there’s still a small chance depending on where you go The same thing with sunblock especially in the summer months For toiletries you typically don’t need to bring too much as most hotels will provide you with shampoo conditioner and even combs and toothbrushes if you forget yours But again if you need any of these things and the hotel doesn’t have it hit up a convenience store or Don Kyote and you’ll be able to get it there Moving on to camera equipment And if you’re anything like me and you love taking photos then you’ll want to bring a nice camera and a bunch of lenses But what lenses should you bring for me I brought all of my camera equipment inside this backpack which held a decent amount of stuff but at the same time I did leave a lot behind because I was trying to pack light My most commonly used lens was unsurprisingly the 24 to 70 focal length My second most used lens was a wide angle 16 to 35 I did have a 28 to 200 lens on me for a bit more reach and occasionally use that But having a wider aperture lens especially for those night shots in Japan is really important For the plane ride and for public transportation you may want to bring a travel pillow And while some people like these I personally hate the space that it takes So I bring a inflatable neck pillow which takes up a lot less space when I don’t need it For snacks I would only bring enough for your plane ride there Why because Japan is the snack capital of the world Go to any convenience store like 7-Eleven when you get there and you will find the most amazing Japanese snacks that you will end up missing so very much when you leave Japan Trust me their 7-Elevens are nothing like what we have in the US They’re so much better Next bring some face masks as in Japan they still use them fairly regularly so it’s useful to have Here’s an interesting one Pain meds The night version of say Tylenol and other medications that make you sleepy is prohibited to bring into Japan While you aren’t likely to get stopped for bringing these things in on the official website for Japan it does say that medications containing pseudopedine aka the stuff that makes you drowsy is prohibited along with pain relievers containing more than 100 mg of ibuprofen So in short just double check before you bring your whole medicine cabinet with you And you can go and purchase a lot of these medications at the pharmacy when you get there as well One more pro tip is when you’re packing make sure to double check that you have all your hotels booked in advance as finding a hotel last minute in Japan can be very difficult especially in popular areas during peak seasons Once you book your hotels plan your routes in advance as well so that you know if you’re going to be going up a massive hill when you get there This literally happened to me when we got there and we got out of Shibuya station and we ended up walking this massive hill lugging all of our heavy suitcases and bags as we sweated our way to the top only to realize that we could have taken a different path that avoided this hill completely Japan is notorious for having a lot of stairs in their train stations and being very hilly So that’s just also something to keep in mind And that’s all you need for Japan In all honesty the conclusion that my group came to was that we all overpacked and could have easily bought items from Don Kyote Uniqlo etc for cheap and have been able to bring all those things back as souvenirs if we hadn’t brought so much excess stuff I also stayed in a hotel with a washing machine which made it very convenient not to need to bring too much clothes but I still ended up making the mistake of bringing too much The hotel itself was the Tokyo Stay Shabuya in case you were wondering highly recommend But pack light for Japan It may feel like you’re missing something but as long as you have your passport and some money you can pretty much get anything else you could need there for cheap and it’s totally worth it So make sure you have room to buy lots of things because you definitely will So that’s it for this video Let me know what you would pack for Japan and what you would or would not bring in the comments section down below And I will see you guys in the next one [Music]

A comprehensive packing list for your Japan trip is assembled, taking into account the latest travel trends and essentials for 2025. This guide covers everything from must-have clothing items to practical items, ensuring a comfortable and enjoyable journey through the Land of the Rising Sun. We’ll also dive into things you should NOT bring along with a few helpful tips to make sure you are prepared for everything Japan has to offer.

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Chapters:
0:00 – Intro
0:32 – Luggage
3:20 – Electronics
4:14 – THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEM
4:36 – Data
4:59 – Cash
6:03 – Credit Cards
7:14 – Clothes(Seasons)
8:54 – Rain
9:35 – Shoes
10:26 – Swimsuit
11:14 – Hand Sanitizer + Hand Towel
11:49 – Mosquitoes + Sun
12:17 – Toiletries
12:34 – Camera Equipment
13:10 – Travel Pillow
13:25 – Snacks
13:50 – Face Mask + Medication
14:29 – Pro Tip

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