Header images from the 2023-2024 AJET Photo Contest.

Try to bring…
photos (high school/family/graduation/holidays) to teach about your culture.
costumes, flags, maps, videos and any information you can about your home country/town.
music from home to play for students and friends.
some small prizes for class. In junior high schools, stickers go down really well. They can be used for prizes during games or can be put on corrected papers. For high schools, coins, pins, and stamps tend to work better. Puri-kura (print club) of you and your friends are a big hit with all age groups. You can make a sheet of 16 of these for just 300Yen at a photo booth near you.

*These resources will turn into great teaching materials or supplements and are a big help when you do your self-introduction lessons!
Personal Items
Japanese people are, on the whole, smaller framed than the average JET. Large (or even a US size 10/UK size 12) and tall sizes are often difficult to find. Larger sized shoes are also hard to find. If your feet are larger than a women’s size 7.5 or men’s 10.5, bring plenty of shoes
You will also need:

Light-weight cotton for (the hot hot) summer
Indoor shoes
Warm (wool) layers for winter
Good, warm, water resistant coat
Waterproof rain gear (pants for hiking too)
Ski or snowboard attire, if you have them
School/Office Attire

Professional wear – It is best to start off on the right foot and attend your school(s) dressed professionally. Some schools are staffed with what seems like 35 P.E. teachers (everyone in tracksuits), while others seem like a fashion show. You will quickly get a feel for the dress code at each school. It is much easier to loosen up than try to erase a negative first impression.
Indoor shoes – It doesn’t matter what they look like or if they match your outfit – most people wear sneakers or sandals. Just make sure they are comfortable, as you will be wearing these every day. If you plan on playing indoor sports with the students, bring a pair of “indoor” athletic shoes. If you are a municipal ALT, you will most likely be visiting elementary schools. Attire for these visits is casual – bring stuff that you don’t mind getting crumpled or dirty as you play with the kids and they climb all over you.
Business attire – The dress code for offices (Boards of Education, International Affairs) is more formal. You will have to dress in business attire, at least, for the prefecture wide Skill Development Conference, so bring at least one suit with you.

Medicine Toiletries
Prescriptions

Be sure to bring the doctor’s written prescription with any medication you bring to Japan. Technically, customs regulations allows you to bring only a one-month’s supply into Japan. Chances are that you will not be searched when you arrive and some JETs have been known to bring a year’s supply of prescriptions with them. However, it is best to practice prudence. If you are searched, you will need to show the written prescription. Some prescriptions are difficult to refill in Japan (birth control,* dermatology-related medication, and diabetes medication) but most others, or a close substitute, should be available.

In order to get them, you need to have a ‘medical condition’. Thus, condom use is the most popular form of birth control. The general consensus is that Japanese condoms are unreliable. The horror stories could fill a book. If you think that you might be sexually active while in Japan, bring condoms from your home country.

Over-the-Counter Medicine
O.T.C. cold and allergy remedies can be tricky to bring into Japan. Basically, any O.T.C. medicine that contains stimulant is illegal – the CLAIR General Information Handbook provides more specific information regarding this. With that being said, you will probably be able to find familiar brand names such as Contact

Toothpaste – In the past, Japan did not have fluoride toothpaste, but that has recently changed and you can buy familiar brands (Aquafresh) in the stores or order them. If you have a particular preference for toothpaste, bring it with you.

Antiperspirant & Deodorant – many JETs complain that deodorant selection is limited and are not effective.

Soap, Lotion Shampoo – There is a wide selection of these products, but many foreigners find that Japanese shampoo/conditioner is too heavy for fine hair.

Feminine Products – Pads and tampons are available but if you have a specific brand, bring it with you or have someone ship it out once you get here. Cosmetics are extremely expensive here

Books</h3>
Buying English books in Niigata is expensive but can be done in the Niigata City. A paperback at Niigata City’s Kinokuniya (large chain bookstore) is about ¥1,500. Amazon.co.jp is a good place to find English language books at a slighly cheaper price. The Niigata International Friendship Center has a decent-sized library which is popular with JETs. In general JETs do a lot of book swapping.* There are lots of ways to get your hands on a good read.
There is a Charity Book Sale held at the Skill Development Conference every year which usually has a wide selection of books for just 100Yen!
Should you bring a Japanese/English Dictionary? In some cases (especially in high schools) the schools have extras, but these are designed for Japanese speakers (the Japanese words are written in hiragana and kanji). So, unless you can read Japanese already, we recommend bringing one with you. Some JETs have also said that a basic grammar book and an English dictionary or thesaurus would be handy. Check with your predecessor before buying anything, as they may be leaving a few dictionaries behind. At this stage you may simply want to bring a phrasebook to help you with the basic when you arrive.

Omiyage (Gifts or Souvenirs)
Worrying about <;omiyage</; causes stress for many people before coming to Japan. Giving gifts is an time-honored Japanese tradition. However, you are not Japanese and are not expected to know the detailed workings of Japanese culture. If you choose to bring gifts, they will be appreciated. If you do not, nobody will think any less of you. In the end, it is up to you as to what and how much omiyage to bring. Talk to your predecessor for specific ideas.
An assortment of candy or sweets (from your home country) that won’t immediately go bad or melt is a pretty safe bet for omiyage. You can divide it up however you see fit once you get an idea what your work and community situation looks like.

Money
You might want to ask this question: “How much money should I bring to Japan?” As a government employee, you will be paid on the 21st of each month (unless it falls on a weekend or holiday), and thus <strong>most of you will not receive your first paycheque until the third week of August;. (The pay schedule can vary slightly from Municipality to Municipality). It is vital that you have enough money to get you through until then.
From the time you get on the plane in your home country to the end of Tokyo Orientation, you will not need to spend much money unless you want to. Transportation from the airport, your hotel room, breakfast, and lunch will be provided by the JET Programme. Transportation from Tokyo to Niigata, and ultimately your new home, will also be covered. The only expense you will have in this area is the cost of sending your large luggage from Tokyo to Niigata via takyubin(delivery service) which costs about 2,000-3,000 yen per bag.
It is probably best to bring any money in the form of traveler’s cheques, as you can replace them if they are lost or stolen. You will be able to exchange the cheques into yen at the hotel in Tokyo – the exchange rate is standard wherever you go in Japan: hotel, bank, etc. Japan is a cash society, and exchanging all your money in Tokyo is easy and fairly safe. You can exchange money at banks in Niigata, but if you live in a small town, it may take a day or two for your request to get sent to a larger bank.
Don’t assume you will be able to change money immediately upon arrival at your new home.; (Take care of this in Tokyo). There are several banks in Tokyo and other bigger cities that accept international credit cards for cash and credit advances. As well, many big stores also accept VISA and MasterCard so a credit card is a good back up. Don’t forget to notify your bank and credit card company in advance that you will be leaving the country, and be sure to obtain international customer support numbers (many credit card companies automatically freeze an account when purchases are made abroad without prior notice).
The amount of cash you need during Tokyo Orientation is directly related to whether or not you are going out on the town. Tokyo has often been named as the most expensive city in the world and you can expect to pay at least 3,000 yen for a sit down dinner and a beer or two (cheap fast food is easy to find as well). If you plan on going out and dancing, the clubs in Roppongi and Shibuya often have steep cover charges. It is easy to spend 10-15,000 yen in a night without even trying. You may also be drawn to the bookstores and department stores, but if money is tight, don’t worry, the Big City is just a two hour Shinkansen ride away from Niigata. You can pop down to Tokyo for the weekend with little trouble after you have settled into your new home.
Settling into this new home will be your first ‘big’ expense. Niigata-ken host institutions are often very generous about setting up ALT apartments. They usually take care of deposits and key money, pay for the phone line and furnish the apartment with the necessities – futon, refrigerator, stove, TV etc. As well, you might want to buy items that your predecessor is leaving behind. You can usually get DVDs, speakers, oven/toasters, bicycles, and other items for a fraction of what they would cost new. It is best to contact your predecessor and talk to them about this. The “Hard-Off/Off-House” chain of recycle shops also provide excellent discounts on home goods and furnishings, but you may need to enlist a friend’s help in transporting any purchases.
1,000 USD (~100,000 Yen) is a good round amount of money that most people recommend bringing, unless you are partying like a rock star every day. If a thousand dollars is difficult for you, don’t worry and bring what you can. Your host institution will be able to help you out (by either giving you a forward on your paycheck or a short loan) if you find yourself short on cash come the middle of August. It is easy to spend a lot of money living in Japan… but, if you are careful, it is pretty easy to live cheaply.