Need a power converter in Japan?

My daughter suddenly has to (gets to) fly to Japan for a week. Does she need a power converter for chargers, etc.?

And what do I need to tell her to get me that she can carry back?

Japan is not as advanced at it appears. We have alot of cooler stuff, but they do have some stuff of their own that's nice

Radio Control cars there that are RTR are awesome!!! I know Traxxas kind of has that market here but over there it is something else.

As far as the charger, my cell phone, CPAP, and laptop all did fine on Japanese power. I believe it is the same.

The only issue is no grounding plug, so take a 3 to 2 adapter and cut the fat side off.

Have fun, I miss great sushi

Saké!!!!!

Oh, you mean for yourself?

On the power issue, I found this. Hope it helps.

I hope she has an awesome trip!

Voltage in Japan is 100volts; half the country is at 60 Hz and the other half is at 50 Hz. Their receptacles should be compatible with US two prong plugs.

If you're talking about her computer or phone they will probably work without issue, 100 volts is within the tolerances for most of those kinds of things. She should probably leave her hair dryer at home, the motor won't like the lower voltage.

Also, if she's bringing a phone she better make sure it's compatible first, and that she won't get any crazy roaming charges.

Dont some newer chargers allow for anything? When I went my honeymoon in S.Korea I could still use my camera charger, iPod charger, etc... in the 220 outlets.

Thanx guys for the power info. She leaves in the morning and now she'll be leaving her hair dryer but all her other stuff is 2 prong.

Now to figure out what I want from Japan. I have an S2000 so one friend suggested an NSX-R shift knob - $200+ here (WHY?!?). Titanium and can be put into her carry on.

I'll email her my list and see what she has room and money for. She leaves in the morning and gets there Tuesday. That's gonna suck.

You won't believe this, but most stuff in Japan is MORE expensive than what you pay for the same thing here in the U.S. If it isn't too late, get stuff in Japan that you can not easily get, if at all, here in the 'states.

Example? My uncle wanted me to get him some camera lenses while I was stationed in Japan, but the LA Times had ads with lower prices running at the same time.

Get one of those universal adapters – I had to use one each time I went to Korea, as all of their outlets are like the round, European ones.

integraguy wrote: You won't believe this, but most stuff in Japan is MORE expensive than what you pay for the same thing here in the U.S. If it isn't too late, get stuff in Japan that you can not easily get, if at all, here in the 'states. Example? My uncle wanted me to get him some camera lenses while I was stationed in Japan, but the LA Times had ads with lower prices running at the same time.

Yep. I once shopped for Canon L-series stuff in Tokyo. Okay, maybe that one store was over-priced, but it wasn't even close. Buy the cool stuff there that you can't get here.

Rufledt wrote: Dont some newer chargers allow for anything? When I went my honeymoon in S.Korea I could still use my camera charger, iPod charger, etc... in the 220 outlets.

MOST everything is compatible with both 110/220v just need to make sure it says it on the power supply (example my canon battery charger is here and handy and says "input:ac100-240v 50/60hz"

the only thing electric we had issues with in europe was my wife's hair drier... and we knew that and just bought one cheap while we where there (and that one was 110/220 compatible lol)

so take a peek on the charger and it'll say for sure... but more then likely there isn't an issue

I've realized that all the stuff she could get from Japan is stuff I don't want so I haven't asked for a thing.

I don't need or want a $200 titanium shift knob, that sucker would take the skin off my hand in the summer.

She didn't take her hair dryer and everything else is working fine. She keeps sending pics of people with combovers and wearing white gloves. There must be a lot of them over there. She thinks it's funny.

They seem to do Karaoke differently over there than over here. Instead of singing in front of the whole club you go into a party room and just sing in front of your friends, but they've done that several times. National past time?

Target sells a travel voltage adapter kit that does all sorts of stuff. I think Japan uses the same plugs, but the voltage is slightly different. Only reason I think that is because my Japan-only Nintendo Famicom (aka the NES in the states) uses a different AC adapter that will fry if you use it on US voltage, but the Sega Genesis one will work fine.

And speaking of video games... If you are into them, they have all sorts of cool stuff that we either didn't get here, or it's completely different than the US counterparts. For example, the Nintendo Famicom.

Here's the US version (the NES):

And here's the same thing, but the Japanese version:

Also, they came out with a floppy disc attachment for it called the Disk System that uses its own proprietary disk format, and we didn't get that either:

It's super cool, and cartridges are about the size of a cassette tape case.

They even came out with a combo Famicom and Disk System, called the Twin Famicom (made by Sharp):

Then there's all the other stuff that we either didn't get or got a neutered version of, like the Sega SG-1000, the PC Engine, the FM Towns Marty (yes, that's a real thing), the Sharp X68000 Computer, the MSX and MSX-2, and more.

Yes, I want to go to Japan.

Holy zombie thread!

Yeah, it got zombied last night.

And I fell for it!

No harm, no foul. The topic's still valid today.

Doesn't everyone just "overnight parts from Japan"?

If this wasn't a zombie thread, i'd say Swing by a dealer and get some brochures.

You into adult Manga? The Japanese take Sailor Moon to a whole new level.

Japan is cool, but other than small doses of radiation, there ain't much to bring back that you cant buy at Walmart.

Rufledt wrote: Dont some newer chargers allow for anything? When I went my honeymoon in S.Korea I could still use my camera charger, iPod charger, etc... in the 220 outlets.

Yeah a lot of newer stuff (especially laptops and phones) has a "travel charger" that can work with 110-220v and 50~65Hz.