I am headed out of the U.S. to Japan on Monday. What will I
be taking with me? Quite a spread, but I have tried to pack light. I have tried to list as much as
possible with most interesting stuff coming first. Fill free to not read all of
it—this is partly to help others who will be going to Japan. In all my OCD
glory here are my lists:
Omiyage (Gifts to
give upon arrival to people who have helped me out. They don’t have to be large
or expensive and food is a popular option. Some of the bigger gifts I listed I
will give out later on for New Years or other holidays)
r Postcards
from my aunt’s dairy farm
r An
FSU clickable pen that plays the fight song when you click it (an idea from my
Japanese teacher; she said that would be a good gift)
r An
FSU name badge to give to the school nurse (don’t we all want to be on the
nurse’s good side?)
r 750
ml. of Johnny Walker Black to give to the principal
r Beef
jerky
r Butter
cookies
r Mint
Milano cookies
r Candy:
Mini Cow Tails, Smarties, and Atkinson’s Peanut Butter Bars
r Pens
Books/Reading
Material
r Genki I (Elementary Japanese textbook—Genki means “energetic”, a necessary virtue for
taking Japanese, a challenging language!)
r Remembering the Kanji by James Heisig (hacking your mind to better remember the kanji which
are Chinese characters—good stuff)
r More Than a Native Speaker: An Introduction to Teaching English by Don Snow (This
was my textbook for my TEFL class. A great intro book those goes over how to
teach using the “communicative teaching style”)
r New
Journal
r Children’s
books: The Tailypo (truly a great ghost story—I’ll read it for Halloween), Chick Chicka Boom Boom, Curious George, and Oh, the Places You'll Go! (The latter three
books where recommended to me by my bosses at FSU as their favorite books growing
up)
r Kindle (This was an EXCELLENT purchase and has saved me so much space with books. One
of my friends who taught there for two years recommended it and I love it
already)
Miscellaneous
r 1
Bottle Sunscreen
r Toiletries
(Don’t overstock on toothpaste: Japanese toothpaste DOES have fluoride to
dispel the myths)
r Important
documents (International Drivers License, Passport, Health Insurance Card,
etc.)
r Backpack
r Toiletry
bag
r Camera
(get one with at least 10 megapixels and that shoots HD video. I promise that
you won’t regret it)
r iPhone
(for music)
r Nyquil/Dayquil
(They don’t sell it there)
r Stickers
(preferably those with English on them; one of my friends who is a teacher over
there said that Japanese stickers are AWESOME)
r Handkerchief
(sanitary reasons; public bathrooms rarely have paper towels)
r Deodorant
=3 (Japanese deodorant is not strong. See next item)
r Cologne
(not to too strong though; most Japanese don’t wear strong-scented perfumes)
r El
Paso Taco Seasoning Mix (Tex-Mex rice anyone?)
r Electric
Adapter (2 to 3 prong)
r Contact
lens solution (also expensive there)
r 2
small American flags (‘MURICA!)
r 8
½ by 11 laminated photos of family, FSU football, Mt. McKinley, national flower
(Rose), animals (deer, bald eagle, Florida panther), food (Key Lime Pie and
Catfish Platter)
r Rubber
snake: It’s a souvenir to pass around to kids that is cute and fun
r Cash/Coins
to be handled by kids ($20 or less)
r Daruma
(My good luck porcelain doll from Japan)
r 2
sets of Chopsticks (both were gifts from friends in Japan)
r Apron
(from my mom; she bought it for me in France. Cooking in Japan is cheaper than
going out)
r 1
large jar of Jif Creamy Peanut Butter (I love PB. It’s expensive in Japan. Mail
me some anytime, and peace and glad tiding will reign in your family for
generations to come)
r Eye
glass repair kit (Glasses break)
r Nail
clipper (Nails grow)
r Blow
dryer (Hair gets wet)
r Leatherman
Squirt (Things break)
r MacBook
Pro
r Sony
Headphones (I accidently washed them last week. Now I can only listen to songs
with clean lyrics
Clothing
r Navy
Blazer
r Brown
Blazer
r Grey
Suit
r Underwear
>7 pairs
r New
socks (good ones! No holes!)
r Swim
suit (I’m near Japan’s Golden Coast. Yeah!)
r New
Undershirts >7
r Khaki
pants >3
r Dress
shirts >6
r Vests/Sweater
Vests (Take many! It will help to hide the sweat in non air-conditioned
classrooms. I’ll be as fly as an OSU coach…)
r Ties
>3
r Rain
Slicker
r Slip-on
indoor shoes (just a pair of shoes that are easy to put on that are for indoors
only; I got a pair of nice Timberlanes)
r Gym
shoes
r Outdoor
shoes
r Sandals
(Flippy-floppys)
r Dress
shoes =2
r Jackets
>3
r Toboggan
r Scarf
r Gloves
r Beach
towel
