Tere!

The last visit to Japan was 2019. For three years since then, experiencing the COVID period, I was finally able to visit Japan again!

In this article, I will encapsulate what I prepared for going to Japan!

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Table of Contents

     1. Online shopping
     2. Suitcases and bags
     3. Collin
          a. Pet sitters
          b. Keys for my flat
     4. Souvenirs for my friends and family in Japan
     5. Decluttering
     6. Travel insurance
     7. Mobile Wifi for the trip in Japan
     ★Summary

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1. Online shopping

Since I was going to visit Japan, I was shopping online from time to time. Usually, I order something and it arrives at my parent’s place in Japan, and I ask my mum to send it to me with some other stuff approximately once every six months. However, since I was going to Japan this time, I anyway bought lots of things online, and my mum got deliveries and kept them at home.

What I bought was mainly cosmetics. Amazon Japan really has everything! I bought 100 face packs… (Eventually I brought only 70 packs to Estonia. I gave the rest to my mum.)

Beside makeup cosmetics, I purchased an eye mask, Fantastic Beasts’ DVD, and shoes online.

Ah and perfumes too…

I didn’t buy skin care products or stationeries because I wanted to buy them in Japan.

I spent 30,000 JPY (207 EUR) at this point.

By the way, I will write another article on how much I spent on this trip in Japan.

2. Suitcases and bags

The reason why I bought so many things online was because I had enough capacity in my suitcases.

Last time I used LOT Polish, and I could bring only one 23kg suitcase. Based on my experience, I selected an airline on which I was allowed to bring two 23kg suitcases for free. Also I was very lucky.

When I came to Estonia, I brought only one suitcase and one 8kg backpack, so I needed one more suitcase. Then, my friend told me that he unnecessarily had multiple suitcases, so I got one big one. It was shaped almost like a square, and looked different, but the size was fine as per the rule on the airline.

Additionally, I bought a haversack on Lindex and a backpack on Nordace. With these I was ready for hanging out and going out and carrying on the airplane.

As for the backpack, I had wanted to buy it for a long time. On the other hand, I found a nice one coincidentally on Lindex.

3. Collin

Plus, I have Collin who is my roomate chinchilla.

As a chinchilla can live without care for two nights, I looked for a pet sitter who can come to my place and take care of him once every three days.

a. Pet sitters

At first, I used a website called PetBacker, but when I asked my friends, they just said yes.

As I was going to stay in Japan for four weeks, I divided the period into two: the first two weeks and the latter two weeks, during each of which, I asked them to come five times.

It’s easy to take care of a chinchilla. One just needs to let him take a dust bath, feed him, and give him a treat since in Collin’s case, he is being patient during the cleaning time. I hadn’t started letting him take a walk in the room. This is because it had been only two months for him to move to my place, and he nibbled everything as he was only four months old (four years old in human). Therefore, I planned to let him take a walk once he is mature enough, and didn’t include this activity in the to-do list. In total, it took only half an hour.

b. Keys for my flat

In order for my friends to take care of Collin, they needed to come to my place, I decided to make spare keys. My flat owner told me there was one more set of spare keys when I moved in the current place, but I needed two sets, so I decided to make two more sets.

Keys can be duplicated at a key-and-shoe shop in a shopping centre. (I don’t know what it is called.)

I went to a shop called Kingaprof.

Since the clerk told me there are duplicable keys and non-duplicable keys, I showed mine to him. He said mine were duplicable.

It took only about five minutes. He immediately duplicated two sets. One set cost 16 EUR so in total I paid 32 EUR.

I’m not sure if they were cheap. 😂

4. Souvenirs for my friends and family in Japan

Let’s talk about souvenirs to my friends and family in Japan. This time I bought soaps, a calendar, chocolates, a pouch as well as black bread.

I bought Kalev’s chocolate. They sell two different big bags with different flavours, so I bought one kg (two bags) of one type, and another kilo (two bags) of the other type, plus two different flavours of chocolate additionally.

As I did the similar thing in 2019, I feel like doing something different next time.

5. Decluttering

I did decluttering too. However, it does not literally mean that I threw away something. I brought already-read books, saved CDs and something I don’t use in Estonia but want to keep in JapanJapan. Most were books. Since then, I have wanted to read books on Kindle, but I like paper books better because I can know how far I am to the end.

6. Travel insurance

Whenever I travel, I have travel insurance. Like last time, I used an insurance company called Globe Partner. I don’t know any other insurance which I, as a Japanese individual living abroad, can have travel insurance to go to Japan. It cost 35 EUR. I have searched for some other insurances, and yet they cost around 100 EUR.

7. Mobile Wifi for the trip in Japan

While travelling in Japan, the must-have item is Wifi. Like last time as well, I rented a mobile Wifi on Rakuten’s Wifi rental shop for one month.

I received a mobile Wifi in Kansai airport, and I returned it by post. Last time I returned at Narita airport’s Wifi service desk, but this time I had to check in at 6.30 am at Kansai airport, so I wasn’t sure if the Wifi service desk was open. Therefore, just in case the desk wasn’t open, I returned the Wifi by post.

★Summary

I really bought lots of cosmetics… But it’s all good because the more I have, the longer I can use them. I am so glad that I got eyeshadows in different colours.

I am Japanese and my family lives in Japan, so I can do these things, but if I were a non-Japanese tourist, the preparation would be much harder. I wonder how they do with Wifi? I would be worried because I was when I travelled here and there in Europe in 2015, having a SIM-locked phone. Particularly when walking. Actually, sometimes I was worried because the Wifi connection was bad once in a while. ON the other hand, when the connection was smooth, it was very comfortable.

Perhaps the next visit is in autumn of 2024.

I’m gonna save money for that until then again!!

Aitäh! 🙂