Converting from UK to Japanese power?

June 15, 2015 8:54 AM

I'm travelling from the UK to Japan in November, and have just realised that the mains supply stuff we are taking with us (phone/tablet charger with USB cable, camera battery charger for a Canon dslR) will require voltage conversion, not just an adaptor plug. This confuses me a little bit. Are there any recommended converters I should be looking at that will easily pack into luggage, or should I be looking at getting a Japanese usb charger/camera battery charger off of eBay before we go?

I have got a US to UK step-up voltage converter from when I bought an American appliance on eBay a while back - will this also work to operate other Japanese electrical products in the UK, as well?

posted by mippy to Travel & Transportation around Tokyo, Japan (6 answers total)

Response by poster: I have seen this but it is £50 and looks like it will take up half my suitcase...
posted by mippy at 8:56 AM on June 15, 2015

Best answer: Check the tiny print on the electronics you want to use (or the manual online). Very likely, they will work just fine at 100V, so all you will need is a plug adapter.

If not, you can buy a USB charger for your phone and tablet in Japan for very little.

As for your voltage converter, the answer would depend on the specific converter you have and what you want to use it for. It depends.
posted by ssg at 9:09 AM on June 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: As ssg mentioned, most modern electronics do not need voltage conversion, and can handle 100v-220v without a problem.
posted by dcjd at 9:29 AM on June 15, 2015

Best answer: As others have said, you almost certainly do not need a voltage transformer for any of the gadgets you mention.

Unless you're talking about hair dryers or tea kettles or desktop computers or TVs then you'll be fine.
posted by caek at 9:31 AM on June 15, 2015

Response by poster: Brilliant - I was worried I'd have to try and get one whilst there which I'd rather not have to spend time doing! Thanks all.
posted by mippy at 9:49 AM on June 15, 2015

While most devices will handle it fine, you do need to check each one before plugging it in. This power adapter is multi-voltage (100V - 240V), but this one is not (120V only) and wouldn't have been happy had I plugged it to my local 240V power. Plugging something that expects 240V into a 100V outlet is less likely to fail in a dangerous way, but still...
posted by russm at 1:51 AM on June 16, 2015