Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Japan and customs

Will I get stuck in Tokyo?

jcrbuzz — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 04:38:18 -0800

Please help me determine if this flight plan through Narita (Tokyo) airport is plausible or insane. I have a flight booked that will take me directly from Boston (BOS) to Nartia (NRT) and land at 3:50pm. I want to then catch a plane from NRT to Komatsu (KMQ) that leaves at 5:55pm. I will not be checking any bags. Will I have enough time to clear customs and security to get on this flight?

Bonus question: My flight home leaves at 11:30am, and no flights from KMQ get in that early (that I know of), so I was planning on flying back to Toyko the day before. Can anyone recommend a good hotel near NRT airport that I can stay in for one night?

Welcome to Japan

gerryblog — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 10:04:49 -0800

What should I expect once I arrive in Tokyo? And what shouldn't I miss while I'm in the Kyoto area next weekend? I'll be arriving in Tokyo on Japan Airlines (by way of Chicago) at 14:15, and have a connection also via Japan Airlines to Nagoya/Chuba at 15:50.

Generally speaking, how navigable is Tokyo/Narita for a first-time visitor who doesn't speak a word of Japanese? Judging from my itinerary, it looks like I won't have to change terminals. What is customs like? How long should I expect it to take? Will I have to reclaim my checked baggage at customs, and will I have to go through security a second time afterwards?

Is there anything else you think I need to know? I've read the other Japan threads but didn't see much about the process of actually arriving, clearing customs, and changing planes.

Thanks / Arigatou.

Japanese Birthday

Hands of Manos — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 12:36:02 -0800

Japanese Birthday customs For my girlfriend's 40th this year, I'm going to do a Japanese themed birthday party. I have some japanese recipes I'm going to make (as well as getting some sushi to go with it) but I was wondering if anyone could tell me about Japanese customs when it comes to birthday celebrations.

How is it different than people in the states? How do you pronounce happy birthday in Japanese? Is there a certain music the Japanese play during a birthday celebration?

I also am going to dress the kids up (hopefully) for the birthday, too. I will have the girl dress up in a Kimono but I'm having trouble coming up with something authentic for the boy.

Also, what type of dessert goes well for a Japanese Birthday?

Thanks for any and all tips you can give me!

Japanese Customs (of the non-social variety)

quidividi — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 06:06:26 -0800

I may have to hand-carry 50 copies of an English-language business book into Japan next month. I will declare the books to the customs inspector at Narita. Does anyone have experience doing this? Does Japanese Customs only accept cash? Is my lack of Japanese likely to be a problem? Is this a one-stop process, or will I have to collect the books later? Thanks in advance!

Bringing legally prescribed controlled substances through customs in Asia?

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 06:01:33 -0800

Advice on bringing a small quantity of legally prescribed Ritalin (methylphenidate) and other prescriptions for personal use into Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, and the Philippines? I'm traveling to a number of Asian countries in the next three weeks, and I would like to bring my prescriptions with me. The drugs are 30x20mg Ritalin (methylphenidate), 6x200mg Provigil (modafinil), and 30x10mg Ambien (zolpidem). These are legally prescribed by a U.S. doctor, and I will carry the pills in the original, labeled bottle and will have an official-looking letter from the doctor.

But Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, according to their customs Web sites, either ban these drugs outright or require preapproval through a bureaucratic process. I wasn't able to find info on the other countries, but it's those three places that I'm most concerned about anyway (Japan and Singapore especially).

In those countries, since they require preapproval, if I indicate on my customs forms that I have controlled substances, then I'll almost certainly have them confiscated and could face other penalties (right?). If I play stupid and just state I have no items to declare, I'd most likely get through OK. But if they pull me aside and search my bags, then I'd be in big trouble, right? I will have entered and exited different countries ~13 times by the end of this trip, so at least on that I'd look suspicious.

So: what actually happens if Japan/Singapore/Hong Kong customs finds undeclared, un-preapproved but legally prescribed controlled substances in your bags? Is it something I can plead ignorance on and just get a warning, or are there serious consequences? I'm not sure if these laws are actually enforced in the case of small quantities and legal personal use. Should I just not bring the drugs?

Will my spice mix get confiscated by Japanese customs?

teem — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 04:43:49 -0800

Will I have trouble with customs bringing homemade Indian food spice mixes (made in Australia) into Japan? In a week I'm visiting my girlfriend who's over there, and I was planning to bring her some of the homemade spice mixes I use to make Indian food. They're your typical mixture of spices (cumin, coriander, etc) assembled in Australia from spices bought in Australia.

It'd be a shame to go to the effort only to have them confiscated, so for those who have travelled into Japan, how likely is it that they'll get taken away? Is there anything I can do to minimise the chances of this?

How much are customs fees in Japan for a Nintendo DS Lite?

greasepig — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 03:37:20 -0800

Is it worth it to have a Nintendo DS Lite shipped halfway around the world and back? I'm an American living in Japan, and would like to get a Nintendo DS Lite, because I've seen that there are some great games for practicing reading and writing kanji. The problem is that they are so popular here that I can't seem to find a place that has them in stock.

However, I am considering an interesting option. I was given a nice big Amazon gift certificate that I could use to buy one (unfortunately I can't use it on Amazon.co.jp). What I was thinking was I could ship it to my family in the states, and then have them ship it to me. I assume this is legal, but that I need to pay some customs fees or something. I've looked on various shipping companies' sites, but I can't seem to find out how to figure out how much these would be. Does anyone have experience in this area? How much would I have to pay, or how do I find out?