Things you need to bring when travelling to Japan

I thought may be it will be interesting for muslims who are coming to japan to know what things they should bring with them:

1. Medicines: bring with you all the medicines you need or may need (in case of flu, headache, ...). It is may be impossible here in Japan to find the same medicines that you use in your country. Medicines here are sold under doctor prescription. There are drug stores where you can buy drugs without doctor's prescription but when you are new and do not speak/read Japanese it is difficult to find what you are looking for. If you have a baby, it is better also to bring medicines against fever because doctors here refused to give drugs against fever for my baby .
2. Clothes: it is difficult for a Muslim woman to find suitable clothes for her (I mean long skirts, long jackets, scarves...). It is more difficult if you wear large sizes, most of clothes here are size S, M or L and sometimes LL. LL is considered a very large size here. The same thing goes for shoes.
3. Bring lace-less shoes or shoes you can easily slip on. You’ll be surprised to find how often you'll be taking them off.
4. If you have problem to speak English, bring with you a dictionary to translate from your language to English. But do not worry because Japaneses do not speak English well so you will need to talk in English occasionally.
5. It is difficult to find Halal vanilla and gelatin, so if you need them, bring them with you. Tahini and Nigella sativa (black seeds) are also difficult to find. I recommend also to bring dried herbs like Oregano, verbana, mint.
   
6. Bring some food with you if you do not know any muslim where you are going to live, it is difficult in the beginning to know which food is halal .
7. Bring with you your official papers (translated in English) like the driving license, original transcripts and degree, vaccination record for children....
8. Many institutes pay salaries at the end of the month, it’s important to bring quite a bit of cash.
   
9. Gifts: it is appreciated to give a gift for your professor.
   

Things you do not need to bring with you:

1. Electrical appliances like a hair dryer because you will face electrical compatibility problems. Japan operates on 100 volts. In addition, used appliances are very cheap here and can be found easily.

Once you are in Japan and realize that you need things for your new home like plates and spoons, batteries, pens..., you can buy them from 100yen shops, these shops sells things at 100 yen, very cheap when you are in Japan.