#[[If you know about the heavy snow in Rural Japan then you know what the inspiration here is]]

[inky-anemone]

"I think I miss the heavy snow of my childhood a bit, but I don't mind the more temperate weather of Splatsville; save some of the haughty turf players with icier dispositions than a blizzard I've run afoul of lately. I'd just rather not be shoveling up snow piles that are always at least twice as tall as me."

Anemone shudders at the thought of the snow piles higher than a coach bus that she remembers as well.

[emutravels]

My most valued items from Japan

I hadn’t been to Japan before so prior to my departure so many people were giving me suggestions on packing. But what did I actually need? These people were giving me suggestions based on Tokyo life but actually rural Japan is quite different sometimes. Also personal choice and little things which are overlooked often turned out to be the most helpful.

Here is my list of items that were important to me in Japan!

1. A coin purse OR a coin-friendly wallet Japan has A LOT of coins, specifically one yens that always seem to end up in my possession. I brought two wallets with me to Japan and neither were great for holding coins. There was one day where I couldn’t deal with the fact that my bag had just become a void where I threw all my change. How does it feel to have 50,000 yen worth of coins in your bag? Pretty much how you’d assume; annoying and heavy. I also ended up having a small origami box of coins that sat on my shelf and I tried to use up for things like laundry and vending machines. Somehow at the airport I thought I’d gotten rid of all my coins when I changed currency...but they still appear from time to time.

2. Duct tape Beautiful invention that is now very close to my heart. I can’t explain why I first impulsively bought that bright yellow tape from Daiso the first time. I guess when you walk into a 100yen store sometimes you go into a trance and buy whatever you look at twice. It came in handy for sooo many things. I used it for photography, for craft, to pack parcels to send home, hanging things on my wall, etc

3. A coat. Actually several. Japan is COLD in the winter. Northern Japan is freeze-ya-face-off-cold-unless-youre-Canadian kind of weather. Some of the best clothing purchases I made were second-hand coats and jumpers.

4. Speaking of clothes. SNOW BOOTS. Don’t be afraid to shop in the childrens section if it fits you because thats how I ended up with kitsch snow boots at a decent price. They were warm and had little grips on the bottom so falling over wasn’t a problem for me! Though the worst feeling was when I stupidly didnt do them up properly and when trekking through the snow accidentally flicked a big chunk into them and got wet socks T^T

5. A ceramic bowl. I only had one bowl and I used it for everything but that was all that I needed. When you’re living in a dorm sometimes you just gotta get that instant food or go to someone else’s house who has a kitchen and is cooking a communal meal. Specially ceramic because its the most versatile. I could microwave it, make tea with it, soup, cereal, AND its easy to wash. Otherwise a nice tip is disposable cups for when you are a lazy arsehole like I am sometimes. *makes porridge, eats it, throws away the cup*

6. Food from your home country. Everyone from Australia and England went through a weird stage when we all wanted Cadbury chocolate. It’s EXPENSIVE in Japan and difficult to find in rural Japan anyway. I ended up paying my best friend to send over a package of Australian lollies and oats. I promise I didn’t eat them all myself! It was a good way to share culture as well. Like introducing people to WIZZ FIZZ and sometimes it was good to combat homesickness.

7. Deodorant. Again, rural Japan, we had limited shopping choices and I know people were constantly on the hunt to find deodorant they liked. It’s quite a new thing in that country so if you’re particular about types that you prefer like “I only like roll on and a brand which isn’t going to make me broke“.....maybe bring some with you if you go to Japan

8. An iPhone. Yesss I bought my phone in Japan. My other shitty phone died almost instantly after leaving Australia. So until AU (a phone company) graciously saved me with their student discounted bundle with lots of data, I was phoneless and it was not good. Having data was so handy that I could explore more and it pretty much saved me when I got lost in the forest. The picture quality meant that I didn’t have to worry about also getting a digital camera. It was one of those things that made me think “I love technology“. The best part is that I got an SE so its a stylish rose gold and its bulkier so *touch wood* its never cracked and I’ve already had it for almost 6 months.

9. Bento. I’m not saying that you should bring a small box to a buffet if youre a starving student and I’m deffo not saying that I did either. But a bento is a great way to save food for later and sometimes I’d just fill it with rice. Finding places to get food on the weekend was hard and sometimes I didn’t eat because I couldn’t actually get any food. All the shops around were closed and it was still maybe another 2-3 hours until the bus to the mall so I just went to sleep and tried to forget I was hungry. ITS TERRIBLE I KNOW, but if I was prepared enough I’d have a bento stashed and I could eat that instead of being a sad excuse of a person.

10. Muji pens. STOCK UP because for some reason muji brand pens became a staple. Everyone just used them for everything without question and there was a store nearby so I also got sucked into the trend. I still use them now and always have the urge to buy more even though I’m so far way from the closest shop now

Also a bonus suggestion is if you’re going to Japan during summer its advised that you get a small towel to carry with you. Many people do this, I was not one of them but maybe next time I will be.