# sydney-side kiwis moving to Tokyo



## kiwi17

hi, we are moving from Sydney to Tokyo at the beginning of October 2011. 
I have a couple of questions that I cannot seem to find answers for online.

Can we bring our wine? I was hoping to pack it up with the rest of the household stuff, but perhaps this is problematic? Im sure the relocators will tell me all the restrictions etc but I would like know before I order another case....

many of our electrical things have 3 pin plugs, can I get adaptors before we leave?

I have plenty of other equally silly questions, so would appreciate any advice, tips or recommendations on how to make this a less stressful move for me and my 3kids, (husband is a lttle too relaxed about the move).
thank you, kellie


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## Singapore Saint

kiwi17 said:


> hi, we are moving from Sydney to Tokyo at the beginning of October 2011.
> I have a couple of questions that I cannot seem to find answers for online.
> 
> Can we bring our wine? I was hoping to pack it up with the rest of the household stuff, but perhaps this is problematic? Im sure the relocators will tell me all the restrictions etc but I would like know before I order another case....
> 
> many of our electrical things have 3 pin plugs, can I get adaptors before we leave?
> 
> I have plenty of other equally silly questions, so would appreciate any advice, tips or recommendations on how to make this a less stressful move for me and my 3kids, (husband is a lttle too relaxed about the move).
> thank you, kellie



Hi Kellie,

We moved from Singapore to Tokyo 4 weeks ago and were able to bring wine / spirits with us. We had to pay customs duty on it all, but for roughly 10 - 15 bottles (considerably more were drunk before we left!), we only had to pay 2,500 yen in total.

For the plugs, I'm wishing we had brought more adaptors with us.. maybe I'm looking in the wrong places, but I haven't seen many 3 pin to 2 pin adaptors.. fortunately, we brought a lot of 4 or 6-way extension leads that all our old items can plug into, then we just used one plug adaptor on the end of each.

Good luck with the move!

SS


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## kiwi17

thank you for the info. checked out the wine situation and you were very correct about paying a minimal fee per bottle to bring it in - yay! not having much luck on the electrical front however.. cannot seem to find any 3 pin to 2 pin adaptors anywhere, nor even a brand name of anyone who makes them. I have also been told not to bring my tv or my coffee machine (yea gods!). I think the difficulty is perhaps the voltage: aussie/nz uses 240 vts vs Japan 100 vts? 
its all gobbledegook to me...
?


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## Singapore Saint

Hi Kellie,

For us moving from Singapore, a general rule for the electrics was that small electrical appliances wouldn't work, while larger ones would.. our computers, laptops, phone chargers, XBoxes, playstations, stereos etc all work fine, but our microwave, blenders, mixers, kettles, hairdryers, toasters etc wouldn't.

Fortunately, it's easy to find out what will work. You'll need to check the power supply of all of your electricals - if they show 100v - 240v and also 50hz - 60hz, then the appliance will work. 

- If you only see 240v you wouldn't be able to use it without buying a transformer, which can be fairly expensive not to mention a pain in the backside.
- If you only see one of 50hz or 60hz (forget which one), the appliance will work, but at a reduced capacity - imagine the effect of a dimmer switch on lights.

For your TV, as long as it says 100v - 240v and 50hz - 60hz, it will work, then it's just down to the PAL / NTSC thing as to whether it's compatible with Japan's system.


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