You are required to make either an oral or a written declaration about your belongings when you enter Japan. Two copies of a written declaration are required if you have unaccompanied baggage. Customs declaration forms are available on the plane, the ship, or at the Customs office.

Personal effects and unaccompanied baggage that are for personal use, are free of duties and/or taxes within the allowance specified below. If you have both personal effects and unaccompanied baggage, please consider them together when referring to the allowance.

Clothes, toiletry articles, and other personal effects that are for personal use, as well as professional equipment that will be used during your stay in Japan, are all free of duties and/or taxes, if they are considered quantitatively appropriate and are not for sale.

The voltage used throughout Japan is uniformly 100 volts, A.C. There are two kinds of frequencies in use; 50 Hertz in eastern Japan and 60 Hertz in western Japan (including Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka).

A convertible type of electrical appliance such as a hair dryer, travel iron and shaver will therefore be handy; otherwise a step-down transformer is required to convert the voltage.

There are no columnar-shaped plugs or 3-pin plugs used in Japan but 2-flat-pin plugs are used instead. It is therefore advised to purchase a plug adapter beforehand.

There are two different phone numbers to dial in an emergency - 110 to call the police or 119 to report a fire or to call an ambulance. These emergency numbers can be dialed from a public telephone without paying for the call by pressing the red button that is located on the front of the phone.

Medical Services
If you need a doctor or first-aid, contact your hotel front desk or ask someone around you. For hospital information, call (03) 5285-8181 in Tokyo. Japanese medical services and facilities enjoy a high international reputation.

Hospitals with English Speaking Doctors
In general, hospital reception desks are open 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., Monday through Friday.

International Catholic Hospital (Seibo Byoin)
2-5-1 Naka-Ochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 161-8521
Tel: (03) 3951-1111

Japanese Red Cross Medical Center (Nihon Sekijujisha Iryo Center)
4-1-22 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8935
Tel: (03) 3400-1311

St. Luke's International Hospital (Seiroka Byoin)
9-1 Akashicho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-8560
Tel: (03) 3541-5151

Tokyo Adventist Hospital (Tokyo Eisei Byoin)
3-17-3 Amanuma, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 167-0032
Tel: (03) 3392-6151

Police
You will notice that there are police boxes very often located by main street crossings in Japan, to keep an eye on people on the street and assist them to find their way to their destination. Japan's crime rate is very low compared to that of many other countries.

Lost and Found
If you left your bag or package in a railway station or other public area, go to the stationmaster's office or the nearest police box and ask for English-language assistance. If you left something in a taxi then go to your hotel's reception desk. Taxi drivers often bring the belongings back to your hotel.

Currency and Money Exchange
There is no limit on the amount of any currency that may be brought into or taken out of Japan. However, if you transport (any currencies, checks, securities or other monies.) exceeding 1,000,000 yen worth in Japanese currency into or out of the country then you must complete a customs declaration.

The unit of Japanese currency is yen. Coins are available in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 yen and bank notes in denominations of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 yen.

You can buy yen at foreign exchange banks and other authorized money exchangers. At the international airports, currency exchange counters are usually open during normal office hours. The exchange rate fluctuates daily depending on the money market.

Travelers Checks and Credit Cards
Travelers Checks are accepted by leading banks, hotels, ryokan (Japanese inns) and stores in major cities.

International credit cards such as American Express, VISA, Diners Club and MasterCard are also acceptable at these major establishments. However, Credit card transactions are not always convenient outside big cities so obtaining cash beforehand is recommended when you travel to the countryside.

VISA CARD
http://www.visa.com

MASTER CARD
http://www.mastercard.com

AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD
http://www.americanexpress.com

DINERS CARD
http://www.dinersclub.com

ATMs
Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) are commonly available in large urban areas throughout Japan. However, many do not accept foreign credit cards or cash cards and their service hours are very often restricted. Many ATMs operate only during banking hours although some remain open until 18:00-20:00 on weekdays. Often, weekend services are restricted to Saturday mornings.

For ATMs that accept credit cards, it is advised to contact each credit company beforehand and check the location of each ATM and its availability as these conditions vary from machine to machine.

Foreign credit, debit and cash cards can be used at over 21,000 Post Office ATMs in locations throughout Japan. Post offices where this service is available display stickers indicating which cards are accepted. Cards from the Cirrus, Plus, Maestro and Visa Electron networks can be used. Accepted credit cards include Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Diners Club.

VISA CARD
http://visaatm.infonow.net

MASTER CARD
http://www.mastercard.com

AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD
http://maps.americanexpress.com

DINERS CARD
http://dinersclub.infonow.net

When a national holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday becomes a holiday. When a weekday is sandwiched between national holidays (except Sundays and Mondays), it also becomes a holiday. This rule applies to the 4th of May.

December 25 (Christmas) is not a national holiday in Japan.

Government and other public offices as well as many companies are closed between December 29 and January 3.