I am traveling to Japan in May and was wondering if anyone would know if my American appliances (such as a hair dryer and a hair straightener) would plug into Japanese outlets? Both of my hair appliances have 2 prongs. Will I need to get an adapter? Where can I buy a quality, but cheap, adapter?
Japan - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
The plugs are the same but you will need a transformer. Japan uses 100v and 50Hz (near tokyo) and 60 Hz other places. I had a coffee maker and the water would take for ever to get hot.
2 :
Japanese outlets take two prongs, however, many of them still aren't polarized. If your appliances have polarized prongs, you might still need an adapter. You can usually get things like that at places like Best Buy, and prong adapters aren't all that expensive. You shouldn't need a voltage adapter. Japanese voltage is only 10-20 volts lower than in the US. Items with power bricks (e.g. laptops) often have voltage adapters built in (you can look on the brick and see -- if it has its own adapter it will say something like "100-240v"). Items that don't have power bricks will usually run, but they might run more slowly or might not get as hot. If you're staying in a hotel it's kind of silly to bring your own hair drier anyway, since most hotels provide basic things like that. Obviously they wouldn't have hair straighteners, though, so you could bring yours, but don't be surprised if it doesn't get as hot as usual.
