The Power in Japan is 220 watts or 110 like here?

By "here" if you mean North America, Japan is a bit differerent in that it uses 100 V, however North American 110V items *generally work fine.

I've never had problems with any of my items, ie digital camera charger, laptop power, etc etc.

If you have anything with three prongs you'll need an adapter to two prongs. But generally speaking items work ok.

It's 100 Volt. Eastern Japan is 50 Hz, and Western Japan is 60 Hz.

If this is for a laptop computer, most power supplies will work across a range of voltages and Hz. Check the input rating on the power supply label.

Also note one more thing, running at 100V 60Hz, you'll note things run a bit slower in terms of charging. Same can be said for some clocks which run slower then they have to downshift to 50Hz/100V.

Sanosuke!

I am writing this from my Tokyo hotel room having just charged up my US model computer with Japanese juice. Had to get an adaptor for the plug from the desk bacause the computer has a three prong, grounded plug for the power adaptor and hotel plug is only two prong. Otherwise, I believe that a US plug would slide right in. A lady at the hotel told me her Epilady worked fine without an adaptor.

A lady at the hotel told me her Epilady worked fine without an adaptor.


:eek: :eek: :eek:

That is not something I would want to have operating any slower than usual!!!

Ouch! Those things are even more painful than waxing.

Thank you Adm. Nimitz!

Its not Wattage is Voltage.
Unless you are in a very odd part of the U.S. then you are not running 110 Volts either. It has been 120 Volts since we went to 60 Hertz back in the 60's. So 50hz = 110v and 60hz = 120v. In Japan they run 50hz at 100v. Most things do not work as well, but will work. Check the voltage range on the adapter. Most say 110-120 some also include EU voltage of 220-240.

In Japan they run 50hz at 100v.

As pointed in earlier posts, Eastern japan runs at 100v 50hz, Western Japan runs at 100v 60hz.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

That is not something I would want to have operating any slower than usual!!!

Ouch! Those things are even more painful than waxing.

But, her legs looked great! :)

In my time here, I've found only two electrical items (brought from the US) that did not "work" here.

The first was an on-off timer. Let's just say that whatever electrical item I had attached to that timer would turn on and off at progressively odd times of the day. (Cause: 50hz vs. 60hz difference)

The other was a hot air popcorn popper I had carried over from the US oh so many years ago. It never popped a single kernel. The kernels were merely pushed around the bottom of the popper (when the hot air vent was), and ended up being "roasted" a dark golden brown. :( (Cause: 100v vs. 120v difference--just didn't have enough "juice" to pop the corn.)

In my time here, I've found only two electrical items (brought from the US) that did not "work" here.

Hey there! - I was just thinking "it's a long time since I've seen Double," but I figured that I simply hadn't been drunk enough...

Let me tell you the story of an electrical item which was bought in Japan and failed when I took it to the "wrong part" of Japan.... :confused:

It was a cheap microwave oven that I bought in Yamanashi and took to Shizuoka - only a short drive away. When I hooked it up in Shizuoka the clock came to life (00:00) and all seemed fine... but the first time I tried to heat up some food, it immediately died.

When I took it to the repair guy, he explained that I had purchased a rather antiquated "50Hz only" microwave, and by crossing the Fuji river, I had entered 60Hz territory. :eek: It seemed incredible to me at the time that a store should be allowed to sell appliances which would simply break down if used in the neighbouring town. :rolleyes:

Lesson learnt. These days I check the frequency range as well as the voltage range on the power supply before I plug in an appliance.

For example - The brick for my Dell computer is clearly marked : AC 100-240V 50-60Hz ... so it can accept the juice from the wall here... ^

The exploding battery is another matter.... :mad:

The exploding battery is another matter.... :mad:

Japan Orders Apple To Investigate Laptop Fire

ASSOCIATED PRESS

August 29, 2006 1:51 p.m.

TOKYO -- Japanese authorities reported the first case in Japan of an Apple laptop catching fire and ordered the company to investigate the trouble involving the faulty Sony batteries and report back within a week.

A laptop made by Apple Computer Inc. overheated and caught fire in April, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Tuesday. The user sustained minor burns after the iBook G4 caught fire, according to Apple spokeswoman Michiko Matsumoto, confirming the case.

It had to happen. ;)

Hey there! - I was just thinking "it's a long time since I've seen Double," but I figured that I simply hadn't been drunk enough...
Well, hey there, jib71! Yes, I have to admit that my postings in this and other forums has been pretty sparse over the last few months. Part of the reason was I've been busy working and giving a number of paper presentations at various conferences here and there (mostly there!), and the other being it's not always easy to find a good, cheap, fast, secure (Yes, I'm very picky!) Internet connection for my laptop that will allow me to read at least a few posts before I give up in disgust either from the draggingly slow downloads or the weak/dropped connections.

And while I haven't brought back any new electrical appliances to "test" here this time around (other than a cheap "keitai" I bought in the US for $29.99 which BTW I have just confirmed doesn't work here--not that I thought there was any chance that it would, which is OK as I will just hang on to it for the next time I go back), I am really happy to be back to the hot and humid weather of Tokyo :rolleyes: .

Japanese authorities reported the first case in Japan of an Apple laptop catching fire...
Made me think of baked apple...yum, haven't had that in a while. :)

Ditto to what everyone said above regarding cycles (Hz) and voltage. Its especially important to keep the needs for an adaptor in mind if you're bringing something (e.g., we brought a digital projector) that you will use outside your hotel.

What are the prongs like there? The round pin type like in Korea and Europe, or the flat blade style like in North America? Heading over this weekend.

They are the flat pins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_plug#Type_A_.28American.2FJapanese_2-pin.29