wall plugs
 

ok so i am deciding if when i go to tokyo for the 2014 TAS at makuraharemesse (sp) if we'r gonna stay at a westernish hotel or ryokan.

anyways, all my electroncs (battery charger/computer/phone cord charger/etc) are 110 (120) based...and if i recall isn't the tokyo 220? anyways, is it advisble to purchase her in the usa, the wall adapter things or get them whilst in japan? each night, phone, camera battery (3 batteries each for each camera i'll be bringing - canon 7d and sony nex-5) and computer.....how about power strips...get that there also?

haaalp?? :confused::confused::confused:

Most charger-type units are 110/220 compatible. The chargers for my phone, computer, camera, etc will adjust for proper voltage on the fly. Check the actual charger unit. It should show the operating voltage. If it says something like 110/220, you are good to go.

The one lesson I learned early on is to bring a 3-prong to 2-prong (blade type) adapter as many of my plugs have the 3rd (ground) prong. The wall outlets are all 2-blade type. My first trip years ago involved a shopping adventure at Yodobashi Camera, trying to find an adapter.

You don't say where you are coming from. The above is for North American plugs. For other types, you may need another plug adapter to allow you to plug into the 2-blade wall outlets.

Another point you want to pay attention when you buy adopters. If you look closely to the plugs from the U.S. or Canada, you notice that the blade on left is slightly wider than the blade on right. However, in Japan both blades on the socket is same size.

I once made that mistake. I had three prong to two prong adopter I had in the U.S. and thought I was all set to Japan. However, the two prong side of this adopter was the U.S. version with the blade on left is slightly wider. The adopter did not fit into the socket in Japan.

However, pretty much all recently built U.S. chain hotels, Hilton, Hyatt, Westins, etc. in Japan has sockets in each room which will work with the U.S. plugs.

To be specific, the electricity in the U.S. is 120 volts with 60 Hz. Electricity in eastern half of Japan, which includes Tokyo, is 100 volts with 50 Hz where western half of Japan, which includes Osaka, is 100 volts with 60 Hz.

Don't forget to bring an ethernet dongle or wifi travel router if your hotel doesn't state that it has wifi in room and your devices require wifi. Many hotels in Japan provide wired ethernet access as the standard rather than wifi.

sorry about that...yes in japan it's 100v, 50Hz in the north and 60Hz in the south.....thanks, guys.

The only thing to note is that most electronic equipment built for 110 will work fine on 100V. However, you can have a problem with stuff like power tools, etc. that draw a lot of current.

It basically depends on who's providing power -- 60 Hz if Chubu Power, 50 Hz if TEPCO. Oh, and the dividing line is in Shizuoka (along the Fuji River), Nagano, and Niigata, FYI.

http://www.sharp.co.jp/support/advice/images/map.gif

http://www.chuden.co.jp/ryokin/infor...iki/mame_area/

Here's a list of what areas in the "mixed" areas receive what frequency of power: http://www.chuden.co.jp/ryokin/shiku...rtz/index.html

It's not true that they don't use polarized sockets in Japan. I read about that, but newer house buildings all have them. It must be in really old houses.

It doesn't matter for electronics since these plugs aren't polarized. Anything from the US works in Tokyo apart from clocks. If you are running a power device then the top end is a bit less powerful. E.g a vacuum cleaner. But you don't notice it.

If you have a US 3 plug grounded then you need an adapter. They sell them for 50 cents at Home Depot in the US. I picked up a dozen and use them for power strips mainly. Old houses in the US don't have ground-plug sockets.

You must have some really old clocks. Don't forget to wind them up regularly. My clocks all use crystal oscillators, which have DC input power.

in the us, almost all two prong plugs are polarized.

http://www.amazon.com/Cables-Unlimit...ref=pd_sim_e_5

will those mechanically fit in a japanese two prong equal sized slot wall socket?

ok so as long as i get the adapter i'll be ok, right? things might charge a littttttttle slower (100v vs 110v)....but should have no problem...as long as the voltage on the actual item(s) shows 100-220v, right?

Provided the device says it accepts voltages as low as 100 volts, you're fine. They'll charge exactly as fast as they do on 120 or 240 volts.

There is no definitive answer. For the most part, hotels and other tourist-oriented facilities have the US-style 2-prong outlets with one side wider than the other. My $.99 adapter has worked in every hotel I've visited - until last week in a small place in the outback of Hokkaido. The plug just wouldn't go into the wall outlet. Luckily, I still had an old Japanese adapter I picked up years ago squirreled away in the bottom of my laptop case and it fit fine. I'd say in most hotels you are liable to use, the answer is yes. If not, ask the concierge for directions to the nearest Yodobashi or other electronics store and buy one. The hotel may actually have them. Or, you can go to Radio Shack or similar and buy an adapter specifically made for travel.

Trim the wider blade a bit with a cutter, like you'll find with a needle-nosed plier.

Seriously, devices that run on DC via AC/DC conversion DO NOT have polarized plugs. There is no point to have it since it's just rectifying and stepping down the AC power. This includes 99.99% of what a tourist or business traveler uses, i.e. mobile phones, notebook computers, etc.

Even the Mac Airbook (or whatever it's called) has (had?) a grounded plug but it's not polarized. Then the problem is that if you buy a cheapo Home Depot converter plug then its prongs are polarized! Then you are better off with one of those multi-converter bricks. Or actually a Euro-US type converter plug usually accepts US input and the ground part will slide above if it's slim enough.

Furthermore, if an outlet is not polarized in a JP socket then I wouldn't want to spend the night in such a place. The earthquake and fire risk is probably significant.

ok guys what about say computer plugs that have a plug that look like this? http://i01.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/6...CORD-CABLE.jpg what do i do? take that, plug it into the orange 3-to2-grounded orangey adapter then to the double round wall plug?

**confused**

I suggest that you inspect the plugs on your mobile phone, notebook adapters. Or pretty much any adapter.

Obviously an extension cord has to be able handle an electric device that requires polarization. There is a reason for the polarized plugs and also a reason that 99% of houses in Japan probably have them.

I believe that you will also find such outlets in a really old unrenovated house in the US.

Yes, but in the very unlikely event of finding an unpolarized socket in JP you are out of luck because the Home Depot 59 cent adapter has polarized output prongs. If you want to be 100% safe get a multiadpater brick. It accepts any plug input and then you select the output side: UK/Euro/US&OZ. (Oz works by rotating the US prongs.)

Come to think of it, I think the socket built into a desk of a business hotel in JP may have been unpolarized.

I had the same problem, went down to BIC Camera and got one of these:
http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/...=4953103212329

Pickles' technical information is consistent with my knowledge, but I am just a lowly BS in CS.

Folks,

Please address the topic without taking jabs at one another. Several posts up thread have been gently edited to remove ad hominem remarks.

Thanks for your understanding and co-operation.

Prospero
Senior Moderator

We're done here. Primary rule of FlyerTalk is to be respectful in one's post. This thread is not an example of that.

l'etoile
sr. moderator