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Packing for Iwate
Mina Tsurimoto, ALT
Ichinohe Town, 1993-95
It will be challenging packing for Iwate because of the severe weather changes from season to season. It's hot and humid during the peak of summer, and cold and snowy during the winter. Here are a few tips on packing from a native Southern Californian who lives in a very cold part of northern Iwate.
Necessities for your suitcase: Pack your summer and some autumn clothes for work and leisure. It will be muggy and hot when you arrive in Tokyo, so it's advisable to bring short-sleeve shirts, skirts, and lightweight pants for school. It never gets that hot in Iwate, and it won't ever be hotter than Tokyo once you get here. Keep in mind that Tokyo Orientation and your schools will require professional dress.
For the autumn, long sleeve shirts, blazers, pants and skirts or dresses will be fine. Men are advised to bring plenty of dress shirts as it may be difficult to find affordable dress shirts that fit in Iwate. You must dress professionally to work, but to what degree depends on your specific situation. High schools and offices tend to adhere to the suit-and-tie/jacket-and-tie code.
Indoor shoes will be needed for your schools and offices because everyone changes their shoes once inside. Bring one or two pairs of inside shoes depending on how many schools you attend. If you visit more than two schools, you might want to tote your shoes from school to school. Bring shoes that have a rubber sole and that won't make black marks on the floor. Shoes that are comfortable and easy to slip on and off are recommended. For outdoor shoes, remember that you have to take your shoes off every time you enter a house, school or office.
Be prepared for the rainy season in August. You should bring a waterproof jacket or raincoat. Umbrellas are available in abundance here and many are very inexpensive.
What to send ahead: Have your winter clothes sent ahead by surface mail (cheapest) to your school or office. Remove all price tags from new clothing and write "USED PERSONAL ITEMS" on the shipping declaration. Otherwise you may have to pay duty in Japan on boxes containing items totaling over a certain monetary amount. Check with the post office in your home country. Your boxes should arrive right when you need them if you send them in July. You can send your packages to your home address, but if you aren't home to receive them, you will have to pick them up at the post office, which can be inconvenient.
You will need to send long underwear, wool socks, wool pants, thick jacket(s), a warm winter coat and sweatshirts. To give you and idea of how cold it gets here, the most that I've ever worn at one time was lined wool pants, wool tights, silk long underwear, a couple sweaters, and a thick down-filled coat. Of course, I'm in the northern part of Iwate and your area might be slightly warmer or you might be used to snow country. Pack accordingly.
Mail order catalogs are a good source of winter items for those who don't have access to cold weather clothing. For example, LL Bean is a good place to get wool socks and snow boots (their Maine hunting boots are great). And the good thing is they deliver to Japan. It's best to buy or order winter shoes from home as sizes and styles are limited here. Pick a shoe that is lined and has a good tread if you're coming to northern or central Iwate. The coastal and southern Iwate people don't have to deal with snow as much, but you might want to buy snow boots or Wellies just in case.
Be aware that some mail order companies don't deliver to Japan, so you might have to ask someone from home to send these things to you if you don't plan ahead. If they do send mail order items to you, make sure that they follow the suggestions listed above in order to avoid having to pay duty.
Bring what you need in terms of clothing and shoes because they are more expensive and the sizes available here are smaller. Don't overdo it, though. Remember that you'll have to send everything back when you go home. Good luck!