- The washing machines here at the dorms are CRAP. They don't clean a damn thing. I don't know if it's the machines themselves, or just that Japanese washing powder isn't very good, or if it's a combination of the 2. I've tried about 4 or 5 different detergents and powders and they're all pretty much the same. The best one that I've found is a powder in a green box called 'Attack'. I suggest that you buy one of those bars of that soap made to use on clothing so that you can spot clean your clothes, because stains won't come out otherwise. Also, don't bring anything with you that you really treasure. My clothes have been fading and piling even though the machines only use cold water.
- Still on the topic of washing, DO NOT pour fabric softener straight onto your clothes in the machine. Some of my clothes are now ruined because it discoloured them. Apparently there's some little holes to put the softener in or something? But you might need to ask for help with that because after my clothes got ruined I haven't been game enough to use the softener again...
- If you're going to be here in Summer, bring some antiseptic cream (or similar) because you will be bitten by mosquitoes, and the mozzies here are insane. Unlike mozzies in Australia you can't hear them, and they seem to be invisible, but they will give you one hell of a massive bite that will itch for days. You've been warned...
- Buy a Suica or Pasmo card when you first get here. These are the cards that you use when you take the trains. By buying a card straight away you won't have to stuff around buying tickets every time you want to go somewhere, just top it up and off you go. When you get given your student ID etc from Rikkyo you can then get the same card you're already using changed into student rates. Easy peasy.
- If you're going to stay at the dorms, I recommend Shiki over Asakadai. Particularly if you're sensitive to noise. The dorms at Asakadai are very close to the station so we had quite a few people moving from Asakadai to Shiki in the first couple of weeks because they couldn't sleep with the noise from the trains. I can't really comment on the Shiinamachi dorms, but some of the guys that are here this semester living in Shiinamachi have blogs so there should be a bit more info now than there was when I was searching for dorm info.
- Don't bother buying anything with a suction cup on it unless you plan on sticking it to a mirror or glass. They won't stick to any of the walls/doors in the dorm rooms, even in the bathroom.
- The kitchen sinks have a plastic cup type thing just below the plug hole to catch all the stuff that would normally just go down the sink, I'm guessing so that the pipes don't clog. Cleaning this cup is my LEAST FAVOURITE PART OF LIVING HERE. You can tell when it needs to be cleaned out because the water will start to fill the sink rather than just running down the drain. I suggest buying a 'drainer net' (available from Daiso or the Supermarket, they're usually blue) so that you can just pick up the net and throw it out rather than trying to clean the cup. I also suggest getting some rubber gloves for the job because it's super slimy and just generally gross and smelly. It takes a lot to make me gag, so you know I'm serious lol.
- Still on the topic of the kitchen sink, there is no plug, which confused the hell out of me at first since I would normally fill the sink with water to do the wash up. Instead you just have to put the detergent on the sponge and rinse and dry each item as you go. I don't think this saves water or time at all, but so be it.
- If you're staying at the dorms, I suggest ordering your bedding, not hiring it (unless you like sleeping on a rock). The majority of people who hired the bedding have since gone and bought a mattress to sleep on. I ordered my bedding from this website. The single size fits the bed pretty well, and the 12cm mattress with the futon on top is actually pretty comfy.
- If you don't own a watch, buy one. The classrooms at Rikkyo don't have clocks in them. I usually just rely on my phone for the time, but in some classes it isn't ok to pull out your phone to check.
- If you're after an English speaking hairdresser, Watanabe Hairdressing in Harajuku aren't bad. A bit pricey but if you want service in English you're going to have to get used to paying a bit more.
- If you're after waxing services in English there's Boudoir in Harajuku, but once again, VERY expensive. I had my eyebrows waxed because I was desperate and let them grow out too much to be able to pluck them. If you usually wax I suggest bringing wax with you, especially if you have stubborn European hair like me. I bought some wax here but it wasn't strong enough to pull out my hair and I just ended up with red blotchy skin for about a week.
- Still on the topic of hair removal, if you're a girl and you shave and usually use shaving gel/cream, bring that with you too because the only shaving stuff you'll find here other than razors is for men, so it smells manly.
- On another girly issue, if you use tampons bring a stash of those with you too. I've only seen tampons here once, and they were the ones with the applicators.
- If you use cotton wool balls for anything (I use them to remove my nail polish), bring extras. They don't exist here, the closest you will find are the cotton pads for make up removal.
- Bring cold and flu medicine with you, even if you've had a flu shot or usually don't get sick. See my post here for more on that. Also I suggest bringing painkillers with you. You can get painkillers here easily enough, but they'll probably be a bit different to what you're used to.
- If you're picky about your toothbrush, bring extras. The ones here all have tiny heads so I don't feel like I'm really brushing my teeth at all. I've yet to try the toothpaste, but if I do I'll update you on that too.
- Printing. If you need to print documents you can use the printers in the Rikkyo library for free. If you're in Shiki and don't want to make the trip to uni you can also print at the Lawson for 10 yen/page (black and white). The files need to be PDF though, so make sure you convert them before you make the trip downstairs.
- Milk. A lot of the milk here tastes like skim milk (aka CRAP). It's all very watered down. The creamiest milk I could find is the stuff in my picture below. You can find it pretty much anywhere. If you're staying in Shiki both the Aeon and Big A stock it.
- Bread. Bread here is pretty much like anywhere else. HOWEVER, I found this stuff and it is THE BOMB. 'Funwari' translates to 'softly' in English, and that's exactly what this bread is. I hate to think what sort of preservatives are in it, but it will still be super soft even like 4 days after you buy it. I'm going to miss this bread back in Australia.
- In Winter, don't even bother hanging your washing outside, unless you want it to take 2 days to dry (maybe I'm just impatient because our clothes dry in half a day in Australia). Hang what you can inside, it will dry faster than outside. I turn the heater on to speed it up a bit (and to keep warm), but even without the heater it will still dry faster. Here's a couple of devices I bought to hang stuff inside (both from Daiso). The first one slots into the bit in the shower where the shower head normally goes. I turn the fan on in the bathroom to help my stuff dry. The second one hooks on to the doorframe, and I then hang things from it.
- If you have room in your suitcase, bring a roll of toilet paper with you. There's no toilet paper in the dorm room when you first arrive. Also bring a towel, the first thing you're going to want to do is take a shower, especially if you arrived in Summer like I did.
- I also suggest bringing some food with you, even if its just some biscuits. When you first get here you're going to feel pretty overwhelmed and probably won't feel like venturing out to the Lawson or Big A even though they're literally a 30 second walk from the Shiki dorms. I didn't eat properly for the first 24 hours I was here and it really messed with my wellbeing for a few days. BE PREPARED.
Ok so I think that's it. Like I said if I think of anything else while I'm here I'll add it on below. Good luck to those of you coming here in future, hopefully my survival tips will be of some use to you.
Anthea xx
