If I will be taking prescription medication, not on the prohibited drug list, to Japan, do I have to fill out and declare the permissible medications on custom form?
Is it safe to eat vendor food, especially near the shrines? Also is it safe to drink tap water and use ice cubes?
Thanks.
Meds: Here's a good you tube video about taking meds to Japan https://youtu.be/Sbtx-YVG1gc?si=mULSjze2kpdABvOg (Kensho Quest all their videos have good practical advice) I believe they review in this episode what is the official website to check, I would always to to that too.
Vendor food: Japan has high hygene standards. I think the same rules apply there as anywhere (busy stand, food served hot or cold, patronized by locals). We had no issue.
Tap water and ice: Both are fine.
(We were just there May this year.)
While you don't have to declare prescription medication, there are limits on both prescription and non-prescription medication.
Some prescription meds are not allowed. Some OTC meds are not allowed. (Example, Vicks inhaler for stuffy noses is not allowed.)
There are also limits as to how much you can bring in. You are allowed a 30 day supply of prescription meds and a 60 day supply of non-prescription meds and vitamins. If you want to bring more, you have to fill out a special customs form prior to your journey, send it to Japan, and wait for it to return. Otherwise, more than the allowed amount could be confiscated and you could be arrested.
This US State Dept page has information on this as well as a link to the official Japanese site--in English.
https://jp.usembassy.gov/services/importing-medication/
Food and water is safe in Japan. Just follow the same practices as you would anywhere else.
Food is safe, wherever, in my opinion. And water.
You already know that there is pretty much no tipping at all in Japan. Interesting tidbit about that: A couple of years ago, we stayed for a week in a Tokyo hotel. I liked the bath products so much that I asked the housekeeper for a couple of extra bottles of shampoo and conditioner to take home with me. (L"Occitane Bergamot)
A few minutes later there was knock on the door and she stood there with a paper paper shopping bag in each hand-- the shampoos in one and the conditioners in the other. I think there were at least 25 bottles of each between the two bags. No matter how hard I tried to present her with a tip, she would not accept it. Most foreigners who have been to Japan probably have a similar version of this story regarding tipping. Just not done.
I found the Japanese people we met to be among the warmest and most welcoming I've ver experienced. That country is a joy to travel in.......
