Travel Question/ Suitcase question

[canman]

Kamome, I haven't travelled in a while, but are the checks that severe these days? How strict are they? A friend of mine is leaving tomorrow for the States and plans on bringing back a ton of stuff he can't get here in Japan, is there anything I should warm him about? Other than his gas powered lawn mower. No kidding.

[Taro Toporific]

... is there anything I should warm him about? Other than his gas powered lawn mower. No kidding.

Beef jerky might be a problem.


Fully drained of gas, that gas powered lawn mower isn't a problem. I brought my 7hp concrete saw in my bag a year ago.
(Oh Buddha do I hate slipping on the polished station floors so I used the saw to threaten to texture the floors myself unless they did it, which they finally did. )

[kamome]

Kamome, I haven't travelled in a while, but are the checks that severe these days? How strict are they?

To tell you the truth, I haven't had any of the problems experienced by others who have posted in this thread. Packing in see-through bags is one measure I happened to read online somewhere, and I've been doing that ever since.

Also, it seems like you are talking about two different things: security checks and customs. If your friend is bringing a whole bunch of stuff from the States, he probably shouldn't be as concerned about security breaches (unless he's bringing a weapon). He should, however, be concerned about having to declare his stuff at the airport and pay tariffs on them at the Customs counter if necessary.