PACKING LIST — JAPAN · SEP 11–20, 2026

9 days: 5 in the Hiace van (Kii), 3 in Osaka. Red-eye out on SQ618. Laundry only at the hotel — plan for it.

━━━ ESSENTIALS (CLOTHING) ━━━
- 5–6 quick-dry tees (Airism-type) — humid, 26–31C
- 1 long-sleeve tee + 1 button-up (Kitan + Kani Doraku dinners)
- 1 light fleece (pre-dawn starts, van AC, Ryujin nights)
- 2 shorts + 1 light trousers
- 7 underwear, 5–6 merino socks + 2 spare pairs
- Broken-in trainers for Kumano Kodo
- Slides/sandals (van, campsite, shared bathrooms)
- Cap + sunglasses
- Sleeping tee + shorts (van nights)
- Laundry bag (dirty stays dirty)

━━━ RAIN GEAR ━━━
- Packable rain shell
- Rain pants — the Kodo trails will be mud
- Compact umbrella (cheap ones everywhere in Japan)
- Backpack rain cover
- 5–10L dry bag
- Ziplocks: passport, cash, phone
- Spare dry socks, bagged
- Quick-dry microfibre towel

━━━ TOILETRIES ━━━
- Toothbrush + paste, deodorant, razor, comb
- <=100ml shampoo/body wash (onsen and hotel have it — the van doesn't)
- Sunscreen SPF50, lip balm
- Insect repellent (mountain campsites)
- Small towel (tenugui) for onsen day baths
- Wet wipes, hand sanitiser, tissues
- Personal meds + copy of any prescription
- Laundry sheets + travel clothesline + suction hooks
- Zip bags for wet/dirty kit

━━━ ELECTRONICS ━━━
- Type A plug adapter x2 — Japan is 100V Type A, SG plugs won't fit
- 65W GaN charger + 2 USB-C cables
- Small power strip (few outlets in rooms and campsites)
- 20,000mAh power bank (cabin bag only)
- 12V USB charger for the van
- Phone + watch + chargers
- Earbuds / headphones
- eSIM installed and tested before you leave wifi
- Offline: Google Maps Kansai, Japanese Translate pack, PDF of every booking

━━━ DOCUMENTS & MONEY ━━━
- Passport + SG driving licence + IDP (1949) — the van won't move without it
- SQ618 / SQ621 e-tickets
- Samurai Campers #DDDWNP, WELLSTAY ref 6156571132, both dinner bookings
- Visit Japan Web QR — screenshot AND printed
- Travel insurance policy + emergency numbers
- ¥20–30k cash + coin purse (¥100 coins for lockers, parking, day baths)
- Mastercard 9637 + one backup card
- Camera rental papers (2634T824537 + serial list)
- Ziplock for receipts (expense claim)
- All of it offline in one phone folder

━━━ CAMERA KIT ━━━
- X-E5 + XF 16-55 F2.8 WR + XF 23mm F2.8, hoods, caps
- 2x NP-W126S batteries + charger
- 64GB V90 card + spare
- Card reader + SSD or laptop (back up nightly)
- Microfibre cloths x3 + blower
- Mini tripod + remote (shrine and night shots)
- Rental case and receipt — return by Sep 22, 13:00 or 50% fee

━━━ HEALTH & MEDS ━━━
- Personal meds in original packaging
- Paracetamol/ibuprofen, blister plasters, antiseptic
- Rehydration salts / electrolyte tabs
- Motion-sickness tablets — Kii mountain roads are winding
- Antihistamine, insect bite cream, eye drops
- Small first-aid kit (plasters, gauze, tape, tweezers)

━━━ VAN & CAMPSITE ━━━
- Headlamp + small lantern (fresh batteries)
- Slip-on shoes for the van
- Trash bags — in Japan you carry your own trash
- Bug screens or handheld fan for warm nights
- 100-yen shop stop in Kaizuka for whatever's missing (there's an Aeon)
- At handover confirm: bedding kit, kitchen kit, fridge, ETC card, tyres + pressure
- No toilet, no shower in the van — plan onsen and michi-no-eki stops

━━━ RED-EYE FLIGHT KIT (carry-on, never checked) ━━━
- Change of tee + underwear + toothbrush
- Compression socks, neck pillow, eye mask, earplugs
- Empty water bottle (fill past security)
- Snacks + electrolyte sachet
- Passport, IDP, cards, meds, camera batteries, power bank — all in the cabin
- SilverKris T2 Level 3 is open 24h; eat there, sleep on the plane

━━━ BEFORE YOU GO ━━━
- Online check-in opens Sep 10, 01:25
- Visit Japan Web completed, QR saved offline
- Cash withdrawn, cards travel-noted
- Safety Tips + JMA/AMeDAS weather apps installed
- WhatsApp Samurai the day before: +81 90-4989-5434
- Chase the ¥20,000 Jan deposit refund (Mastercard 9637 statement or WhatsApp)
- Weather recheck Sep 12 — Kii trail and road closures
- Lashings of room left in the bag for what you buy