What do you wish you did, or regret doing before leaving?

I didn't really get much time to prepare for departure to Japan (that is what you're asking about, right, not leaving Japan at the end? ^^;; ) as I was an alternate, but I wish I would've tried to save more money I think, rather than take kinda the minimum recommended amount, I had no predecessor so as well as choosing my own apartment (a plus, but) and having to pay deposits etc. I also had to buy all my furniture, appliances, lights and even curtains I also wish I'd known I could've bought that stuff at secondhand stores, 'cause buying all my appliances new wiped out about 70,000-100,000 of my 200,000 yen I took

I also wish I'd packed more casual clothes in my suitcase/bag that didn't get sent on to my placement, 'cause I pretty much just packed formal wear and had nothing to wear when I went anywhere other than Orientation, but I'm guessing since you guys will have yours online, you a) will be quarantining anyway and b) might not have to wear as formal stuff? that might not be quite as important/you may have planned for that already

Bearing in mind the quarantine, I'd make sure I had plenty of stuff to keep myself occupied (and good snacks from home in case the hotel food isn't great and there isn't a conbini option) in free time if it were me, but then again jet lag is awkward so you might end up sleeping most of your free time, it depends how well you cope with the time difference/jet lag

One thing I wished I had when I was in the hotel at orientation was eye drops, for some reason it was so dry in the hotel and with the jet lag as well my eyes were killing me for most of orientation, so I'd recommend trying to make sure you have some just in case, even if you end up not needing them, it's better to have some than not ^^;;

This only applies if you do school visits where you talk about your country, but find out what kind of things kids and tweens like. You could buy magazines, for example. I also kind of wish I had more actual objects to show, maybe?

I thought about this when I wrote my Plus and Minus earlier, but I would buy a 5-year journal on my first day in Japan XD
(I know this isn't a thing to bring, but still... I also realize this might be impossible if you have to quarantine and can't get out :/)

Just a note about bringing stuff to do during quarantine:
- first, you will probably also want to have stuff to do in the plane, so bring away, hue
- but mostly, CLAIR has a pretty intense series of orientation stuff to watch or read (at least last time I checked), so it's not like you will have a full 2 weeks of nothing to do
- a part of your day will probably also be spent sleeping, at least at first

I had to pay the deposit for my apartment on the third day, and found out about a 500$ limit for withdrawing cash on my (foreign) debit card. Another time I came to Japan I was not able to withdraw any cash at all because my card was set to"Europe" and I had to switch the settings to worldwide in order to use it here. Luckily I could do this all online but you might want to make sure you have access to cash. If you want to be absolutely sure, bring your foreign money and exchange it at the airport (if that's possible as you might be isolated?).

That's how I had been. I made like one order for Kinky Curly hair gel after I got here in 2018 and then ignored the website until 2020, when they started doing free shipping on $20 worldwide. I have 3b curls but can't say I do any CGM stuff on them. I typically buy shampoo, conditioner, and gel/creme from there. If you are brand loyal it kind of sucks having to get accustomed to new things, but I got used to it pretty quickly. (Do I still prefer ogx? very much so)

Japanese brands are fine but my hair seems to frizz faster. Shampoo is fine here but a lot of them use silicons and stuff. I bought some once because it had Sailormoon on it and was clearanced pretty well but it gave me a bad dream my hair fell out. XD

That was just me though...(I'll still use it until it runs out)

Oh, same for pictures! I ended up taking pictures of some photos when I went back from Christmas one year

I know waiting for departure must be agonizing, so hopefully these posts will help

Before coming to Japan I, like many others, wish I'd been able to save/bring more money. I brought 200,000 yen with me in cash, stored half of it in my wallet that I kept on my person at all times and the other half in a shoe in my suitcase. But even though my CO gave me a lot of stuff (fridge, washing machine, and tv even) I definitely did not have enough for say, a car. Seriously find out if you need a car asap, and bring enough money to buy one quickly after settling in. I live in rural miyazaki where not having a car made my first four months here excruciating.

While I was still home in the states I wish I'd taken more photos with my family. I have no recent photos of me and my little sister. I was able to take some selfies with my parents when I went back home in april, but she was too busy with exams 900 miles away to come home ;; so yeah, lots of photos of family, hulemdos, and mundane things. I took photos of my parents apartment, the beach, american grocery stores, highway drives, etc

I have curly hair (3a) so I packed quite a bit of gel and leave in conditioner. but like wapi said it is easier to get curly products on iherb at least, I often order tresemme boutanique coconut conditioner. If you have family that's able to send you stuff home though, that is also pretty great. My mom likes to send me flat rate usps boxes stuffed to the brim with american snacks and my favorite hair products a couple times a year. It always arrives in less than 2 weeks too, even during the worst of the pandemic. Now sending stuff 海外 out of japan....that has been a much bigger pain in the ass.

Bring a good camera if you have one, because you could end up like me and do a ton of shuzai for your office. I often spend my afternoons lugging my dslr around to snap photos of pretty inaka nature. As for clothes, I am a size 8/medium back in america and that usually means large/x-large here. Unfortunately even if I lost another 20 pounds my body type would still make it hard to shop and I know plenty of other jets have the same issue. Bring good underwear, work pants, jeans, bras (though I have had luck with uniqlo bras, i prefer aerie), quality socks and shoes. I brought a pair of nice wedge heels for work events, flats, 2 pairs of sneakers (one for indoor use only, like at gyms), and ankle boots. I wear a size 9 in america and have occasionally found shoes that fit me here at H&M but that is more rare than I would like it to be.

one thing I wish I'd brought back from america when i visited recently was english-translated shounen/shoujo manga, or english magazines that cover asian pop culture like BTS etc. At my eikaiwa students are often fascinated by seeing their media translated into english, especially older series where companies over-localized (like pokemon and the infamous jelly donuts). It's a really fun way to get people to engage, since manga, as a medium most people here are familiar with, is less daunting than say a novel.

and now onto quarantine. I did a 2 week quarantine in a tokyo hotel when I got back from america in may, as i live in miyazaki and obviously couldnt drive back there alone. It was very hard on my mental health, though hopefully the orientation will give you guys more structure and keep the days from blurring together. My mom insisted I pack 2 boxes of clif bars and they were a lifesaver. Hopefully they will feed you decently, but my shitty 例のあのホテル that i was forced to stay in for the first 3 days fed me 80% white rice so I was always hungry. Bring snacks from home. My hotel, despite being a nice new one in the middle of shinjuku, had absolutely terrible internet so I was grateful I had a kindle with me. have a bunch of stuff downloaded so you don't have to worry about streaming quality. Of course, reviewing japanese is always an option, practice your self introduction, and make sure you get plenty of sleep!

I wish I hadn't packed so many formal work clothes, because after I arrived that most ladies don't really dress that formally. Most of the stuff I wore to work were things I bought after I arrived. This may not apply to everyone as I am (just barely) able to fit into clothes here.

If you are in a placement where you visit preschools, might be good to have something that is easy to move around in/comfortable but not too casual. I would always wear black "jeggings" I bought at uniqlo and a polo shirt with my city's mascot on it.

Also, I felt like a lot of my American workout clothes were not appropriate to wear out in Japan (short shorts, tops that show my bra), which was an issue since I joined a taiko group. I think I would have felt less self-conscious if I was just jogging outside alone or at a gym, but in a group setting with middle schoolers (all girls, but still) I felt the need to fit in more.

I worry about armpits ONLY when I have to ride public transport in the event I won't find a seat. This was the same back home for me though too XD

So I'm having the exact same problem with the luggage weight restriction right now.

I also want to bring less and just buy clothes there like I did before, but at the same time I'm having trouble getting rid of things that I know would be really great for work, especially some tops/skirts that I bought my first time on JET because I feel like I'll just be buying the same exact ones all over again if I get rid of them now? So yeah, any advice on that front would be great (even if it's just "yeah get rid of it and buy it all again, sorry it's the only way" hue)

Totally relate to not having a lot of money to buy more clothes, I'm trying to see if I can fit in everything I have (which is quite a lot already) and it's such a pain 

Oh yes, I second this!

I always stock up on American excedrin and ibuprofen b/c while they do exist here, they are weaker, more expensive, and come in smaller amounts.