Electricity plug adapter in Japan

I found my 7 year old electricity/plugadapter last week, looks like this: http://www.clasohlson.com/medias/sys_master/8872990900254.jpg

I have not used it since my last journey to Japan (6 years ago), so I have no clue if it works. For the Japan plug part one of the pins are slightly loose, the others are okay though.

I might buy an extra since I will be recharging both my camera and cell phone.

Question is; is it possible to buy euro (Sweden) plug to Japanese plug converter in most Japanese cities (like Osaka, Fukuoka?) in case this one is broken? I have no way in testing it here so...

Also, does it mather if the converter is grounded or non-grounded? The Swedish plugs have two extra pins for grounded plugs.

Japan uses two narrow blades as per this diagram:

http://www.uwplatt.edu/geography/japan/plugA.gif

The only place I've found adapters to go from the US plug with a ground to the Japan two blades is in Akihabara (Tokyo). They may have the Euro plug to Japanese there also.

Alright, thank you. Guess I am better off buying one here before I go. Still I am not sure if it should be or not be grounded. The one I have now has a pin that must be turned around which blocks Euro Grounded plugs (http://www.automaticwasher.info/TD/AWJPEG/MODERN/2009/mrx++12-6-2009-1...) from being used. Instead I can only use non-grounded plugs (http://www.electronic-shisha-charcoal.com/images/euro-plug.jpg).

I dont know if there are any grounded plugs in Japan though.

Japan does not use grounding pins so make sure you have an adapter that can accommodate that. Plug adapters are widely available in Japan, but I would suggest purchasing at least one before you leave so you don't have to waste time shopping at the beginning of your trip.

Okay. How come they dont use ground in their electricity? Sounds pretty dangerous to me.

Anyway. As seen on the picture, the Japanese plug is on the top left. The thin pins on both sides are the plug, then there is a thick pin in the middle and another metal pin right below that is angled 90 degrees from the electrical pins.

In order to use the Japan plug this metal pin has to be turned 90 degrees toward the middle, which makes it impossible to plug in a grounded Euro-plug. That is the only way to remove the middle pin too and alas plug it into a Japanese cord. Well it is possible to bend it off by force but that's not the meaning.

Dont know about the other plugs on the converter though, if they are grounded or not. But I suppose any grounded Euro-plug cannot be used with this as the ground-part would be useless.

I was thinking about the voltage and frequency difference between Sweden (230 V, 50 Hz) and Japan (100 V, 50-60 Hz). If I have a plug adapter, could this still be a problem? I dont know if electrical equipment meant for 230 V would normally work on a 100 V, I mean like acting slower and so on, or if they would be destroyed or fried.

Using a 100 V thing in a 230 V plug would probably destroy the electrical thing, isnt that true?

I have some electrical equipment like battery chargers and cell phone chargers I will bring on the trip. The cell phone says 100-230 V and 50-60 Hz on the backside of the charger so I guess it will work fine and not blow up.

However the NiMH battery charger only says 230 V. So can I safely bring this charger or will it most likely be useless or dangerous? Perhaps just slower charging?

Hi
I have given the following advice before.

Most likely you have more devices that needs to be connected to the electricity. Therefore it is simpler to bring from your homecountry an (one or two meter long) extension cord with more than one sockets.
You cut of the plug. In japan you buy a Japanese plug and connect this to the wire of your extension cord. This is simpler and cheaper. The only thing is you must be able to connect a plug to an adapter;-)
Have a nice trip.
B. Slager

It is not advisable to use only 230V equipment in Japan. There is no standard on what will happen. Some equiment might not work, some might work and some will be destroyed.
For your battery charger it might be simpler to buy a new charger in Japan (that you can use worldwide) than to mess around with (expensive) adapters.
Most modern equiment (like laptops, photo/video equiment etc) is usable worldwide (100-240V 50/60Hz). But in all cases you have to make sure that this is listed on the equipment.
If you need to buy for instance a laptop adapter you might consider to buy a used one in Japan (Tokyo, Akihabara). This is simpler and less costly than to buy an adapter in your home country.

Have a nice trip
B. Slager

Japanese outlets for fridges etc.. do use grounding. Usually not the pin type, but instead wire type is used (you screw the wire into the socket).

If your NiMH battery charger only says 230 V then it is useless. I used one such charger during my first trip to Japan a couple of years back and after plugging in for more than 24 hours, my batteries were still flat.

Seems I found someone selling 100-230 V chargers around here.


Anyway. Not sure if I got it right, but I should bring a Swedish multi-plug or what it is called and plug that one into the plug adapter? Not sure how much the adapter can handle. Will probably charge the camera and the phone at the same time if needed.

Bertel, About the connection you mentioned. You would not have any pictures or sketches of this description?

Hi Sweguy

I assume that when you talk about the plug adapter you mean the adapter that converts the 2 sprong japanese plug to a Swedish (220V) plug or connector. (Not a converter that changes 100V into 220V or 230V).

Assuming this you do not need to worry about what the adapter can handle. Most adapters can handle 10 or 16Amps. Given that most modern electronics only consumes a low number of Watts you do not need to worry unless you connect more than 1000-1500W (heaters and so on).

Have a nice trip.
B. Slager

I dont know if electrical equipment meant for 230 V would normally work on a 100 V, I mean like acting slower and so on, or if they would be destroyed or fried.

It will not work. Plugging a high voltage device into a low voltage source usually results in nothing happening (essentially the voltage isn't high enough to "push" electricity through the device).

Using a 100 V thing in a 230 V plug would probably destroy the electrical thing, isnt that true?

Yes, going the other way around (plugging a lower voltage device into a high voltage outlet) is dangerous and a fire hazard as there is too much electrical "pressure" going through the device.

I have some electrical equipment like battery chargers and cell phone chargers I will bring on the trip. The cell phone says 100-230 V and 50-60 Hz on the backside of the charger so I guess it will work fine and not blow up.

Yes, all you need is a simple plug adapter.

However the NiMH battery charger only says 230 V. So can I safely bring this charger or will it most likely be useless or dangerous? Perhaps just slower charging?

It will be useless. The difference between 230 and 100 volts is too great.

Anyway. Not sure if I got it right, but I should bring a Swedish multi-plug or what it is called and plug that one into the plug adapter?

In that case, just use a plug adapter to change the Swedish plug to a Japan compatible plug.

Not sure how much the adapter can handle. Will probably charge the camera and the phone at the same time if needed.

If you are talking about a plug adapter then you don't need to worry about how much it can handle. They are typically rated far higher than necessary for regular use.

Hi
I have given the following advice before.
Most likely you have more devices that needs to be connected to the electricity. Therefore it is simpler to bring from your homecountry an (one or two meter long) extension cord with more than one sockets.
You cut of the plug. In japan you buy a Japanese plug and connect this to the wire of your extension cord. This is simpler and cheaper. The only thing is you must be able to connect a plug to an adapter;-)
Have a nice trip.
B. Slager
Was thinking about this. I must have mixed you up with Bertel, sorry. You would not have any pictures or something? It seems quite dangerous to do this when I try to picture how it works together with wires etc...

Too bad you can not post a picture on this site.

If you know and can connect a plug to a wire it is not dangerous at all.

There are even plugs around that you 'slide over the wire' move a handle and the connection is made.

Keep in mind that most likely you have more than one devices you want to hook up to the mains. For instance camera charger, telephone charger, notebook and may be even an electric shaver. If you want to use these all or some at the same time you need to buy a couple of plug adapters. So bringing the Swedish extension cord with multiple outlets is the easiest and cheapest way to go.

Have a nice trip
B. Slager

Was thinking about this. I must have mixed you up with Bertel, sorry. You would not have any pictures or something? It seems quite dangerous to do this when I try to picture how it works together with wires etc...

I've done this and its not a big deal if you are comfortable with home electrical work. But it really isn't necessary, and its far easier to just bring a power strip and one plug adapter (used between the power strip and the Japanese outlet). That way you easily turn one plug adapter into several outlets and can still use the power strip once you return home (no electrical work necessary).

can check on this product, should be able to use for Japan sockets
http://1net.com.my/product/home-users/electrical-products/plugs-socket...

Yup, that would be an example of a universal plug adapter. Stick one of those on the end of your power strip and you're good to go.

So if I understand right, then I should bring one of this multi-cable thing(http://www.biltema.se/ProductImages/35/large/35-466_l.jpg) and plug it into the adapter and the adapter goes into the Japanese socket right? And I can plug in several devices on the multi-cable thing and still on one and the same Japanese socket through the adapter?