First Amazon Japan Purchase

We arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday May 16th, 2007. One of my first tasks was to see about using Amazon.co.jp to make some purchases. I'd become an accomplished Amazon.com consumer in the US and wanted to see if I could continue here in Japan. The Amazon Japan site does have an English setting, but that really only helps with the "foreign" language books section and some of the button labels. Google language tools and it's translator seems to be a good start for finding other things, but I'm sure it's going to be a challenge.

Before leaving New York, I wanted to order the Lonely Planet "Hiking in Japan" book but it was not available on Amazon.com. Luckily I found it over at Amazon.co.jp but I waited until my arrival to order it. I was able to use my US credit card for the order with delivery to my Japan address. Amazon also takes part in a service that lets you place your order online and then go to a local convenience store to make payment. I placed my order on Friday May 18th with free standard shipping and amazingly they attempted delivery on the following Saturday evening. I wasn't home, but they left a note and I was able to call and schedule for delivery the following Monday. Well, I should say that Mike was able to call and reschedule the delivery for me in Japanese. And on Monday my first Amazon Japan purchase arrived:






Next we buy a rice cooker and I cook my first quick Japanese Curry! The suspense must be killing you...