Posted by Ashley Thompson (Shizuoka-ken, 2008-2010) of Surviving in Japan: without much Japanese and Lifelines columnist for The Japan Times.
If you’re coming to Japan, you will probably hear someone lamenting about the inability to find any “real” deodorant here. When I heard this before coming, I promptly bought a 4-pack of my favorite kind (which I hadn’t even used up after two years). Yet, for those trying to save luggage space, unless you are REALLY attached to your deodorant, let me reassure you, it IS possible to get deodorant in Japan. And no, I’m not even talking about typical Japanese stuff – I haven’t tried any of it (as everyone often says it doesn’t work as well). Though, many of the Japanese brands do use aluminum as a main ingredient, which is the active ingredient you’d find in anti-perspirants anywhere.
So, before I lay out your options, you’ll need to know the Japanese word for deodorant when searching: デオドラント. This may also be shortened to: デオ. You may even see something with アンダーアーム (underarm).
A few other words to know:
stick: スティック
mist: ミスト
cream: クリーム
spray: スプレー
bar: バー
gel: ジェル
how to find deodorant in Japan: — CLICK HERE to read the rest of the post.
2 comments so far...
Can I also say that there are lots of non-traditional sources of getting your deodorant :)
I just ordered an amazing deodorant through Etsy from spatherapy.etsy.com It’s seriously one of the best deodorants I’ve ever tried, and she has all kinds of great scents :) Shipping is $5 internationally, so not too bad, either!
Hi Tammy,
Did you read the full blog post? Most of those ways probably could be considered “non-traditional”, as this is Japan and they are not necessarily the deodorants you find locally. Especially iHerb and the crystal stone deodorant, which is very non-traditional (but fantastic, I think!)
Anyway, thanks for sharing your source as well!
-Ashley