Moving to Japan has been something I’ve been working toward since I first discovered the magic of STARTO ENTERTAINMENT back in 2021.

In my head, it was beautifully simple four step plan:

  • Get a job.
  • Get a visa.
  • Find a home.
  • Move to Japan.

Clean. Efficient. Simple.

Step one took me on a few unexpected detours, but steps two and three were shockingly smooth. Everything fell into place like in a way that just felt like it was meant to happen.

So, I assumed step four, actually moving my life across the planet, would be just as seamless.

It was not.

Because here’s the thing no one really tells you about moving internationally: it’s not the big things that trip you up. It’s the quiet, bureaucratic, easily-overlooked details that come out of nowhere and tap you on the shoulder like, “Hi. I’m about to ruin your timeline.”

Prescriptions.

Back in the U.S., I did everything “right.” I worked with my doctor, got documentation, and secured a six-month supply of my medications so I wouldn’t have to scramble the moment I landed.

I assumed that having a valid prescription meant I could just pack everything up, toss it in my carry-on, and go – which does work, if you’re bridging just a one month supply.

If you’re bringing any more than that into Japan, you need advance approval from the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare. 

I only found this out by accident when a friend of mine mentioned she couldn’t bring one of her prescriptions into Japan at all because it was a controlled substance. Mine were not, but that conversation got me thinking about restrictions I may not know about.

There were. 

And if I hadn’t caught it when I did, I could have shown up at the airport with six months of medication… and a very immediate (and expensive) problem as they would have probably been confiscated and destroyed.

So, I’m very thankful I checked. 

It was a minor hiccup, and the paperwork itself was easy enough to submit. The ministry advised allowing up to two weeks for processing, but it was approved in just one business day.

I got lucky. Very lucky. And I’m incredibly grateful they moved so quickly, because this could have gone very differently.

All that was left was the emotional weight of moving my life to the other side of the world… and, of course, the $900 price tag for the eight suitcases coming with me.

Eight suitcases. My entire life.

It’s the most incredible (and insane) thing I’ve ever done.

And I can’t wait to see where it takes me.

There will be more soon so…

Stay Tuned!