Hey!
Don't listen to what the websites tell you about the yakkan shoumei. Turns out it is easier to get one than you think!
Yakkan Shoumei is a paper that allows you to bring more than 1 month's supply of prescription medication with you to Japan. You need the yakkan shoumei form on your person when you go through customs. Websites will tell you that you need to mail it to the bureau
First off, if you can fill out your application digitally (via Photoshop, GIMP, etc) then I recommend you do that so you have a copy for yourself. Also, you will need a digital copy if you are faxing via the internet or computer.
Grab the application from the internet - a search for "yakkan shoumei" will get you started. Fill out the application using the instructions and example pages in the PDF as your guide. I recommend you use information sheets/leaflets for the medications you will be using. These can be substituted for the "explanation of products" page. Make sure you have information for each of your medications.
After your application is filled out, make sure you have the following things (either printed or in PDF format):
Completed Yakkan Shoumei application
Copy of flight itinerary
Copy of prescriptions signed by doctor
Take all of these things and fax them to the Kinki Regional Bureau in Osaka, Japan. Their fax number can be found on the application. If you aren't going the digital route, then you will probably need to scan each document to fax them.
My fax took about 17 minutes to send everything - I had about 18 pages in all. You should receive a return fax with a statement saying your original will be mailed to you. The fax will also have a scan of your yakkan shoumei completed!
No postage stamps, no "Coupon Réponse International", and no 2-week delay for your yakkan shoumei!
Tyler
Don't listen to what the websites tell you about the yakkan shoumei. Turns out it is easier to get one than you think!
Yakkan Shoumei is a paper that allows you to bring more than 1 month's supply of prescription medication with you to Japan. You need the yakkan shoumei form on your person when you go through customs. Websites will tell you that you need to mail it to the bureau
First off, if you can fill out your application digitally (via Photoshop, GIMP, etc) then I recommend you do that so you have a copy for yourself. Also, you will need a digital copy if you are faxing via the internet or computer.
Grab the application from the internet - a search for "yakkan shoumei" will get you started. Fill out the application using the instructions and example pages in the PDF as your guide. I recommend you use information sheets/leaflets for the medications you will be using. These can be substituted for the "explanation of products" page. Make sure you have information for each of your medications.
After your application is filled out, make sure you have the following things (either printed or in PDF format):
Completed Yakkan Shoumei application
Copy of flight itinerary
Copy of prescriptions signed by doctor
Take all of these things and fax them to the Kinki Regional Bureau in Osaka, Japan. Their fax number can be found on the application. If you aren't going the digital route, then you will probably need to scan each document to fax them.
My fax took about 17 minutes to send everything - I had about 18 pages in all. You should receive a return fax with a statement saying your original will be mailed to you. The fax will also have a scan of your yakkan shoumei completed!
No postage stamps, no "Coupon Réponse International", and no 2-week delay for your yakkan shoumei!
Tyler
Comments (6)
Hi Tyler,
I will also be attending Kansai Gaidai in a few weeks, and just learned last week that I need a Yakkan Shoumei. Although I have sent my application out, I am worried that I will not receive the certificate in time and have important medication that I need to bring. I didn't see a fax number for the Kinki regional bureau, did you use this number: ＋
81-48-601-1336? How long did it take you to receive the return fax?
Im sorry for all of the questions, but I would really appreciate any input.
Thanks,
Natassja
Hello Natassja,
I am in a similar boat. As I am flying into Narita airport, I found the same fax number as you. If you tried it and got results, please post back and let me know. In the meantime, I will give that fax ago and post back if it works.
-Egan
(I am the same poster as "Morgan" above) I attempted to send the sheet as fax, and received a result. I was told that I was NOT ALLOWED to send the document by fax, and must send by post. Unless more info is given here on how this works, I would recommend mailing the form, not faxing. We did receive information on other supposed issues with our documents, but they are way too cryptic to understand. Perhaps, then, it is worth it to try faxing and get input on the completeness of the form, though I'm not sure how much good this will do us.
Hi! Sorry for the late reply - I wasn't receiving comment notifications by email. That's fixed now.
I called them first, and then they explained to me that I could fax it to them.
In reality though, they don't check for medication...
I was very glad to find your entry about this, because I've had the utmost horrific time with this. I've had everything filled out and such for WEEKS and it was because no Postal Office in my entire city had any recent Coupon Réponse International. So I ordered some from the website, and it took a week to get to me. By then, I was ready to ship it, and they said it would take a week to ship it even if they expedited it--and I know it would take a week to get it back in the mail, and I leave May 12th!
I personally had no idea that I needed such a thing until the last moment of course, but I went to Kinkos and faxed it to them with a letter stating how there wasn't a plausible way for me to send it and receive it before I arrived in Japan. I included everything you said, and I'm hoping that they'll be able to send a response back as soon as they can.
Do you know how long it took for them to send you a response?
hello everyone, I am having quite a time also with this yakkam shoumei and am still reading 99% of the articles saying that this must be done by mail and cannot be done by fax. did any of you get this done via fax?
thank you, Melody