www.incontinentsupport.org

Brian,

Lucky you! I wish I were in your shoes. I had to cancel my last planned trip to Japan for health reasons.

Thank you for your offer. Please do provide our group with your pictures and reviews of any diapers you find in Japan. Also, which stores sell them. I would like to make it easy for a traveler to find a known product without having to know the local language. Tewi has set a good example by including photos of the outside of the packages to make identification a little bit easier.

--John

Tewi has provided us with additional information about the three diapers he photographed in Mongolia.

He notes that none of these diapers are manufactured locally. The Seni diapers are the same international product that we know in the U.S. [Seni diapers are available from XP Medical]. The “Chrysan” and “White You” diapers are Korean products.

Re cost, Tewi advises that Chrysan diapers cost US $ 7.12 for a package of ten or $ 0.71 each. A package of ten “White You” diapers is US $ 8.34 (Mongolian Tug 17,000) or $0.84 cents each.

Regarding performance, Tewi “tested” them when his local chain store stopped carrying his favorite Helen Harper and Seni diapers. He checked four stores, with no luck. Desperate, he found some Chrysan diapers. While the price is very reasonable, he considers them to be only marginal in performance. He notes that the diapers last no longer than two wettings from urge incontinence before they must be changed

He then tried the “White You” diapers and found them to be much better, although they cost more. He also notes that they are a “tad larger” than the Chrysan diapers.

Tewi then found that his original store had restocked more Seni diapers. However, these are not the best of the Seni brand in terms of absorbency.

The bottom line? Tewi found that, hands down, the best diaper is the Korean 'White You' brand that he gets at the local hospital's pharmacy.

That is good news for travelers. Thank you Tewi!

So I just went to Japan on a 10 day long guided tour. I only took enough diapers with me for just 3-4 days, and intended to buy some diapers when I got into Osaka Japan. It turned out this was a bad idea as it seems finding adult diapers in Japan is extremely difficult. With much walking around and asking a dozen different people for directions on where to find them, I finally managed to find one drug store the sells them. (note; Japanese pharmacy stores are pretty common yet the do not sell adult diapers (or prescription drugs for that matter)- I had to specifically find a prescription drug store).

Any ways, the picture below is what I found. Google image translator says they are made by "Atento" & called "takurenokomo". Though I'm not certain the translation is fully correct. They are a cloth-like disposable, with velcro tabs. Overall, they are better than the cloth-like diapers we get in the US. However, they are not quite as good as a plastic backed disposable, and are not good enough for use as an overnight diaper.

Luckily, those 3-4 days worth of diapers I brought with me were confidry 24/7's. I used those for my overnight diapers, and these for my daytime diapers. It was just barely enough for my full trip there- barely. Also, these "takurenokomo" diapers had a tendency to stretch loose with walking around. After just one or two hours they would begin to chafe me really badly and I started to get a bad contact rash. I ended up also buying a bunch of baby powder (at one of the common pharmacies), and applied a lot of it with each change. This got me through the rest of my trip with only minor irritation towards the end.

Oh, and FYI. If anyone plans on going to Japan, not only should you bring your own diaper supplies, but also figure on walking about 5-10 miles per day (seriously- a lot)! All of Japan is laid out with walking in mind- AND with tons of stairs. There are taxis and buses, but they are very expensive. If you are staying in just one city, they have an extensive subway systems with unlimited day or week long passes.

Brian,

Thank you for the excellent and very interesting information on buying diapers in Japan. I would not have thought it to be so difficult to find adult diapers in a country known for its aging population!

--John

Yeah, same here. I guess they order the good diapers online like we have to as well.

Wow, that is surprising. I remember reading that Japan has the highest adult diaper use per capita.

I too join-the-chorus of WOW! I also have heard that Japan has a very high usage of adult products. I am living proof of the old-saw that, You Got To Want To Travel. No one said it is easy but it is worth it in my humble opinion. I have been 'out' for a year and and a half with plans to return to the U.S. in late May 2016. I will so look forward to a washing machine and other comforts of home. No matter NO MATTER you get leaks and issues with wet clothing and wet bedding that must be addressed (i.e. washing). Here are three photos showing what I had to do recently with a wet bed and bedding as a result of total failure of my products. Again, You Have Go To Want To Do This, TO TRAVEL.

You are looking at 'REAL LIFE' in these photos.

Very creative solution Tewi, but it would be better not to have to at all! Life happens, just gotta roll with it! Puffy

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Puffy
BC, Canada
Fighting the "Bladder Battle" since 1995

Good solution, Tewi! Thanks for the pictures.

--John

Maybe I could give some info on buying the products if you ever find yourself in Finland?
You should be aware of that most supermarkets and grocery stores hold only a very limited supply of incontinence products and usually for light leaking. Tena is by far the most widespread brand and Lady, Men 1-4 and Pants Discreet & Plus are available in larger stores. Pharmacies usually hold a wider variety of Tena products: Pants Discreet, Plus and Super and Comfort + mattress protectors. Diapers (tab-fastened or belted) are usually not available by default and may also be difficult to order. Some privately owned, non-chain pharmacies may have diapers, but usually they must be ordered separately.

All-around "Finnish Wal-Marts" Tokmanni, Minimani and Robin Hood may have a wider variety of incontinence products, but they also usually offer pull-ups in different absorbancies. Special healthcare shops offer a wide variety of incontinence products, but they are often situated in the outskirts of town in the industrial areas. EA-Kauppa store has a branch in both Helsinki and Turku, right at the cities' centre and offer products for heavy incontinence.

However, you should be prepared to search and not find. It is probably best to either reserve the stuff you need before you travel or bring your own. It should be reminded that Finland is a very expensive country and incontinence supplies make no difference to the general trend.

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Linja-autojen ja rakkauden perässä voi juosta tai odottaa seuraavaa.