Customs inspection at airports

[danosaka]

... and what if its a 1m90 , 150kg, gay, ex-sumo wrestler?

Luckily for me I have yet to encounter such a specimen in Japan let alone a customs inspections dude that remotely fits that description. However in the unlikely event that a dinosaur wants to rummage through my strategically placed goodies, always blame the girlfriend/wife for the faux pas of course, always..

 

[Anna Summer]

Narita airport terminal 3
Just had an inspection.... I don’t know if the officer was new or just stupid. He asked me what my purpose is and I said, I’m living in japan. He was looking all confused and wanted to search my bag (even my small backpack!!). Asked me if I had gold and then pointed to the customs card asking if I can understand English. I had marked everything with no and I don’t know but he probably thought I made a mistake? (Why would I mark yes if there isn’t anything to mark with yes??).
Then continued to ask me why I’m living i japan and where and still seemed confused.
Damn this guy.... i tried to stay calm and answer his questions politely.

 

[MikeH]

Then continued to ask me why I’m living i japan and where and still seemed confused.

Don't be so harsh, poor guy was just trying to think about a way to ask you out and still stay within the rules.

Or then I am mistaken and he did also ask what floor you live and if you keep the curtains closed in the morning?

 

[Sudsy]

Damn this guy....

Sometimes they can be strange.

I had one insist that he wanted to x-ray my shoes. All three pairs. Nothing else, just the shoes....

 

[Anna Summer]

Don't be so harsh, poor guy was just trying to think about a way to ask you out and still stay within the rules.

Or then I am mistaken and he did also ask what floor you live and if you keep the curtains closed in the morning?

I wouldn’t even know what to say if he did indeed ask these questions haha.

Sometimes they can be strange.

I had one insist that he wanted to x-ray my shoes. All three pairs. Nothing else, just the shoes....

Your shoes?? Wow... he must’ve been bored to death to insist on something like that...

 

[impish]

Sometimes they can be strange.

I had one insist that he wanted to x-ray my shoes. All three pairs. Nothing else, just the shoes....

You'd be surprised what people can hide in shoes

 

[Sudsy]

You'd be surprised what people can hide in shoes

It was more the "nothing else" than the x-raying the shoes. You'd think he'd look through other stuff - nope, just shoes.

 

[JackB]

Never been asked to open my bag in Japan, but frequently in China. Sometimes I get the private interview, especially if have been back and forth from Seoul, which I have to do sometimes.

As to leaving China I am curious as to what the private search would be like because the frisks are always a highlight of the screening process (it's the best imho). I have never failed to get the young cute officer, while my partner always gets one of the guys.

 

[Rusty Trombone]

As to leaving China I am curious as to what the private search would be like because the frisks are always a highlight of the screening process (it's the best imho). I have never failed to get the young cute officer, while my partner always gets one of the guys.

Have to agree 100%.
Those security girls are hot.

 

[MikeH]

Those security girls are hot.

"You know officer, people sometimes hide things IN there...", wink wink nudge nudge.

 

[bdole]

It was more the "nothing else" than the x-raying the shoes. You'd think he'd look through other stuff - nope, just shoes.

A lot of times, when security is insisting on something strange like that, they got a security bulletin warning against something specific, like "reports of someone trying to smuggle drugs in the soles of their shoes" or something.

 

[MongerInAStrLnd]

Alternatively, the density of some specific object may show up oddly on an initial x-ray imaging.

A pack of playing cards and a similar size brick of plastic explosive scan pretty much identical. I had this happen in the Vegas airport a few years ago.

 

[kozak001]

Never been asked to open my bag in Japan, but frequently in China. Sometimes I get the private interview, especially if have been back and forth from Seoul, which I have to do sometimes.

Often times if you arrive from China, you get checked in your arrival country.. I've gotten that a few times and seen people getting 'randomly caught for screening'. And by that I mean more than the usual lot. They're just weary of people smuggling things.

 

[User#8628]

Often times if you arrive from China, you get checked in your arrival country.. I've gotten that a few times and seen people getting 'randomly caught for screening'. And by that I mean more than the usual lot. They're just weary of people smuggling things.

Like swallow spit nests

 

[faboo2001]

Visited Japan about 10 times now, and never once have I been checked at a Japanese airport. I dunno, maybe I seem more trustworthy since I'm from Canada and have a Japanese surname?

 

[Frenchy]

Nobody checks me.. except the regular finger print and photogrammetry checks. I behave myself and act as Japanese as possible because I don't want to be sent back to the poorer parts of Europe

Oh come on, there are good things even in Yorkshire

 

[SatoKM]

I get special checks almost every time I travel. Only airport that never ever happened anything out of the usual is Narita Airport.

At Miami Int. Airport, so called "random checks" I get selected more than 85% of the times. My parents and sisters are so used to the special treatment that I get at airports, that they just wave at me and yell: "We wait you at the gate/exit".
At JFK too! I not even out of the tunnel, couple of meters out of the plane and police officers stop me and ask for several questions.
At Chicago O'hare: I have to get my shoes x-ray, open all my bags and show all the right documents.
At Los Angeles Int. (LAX): same shit! I even have to take all my baggage to "agriculture inspection" to see if I wasn't smuggling animals, plants or seeds. No matter is it just an connecting flight!
At Frankfurt or Munich Airport, they even get more suspicious. Perhaps speaking in German is not a good idea after all! Asking even how come I can speak German.
At "El Dorado Airport" (Bogota, Colombia) I got to sign an approval to get my torso x-ray (Looking for drugs). As I enter y leave 3 times Colombia in a very short period of time.

I just hate airports!

 

[MinMinn]

I flew to Narita two weeks ago and the customs officer wanted to check my backpack. I think mostly she was just curious about my TWICE lightstick.

I mean I don't mind, she's doing her job and I don't have anything to hide in my backpack.

When I left the country to Seoul, an officer did check my body over my clothes after the X-ray scanner.

In general I felt Narita is way more strict than Incheon.

 

[User#8628]

I get special checks almost every time I travel. Only airport that never ever happened anything out of the usual is Narita Airport.

At Miami Int. Airport, so called "random checks" I get selected more than 85% of the times. My parents and sisters are so used to the special treatment that I get at airports, that they just wave at me and yell: "We wait you at the gate/exit".
At JFK too! I not even out of the tunnel, couple of meters out of the plane and police officers stop me and ask for several questions.
At Chicago O'hare: I have to get my shoes x-ray, open all my bags and show all the right documents.
At Los Angeles Int. (LAX): same shit! I even have to take all my baggage to "agriculture inspection" to see if I wasn't smuggling animals, plants or seeds. No matter is it just an connecting flight!
At Frankfurt or Munich Airport, they even get more suspicious. Perhaps speaking in German is not a good idea after all! Asking even how come I can speak German.
At "El Dorado Airport" (Bogota, Colombia) I got to sign an approval to get my torso x-ray (Looking for drugs). As I enter y leave 3 times Colombia in a very short period of time.

I just hate airports!

You must look like a tough cookie, haha

 

[Frenchy]

I flew to Narita two weeks ago and the customs officer wanted to check my backpack. I think mostly she was just curious about my TWICE lightstick.

.

You mean something like that? Yeah I would be suspicious too!

Btw I wonder why when I want to post a pic it comes always on top, before the text. Do you know guys how to fix this without wasting time on cutting/pasting the text afterwards?

 

[TAG Manager]

Btw I wonder why when I want to post a pic it comes always on top, before the text. Do you know guys how to fix this without wasting time on cutting/pasting the text afterwards?

Place the cursor where you want the pic to appear and then choose thumbnail or full size pic. (Usually between, before or after some text... or put the pic in first and then type around it.)

 

[Frenchy]

Place the cursor where you want the pic to appear and then choose thumbnail or full size pic. (Usually between, before or after some text... or put the pic in first and then type around it.)

Thanks , and sorry for being such a techno-retard!

 

[BIPSY]

Just came back in through Haneda the other night - first time doing customs there as I usually fly through Narita.
Think I got lucky because it was SUPER smooth. Took the slip and waved me right through.
In my (limited) experience this seems to help smooth things out -

1) As much as possible always use actual luggage. I'm not above traveling with some stuff in cardboard boxes if I have to but stuff like that seems to have a much higher potential for getting checked.

2) I'm usually traveling together with several Japanese people for work. If you have more than one suitcase try to have a Japanese friend take the extra one through for you. I don't think I've ever been stopped when I had just one suitcase but an overabundance of luggage seems to work against you.

3) Fill out your customs form in English and speak only English to the customs agent, no matter how good your Japanese is. I've had far fewer checks since I started doing this - I think it seems like more of a hassle so they just let you through.

I've never had any real issues even when my stuff was checked but its always easier to just avoid it if at all possible.
But even with a perfect strategy sometimes the law of averages works against you and you'll have to let them rummage through your stuff.

Glad it didn't happen this time, though - wasn't bringing anything illegal across (at least that I know of) but also had a few things I picked up at a natural history shop in Europe that I wouldn't relish explaining.

 

[MikeH]

Think I got lucky because it was SUPER smooth.

I have followed your first rule and then always went against the next two. Pretty much every time I have two suitcases when I am coming back, man needs to have his condoms right?, and I communicate only in Japanese without fail.

The things they say to me are always "Do you have something to declare?" and then "Welcome back". I don't know how many times I have done that, but few hundreds. Never get hassled, not even when I was younger and would potentially be up to no good.

Obviously now I jinxed that and next time they pull out the latex gloves, but let's at least hope I get a cute spinner.

 

[sayu]

I had bag and body search at UK airport. Nothing to hide they said it was random!