Melatonin

I have read conflicting reports on whether or not it is okay to bring melatonin into Japan. From what I've gleaned, it sounds like it used to not be okay, but that the rules have recently changed, and now it is allowed? I am having a hard time finding an official decree - mostly just anecdotal reports from places like Reddit. It would certainly be nice to bring the melatonin to help with jet lag, but not worth getting stopped upon entry for it.

Well, your body makes melatonin to sleep. As far as I know, I've never heard of that sleep aid being banned from being brought in, but there should be a list of acceptable or unacceptable things to bring in. For example, prescription drugs are much more difficult to bring in, rather than just something of a bottle of melatonin you bought from the store.

It all has to do with the ingredients. I mean, you could literally buy a bottle of melatonin off of Amazon in Japan and have it delivered to you if you really need it. Just keep in mind, melatonin is not really intended for long use and it's supposed to be used to get your circadian rhythm back in balance after a few days. If you want to sleep well, your best friend will be magnesium as most people get depleted easily of this mineral, especially when traveling with stress and all.

Thanks, Tom. We are visiting Japan for a couple of weeks from the USA, so only plan to use melatonin in the short-term, to help us acclimate to the timezone. If we need to go without, we'll go without, but if there are no restrictions, we figured we would bring it. I read that melatonin is a prescription medication in Japan, or maybe it just used to be, and there are dissenting reports online about whether or not it is okay for tourists to bring.

I am assuming that you are referring to melatonin supplements?
As far as I know, it is not manufactured/sold in Japan, and melatonin (not supplements) can be prescribed only to limited indications.

Melatonin supplements can be imported into Japan by individuals (once one of my American friends sent me a package when I mentioned sleeplessness - it cleared customs no problem), and online sellers sell them to Japanese audience in Japan, so it should be no problem. Just bring them in their original bottles so that if your luggage happens to be inspected, they can tell right away what they are.

Official information is listed below:
https://www.la.us.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/e_m02_08.htm

If you're still uncertain, you can ask at the Japanese Embassy or Consulate near you.

Yup, I mean the melatonin supplements that we can buy OTC here in the US.

The official websites don't seem to mention melatonin at all, but plenty of travel reports/blogs do - just enough to cause alarm. :) It almost seems like it might be an internet urban legend at this point that melatonin is not allowed, but I figured I'd double-check with the folks here, since they are generally more knowledge than other forums across the web.

Should be fine. Last year my friend and I traveled from New York to Tokyo and he brought Melatonin with him, didn't have any issues.