Taking ADHD medication to Japan? Adderall can't come with you

Japan is strict about medicine, stricter than most travellers expect. If you take Adderall, the rule is short: you cannot bring it into Japan. Not with a prescription, not with a doctor's letter, not for a short trip.

Why Adderall is banned

Adderall's active ingredient is amphetamine. Under Japan's Stimulants Control Act, amphetamine and methamphetamine are banned outright, even for medical treatment and even if your own country prescribed them. There's no permit to apply for.

So the conversation to have is with your doctor, well before you fly.

Vyvanse: allowed, with paperwork

Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine) is classed differently: it's a "stimulants' raw material". You can bring it, but only with advance permission from the Narcotics Control Department of Japan's health ministry.

• Apply at least 14 days before you travel.
• You'll need a medical certificate from your doctor, issued within the last 3 months, and photos of your medicine packages.
• Carry the medicine yourself and show the import certificate at customs.

The Vyvanse page for Japan walks through the application step by step.

Ritalin and Concerta: no permit, up to a limit

Methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta) is a "psychotropic" in Japan, not a stimulant. You can bring it without a permit or a doctor's certificate, as long as the total methylphenidate you carry is 2.16 g or less. That's 216 tablets of 10 mg. Above that, carry a certificate from your doctor. The same table covers other common medicines, such as alprazolam (Xanax, 72 mg) and zolpidem (Ambien, 300 mg).

The cold medicine trap

The same rule covers pseudoephedrine, the decongestant in Sudafed and many other cold remedies. Products with more than 10% pseudoephedrine need the same advance permission as Vyvanse. It's an easy one to pack without thinking.

Your other medicine

Ordinary medicine is far simpler. Japan Customs lets you bring:

• up to one month's supply of prescription medicine,
• up to two months' supply of over-the-counter medicine,
• up to 24 pieces of each external product, like creams.

Bringing more needs an import certificate called a Yakkan Shoumei, arranged in advance. Diabetes and weight-loss injections such as Ozempic count as prescription medicine, so the one-month limit applies (more in our Ozempic guide).

Check before you pack

Look up your exact medicine for Japan: Adderall, Vyvanse, Ritalin, Sudafed, or everything you can bring to Japan. Every answer links to the Japanese government page it comes from.