You can just buy all the medicines that i show in the picture below here if you want to be easy. But there are several things that you need to consider before buying all these.
First and foremost, if you are travelling to Japan, there are several restrictions to the medicines that you can bring. Some over-the-counter medicines might be illegal such as the ones that contains pseudoephedrine such as vicks (basically sinus and allergic medications) but even the allowed medicine can be brought for not-so-much quantities... and many more! (refer here 1 | 2).
Actually you can just buy at the country that you are travelling to but the main purpose of buying earlier is because sometimes the medicines here are much more cheaper. Second, you don't have to go to the drugstore in the case of not-so-emergency and also the don't forget about the hassle to find ones. And much more!
Lastly, you have to consider about the condition of the country that you will be travelling and buy the right medicines! For example, travelling during winter especially when the country is experiencing subzero (degree celcius) temperature with low humidity, you have to consider moisturisers for your whole body and not forgetting the lips...unless you want your lips to crack and cause pain and your body to become itchy as a result of dried skin. (TIPS: taking hot bath might relieve your itchiness for awhile, but it will cause your skin to dry more and your body skin will be more itchy the next day, trust me!).
Wait a minute, does cold country (winter season) really gets you sick often? If you have never went to that kind of country, you might think that you can easily get sick (especially cold) because it's too cold right? So, my answer is no, and it's based on my family experiences and also some friends and their families, so it might not apply to you and your family, but you can really consider our experiences and experience yourself later :D. Fyi, we never use cold medications that we bring (inhalers, panadol for cold etc) because it turned out that we never get cold while being there, just if it was too cold (eg -2°c) we found our nose to expel some liquids, just a bit then resolved shortly.
We also came there with thought that we might easily get stomach ache because we would be ingesting food that are not familiar and our stomach might be kinda shocked. It turned out that we also never got stomach ache. The only medicines that we used were yoko-yoko and tiger balm (to relieve muscle aches) and moisturisers.
BUT, i really should not disregard vitamin C that we brought there and took one tablet each day to keep our immune system at high level to fight against microorganisms that can cause various diseases. Also not to forget vegetables and fruits that we bought there as all these might contribute to our good health during the whole trip!
Below here i will try to list all the medicines that you can see in the picture above with some brief descriptions. These were for 7 family members and they were more than enough for us.
1. Safi Krim Kecantikan Sari Pokok Lidah Buaya & Habbatus Sauda (the green ones with white cap)
This one is not just a beauty cream but it is formulated to act as moisturiser to prevent your skin from drying during cold and humid environment. I have searched for reviews all over the internet about this product and many said this worked for them either using it in hot and cold environment. Sadly i wanted to experience the itchiness myself and see how dry my skin would be and i really regretted it because my body was really itchy especially on my thigh skin on the 6th day and it was too dry that putting moisturiser won't really work hahaha. Price? This is one is the cheapest option amongst the good moisturisers available in the market! Where to find this? Watsons!
2. Cosmoderm (moisturising products) with vitamin E (yellow and white - one is intense and another one is normal)
Just read my descriptions about moisturiser on the above product (Safi) because it is almost the same. This might be better than the safi ones because it contains a lot of vitamin E. Just the price is more expensive and you can also find it easily in watsons.
3. Ammeltz YokoYoko (white bottle with blue cap)
This one really helped my mum to get through the first few days as she was not used to walk for long distance. Other than my mum, all of us did not even bother to use because we were still young and energetic (also my father xD). So, if you have any family member that may not be able to walk for long distance, you might need this. And believe me, few days later your legs will adapt and you might not need this anymore.
4. Mentholatum nasal inhaler (next to the yokoyoko)
Actually this one i am not sure whether it is allowed to bring to japan or not. I just 'gambly' brought and if it is not allowed, i would just throw. It is not written whether it contains pseudoephedrine or not and it is certainly not vicks (as vicks brands are certainly illegal to bring to Japan). I am not sure whether it helps or not because we did not use this but you can find a lot of this kinda medicine at japan drugstore so just buy there. I found this in watsons.
5. EyeGlo eye moisturiser (you know which one)
We expected our eye to be really dry when it is cold but it was certainly not and manageable. If the wind is too strong it may cause your eye to be dry, but not always. Just blink a lot of times to keep it moist.
6. Chi-kit teck aun pills
This can be used when you are having diarrhea. We have used this a lot long time before and it really worked. You can really count on this but you have to know that this might relieve the symptoms you are facing but not the disease that you are having. Go to hospital if it becomes worse.
7. Minyak angin cap kapak (axe brand universal oil)
Just like chi-kit teck aun pills, it worked most of the time. This medicine is usually used to relieve your headache but actually based on the descriptions, it also works for stomachache, blocked nose, muscle aches and much more! Find it easily in most convenience stores (especially speedmart).
8. Panadol ActiFast
Everyone knows that this is used to treat fever symptoms, and as the name suggests (ActiFast), it works faster than normal panadol (2x more powerful). It is really suitable to be brought during travelling because you certainly would not want to miss any precious time abroad! And just like any other diseases, if your body temperature is really high and persists for long time, just go see the doctor!
9. Plaster (just buy any type of plaster you want)
This one is just a plain plaster (sometimes other brands contain some ointments in the plaster). We brought this in case anyone got wounded (slip, trip off etc). You can also bring along antiseptic and use it right after anyone got wounded before putting plaster on top of that to kill any microorganisms and prevent them from entering into bloodstream.
10. Eno for stomach ache (any flavour and type that is suitable - small ones is enough)
This is obviously used for stomach ache especially when it is a result of food indigestion. Find these small packs at watsons.
11. Tiger balm (small pack for travel)
As i said above in yokoyoko section, my mum used this along with yokoyoko and it worked for her but we don't know which one works better hahah maybe synergestic effect did take place. Most of this convenient packaging of medicines are available at watsons (you might be bored of seeing watsons in this article :P)
12. Hurix's brand for stomach ache (sto-mach 8)
I don't need to describe this i guess! It's just a small ones and can be used for stomach ache of any causing factor. Just, we didn't need and use this.
13. Hurix's brand for cold and flu (600Fluaway capsule)
This one is just a backup in case other medicines for cold and flu was not enough. It turned out that it was more than enough. This can also be used for running nose and nasal congestion.
14. Panadol for cold and flu (not in picture)
I really don't want to explain for this actually hahah but I have to. This one is still for pain relief as it is panadol and added with menthol etc that would help with your cold and cough symptoms.
15. Panadol soluble
This one is suitable for kids because sometimes they don't like pills. Just put in water and it will dissolve and the taste was quite good also!
16. Strepsils
It is widely known to cure sore throat, no doubt. But as you can see in the picture, there were also strepsils for sore throat and blocked nose (like usual, menthol etc is added)
17. Lip balm (not in picture)
This might be the last ones but also the most important ones when you are travelling to cold and humid country (also country when it is summer). You can buy any brand that you trust or ever used that worked for you. This really helps us to survive from lip cracks but sometimes it doesn't long for a long time so you gotta 'renew' it everytime you feels that your lips are drying. (TIPS: If you forgot to put on this, just lick your lips frequently to avoid drying).
So, we have come to an end. You may or may not bring medicines but i suggest you to bring some to make your life easier. We don't know what is going to happen and just prepare earlier! It won't give you much difficulty except having to pay some amounts (total costs we spent for all these were just around rm150) and having to put some weight on your luggage ahah!
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