Packing a rice cooker or kettle: plugs, voltage, hotel rules

A travel kettle or small rice cooker helps most when halal meals are hard to find, but it only helps if it runs and the hotel allows it. Check three things before you pack: the plug shape, the voltage, and the hotel’s rules. The numbers below are nominal values for each country, so confirm the details on the official pages before you fly.

Which plug and voltage will you meet?

North Asia and China:

• Japan: plug types A and B, nominal 100 V, 50 Hz in the east and 60 Hz in the west¹.
• South Korea: plug types C and F, nominal 220 V, 60 Hz².
• Taiwan: plug types A and B, nominal 110 V, 60 Hz³.
• China: plug types A and I, nominal 220 V, 50 Hz⁴.
• Hong Kong: plug types G, D and M, nominal 220 V, 50 Hz⁵.

Southeast Asia, Turkey:

• Thailand: plug types A, B, C and O, nominal 230 V, 50 Hz⁶.
• Vietnam: plug types A, B, C and F, nominal 220 V, 50 Hz⁷.
• Indonesia: plug types C and F, nominal 230 V, 50 Hz⁸.
• Singapore: plug types C, G and M, nominal 230 V, 50 Hz⁹.
• Philippines: plug types A, B and C, nominal 230 V, 60 Hz¹⁰.
• Turkey: plug types C and F, nominal 230 V, 50 Hz¹¹.

How do you read your own appliance?

Turn it over and find the label. If it prints a range of voltages that covers the country’s nominal voltage, you only need a plug adapter. If it prints one fixed voltage that differs, an adapter alone will not fix it, and the appliance may run badly or be damaged.

Japan and Taiwan are the two to watch, because their nominal voltages are lower than the others in the list. A kettle built for a higher voltage may heat slowly there.

What hotel rule wording should you look for?

Hotel policies are short and easy to miss. Look for these phrases in the house rules or booking terms.

• “Guests may not bring electrical appliances.”
• “Cooking in rooms is not permitted.”
• “Appliances must be approved by the front desk.”
• “Kettle available on request.”

What can you send the hotel?

“Hello, we are travelling with young children and would like to heat water and rice in the room. May we bring a small kettle and rice cooker, or can you provide a kettle and a fridge on request?”

What food should stay at home?

Cooking in a room tempts you to pack ingredients. Japan prohibits bringing meat products into the country, even heat-treated ones¹². Taiwan fines travellers who bring pork products from affected areas¹³. Leave meat-flavoured sachets and sausages at home, and check the official customs page before you go.

Your next step

Make a short list: the plug types for your route, your appliance’s voltage label, and each hotel’s rule. For room requests in one place, use the private-stay requirements builder. Then see how hotel breakfast works in Japan and in Korea, or return to the hotels, rooms and privacy hub.