Importing guitars from Japan to Europe?

[Ceylon]

I've heard that due to things like humidity and so forth you can get setup or even structural issues with guitars if you import from Japan, but there's so much cool stuff there. Does anybody have experience with this? What can I expect?

[Kent]

I've done it. I wouldn't worry about it if you know how to do a basic setup. This is a nothing burger.

[Igorilla]

I‘ve done it, too. No problems at all. The big shops in Japan offer fast EMS shipping and
the packaging is pro level.
I’ve never heard of the humidity issue or had to
deal with structural issues.

[Embenny]

I think you're confusing a couple of different historical trends.

People have been importing Japanese guitars for decades. 20 years ago, I got my blue MIJ Jag straight from Japan because they didnt ship interesting colors to North America. My first three acoustic guitars were also Japanese. They were all made from kiln-dried wood and did fine.

The horror stories of imported guitars and humidity issues stem primarily from acoustic guitars built in other Asian countries like Vietnam and the Phillippines, which have incredibly high humidity, and whose luthiers used air-dried wood rather than kiln-dried wood. Primarily smaller builders who had never been in the export business before the internet era.

Some people started noticing that incredibly beautiful guitars were being built for pennies on the dollar compared to North America, and some businesses sprang up based on importing those guitars.

Because the woods were "green" (not kiln dried), they were stable enough when kept in the unchanging ~100% RH of their country of origin, but quickly structurally imploded when brought to drier climates.

If a guitar is built properly from kiln-dried wood, this is not a problem.

I've bought several guitars from Japan, the most recent of which was about a year and a half ago, and I've had no issues. I've bought guitars from Florida, which has probably a higher average RH. It's not a concern.

[lastlol]

I've done it. I wouldn't worry about it if you know how to do a basic setup. This is a nothing burger.

+1 no problem whatsoever. Besides, Tokyo has a lower humidity level than Malmö, or Miami.