In Japan, the demand for self-care is increasing, and has come to include demands for greater amounts of OTC drugs to reduce medical expenses. Accordingly, we need to develop and incorporate OTC drugs practices in Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPE), which at present do not sufficiently cover OTC drugs. To clarify the current issues with OTC drugs practice and to propose plans for improvement, we conducted questionnaire surveys of 159 students who experienced APPE and of 158 community pharmacists in the 2015 school year. A total of 46% of students were satisfied about OTC drugs practices in APPE, and said that “experiencing sales” gave them the most satisfaction, as well as “roleplay & observation”. More than 80% of community pharmacists answered that they had difficulties in APPE regarding OTC drugs. The largest problem for achieving SBOs for OTC drugs is that there are fewer opportunities to sell them. Additionally, community pharmacists felt that students lacked communication skills. This survey thus showed the necessity of learning communication skills, as well as improving skill and knowledge of OTC drugs, before beginning APPE at university. To accomplish this, students should experience sales as much as possible, and where this is not possible, they should engage in roleplay and observation. These OTC drugs practices were identified as giving students high satisfaction and can contribute to improving OTC drugs practices.