LifePublished Updated 4 min read

First Week in Japan: Address, Phone, Insurance, and Money

A practical sequence for making your residence card, address, contact, health insurance, and payment setup usable.

ARTICLE MAPReading Map

The first week after landing is a sequence problem. Within 14 days after deciding your address, you need municipal registration, residence-card address writing, National Health Insurance if not covered by work, National Pension where applicable, and the My Number notice route. Without that address record, banks, mobile carriers, and housing contracts often stop.

Day 1: arrival and transport

At major airports such as Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, and New Chitose, many long-term entrants receive the residence card at immigration after passport, visa, COE, fingerprints, and photo checks. The address field on the back is blank until the municipal office writes it after move-in.

Keep JPY 10,000 to 30,000 in cash for the first ride and food. Narita to Tokyo can be JPY 3,140 by N’EX or around JPY 2,580 by Keisei Skyliner; Haneda to Shinagawa by Keikyu can be around JPY 330. If you carry 2 suitcases or children, luggage delivery to the hotel can be worth the JPY 2,000 to 4,000 per item.

Day 2 to 3: fix an address

Municipal registration, banking, and phone contracts need a real address. Many newcomers stay in a hotel, dormitory, company housing, or short-term rental for 1 week to 1 month while completing the apartment search. A hotel room usually cannot be registered as your address, and the 14-day clock for the residence notification starts when you actually settle on a residence, not on landing day. If you will stay in temporary housing for weeks, ask the ward office whether you can or must register there.

For a rental apartment, expect search, viewing, application, guarantor-company screening for 5 to 7 days, contract, payment, and key handover. Initial costs often equal 4 to 6 months of rent. For a JPY 80,000 apartment, the first payment can be JPY 400,000 to 650,000.

Day 4 to 5: municipal office

After the address is fixed, go to the city or ward office. Handle move-in notification, address writing on the residence card, National Health Insurance, National Pension where needed, My Number notice handling, and seal registration if you need a registered seal.

Bring residence card and passport. Offices are usually open on weekdays around 8:30 to 17:00, with some evening or Saturday counters depending on the municipality. After registration, a resident record can often be issued the same day for about JPY 300.

Day 5 to 7: bank, phone, utilities

Japan Post Bank is often the easiest first account: it needs a residence card and will not open an account if your period of stay was 3 months or less or expires within 3 months (and may refuse in other cases), and the cash card may arrive 1 to 2 weeks later. Until you have been in Japan 6 months or start working, it treats you as a non-resident under the foreign-exchange law, so domestic transfers involving your account are handled as international remittances, with no ATM transfers and higher fees; Japan Post Bank eases the ATM rule from January 4, 2027. Megabanks such as MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho often apply a 6-month residence rule unless the company helps with a salary account. SBI Shinsei Bank does not open accounts for people in Japan under 6 months who are not working or due to work here, so a newly arrived student usually cannot use it yet; check each online bank’s rules before applying.

For mobile service, large carriers cost around JPY 6,000 to 8,000 for high-data plans, while ahamo, povo, LINEMO, Rakuten Mobile, IIJmio, and mineo can be cheaper. Electricity may start online the same day; gas usually needs an appointment; internet construction can take 1 to 4 weeks.

Common mistakes

Do not delay the move-in notice past 14 days. Do not try to open a bank account or sign a phone plan before the address record exists. Do not visit only a megabank and assume all banks will reject you.

Do not visit a clinic without insurance unless it is unavoidable. Without proof of insurance you pay 100% at the counter. A refund of the insured share works only if you enrolled on time; report National Health Insurance more than 14 days late and some cities, such as Nakano, treat care during the gap as fully your own cost. Also do not drive unless your license and International Driving Permit are valid for Japan.

Useful terms

  • Tennyu todoke: move-in notification
  • Juminhyo: resident record
  • Zairyu card address field: address written on the residence card
  • Yachin hosho gaisha: rent guarantor company
  • Kokumin kenko hoken: National Health Insurance

References