LOCALS · LIFE DESK

New to Japan? Start here.

The basics first, then the complicated parts. Every step says where to go, what it is called, and which office publishes the rule.

Your checklist

Arriving soon

  1. Know which documents to carry
    Where
    On you, from the day you land
    Called
    Passport and residence card (zairyu card)
    Rule from
    Immigration Services Agency of Japan
  2. Line up somewhere to stay
    Where
    Before you fly, if you can
    Called
    An address you can register, which the next step needs
    Rule from
    Immigration Services Agency of Japan, which sets the address rule
  3. Learn the 14-day address rule
    Where
    Your ward or city office
    Called
    Residence notification (juukyochi no todokede)
    Rule from
    Immigration Services Agency of Japan
  4. Plan your first week
    Where
    The ward or city office first, then a bank and a phone shop
    Called
    Address, health insurance and pension, then a phone and an account
    Rule from
    Immigration Services Agency of Japan, in its Daily Life Support Portal

First three months

  1. Register your address
    Where
    Your ward or city office, within 14 days of moving in
    Called
    Residence notification (juukyochi no todokede)
    Rule from
    Immigration Services Agency of Japan
  2. Join health insurance and pension
    Where
    Your ward or city office, unless your employer enrols you
    Called
    National Health Insurance (kokumin kenko hoken) and National Pension (kokumin nenkin)
    Rule from
    Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and the Japan Pension Service
  3. Get a phone number
    Where
    A mobile carrier, in a shop or online
    Called
    A mobile contract, with an identity check
    Rule from
    Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
  4. Open a bank account
    Where
    A bank or Japan Post Bank
    Called
    An ordinary savings account (futsuu yokin)
    Rule from
    Financial Services Agency, which supervises banks
  5. Turn on power, gas and water
    Where
    Each supplier, by phone or online
    Called
    Starting service (shiyou kaishi)
    Rule from
    Your city waterworks, and each power and gas company
  6. Learn your bin days
    Where
    Your ward or city office publishes the calendar
    Called
    Garbage sorting (gomi no bunbetsu)
    Rule from
    Your city or ward, which sets its own rules
  7. Find a doctor before you need one
    Where
    A clinic near home
    Called
    A clinic (iin or kurinikku)
    Rule from
    Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

Settled in

  1. Renew your residence card in time
    Where
    The immigration office that serves your address
    Called
    Extension of period of stay
    Rule from
    Immigration Services Agency of Japan
  2. Year-end tax adjustment or a tax return
    Where
    Your employer for the adjustment, your tax office for a return
    Called
    Year-end adjustment (nenmatsu chosei), or a final tax return (kakutei shinkoku)
    Rule from
    National Tax Agency
  3. Convert your driving licence
    Where
    Your prefecture’s driver’s licence centre
    Called
    Foreign licence conversion (gaimen kirikae)
    Rule from
    National Police Agency, through your prefectural police
  4. Moving within Japan
    Where
    Your old ward office, then your new one within 14 days
    Called
    Moving-out and moving-in notifications (tenshutsu todoke, tennyu todoke)
    Rule from
    Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

Leaving Japan

  1. Tell your ward office you are leaving
    Where
    Your ward or city office, before you go
    Called
    Moving-out notification (tenshutsu todoke)
    Rule from
    Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
  2. Claim your pension lump sum
    Where
    Japan Pension Service, after you have left
    Called
    Lump-sum withdrawal payment (dattai ichijikin)
    Rule from
    Japan Pension Service
  3. Close phone, utilities and bank
    Where
    Each company, before your last week
    Called
    Cancellation (kaiyaku)
    Rule from
    Each company’s own contract terms
  4. Pass on your furnitureOPENING LATER
    Where
    The Sayonara board in your area Club
    Called
    Pick-up only, from people nearby
    Rule from
    Your city or ward, for anything left as large rubbish (sodai gomi)

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Emergency numbers and embassies119 fire and ambulance · 110 police · 118 coast guardPlus the national multilingual helplines, and 194 embassies and consulates in Japan with the address and telephone number each one publishes. Checked 10 August 2026.

Designated evacuation sites

Everyday life, by topic

If something has gone wrong

A number means the whole list, kept from the official source. Everything else is written out.

Embassies and consulates194 Emergencies and disasters Recent earthquakes

Offices and visas

Visa and residence procedures Immigration offices16 City hall and paperwork Work and business Legal help Death and funerals

Housing and utilities

Housing and moving Buying property Utilities Phone and internet Mail and deliveries Waste and recycling Food and shopping Pets

Banking, tax and pension

Money and banking Tax, pension and insurance Tax offices518 Private insurance

Doctors and hospitals

Health and medical Crisis and support lines

Kids and schools

Family and schools Childcare and daycare

Trains and driving

Transportation Driving Driving schools Buying a car

People and things to do

Community and language Accredited Japanese language schools822 Festivals Live music Member offers

Checked against the official source

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For the people who live here.

This part of the site is not written for a two-week trip. It is for the paperwork, the offices and the ordinary weeks of living in Japan: where to go, what it is called in English, and which government body publishes it.

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