Advice for New Residents of Japan

First of all, congratulations on obtaining your Certificate of Eligibility and/or visa! As someone who recently went through this process, I want to congratulate you on getting to the start of the end of a very, very long journey.

On this page, I offer tips on what you should do next and think about before and immediately after you enter Japan.

• It is an incredibly good idea for you to already have a plan for financial accounts in your home country. Ideally, before you enter Japan, have a working bank account, credit card, and a long-term address. Why? Before you have your life assembled in Japan, several things, like bank accounts, will take a long time to get working. You need to be able to pay for stuff and move money around before that happens. Have a plan in-place for your home country long term, such as where to route mail, and things like that.
• Before you enter Japan, make sure you have already planned and shipped any of your personal goods that you intend to import into Japan for use in the country. Japan allows a one-time import of personal goods such as clothing, furniture, computers, hats, TVs, etc. As long as the good is generally recognized as a personal good, you should be fine bringing it into Japan. I personally used Yamato Transport USA's international moving service, but other services should also work. You must ship your personal goods and then immediately complete the customs paperwork on your first arrival in Japan, before you are a Residence Card holder. In other words, if you obtain a Residence Card, leave the country, and then re-enter and try to import your personal goods, you will have a lot of explaining to do, and you might be charged 10-15% of the value of your cargo as import duty.
  • If you're entering on a visa that is less than 6 months, such as the Business Manager visa, you need to prove that you will extend to 1 year somehow. In an ideal world, you should file for extension or have a lawyer or similar work with you here. The problem is that the goods import exception only gives you permission to import goods for a stay of a year or more in Japan. If you fail to meet this requirement, you may also be subject to 10-15% import duty.
  • It is imperative that the goods that you import are for personal use and understood as such. Bulk commodities or goods packaged new are not understood as for personal use. Arcade cabinets, for example, are viewed as commercial goods by default. As an example, if you have an arcade cabinet, you should realistically not import it. If you have 30-50 sets of gloves that you bought off of Ali Express to play maimai でらっくす, you should not import those in your cargo.
  • You can email or call your port-of-entry customs office and ask questions. I emailed Tokyo Customs a couple questions and got reasonable responses before I entered Japan, and it was very simple/easy. It does take about a week for a reply though, if you're sending email.
  • If you've entered Japan as a temporary visitor in the past and you haven't declared your expensive laptops, computers, tablets, whatever, you should declare all goods to the letter-of-the-law on your entry to Japan now. While you can be expected, as a tourist, to bring laptops and related items for tourism, your very first entry into Japan is critical: you are basically bringing yourself and any belongings permanently into the country. The perception is different, and the consequences for undeclared goods go up¹⁾. Used personal goods purchased in the last year won't incur customs duty, but you still need to declare these items and explain to the inbound customs officer what the status of these items is.
  • Everything you import has some value, even if that value is small. You cannot import goods worth zero value. As you work through customs declaration forms, remember that even documents have value and you need to establish that value.
  • Collections, sets, etc., which contain several discs, or similar, need to have the number of discs declared. A “box set” of an anime containing 9 discs is declared as 9 discs. This is important, because customs cannot process your goods otherwise, and your shipper will likely inquire as to the count of goods.
  • Customs will undoubtedly open at least one of your boxes for inspection. I know this from experience. Get your declarations correct so there are no surprises when customs does open your boxes.

• Make sure you've made copies of your Certificate of Eligibility and put them in multiple places when you pack your luggage. You need both your passport, with a valid visa sticker, and your COE, to enter Japan. The expiration date on the COE is what dictates your entry start and end dates, not the visa. Because the COE is just a piece of paper, I really suggest having multiple copies so that if your luggage is lost or stolen, hopefully you still have a backup copy with you somewhere. If you do not have a COE you can skip worrying about a COE.
• You may be asked to show your visa and COE at your airport of choice when you embark on the way to Japan.
• When you arrive at your airport of choice, you will enter through the visitor line, not through any other line. However, you should make it clear to the staff working at the airport that you are a COE holder. Have your COE out and ready. Only some of the immigration stations can process people with COEs, especially at Haneda and Narita. It is at this point that you will be given your Residence Card. If you do not have a COE, again, you should show your visa-stamped passport.
  • I'm sure you've already been made aware of this, but you must, from this point on, carry your Residence Card with you at all times to all destinations. In all practical terms, your Residence Card is your only Japan-issued government ID. If you ever lose your Residence Card, you must report it as lost or stolen at a police station and obtain a police report. Then, you must immediately to to immigration to get it replaced.
• Remember to have your entry documents correct and complete the processing of any customs shipments you have pending. You likely need two stamped copies of your customs declaration for unaccompanied articles, so you can present them to your shipping partner at the airport. Do not lose these documents.

Again, congratulations! You are now a Resident of Japan, one of the most beautiful places in the world. Congratulations!

You have some minor housekeeping tasks to immediately clear. If you're here with a big multinational company, you might even get some assistance. Here's what you need to do if you don't have that assistance, or just to check your work.

• You need to file a notice of moving-in. At your local city office, you need to show up with your brand new residence card and file the paperwork to notify them that you've moved in, within 14 days of your arrival in Japan.
  • If you don't yet have a job, you need to also sign up for National Health Insurance and Social Welfare Insurance. These are two separate things: the former is for health related matters, and the latter is for disability, unemployment, and pension.
    • If you have a job, odds are your employer will handle this for you. When in doubt, ask your employer.
• You need a Japanese phone number. You need to have already filed your moving-in notice, because your residence card is required to have your address for this step.
  • If you have an unlocked phone, you can use Mobal with basically no documentation as long as you have a foreign bank card. Mobal doesn't support international service, though. The easiest domestic carrier to get setup with is NTT Docomo. Specifically, I recommend the ahamo sub-brand, which has an easy-to-understand plan structure and cost-structure.
  • If you have an Android phone you purchased out of the country, you cannot use your phone as a transporation IC card or use similar services using おサイフケータイ (official site: おサイフケータイ from NTT docomo). Consider purchasing a new phone in the long term.
  • If you have an iPhone, you can change your region to Japan in the long term to add more e-Money services if you need them (おサイフケータイ works on iPhones globally since iPhone 8).
  • If you have a carrier locked phone, your best option is to buy an unlocked phone for cash somewhere. You cannot buy an iPhone with a foreign bank card online, but maybe you can in-person.
• You need a Japanese bank account. You need to have already filed your moving-in notice, because your residence card is required to have your address for this step.
  • If you have a job at any company with employer-provided health insurance, you can use Sony Bank or Yucho Direct+ / Japan Post Bank. In theory, you might also be able to convince SMBC Prestia to give you an account. As you'll have probably seen from Reddit, a new policy prevents most banks from issuing bank accounts until you've been in the country for at least 6 months. Sony Bank and SMBC Prestia are okay creating an account for you if you have a job. If you don't yet have a job, you need to get Japan Post Bank or Seven Bank.
    • If you don't have a job and you get Japan Post Bank, you will only get a cash card, and you need to subsequently find some way to get a Visa or MasterCard for many online transactions. To do this, you should consider MobalPay, or use d point prepaid card or another prepaid card.
    • Seven Bank will give you a cash card and a JCB debit card, provided that you have at least 6 months of time on your Residence Card remaining. Applying is also very simple, and can be done from any 7-11 ATM+. This debit *may not work for online recurring transactions* (for me, this is to-be-determined if this is actually true in practice).
• In the long term, you will benefit from buying a hanko and getting it registered at your local city office, for signing official paperwork. Most banks that don't cater to foreigners (like Resona, Mizuho, SMBC normal, etc) will want this. Other contracts, etc will want this.
• If you don't know your area that well, you should take the time to familiarize yourself with your area, in terms of things like disaster preparedness.
  • Where is the closest safety evacuation area?
• Do you have a 防災グッズ/防災セット (a bousai bag / bousai set / disaster preparedness set / kit / bag)? You should get one if you haven't already. If you aren't sure what to put in it,
  • Most cities or prefectures have some information for you. Tokyo has one of the best as they have both a handbook for disasters and a preparedness booklet for foreigners. In Japan, you should be prepared for unexpected natural disasters. These guides include things like what to do in disasters, and also include advice for what to pack in a disaster bag/kit.
  • There's also another set of disaster prevention resources from Tokyo Metropolitan government, including a help card with point-and-say phrases if you don't know enough Japanese.
  • It is extremely helpful to remember that you need to call 119 for fire or medical issues, and 110 for police. 171 for the disaster message board service.
  • It is extremely helpful to remember your address and how to say it in Japanese. If you cannot say it, can you write it? If your address is not clear or otherwise if you need special instructions to your house, practice these.
    • If you have family visiting from abroad, similarly, you should plan for and instruct them on how to contact emergency services, and navigate to your house, if they're staying with you.
• Install NERV Disaster Prevention if you haven't already. It includes crucial information during disasters.
• If you live in Tokyo, Tokyo also has a disaster preparedness app. It is NOT as good as NERV is in English mode, but it does have valuable information and is worth having with you.
• Familiarize yourself with your city's trash sorting and collection rules. You usually need to find this on a per city basis, and usually there are English guides, but sometimes not. If you haven't learned this before, you need to separate waste generally into seven categories: combustibles, resource plastics, non-combustibles, glass bottles, cans, and PET bottles. Your city and locality will have specific collection schedules and instructions depending on the garbage. If you fail to separate trash, you will likely get reprimanded by the “trash czar” of your building or neighborhood, or the local police. Neither of these things are ideal.
• You will get a notice in the mail containing your 個人番号 / “My Number” / “Individual Number”. Keep this notice safe. This number is illegal to share with anyone except banks and government and maybe your employer. It is basically a tax identification number, but it also is used by other systems to identify you.
• You need a My Number Card. You need to also keep this card renewed. Due to the deprecation and subsequent removal of health insurance cards, My Number Card is the de facto way of presenting insurance information when you get medical attention or pharmaceuticals. My Number Card contains your 個人番号 on the back. My Number Card is “technically optional” but with the removal of insurance cards, it is realistically not. With it, you can also take care of various administrative procedures online with a smart card reader and at convenience stores.
  • The card expires the same day your residence card expires. You need to therefore renew it before that happens. If your residence card will expire before your My Number Card, you can renew it for 2 months extra as part of the grace period, once you file for extension of your Residence Card.
  • Your invitation / application to apply for My Number Card will arrive in the mail.
  • Once you have your invitation / application, you can complete it at any photo booth that has the My Number Card logo. This enables you to take your photo for the card in the same step as the rest of the application process.
  • Most banks and other services can use My Number Card as a form of identity. For example, you can create a FamiPay account or a PayPay account with it. This is usually the absolute fastest way to prove identity, as 在留カード validation takes longer in almost all circumstances.
  • If you let your card expire, it will take about 2 months to reapply and replace it. Do not let it expire.
• If you live in Tokyo, TIPS for Tokyo Life provides English support direction and services for foreign residents. If you live outside of Tokyo, see if your prefecture and city offer similar services.
  • Haven't moved yet? If you're preparing, consider Tokyo for the simple reason that we have a lot of foreigners here. It's very, very easy to accommodate foreigners in Tokyo.
  • See-also: Comprehensive Living Guide for Foreign Residents in Japan

If you want to leave Japan temporarily, you need a Re-Entry Permit or Special Re-Entry Permit. The former requires an application, the latter requires no application. Both have limits on use. Generally, for special re-entry, you need to come back within 1 year. The thing about “Special” re-entry that makes it special is that it's issued at the airport and doesn't require paperwork.

After airport security, you need to take your passport and your Residence Card not to the automated passport gates, but instead to the tables where there are re-entry slips. Complete the special re-entry slip with the pertinent information. Take it and your documents to the staffed immigration desk. They will staple your special re-entry permit into your passport, and subsequently, they will stamp your passport.

Being sure not to forget your Residence Card, you can leave the country at your leisure with the Special Re-Entry Permit still stapled in your passport. On your return flight, you can complete the relevant information on the card.

To re-enter, and often, just to board a flight to Japan, you will be asked to present your Residence Card, Passport, and Special Re-Entry permit. Once you arrive back in Japan, follow signs for re-entry.

Do note that the permits are intended to remain stapled in your passport. Immigration will stamp the back of them with a seal, so you can't just get a new one if you lose yours. Avoid losing yours. If this happens, you most likely need to talk to immigration when you get back, and/or the police.