Setting Up Utilities, Internet, and City Hall Registration When You Move to Japan

The first two weeks decide how smooth your first year feels

The day you receive the keys to your new Japanese apartment is the day a second wave of paperwork begins. On top of the usual move-in tasks that any resident has to handle, foreign residents have an additional layer: updating the residence card, registering at the municipal office, and securing ID that banks and mobile carriers will actually accept.

This guide lays out the sequence that works in practice — not every step in theory, but the ones that matter and the order you should do them in.

Must-do tasks in the first week

Days 1–3: Register at the municipal office

Registering your address at the ward or city office unlocks almost everything else. For mid- and long-term residence card holders, this is done at the local役所 (yakusho) within 14 days of moving in.

Bring

• •Your residence card
• •Your passport (sometimes requested)
• •Your signed lease (to confirm the address)
• •Residence cards for all accompanying family members

What happens at the counter

• •Your new address is written on the back of your residence card
• •A juminhyo (resident record) is created
• •Your My Number card or notification is processed (mailed later)
• •National Health Insurance enrollment, if applicable
• •National Pension enrollment, if applicable

Deadline: Within 14 days of moving in. Missing this can expose you to an administrative fine, so treat it as the first errand after you collect the keys.

Days 1–3: Electricity, gas, and water

Ideally you have started these before move-in day. The management company usually hands you a packet with instructions; if they have not, ask.

Electricity

• •Choose a provider (your region's legacy utility or a new power retailer)
• •Apply by phone, web form, or paper
• •No one needs to be home in most cases — flip the breaker and you have power
• •If the unit is all-electric or needs an amperage change, flag it in advance

Gas

• •Confirm whether the property uses city gas or LPG
• •Someone must be home for the opening appointment (the gas technician has to inspect and physically open the valve)
• •In moving season, slots fill up one to two weeks in advance — book as soon as your move-in date is confirmed

Water

• •Contact the municipal water bureau (online or by phone)
• •No one typically needs to be home
• •You open the shut-off valve yourself

Days 4–7: Internet

Japanese fiber internet is rarely instant. Installations take anywhere from two weeks to over a month depending on the building.

Fiber already installed

If fiber already runs into the building (Flets, collaboration fiber, au Hikari, etc.), you only need a provider contract. Activation can be same-day to two weeks, and an engineer visit is often unnecessary.

No fiber yet

If the building has no fiber, you are starting with construction:

• •Two to six weeks from application to service
• •A two- to three-hour technician visit on install day
• •Landlord permission may be required for the install

Stopgap mobile Wi-Fi

Portable Wi-Fi routers with short-term plans are cheap and fast to set up. They cover the gap while you wait for fiber without locking you into a long contract.

Tasks for week two

Open a Japanese bank account

Rent and utilities in Japan are almost always paid by direct debit from a Japanese account. In most cases you can only open one after your municipal registration is complete.

• •Major city banks (MUFG, SMBC, Mizuho): relatively strict onboarding
• •Japan Post Bank: often the most accessible for new arrivals
• •Online banks (Rakuten, PayPay Bank, etc.): online applications, but they generally require a Japanese address and phone number

Typical documents

• •Residence card
• •Passport
• •Juminhyo, recently issued
• •Proof of Japanese address (lease, utility bill)
• •A Japanese mobile number for verification calls

Sign up for a mobile plan

Often runs in parallel with the bank account.

Options

• •Major carriers (docomo, au, SoftBank): in-store, with phone-subsidy deals
• •MVNOs (budget SIMs): lower monthly cost, online applications
• •Data-heavy plans such as ahamo, LINEMO, or Rakuten Mobile

Typical documents

• •Residence card
• •Proof of Japanese address
• •A Japan-issued credit card or bank account for billing
• •A Japanese email address

Update addresses everywhere else

Once your municipal registration, bank, and phone are set up, propagate the new address to:

• •Japanese driver's license, if you have one
• •Credit cards
• •Your employer's HR and payroll system
• •Any insurance policies issued in Japan
• •Mail-forwarding instructions from your home country if needed

Five paperwork gaps that bite people

1. Forgetting to update the residence card

The 14-day rule has teeth. Municipal registration usually triggers the card update automatically, but confirm before you leave the counter that the new address is actually printed on the back.

2. Missing the gas appointment window

During peak relocation months (March–April and September–October), gas opening slots book out fast. Schedule the appointment the same day you confirm the move-in date.

3. Delaying National Health Insurance decisions

If your employer enrolls you in employees' health insurance, you skip National Health Insurance. But if there is a gap before your employer's coverage starts, or if you have dependents not covered by your employer's plan, you may need to enroll in NHI for the gap. Ask at the counter.

4. Not having a personal seal (hanko)

Some banks and agencies still prefer a personal seal for account opening and certain forms. Signature-only workflows are increasingly common but not universal. A 100-yen shop or a neighborhood seal shop can cut one in a day.

5. The NHK visit

If your unit has a TV or a tuner-equipped device, you owe an NHK receiving contract. An NHK representative will knock on your door within the first few weeks. Know whether you have a tuner and how you want to respond before they arrive.

Corporate leases and company-arranged housing

If your employer is the leaseholder, some of these tasks shift to the company:

• •Utility contracts may be in the company's name
• •Internet may already be installed and paid for
• •Furniture and appliances may be pre-supplied

Your personal items — municipal registration, insurance, bank account, mobile plan — remain your responsibility. Coordinate with HR so nothing gets double-contracted.

Two-week checklist

At the two-week mark, verify:

• •[ ] Juminhyo can be issued (municipal registration complete)
• •[ ] Residence card shows the new address on the back
• •[ ] Electricity, gas, and water are all working
• •[ ] You have either fiber or a mobile Wi-Fi stopgap
• •[ ] Bank account is open and rent + utility direct debits are set up
• •[ ] You have a Japanese mobile number in use
• •[ ] NHK status is resolved, one way or the other
• •[ ] Your employer has your new address on file

City gas vs LPG: the cost detail nobody mentions

Japanese apartments run on either city gas (都市ガス, piped) or LPG (プロパンガス, tank-based). Landlords often treat this as an afterthought in the listing, but it has a meaningful effect on your monthly bill. LPG is typically 1.5 to 2 times the per-unit cost of city gas. On a moderate-use household, that's a difference of several thousand yen per month.

Before signing, check the listing or ask the agent directly which type of gas the unit uses. If the building is LPG and your usage will be heavy (daily baths, gas-heated floor, gas dryer), the rent-plus-utilities math can change. You cannot switch gas types yourself — it's a property-level decision — but you can use this information when comparing two similar apartments.

My Number: what to expect and when

Municipal registration triggers the issuance of your twelve-digit personal number (My Number, マイナンバー). A few practical points for new arrivals:

• •The number itself is mailed to your registered address as a paper notification within a few weeks of registering.
• •You can apply for the physical My Number card (マイナンバーカード) separately; it acts as a photo ID and integrates with health insurance.
• •You need the My Number for opening some bank accounts, for tax paperwork at your employer, and increasingly for health insurance registration.
• •The physical card takes roughly a month to arrive after you apply, so if you want one, submit the application at the same time as your initial registration.

Do not share your My Number casually. Employers, banks, and health insurance providers have legitimate reasons to ask; almost nobody else does. If a rental agent asks for it during the lease process, decline politely — they do not need it.

Health insurance during the gap between jobs or on arrival

Timing is the issue here. You become legally obligated to be covered by some form of health insurance from the moment you register as a resident. There are two tracks:

• •Employees' health insurance (健康保険 / 社会保険): through your employer, usually activated by the first of the month after you start.
• •National Health Insurance (国民健康保険 / 国保): through the municipality, for periods when you're not covered by an employer's plan.

If you arrive before your job start date — say, you register on April 15 but your employer's coverage begins May 1 — you should enroll in National Health Insurance for the gap. Premiums are prorated by month. When your employer coverage kicks in, you unenroll from NHI.

Forgetting to enroll during the gap can technically result in backdated NHI premiums being charged when you eventually register, even if you never visited a doctor during that window. The simplest approach is to handle both enrollments in one trip to the municipal office.

Hanko vs signature at specific banks

The Japanese seal (印鑑 or 実印 / 銀行印 depending on context) is no longer strictly required everywhere, but it still shows up in surprising places.

• •Japan Post Bank, Shinsei Bank, Sony Bank: signature-only account opening is broadly available for foreign customers.
• •MUFG, SMBC, Mizuho: policies vary by branch and by whether you are using international banking services; signature is often accepted, but a seal is sometimes requested.
• •Online-only banks: signature / online only, no seal needed.
• •Utilities and mobile carriers: signature is typically accepted.
• •Rental contracts and guarantor forms: signature alone is generally accepted for foreign signers; your seal is optional but can simplify later paperwork.

If you decide to get a seal, a simple one with your romanized surname from a 100-yen shop works for routine use. Avoid the ornate 実印 (registered seal) unless you actually need to register real estate or enter into a notarized contract.

Summary

The efficient order is: municipal registration, then utilities, then internet, then bank account, then mobile. Start the utility and internet applications before you move in; do municipal registration on your first available weekday after; and give yourself a full two weeks for the slower-moving pieces like bank accounts and fiber installations to land. Keep the 14-day residence card deadline at the top of your list, confirm early whether your building is city gas or LPG, and close the health insurance gap in the same municipal office visit as your initial registration. The rest tends to fall into place.