Your Post-Arrival Survival Guide

At major ports (Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, New Chitose, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, etc.) the residence card is issued on the spot as you clear immigration. At other ports your passport is annotated and the card is mailed later, after you register your address.

1. At the immigration counter, present your passport and Certificate of Eligibility (or the relevant document).
2. At a major port, receive the card on the spot and check your name, the "Student" status, and the period of stay.
3. Where it isn't issued there, confirm it will be mailed later after you register your address.

Don't mistake "landed" for "must register an address today." The address notification counts from when your real address is decided, not from landing. If your first nights are at a hotel or a friend's place, don't hastily register an address you'll immediately change.

Officialmoj.go.jp

After collecting your luggage, head to customs. Cash, precious metals, or goods over the duty-free limit must be declared — via Visit Japan Web or on the spot. If connecting to a domestic flight, allow time for security as the airport directs.

1. If you have goods over the duty-free/declaration threshold or large amounts of cash, declare via Visit Japan Web or a declaration form.
2. For large cash sums (tuition, deposits, living costs), declare proactively if the customs page's thresholds require it.
3. When connecting domestically, plan time assuming you'll be re-screened on the domestic leg even though the international leg was screened.

Assuming domestic flights need no security at all; thinking the international screening lets you board the domestic leg directly; not declaring large cash (check the customs page for tuition/deposit/living-cost cash).

Officialcustoms.go.jpvjw.digital.go.jp

After customs, the three main ways into the city are train, limousine bus, and taxi. No big luggage and near a major station — take the train; lots of luggage — door-to-door bus is easier. At the airport station you can set up a transit IC card or a mobile transit card.

1. At the arrivals-hall info desk, check the time and cost to your destination by train, limousine bus, and taxi.
2. If you have no big luggage and are near a major station, take the train; with heavy luggage, take the limousine bus.
3. At the airport station's vending machine or via an app, get a transit IC card (or a mobile transit card).

Buying a stack of single-ride tickets to get into the city and then moving house; using a tourist short-term card as your long-term main card; cramming heavy luggage onto a crowded rush-hour train.

Officialnarita-airport.jp

On landing day, secure connectivity for your first 3–7 days at the airport SIM/Wi-Fi rental desk or via an online order picked up at the airport. It's a bridge to run maps and contact your school, agent, or dorm before you have a bank account or registered address.

1. Get a short-term line at the SIM/Wi-Fi counter in arrivals, or via a pre-ordered SIM picked up at the airport.
2. Secure the minimum data/calling needed to run maps and reach your school, agent, or dorm.
3. Sign a long-term number later, calmly, once your address is settled and you have an account.

Trying to sign a long-term phone contract right on landing, only to be turned away because you don't yet have an address, payment method, or formal ID.

Officialnarita-airport.jp

As soon as your place or dorm is set. What you register at the city office is the address where you actually live and can receive mail. On move-in day, check the nameplate, room number, name on the mailbox, garbage point, whether water/power work, and whether the gas needs an opening appointment.

1. Get the keys from the landlord, management company, or dorm desk, and check the contract address matches the actual nameplate and room-number notation.
2. Put your name on the mailbox (the My Number notice arrives by registered mail to your registered address — without a name on the box you can't receive it).
3. Confirm on the spot whether water and power work and whether the gas needs an opening appointment.

Registering a friend's or hotel address first and changing it immediately; the contract address not matching the actual nameplate notation; no name on the mailbox so the My Number notice or a bank's registered mail can't be delivered (the My Number notice comes by registered mail to your registered address, not as ordinary junk mail).

Officialmoj.go.jp

After resident registration, those newly assigned a number (including transfers from abroad) usually receive the "Individual Number notice" by registered mail within 2–3 weeks. It's not an ID — it just tells you your number. If you want a physical My Number card, apply separately and, once the issuance notice arrives, book a pickup.

1. Receive the "Individual Number notice" sent by registered mail after registration (don't let it expire while you're out).
2. If you need the physical card, apply online or otherwise.
3. When the issuance notice arrives, book a pickup at the designated office and collect it.

Mistaking the "Individual Number notice" for the ID-grade My Number card; missing the registered mail and letting it expire; losing the notice after moving repeatedly (if you urgently need the number, you can ask the municipality for a resident record showing your number — usually for a fee).

Officialkojinbango-card.go.jpkojinbango-card.go.jp

Usually not a first-week essential (unless a landlord, bank, or school explicitly asks). Japanese banks have moved heavily toward seal-less accounts (SMBC's online account is seal-less), so for most new students a seal isn't a prerequisite — make a simple personal seal only when an institution clearly requires one.

Treating a seal as legally mandatory on par with the residence card or registration; rushing to make an expensive, elaborate seal; the name on the seal not matching the bank or contract.

Officialsmbc.co.jp

As soon as possible after registration, but don't make "open it today" a hard target. The "6 months" comes from a Foreign Exchange Act interpretation (foreigners are non-residents in principle, but employment at a Japanese institution or 6+ months since entry presumes residency); whether you can actually open one is decided by each bank's risk screening. For a brand-new student without an old residence card, Yucho is often the most realistic.

1. Use the comparison below and try a realistic bank like Yucho first.
2. Prepare your residence card, student ID / enrollment certificate, and documents with a matching address.
3. Before applying, check how each bank handles a short remaining stay or no old residence card.

Not even trying because you heard "under 6 months is impossible"; assuming "students can always open one"; queuing with a soon-to-expire card or mismatched enrollment/address documents.

Officialjp-bank.japanpost.jpmizuhobank.co.jpsmbc.co.jprakuten-bank.co.jp

As soon as you have a mail-receiving address. The sound move is to prioritize being able to call and receive SMS, then switch to a cheaper plan once your card, address, and credit are stable. ID checks and payment-name rules (e.g. cardholder-name requirements) differ by carrier.

1. Prepare ID documents (residence card + foreign passport, etc.) and a payment method in your own name.
2. First choose a contract where calling and SMS reliably work.
3. When applying online, make sure your document address is updated before you submit.

Picking an MVNO that requires a cardholder-name credit card when you have no Japanese card or account; buying a data-only SIM as a voice number; applying online while your document address is still old.

Officialymobile.jpirumo.docomo.ne.jphelp.iijmio.jp

Best booked 3–7 days before move-in. Tokyo's waterworks specifies start/stop procedures 3–4 days before moving; TEPCO can be done online; gas is the most critical — opening usually requires a booking and someone present (a proxy can attend).

1. Apply to start service on each utility's official site or by phone.
2. Book the gas opening and fix the date/time for someone to be present.
3. By move-in day at the latest, confirm water runs, power turns on, and the gas is booked.

Assuming the gas just works once you have keys; not booking the gas opening and then being unable to boil water or shower on move-in day; trusting "the power comes on by itself" without confirming.

Officialwaterworks.metro.tokyo.lg.jptepco.co.jphome.tokyo-gas.co.jp

Research before move-in (NTT East/West plus fiber partner providers). If the unit already has fiber drawn in and a fiber outlet, dispatched construction may be unnecessary. Otherwise an on-site installation with you present is typical (about 1–2 hours). Install fees range from ¥0 to tens of thousands depending on provider, property, and timing (some prices revised from June 2026).

Not checking whether the building allows drilling/construction before signing; assuming a LAN jack means fiber is present; expecting activation to be as fast as a mobile SIM. Bridge with airport/mobile connectivity first, then decide on fixed fiber.

Officialflets.comsoftbank.jp

On arrival day or in your first week. The ten transit IC cards (PASMO/Suica/ICOCA, etc.) work across most interoperable areas, but not every line or cross-area trip can be done end-to-end on one tap. For long-term living, prefer a registered or mobile card (a registered PASMO can be reissued if lost; the tourist version expires in 28 days with no balance refund; a physical ICOCA is usually ¥2,000, including a ¥500 deposit).

1. Issue a transit IC at an airport/major-station vending machine or in your phone's wallet.
2. For the long term, choose a registered card or Mobile Suica / Mobile ICOCA (so it can be reissued and your balance protected if lost).
3. Top up as needed, and check whether it can become a commuter pass.

Using a tourist card as your long-term main card; mistaking "nationwide interoperability" for always working across operating areas or systems; making only an anonymous card and being unable to reissue after losing it (registered PASMO, Mobile Suica, Mobile ICOCA can be reissued and made into passes).

Officialpasmo.co.jpjr-odekake.net

For everyday rides. The core of a paper ticket is the base fare ticket. Use the fare chart or the machine's destination search to buy your section; if you under-buy, settle at a fare-adjustment machine. IC auto-adjusts to the actual section within supported areas. From a student's view, JR vs. private railways isn't about which is fancier — operators, fare systems, pass coverage, and adjustment/cross-line rules can all differ.

1. Use the fare chart or the machine's destination search to buy the base ticket for your section.
2. If you under-buy, settle the difference at the fare-adjustment machine at your exit station.
3. IC auto-adjusts within supported areas, but passes and cross-area use are not "anything taps" — keep that in mind.

Conflating JR and private railways into one ticket rule from someone else's experience; assuming that because you entered you can exit by the same logic; only discovering you can't tap out after crossing an area where IC can't be used continuously.

Officialjr-odekake.net

Before your first long trip. Shinkansen/limited express = base fare (base ticket) + seat service (limited-express ticket). You'll see both a combined total ticket and two separate magnetic tickets. JR West states: when the base and limited-express tickets are separate, insert both at the gate (which is why the base ticket alone won't get you through the Shinkansen gate).

1. Decide your destination, train (e.g. Nozomi), seat type (non-reserved/reserved), and car (ordinary/Green).
2. At a counter or machine, buy the base + limited-express ticket together or separately.
3. To confirm verbally, say: "Tokyo to Shin-Osaka, Nozomi, reserved, ordinary car — how much total?"

Trying to ride with only the base ticket; boarding the Green car by mistake thinking it's just emptier; non-reserved has no assigned seat (queue to board), reserved has a seat number, Green is a higher class and clearly pricier — boarding the Green car on an ordinary ticket usually means paying the difference or extra.

Officialjr-odekake.net

Before riding ordinary trains with Green cars in the Tokyo area (Shonan-Shinjuku, Ueno-Tokyo, Takasaki, Utsunomiya, Tokaido lines). JR East: a local-train Green car needs a "base ticket or pass + ordinary-train Green ticket." Fares vary by distance and purchase method (first = Suica Green price, second = regular price). With a Suica Green ticket, tap the reader above your seat to turn the lamp from red to green. Transferring in the same direction without exiting the gates lets you use one ticket continuously.

1. On top of a base ticket/pass, get an ordinary-train Green ticket from a machine, Mobile Suica, or onboard.
2. With a Suica Green ticket, after sitting down tap the reader above your seat to turn the lamp green.
3. When transferring in the same direction without exiting the gates, use one Green ticket continuously.

Entering on a base ticket/IC and sitting in the Green car without buying a separate Green ticket; buying a Suica Green ticket but not tapping the reader; confusing a limited express with an ordinary-train Green car. The Shonan-Shinjuku Green car is not a Shinkansen, but it's not a free upgrade either.

Officialjreast.co.jpjreast.co.jp

Before your first long trip. "Plat Kodama" example: Tokyo–Shin-Osaka reserved ordinary car ¥12,550 (cheaper, but fixed train and strict changes). Seishun 18 and night buses are strongly seasonal — don't fix the amount; check the current official page before buying.

1. On official JR sales or official travel-product pages, check the train, time slot, and change conditions.
2. Whenever "limited express / Shinkansen / Green / reserved" appears, recognize you're buying an add-on on top of the basic fare.
3. For Seishun 18, night buses, etc., check the current official page for price and terms before buying.

Three classic failures: riding the Shinkansen on only a base ticket; boarding the Green car by mistake thinking it's just emptier; over-reading IC "nationwide interoperability" and crossing an area where it can't be used continuously. Iron rule: whenever "limited express / Shinkansen / Green / reserved" appears, assume you're buying an add-on beyond the base ticket.

Officialtravel.jr-central.co.jp

Prepare before expiry, and confirm your re-entry method before leaving Japan. Renewals/changes require documents matching the target status (Japan-issued certificates generally within 3 months; foreign-language documents with a Japanese translation). A short trip home with return within a year usually uses special re-entry (valid 1 year from departure, but only until your period of stay if that ends sooner — and it can't be extended from abroad).

1. Check your card's expiry and apply for renewal/change before it lapses, at a regional immigration bureau or online.
2. If returning home briefly, confirm the special re-entry conditions before leaving.
3. If staying in Japan after graduation to job-hunt or await a job offer, know that routes like "Designated Activities" exist.

Thinking "I'm only going home for a few weeks, so re-entry doesn't matter"; leaving while your period of stay is nearly up and finding the conditions don't hold on return; assuming "Student straight to a work visa" and not knowing the Designated-Activities route for post-graduation job-hunting or awaiting a job. Before any border crossing, always compare your card's expiry with your return date.

Officialmoj.go.jpmoj.go.jpmoj.go.jp

Awareness to build from the first year you work part-time. Students on a salary may qualify for the working-student deduction (NTA's current income deduction of ¥270,000). Salaried earners usually file deduction forms with their employer and settle via year-end adjustment. With no year-end adjustment, multiple incomes, or a need to file extra, you do a tax return. Municipal NHI-reduction decisions often require that your prior-year income be known.

1. Submit deduction forms at your workplace and let the year-end adjustment handle it.
2. If there's no year-end adjustment, multiple incomes, or extra to file, file a tax return at the tax office.
3. Declare your prior-year income for NHI reductions and various certificates.

Thinking "a student's part-time job is always tax-free"; having income but not filing, so NHI reductions or certificates can't be issued; watching only income tax and not knowing the municipal resident-tax chain runs afterward. Once you have part-time income, always keep your withholding slip — don't throw it away.

Officialnta.go.jp

Know this before you first fall ill. MHLW: old paper insurance cards are no longer newly issued; at counters the norm is now — with a My Number health certification, authenticate with your My Number card; without it, present an eligibility-confirmation document. Carry one to the clinic, hospital, or pharmacy.

1. Check whether you can "use your My Number card as your insurance card" yet.
2. If not, check whether you have an eligibility-confirmation document on hand.
3. Always carry one to the clinic, hospital, or pharmacy when seeking care.

BringMy Number health certification (My Number card) or an eligibility-confirmation document.

Being enrolled in NHI but bringing nothing when you see a doctor; assuming "having registered for NHI" automatically tells you how to get treated; only realizing at the pharmacy that you have nothing to prove your insurance eligibility.

Officialmhlw.go.jp

Check on move-in day. Garbage rules are entirely up to the municipality — don't copy the next city or a senior's old experience (Minato Ward offers an English/Chinese/Korean/Japanese sorting guide and app). Fire agency: most fire departments nationwide have set up multilingual three-way calling for 119, with multilingual ambulance-use guides for foreign residents.

1. On move-in day, photograph the notice at the garbage collection point.
2. Download your ward's garbage-sorting materials (multilingual guide/app).
3. Save 119 in your phone notes for emergencies.

Mixing burnables, recyclables, plastics, and glass/metal; ignoring collection days and designated-bag rules; hesitating in an emergency over "can I call an ambulance with weak Japanese?" Three move-in-day things: photograph the garbage-point notice, save your ward's sorting materials, and put 119 in your phone.

Officialcity.minato.tokyo.jpfdma.go.jp