Moving to another country and starting from 0 is never easy. But especially if that country has a new language and a new culture very different from yours and is far from your country. Luckily today the internet has made things much easier, and one can be more prepared. Some years ago moving to Japan was a bit of traveling to the unknown and there were many things that you could only know or prepare once in the country. Now you can search for information before leaving, and thus know in advance a little what you will find once you get there.
Japan is not a country that makes things easy for foreigners. As someone who went through the process of going to live in Japan for the first time a few years ago, I know firsthand the nerves and concerns that one can experience. When I moved in, I had hardly any information about the steps to follow or what I needed, and I discovered it on the spot. So with this article I hope to help people who are at the same point where I was a few years ago and to be able to make things a little easier for them.
This is my list of things to do when you move to Japan for the first time!
1. Study some basic Japanese
(if you can)
Many of the people who come to Japan are because they have liked the country for years and have prepared themselves, learning the language for some years. But there are also cases in which people have to move to Japan for work, love or other reasons, without them having a special prior desire to live in that country.
In that case, it’s normal not to know the language. However, although everyone in the office spoke English and you can do your job without any problem, outside there are many places where you will not find English-speaking staff (restaurants, supermarket, etc). So it would be good to learn some basic Japanese before moving, or during your first months here.
2. Find an apartment
If you are going to move to another place, I think the first thing is to have a place to live. Some people are in a hotel or airbnb for the first few weeks or months, but personally I think it’s better to have your own home as soon as possible, for various reasons.
One of them is that moving from one place to another may not be an easy task, especially if you choose a house or apartment on the other side of the city from where your temporary residence is. Crossing Tokyo with heavy suitcases isn’t easy. Most of the time you have to change trains, go up and down stairs, etc.
Another reason is because you have two weeks from your entry to Japan to register with the city hall of your city (I explain more about the process in the next point).
Recommendations:
If you want to look for an apartment in Tokyo but you don’t know where to start or where to do it, here is a recommendation that may interest you.
Living Japan is a company dedicated to providing English support to foreigners who want to rent an apartment in Japan. One of the biggest problems with renting an apartment in Japan is that even if you have a high level of Japanese or have a Japanese partner or friend, many owners don’t want to rent to foreigners due to bad experiences in the past with payment. Therefore, the possibilities are smaller (you have fewer apartments or companies that accept foreigners). Sometimes the agent takes you to see a house and when he decides to keep it, the owner rejects your offer because you are foreigner. In Living Japan all selected properties are foreigner-friendly so you don’t have to worry about that.
On their website, you will find new or renovated apartments in the most popular and convenient neighborhoods of Tokyo to live in with photographs of all the apartments, as well as a description of what is included. You can also request a tour of the apartment or ask for availability from the same website, and you can even contact them by Line, so it’s not necessary to have a Japanese phone number. This allows you to save time in traveling to the area and looking for local agents, and you can also compare prices in different areas if you haven’t yet decided which one you want to live in without having to go there.
3. Register at the City Hall
(and get your National Health insurance card if necessary)