ArrivalKitSettling-in guide

Settling in — Japan

The first weeks in Japan, in the order they actually happen.

SIM, address registration, bank account, insurance, housing, sending money home. Not a pile of separate reviews — a sequence, because in Japan each step unlocks the next one.

Written for

  • Students in their first months here
  • New arrivals on a work visa
  • People still planning the move

The order

What comes when

Most guides list options. The harder question is which week you are supposed to deal with each thing, and what you cannot start until something else is finished.

  1. Day0

    At the airport

    Get online and get cash before you leave the arrivals floor. Everything after this assumes you can reach the internet.

    • Best eSIM for the first week — arrival-day guide
    • Pocket WiFi vs eSIM vs SIM — decision table

  2. Days1–3

    Address and residence card

    Your address registration unlocks almost everything else — bank, insurance, phone contract. Do it before you try any of them.

    • Residence card, My Number, address — how they connect
    • Your first 14 days — the exact order of tasks

  3. Week1

    Bank, insurance, phone

    The order matters here: some phone plans need a bank account, and the bank asks for documents you only get at the city office.

    • Opening a bank account as a new resident
    • Health insurance — what you must enrol in
    • Cheap SIM without a Japanese bank account

  4. Weeks2–4

    Housing and money home

    The expensive decisions. By now you have the documents to sign a lease and to move money without the worst fees.

    • Renting without a Japanese guarantor
    • Initial move-in cost — what each line item means
    • Sending money home — real fee comparison

Tool

Get these dates for your own arrival

The 14-day deadline is counted from the day you move in, not the day you land. Enter your dates and every step above gets a real date you can share or bookmark.

Open the checklist

By decision

Every guide, grouped by the decision it settles

SIM & internet

In preparation

  • Best eSIM for the first week — arrival-day guide
  • Cheap SIM without a Japanese bank account
  • Home internet for a one-year stay — contract traps
  • Pocket WiFi vs eSIM vs SIM — decision table

Money

In preparation

  • Moving money in and out of Japan — decision table
  • Sending money home — real fee comparison
  • Receiving money from home — what your family needs
  • Opening a bank account as a new resident
  • Credit cards a foreign resident can actually get

Housing

In preparation

  • Where to live in your first year — decision table
  • Renting without a Japanese guarantor
  • Initial move-in cost — what each line item means
  • Share house vs apartment vs dorm over 12 months

Paperwork

  • Every registration you need, in orderIn preparation
  • Your first 14 days — the exact order of tasksIn preparation
  • Residence card, My Number, address — how they connectIn preparation
  • Health insurance — what you must enrol inIn preparation
  • Part-time work rules for students

Published

Published

  • Paperwork

    Part-time work rules for students

    The 28-hour limit is counted across all your jobs combined, and you need permission before your first shift. Getting this wrong risks your residence status, not just a fine.

Method

How these guides are written

A fixed structure, so you can skip to the part you need without reading the whole page.

  1. A short answer at the top: who should pick what, in three lines or fewer.
  2. A comparison table with the options side by side, figures aligned by digit.
  3. Recommendations split by condition — if this applies to you, then that.
  4. The actual steps, with the documents you have to bring.
  5. The mistakes that cost people money, and the questions people actually ask.