Living in Japan/Getting Established

Housing

Finding a good place to live is difficult no matter where you are, but it is particularly difficult in Japan. Apartments and houses tend to be very small by American standards, and rather cramped by European standards.

Apartments

There is no shortage of apartments in Japan: you can find "for rent" signs on every other city block in Tokyo, and new buildings are constantly being constructed.

The main consideration in getting an apartment is money. Usually, leases are for at least one or two years, and it can be difficult for a landlord to evict a long-term tenant without cause. So getting an apartment in Japan usually requires a lot of money up front. The up-front money is divided into reikin, a gift to the landlord, and shikikin, a kind of security deposit which is supposed to be refunded but rarely comes back. Reikin and shikikin together usually amount to three or four months' rent. If you go through a real estate agent to get your apartment, you will need to pay the agent a commission as well, usually equal to one month's rent.

Some apartments in Japan are as small as 9 square meters (100 square feet)! Usually, the size of an apartment is given in square meters or in tatami mats. The configuration of an apartment is usually described using the following codes:

• ワンルーム (wan-rūmu) denotes a one-room (studio) apartment.
• A "1K" has a bedroom and a tiny but separate kitchen.
• A "1DK" has a bedroom and a kitchen large enough to eat in.
• A "1LDK" has a bedroom and a larger kitchen which can accommodate both a table and a couch.
• "2K" usually denotes an apartment with two bedrooms and a small kitchen, but some landlords or agents may use the term to refer to something more like a 1DK (in which the kitchen is part of the smaller "bedroom").
• After this, you have 2DK, 2LDK, 3DK, 3LDK, etc.

Naturally, if you plan on spending much time at home, you will likely want a 1LDK or larger apartment. In any location within 45 minutes of central Tokyo, a 1LDK costs at least ¥70,000/month in rent alone, and the cost of rent goes up dramatically in the most popular areas of the central city. One-room and 1K apartments are often much cheaper, however. The cost of rent also goes down if you live in a more distant location.

Monthly mansions

An alternative to an apartment is a "monthly mansion" or "weekly mansion." These are designed for shorter stays and do not require any deposit up front. To compensate for this, the monthly rent is about ¥20,000 to ¥50,000 higher than an equivalent apartment.

Guest houses

A "guest house" is a building shared by several people. Tenants in a guest house have their own bedrooms, but usually share bathrooms and living space. Some guest houses are actual houses in residential areas: others may be set up in apartment blocks or in converted commercial space. A number of guest houses are only occupied by foreigners: these are often called "gaijin houses."

There are obvious privacy and security concerns inherent in living in a guest house, and the other tenants may be insufferable. However, these tend to be the cheapest form of medium to long-term housing in major cities. A guest house room can be had near major train stations in central Tokyo for as little as ¥65,000/month.

Hankou/Seals

Hankou or (signature) seals are carved stamps used throughout Japan for official matters. They are legally considered as an equivalent to your handwritten signature and are used whenever you are required to sign an official document (lease, mortgage, will etc). You will need to purchase your own hankou if you intend to stay in Japan, and you are obliged to register the hankou with your local city hall.

Alien registration

All aliens who plan to stay in Japan for more than 90 days must register with their local city hall during their first 90 days in Japan. Registration is a relatively simple procedure. The forms are available in English, Chinese and Korean, and you only need to bring your passport and two photographs (the photographs can usually be purchased from a machine at city hall).

Once you are registered, you will be issued a Certificate of Alien Registration, known colloquially as a "gaijin card." You are required by law to carry either the card or your passport at all times. Japanese police may ask you to show your card from time to time, so you should carry it any time you are in public.

Banking

Opening an account

Once you have a Certificate of Alien Registration, you can go to a Japanese bank and ask to open an account. There are many banks in Japan. The largest are Mitsubishi-Tokyo UFJ (MTU), Sumitomo Mitsui (SMBC) and Mizuho. In addition to these, many foreigners use Citibank (which has a full presence in Japan) or Shinsei Bank (a Japanese bank with foreign management and extensive service in English). Another option is Yucho Bank, a savings institution tied to the post office.

Some banks insist that you must live in Japan for a certain period before opening an account. This is incorrect, and if a bank denies you an account on these grounds you should find another bank.

Using your account

Some banks, particularly the large ones, give you an ATM card and send you a monthly statement in the mail–a familiar process for most foreigners. Smaller banks may still follow the "traditional" approach of giving you a passbook instead. To check your balance, you insert the passbook into an ATM, and the numbers are printed directly on the passbook.

Cheques are rarely used in Japan. Instead, you will probably pay your bills and receive your pay through furikomi, an interbank transfer system. You can send a furikomi from an ATM, or through online banking if your bank offers it. There is usually a fee of 100-500 yen to send a furikomi.

To make a cash deposit, you insert the bills directly into the ATM, which counts the money and confirms the total before depositing it into your account.

To make a cash withdrawal, you can use your bank's ATM or another ATM within the same network. MTU, SMBC and Shinsei all have large nationwide ATM networks, including 24-hour machines inside convenience stores. If you go with a smaller bank, you may be restricted to that bank's ATMs, which may have tight operating hours.

Sending and receiving money internationally

There are several ways to transfer money from a foreign account to your Japanese account:

1. International wire transfer can be difficult due to money laundering countermeasures. Some banks only allow you to send an international wire in person. Check with your institution at home about the rules and fees. There will probably be fees to send the wire, to receive the wire and to convert the money into yen.
2. Writing a cheque to yourself may be cheaper and easier than sending a wire, but usually takes much longer (as much as five weeks).
3. You can also withdraw cash from your foreign account at a post office ATM, then deposit the cash in your Japanese account. This avoids fees on the Japanese end, but depending on the foreign bank's pricing, you may lose quite a bit of money in ATM fees and the exchange rate spread.

Some banks in Japan now offer accounts in multiple currencies. If you have such an account, you can receive a wire from the US in dollars, then convert the money to yen whenever you want to. This is useful for taking advantage of exchange rate fluctuations, and may also give you a better exchange rate than an ATM.

Health Insurance

Health insurance is obligatory for all permanent employees and is automatically deducted from your wage packet. It goes towards the maintenance of the National health system and entitles you to free healthcare throughout Japan.