Your First 90 Days in Japan: The Complete Setup Checklist

The first 90 days after landing in Japan are the most admin-heavy period of your entire stay. Nearly everything that makes daily life function - banking, insurance, phone service, internet - depends on a sequence of bureaucratic steps that must happen in a specific order. Skip one and the rest backs up.

This is the practical sequence, based on current (2025-2026) procedures. Things have changed recently - My Number Cards now serve as health insurance cards, new rules around bank account opening are coming in 2027, and unpaid insurance premiums can block visa renewals starting June 2027.

Week 1: The Non-Negotiables

Day 1: Airport arrival

If you arrive at Haneda, Narita, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, or New Chitose airports, your residence card (zairyu card) is issued on the spot at immigration. At smaller airports, the card is mailed to your registered address later.

Before leaving the airport, pick up a temporary SIM or pocket WiFi. Sakura Mobile has pickup counters at major airports and doesn't require a residence card. You need connectivity immediately - everything from navigating to your apartment to looking up city hall hours depends on it.

Days 1-3: City hall registration

This is the single most important administrative task. Within 14 days of securing your address, go to your local municipal office (shiyakusho or kuyakusho) with your passport and residence card.

What happens at city hall in one visit:

1. Address registration - the clerk writes your address on the back of your residence card. This creates your juminhyo (certificate of residence).
2. National Health Insurance enrollment - mandatory for anyone not covered by employer insurance. You'll receive your insurance details. Since December 2024, the My Number Card serves as your health insurance card.
3. National Pension enrollment - mandatory for all residents aged 20-59. Current contribution: 17,510 yen/month. If you have low income, you can apply for an exemption on the spot.
4. My Number notification - you'll receive a notification letter with your My Number (individual identification number). Apply for the actual My Number Card immediately - it takes 1-2 months to arrive.

Days 1-7: Bank account

Japan Post Bank (Yucho) is the most foreigner-friendly option. No 6-month residency requirement for visa holders staying 3+ months, 24,000+ ATMs nationwide, and the process is relatively straightforward.

What you need: residence card (with registered address), passport, and your registered seal (hanko) or signature.

Other bank options:

• SBI Shinsei Bank: Full English online banking, accepts new residents with less than 6 months residency. Good for international transfers.
• Rakuten Bank: Online bank with English support. Good long-term option but may require the 6-month residency period.
• Wise / Revolut: Not full replacements for a Japanese bank account, but excellent for international transfers and much cheaper than traditional SWIFT transfers.

Days 1-7: Utilities

Apply for utilities 1-2 weeks before your move-in date if possible. At minimum, apply the day you sign your lease.

• Electricity: Can often be turned on same-day. In Tokyo: TEPCO (English website available). Apply online or by phone.
• Gas: Requires an in-person appointment with a technician. You must be home. Book early - appointments fill up during peak season (March-April). No gas appointment = no hot water.
• Water: Can usually be started on move-in day. Apply with your local water bureau.

Days 1-7: Get a hanko

A hanko (personal seal) is still needed for lease agreements, some bank accounts, and various government documents. Get a basic mitome-in (recognition seal) from a Don Quijote automated machine for 500-2,500 yen in about 10 minutes. Most foreigners use katakana for their surname.

Weeks 1-2: Phone and Internet

Phone plan

Once you have a bank account, switch from your temporary SIM to a proper plan:

Rakuten Mobile is the most flexible for newcomers - accepts debit cards, bank transfer, and even Rakuten points. No cancellation fee. LINEMO accepts bank account transfer and gives you free LINE data.

Internet

Home fiber (NTT Flets Hikari is the standard) takes 1-3 weeks after application plus a 2-hour technician visit. Use a pocket WiFi as a bridge. For English support, try Sakura Fiber Internet or GTN Hikari.

Weeks 2-4: Getting Settled

Furnishing your apartment

Most Japanese rental apartments come completely unfurnished - often no light fixtures, no curtain rods, sometimes no stove. Budget accordingly:

• Budget setup (essentials, mix of new/used): 100,000-150,000 yen
• Mid-range (mostly new): 250,000-500,000 yen
• Comfortable full furnishing: 500,000+ yen

Where to buy:

• Nitori: Japan's IKEA equivalent. Budget to mid-range. 1,000+ stores.
• IKEA: 12 stores in Japan. Familiar Western sizing.
• Recycle shops (OFF HOUSE, 2nd Street, Treasure Factory): Used furniture in good condition. Washing machines from ~10,000 yen.
• Sayonara sales: Departing foreigners sell everything cheaply. Check Facebook groups ("Sayonara Sales Tokyo"), Tokyo Notice Board, GaijinPot Classifieds. Often free.
• Daiso / Seria (100-yen shops): Kitchen utensils, storage, cleaning supplies.

Learn your garbage schedule

This sounds trivial. It isn't. Japanese municipalities have strict, specific recycling rules. Garbage must be sorted into categories (burnable, non-burnable, plastic, PET bottles, cans, glass) and put out on designated days in designated bags. Getting this wrong will annoy your neighbors and your building manager. Your city hall provides a garbage calendar - follow it precisely.

Put your name on your mailbox

Delivery services and postal mail will be returned if the name on the package doesn't match the name on the mailbox. Write your name in romaji (and katakana if you can) and attach it to your mailbox immediately.

Month 1-2: The Longer Setup Items

My Number Card pickup

Your My Number Card should arrive 1-2 months after application. Pick it up at city hall. This card is now essential - it serves as your health insurance card (since December 2024) and will be required for online bank account opening from April 2027.

Driving license conversion

If you need to drive in Japan, the process depends on your home country:

• Full reciprocal countries (no practical test): UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, and about 20 others. Can be completed in 1-2 visits to the license center.
• Everyone else (including most Americans, Canadians, Australians): Must pass both a written test and a practical driving test. The practical test has a below 20% pass rate for first-timers - it tests very specific Japanese driving behaviors, not general driving ability.

October 2025 changes: Written test now has 50 text-based questions with a 90% passing score. Practical test is stricter. Short-term visitors can no longer convert.

National Health Insurance: What You're Actually Paying For

Health insurance is mandatory, not optional. If you're not covered by employer insurance, you're on National Health Insurance (NHI). Here's what it gives you:

• 70% coverage on all eligible medical costs (you pay 30%)
• Covers doctor visits, hospital stays, prescriptions, surgery, basic dental
• The High-Cost Medical Care system caps your monthly out-of-pocket costs based on income - a 2.5 million yen surgery could cost you as little as ~85,000 yen

How premiums are calculated

Premiums are income-based and vary by municipality. Tokyo 2025 example: income rate of ~7.71% plus a flat per-person levy. General range: 10,000 to 50,000 yen/month depending on your income. First-year arrivals with no prior Japanese income often pay lower premiums initially.

What happens if you skip it

Insurance is backdated to your move-in date. You'll owe all premiums retroactively. Any medical care during the gap is 100% your cost. And starting June 2027, unpaid premiums can block your visa renewal.

Pension: Yes, It's Mandatory Too

All residents aged 20-59 must enroll in the National Pension system. Current contribution: 17,510 yen/month.

The good news for foreigners who leave Japan: if you contributed for 6 months to less than 10 years and depart Japan, you can claim a lump-sum withdrawal payment within 2 years of leaving. A 20% income tax is withheld but is refundable by appointing a tax agent. Processing takes 3-6 months.

The 12 Most Common Mistakes

1. Delaying city hall registration beyond 14 days. Everything depends on this. Do it within your first 2-3 days.
2. Skipping health insurance/pension enrollment. Not optional. Backdated premiums and visa consequences.
3. Not applying for My Number Card early. Takes 1-2 months to arrive. You'll need it increasingly.
4. Not putting your name on your mailbox. Mail gets returned. Deliveries fail.
5. Not opening a bank account fast enough. You need one for salary, utilities, rent, phone.
6. Relying on international ATM cards. Not all ATMs accept foreign cards. 7-Eleven and Lawson ATMs are the most reliable.
7. Not understanding move-in costs. Key money + deposit + agency fee + guarantor fee + furnishing = 4-6 months of rent upfront.
8. Ignoring the garbage sorting system. Strict rules, designated days, designated bags.
9. Not booking the gas company appointment early. No appointment = no hot water. Especially bad during March-April peak season.
10. Assuming English will be widely spoken. Even in Tokyo, many daily interactions require Japanese or a translation app.
11. Being "on time" instead of early. In Japanese work culture, arriving at the scheduled time is considered late. Aim for 10-15 minutes early.
12. Eating while walking. Generally considered rude. Eat seated or inside the store where you bought the food.

90-Day Timeline Summary