41.05 Housing & Utilities
Renting in Japan comes with a different vocabulary, upfront cost structure, and utility playbook than many overseas markets. Use this note alongside 41.02 Arrival and First Months when you are locking down an address.
Renting realities for newcomers
- The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Housing Support Center guide (PDF) outlines guarantor requirements, contract flow, and vocabulary for foreign residents. Keep it open during broker meetings.
- Upfront costs often include reservation deposits (手付金), security deposits (敷金), key money (礼金), and agency fees. SUUMO’s move-in cost breakdown (Japanese) shows how each fee is calculated with sample math.
- Floor plans follow the “LDK” shorthand (e.g., 1LDK, 2DK). Expect unfurnished rooms, separate toilet/bath setups, and compact kitchens. Pair this checklist with first-week-in-japan for municipal filings that unlock utility contracts.
Choosing the right place
- National portals like SUUMO and HOME’S let you filter by rent, layout, and train line. Confirm whether the property allows foreign residents or requires a Japanese guarantor.
- Monthly costs typically include rent (家賃), maintenance fees (管理費/共益費), and renters insurance. Serviced apartments bundle furnishings and utilities but charge a premium for flexibility.
- Commute time matters more than square footage. South-facing units, corner rooms, and homes within ten minutes of a major station rent at a premium; older wooden houses need extra insulation and earthquake checks.
- Coordinate parking, bicycle storage, and commuter passes with bicycles-taxis—car-sharing so your housing plan matches daily travel.
Activating utilities
- Schedule start dates.
- Electricity: use TEPCO’s move-in procedure page (English) or your local provider’s equivalent.
- Gas: Tokyo Gas offers an English move-in form; other cities provide similar request forms.
- Water: contact your ward or city office—most publish online forms or phone numbers on the municipal website.
- Learn the hardware. Review the breaker panel, gas valve, and emergency shut-off instructions left in your welcome packet. Tokyo Gas technicians can walk you through the restart process during the opening visit.
- Check voltage and frequency. Japan runs on 100V with a 50 Hz grid in eastern prefectures and 60 Hz in western regions. The Federation of Electric Power Companies map shows the divide so you can confirm imported appliances will work.
- Set up payments. Bills are payable at banks, post offices, convenience stores, or via automatic debit. Most providers let you upload bank details online; schedule the final meter reading before move-out to avoid surprise invoices.
Internet, mobile, and home services
- Fibre providers such as NTT FLET’S Hikari and au Hikari require building approval. Check the lease packet for permitted carriers before you sign.
- Review home-internet—wi-fi for MIC-regulated fibre resellers, NHK reception contracts, and emergency alert setup.
- Mobile carriers (docomo, au, SoftBank, Rakuten Mobile) ask for your residence card, My Number details, and a payment method. Confirm your bank account handles one-time passwords before visiting the shop—opening-accounts-and-required-documents covers bank setup.
- Consider bilingual renter-support services such as Real Estate Japan or relocation consultants if you prefer English-language maintenance coordination.
- Register appliance warranty cards (gas water heaters, air conditioners) so authorised technicians can schedule inspections without delay.
Moving out
- Give 30 days’ written notice unless your contract specifies a longer window.
- Arrange final inspections with the landlord or agency; photograph the unit before and after repairs to settle deposit deductions.
- Update Japan Post, utilities, and MyPortal using the links in moving-notifications-and-mail-forwarding.