Register address at city hall with no Japanese?

6 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

   —

   **Register address at city hall with no Japanese?**

   Hi all

   I was wondering if it would be possible for me to register my address at my local city hall (I live in Saitama) with no Japanese? Will Google Translate and hand gestures be enough for me to be able to register my address or will I need to hire some kind of local translator to come with me to do this?

   Cheers

   *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/movingtojapan) if you have any questions or concerns.*

2. I’ve had to do address stuff 3 times in 2 different wards (Shinjuku / Shibuya) getting through the address registration process is fine with no Japanese, but the one thing I didn’t have to do is write my address in kanji. Shinjuku + Shibuya were both fine with romaji which they translated themselves. I’m not 100% sure if other (less used to foreign residents) wards would make that same accommodation

3. A lot of cityhalls have a foreign resident assistance desk where a volunteer is available to help you navigate.

   Check the website of your cityhall to see if they have one.

   Failing that, google translate and a positive attitude should be good enough.

4. I have had no real issues at city hall, it’s tough but you get there eventually and they are always very nice and understanding. This is in meguro though which has a high gaijin population.

5. Saitama has a LOT of foreign immigrants from third world countries. I’m sure they’re used to people not speaking Japanese. You city office will likely have, at bare minimum, a guide in English on how to fill out the form.

6. Which papers or info is required to register the address? I will enter japan next friday with a student visa and i really dont know what i have to do once i arrive, classes start on 5th of october but i will like to have some things fone by then. Japanese is very very basic, i can communicate on english and spanish.