Hi all,
I have got an offer for \~7M JPY in Tokyo, the office is pretty close to Futako Tamagawa Station.
I will need to move to Japan towards the middle of coming May. From what I have researched so far, I will need to arrange a mobile number, bank account and an apartment.
For mobile number, I have came across Mobal, providing phone numbers without any need for having a Japanese address or bank account. So I am planning to get this, create Bank account and address, and then update my mobile provider to Rakuten or something more mainstream.
I am not sure about the process of opening a Bank account there, I am just hoping it is not super difficult to get a Bank account.
As for housing, the Initial plan is to live in a Hotel for initial few days, hopefully get an apartment and move to it. I have researched a little bit, and from what I can see, it will be wise to stay in Kanagawa (right across the Tama river, or maybe on the same line as Futako Tamagawa Station). Are there any other recommendations you might have. I am thinking that a Budget of 80-90k should be enough for a single person to live.
I would really appreciate any help or suggestions on this, I am excited about this opportunity but kind of nervous as well, since, I dont have someone in Japan whom I can completely depend on for guidance.
PS: Any unrelated but important tips and tricks are also really appreciated. Thanks
by wItS0912
7 comments
Good luck at Rakuten.
see ya there mate. im gonna join rakuten in the same month most probably. Ignore the hate comments
Get rid of your middle names if you have them and you’re planning on staying long term. Makes it hard to sign up for anything online and will save you frustration
“Hotel for initial few days” is unrealistic… it will take multiple weeks at minimum to secure an apartment… a month is pretty typical. Took 3 weeks for me and that was even with doing as much as possible from the US before arriving… so just make sure you budget appropriately for that initial period.
Bring all your documents. Diplomas, transcripts, birth certificate, etc. I find the bureaucracy generally efficient, but they need a lot of documentation. When I got my drivers license, I had to copy every page of my current passport and expired passport (not sure why).
7 years ago I was a software engineer at Rakuten too :). I opened up a bank account at Shinsei Bank which was next to Futakotamagawa Station. I recall it was pretty good in terms of having online banking compared to other banks at the time, but maybe things have changed.
Curious how many years of experience? I was at 3 and they gave 4.5 with .5 bonus back then.
Does the company act as guarantor for housing?