Hey everyone and thanks in advance. I’m moving to a new city for work in Japan. Sorry if anything’s been asked before, Reddit search function is terrible and I have quite a few specific questions.
1) My current company helped (re: did all of) the leg work for my current place, they brokered the lease, utilities etc etc so I’m not familiar with the process of moving here properly. It is my first year in Japan, so I don’t know if I would pay a resident tax when leaving or some other city fee.
2) My visa type will also be changing, is there an official list of documents needed? I’ll have a Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa.
I have a my number card I think it reduces some of the paperwork needed?
As far as I’m aware I have to:
a. Unregister as a resident in my current city
b. Register as a new resident within 14 days at my new place. Does city hall change my zairu card here or is that immigration? I completely forget
c. ?? Seems too easy and I think I’m missing something. I’ve been trained from my experience opening a bank account that it’s a pain in the ass doing anything administratively here lol
I’d love some general advice too on what to look for in a new place. Any red flags that wouldn’t be readily apparent compared to apartment shopping in America?
i. Is there a way to get internet ready before move in? It took maybe 4 weeks to get an appointment at my current place and I have Sakura (re: overpaying a shit load) any suggestions for ISPs without horrible prices? Do those companies offer cellphone service too? I’m definitely overpaying for cell service from Sakura too, they were just the easiest as a brand new foreigner.
ii. Is there a significant difference in price for an all electric vs. gas apartment in terms of monthly utility bills?
iii. Can you negotiate these god awful key money/ random fees? I know moving is expensive here but fuck lol
iiii. I plan on getting all new furniture (re: bed, desk) my current place is very small and I’m looking for a 40m l1dk minimum compared to my 20m 1dk now. Do people buy lightly used beds here? In America it’s not too common. If not, do moving companies also dispose of unwanted furniture here?
I was a few points shy of n3 this last exam for a frame of reference for my own language ability but my girlfriend is a native speaker and fluent in English so no language worries for the most part. Speaking of, can people move in easy here? For example, if I live on my own and later my girlfriend moves in, is there anything I should worry about in terms of my lease assuming the property is OK with it?
Again thanks a ton for any advice, lots to consider with a move here compared to back home. Cheers
3 comments
a. City hall handles the address change not immigration.
Gas has recently skyrocketed so it’s something to think about when looking at properties but look at other conveniences too.
Good luck negotiating fees lol
Ask the agent what company handles internet and you can call them to turn it on before you move in. If the place has fiber optics and depending on who services the area, you can apply online for a docomo number and hikari bundled, though you may still have to visit in person.
Check fb for local Sayonara Sales groups for cheap/free used household goods.
Consider finding an apartment that’s already furnished! It’ll make your life a whole lot easier.
For ii, when I was searching a few months ago, some places just proactively offered 0 key money. In one case the apt seemed kinda overpriced to begin with (it’s in the same building as the unit I went for, but a lower floor + no view for basically same monthly price), but another one was actually fine, they just mentioned the previous application had fallen through last minute so it had to go back on the market. You can probably just ask your real estate agent to highlight any properties with no key money.