Clear, source-checked guides to Japan's paperwork and daily life — and a free neighbour to help you actually get it done.
🗺️ Browse by ward →The essentials for your first three months in Tokyo.
When the city gets to be too much, some of Japan's best temples, hot springs and mountain trails are just a train ride away. Here is a newcomer-friendly guide to six classic day trips from Tokyo and how to reach them.
Landing tired with luggage and unsure which train or bus to take? Here's a calm, practical map of your options from Narita and Haneda into central Tokyo, with rough journey times and tips for late arrivals and heavy bags.
A newcomer-friendly map of how to get connected in Tokyo — big carriers, budget MVNO (格安SIM) plans, and eSIM or prepaid SIMs for your first days. What you generally need and how contract vs prepaid compare.
Just landed in Tokyo? This navigational checklist walks you through the 8 essentials of your first three months in order — address registration, health insurance, pension, a bank account, a SIM, your My Number Card, plus residence-card renewal and residence tax — each in a sentence, then a link to the full guide.
Residence, insurance, tax and other official procedures — in plain language.
Convert a valid foreign driver's license to a Japanese one at a prefectural license center, with part of the exam waived. You must have stayed 3+ months in the issuing country after getting the license.
Sign up with a mobile carrier or low-cost SIM (MVNO). By law you must verify your identity, so bring your residence card; some carriers also need a Japanese payment method.
Report your annual income and settle income tax with the tax office. Required if you have income not fully taxed at source (side income, multiple employers, business income, etc.).
Open a Japanese bank account for salary, rent, and bills. You'll usually need a residence card and a registered address; some banks ask for 6+ months of stay.
Local tax charged by your municipality based on last year's income, for residents registered as of January 1.
If you paid pension premiums and permanently leave Japan, you can claim a partial refund (lump-sum withdrawal) within 2 years of departure.
Housing, money, getting around and settling in.
Tokyo can feel expensive, but everyday life here is full of quiet ways to spend less — cheap set meals, half-price stickers in the evening, 100-yen shops, budget phone plans, and free parks and views. Here's a friendly starter map.
A warm, practical orientation to everyday Japanese workplace norms — punctuality, hierarchy and keigo, group harmony and nemawashi, exchanging meishi, nomikai, the hanko, and attitudes to leave and overtime. Plus where to turn, free and in your language, if a real work problem comes up.
A warm orientation for LGBTQ+ newcomers to Tokyo: community and Pride events, the Shinjuku Ni-chome neighbourhood, counselling and helplines, and the same-sex partnership certificate that a growing number of wards now offer.
Tokyo is more accessible than it first looks. Here is how to use barrier-free stations, ask staff for boarding help, find multipurpose toilets, get the free Help Mark, and plan accessible routes.
Giving a little time is one of the warmest ways to feel at home in Tokyo — and you don't need fluent Japanese to start. Here's how to find local volunteer centers, food banks, cleanups, and disaster-relief roles near you.
Invited to a Japanese wedding or funeral and worried about getting it wrong? The customs are very learnable. Here's how the money gift, the envelope, the dress, and the ceremony work — and how much flexibility you actually have as a newcomer.
Study routes and the words you need to get things done.
A gentle, no-pressure intro to hiragana and katakana, plus the ~30 everyday kanji on Tokyo's doors, stations, and shop windows — with readings and meanings.
About 18 essential phrases to get you through your first week in Tokyo: greetings, sumimasen, please and thank you, asking about English, numbers, and the basics for shops, restaurants, and stations. Each comes with romaji and kana.
Medical visits, broken into scenes — reception, describing symptoms, pointing to body parts, 'how many days', allergies, and the pharmacy. Each line gives the Japanese + reading + English so you can read it aloud.
Around 50 high-frequency Japanese phrases grouped by scene: greetings & politeness, convenience store & shopping, restaurants, trains & directions, phone & delivery, neighbours, and 'I don't understand / please repeat / do you speak English'. Each phrase has reading + English meaning so you can read it aloud and get things done.
Copy-and-say Japanese for the ward office (区役所/役場): opening lines, handing over your residence card, asking which counter, requesting easy/slow Japanese, numbers and dates, and confirming next steps — grouped by scene with readings and English meanings.
A pillar guide for learners in Japan: what the JLPT is, what each level (N5→N1) roughly means, a realistic study sequence from kana to mock tests, and exactly how and when to register in Japan (twice a year in July & December via the official MyJLPT/JEES system, with application windows months ahead).
