Clear, source-checked guides to Japan's paperwork and daily life — and a free place to ask a neighbour to come with you. TokyoHelp is new, so we can't promise one will.
🗺️ 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.
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.
Register a marriage at city hall to make it legally valid in Japan. For an international marriage you'll also need documents proving you're free to marry.
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.
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.
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.
