The practical order of things for your first weeks on a Japan working holiday. One government step, registering your address at the local municipal office, unlocks almost everything else. Most steps link to our verified living guides.
The residence card (zairyu card) is your ID for every official task that follows, so carry it at all times.
At Narita, Haneda, Chubu or Kansai your card is issued at the airport; at other airports you receive it when you register your address.
Immigration Services AgencyA Japanese number is needed for the bank, job applications and most app sign-ups.
Use a travel eSIM for the airport run, then move to a local SIM or eSIM on docomo, au or SoftBank, or a budget brand such as Rakuten Mobile or IIJmio. A residence card is generally needed for a postpaid contract.
Read the SIM guideYou need somewhere to stay and an address to register. Standard rentals ask for key money and a guarantor, which is hard for a newcomer.
Book a hostel, guest house or share house for the first stretch. Share houses usually skip key money and the guarantor requirement.
See the cost of living guideIt is a legal requirement, and it is the gateway to National Health Insurance and My Number.
Take your residence card and passport to the city or ward office for the area you live in and complete your resident registration.
Immigration Services AgencyInsurance is recommended for most markets; for Irish applicants it is a documented visa condition, and Canadian applicants need a doctor’s note. Check your route page.
If you stay more than three months you are required to enrol in National Health Insurance at the same municipal-office visit.
Enrol when you register your address; you then pay a set share of treatment costs at the counter, with the scheme covering the rest (the healthcare guide sets out the co-pay and premiums). Keep private insurance until your cover is active. Save 110 for police and 119 for fire and ambulance.
Read the healthcare guideMy Number (the individual number) is requested by employers and by the bank.
A notification with your My Number is sent to your registered address after you register. Keep the number private.
Read the tax guideWages are paid into a Japanese account, and rent is paid from one.
Japan Post Bank and online banks such as Sony Bank and Rakuten Bank are common newcomer routes; several high-street banks ask for six months’ residence first. You generally need your residence card and a Japanese phone number.
Read the banking guideWork is incidental to the stay, but it pays the rent. Prohibited work includes bars, nightclubs and other premises affecting public morals.
English-teaching, hospitality, tourism and seasonal resort work are common. HelloWork, the government employment service, has foreign-worker desks in major cities. The visa is free, so be wary of any agency charging to secure it.
HelloWork (government jobs service)Verified on 23 June 2026 by the WHE research team. Sources: isa.go.jp · jnto.go.jp · mofa.go.jp. How we verify →