NEWS & GUIDES — KANSAI KOTOBA guide
You have landed at Kansai Airport, residence card in hand, and the real Japan starts now — at a ward-office counter, not a temple. The first two weeks decide how smooth the next two years feel: one 14-day legal deadline, one order of operations that unlocks everything else, and a handful of procedures that are mostly free but go wrong when done in the wrong order. This guide walks the exact sequence for language-school students in Osaka and Kyoto in 2026 — residence card, address registration, health insurance, My Number, phone and bank — with what to bring to each counter, what it costs, and the mistakes that cost students weeks. Figures are guides for planning; always confirm the current procedure at your ward office and on the Immigration Services Agency website.
Japan's arrival paperwork is a chain, not a checklist. Each step produces the document the next step asks for: the residence card proves who you are, the registered address printed on its back proves where you live, and only then will a phone shop sell you a contract and a bank open an account. Students who attack the list in random order spend their first week being politely refused at counters — not because anything is wrong with them, but because they arrived one link too early. Follow the chain in order and the same week that defeats other newcomers takes about three half-days of errands.
The five links in that chain are the five sections below. If you arrived on a student visa, you already did the hardest paperwork before leaving home — the student-visa guide covers the COE and documents that got you here. What follows is the part nobody warns you about: the fortnight of counters, stamps and plastic cards between the airport and your first real week of classes. Budget three mornings for it, keep every paper you are handed, and photograph each document the day you receive it.
If you enter Japan through one of the seven major airports — Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu Centrair, New Chitose, Hiroshima or Fukuoka — immigration prints your residence card (在留カード, zairyū kādo) on the spot and hands it to you before you leave arrivals. It carries your photo, your status of residence (Student), and your period of stay. Most language-school students flying into Osaka or Kyoto land at Kansai Airport, so this is the normal case: walk out of immigration holding the single most important card of your stay.
Carry it at all times. That is not advice, it is the law for mid- to long-term residents: police and immigration officers may ask to see it, and every counter in this guide will ask for it first. If you arrive through a smaller airport, your passport is stamped to show the card will be issued later, and the card is mailed to your registered address in about two to three weeks — you still register your address with your passport in the meantime, and the chain below still works. One more thing to do while you are still at the airport: if you plan any part-time work, ask immigration for permission to engage in activity other than that permitted under your status of residence. It is the stamp that allows up to 28 hours of work a week during term, and getting it at the airport is free and takes minutes; applying later at an immigration bureau works too, but it costs you a separate trip.
This is the one step with a hard legal deadline. Within 14 days of moving into your home, file your moving-in notification (転入届, tennyū-todoke) at the municipal office for the area where you actually live — a ward office (区役所, kuyakusho) in Osaka's 24 wards or Kyoto's 11 wards, or the city office elsewhere. The clock starts the day you physically move in, not the day you signed the lease and not the day your visa was issued. The clerk prints your address on the back of your residence card, and that printed address is what every bank, phone shop and employer will check. Bring your residence card and passport, plus proof of your address such as the lease or a dormitory confirmation from your school; many schools send staff with new students for this first visit, and it is worth accepting the help.
Two laws run on this single visit, which is why it matters so much. The Basic Resident Registration Act requires the notification within 14 days, and the Immigration Control Act requires foreign residents to notify Immigration of a new address within 14 days as well — but filing the resident registration while presenting your residence card counts as the immigration notification at the same time, so one counter visit covers both. The consequences of skipping it are real: failing to register can bring a fine of up to ¥200,000, and having no registered address 90 days after entry without a valid reason can lead to revocation of your status of residence. Practically, it also blocks everything else — no health insurance, no bank account, no phone contract, no My Number letter. While you are there, request a copy of your residence certificate (住民票, jūminhyō, about ¥300 a copy): some banks and employers ask for one, and having two spare copies saves a return trip.
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| Residence card (original) | Your ID; the address is printed on its back |
| Passport | Identity check and visa confirmation |
| Address proof | Lease, dormitory confirmation or housing letter |
| A Japanese-speaking helper | Counters vary in English support — your school can help |
| Spare cash (~¥1,000) | Copies of your residence certificate, if needed |
What to bring to the ward office
Enrol in National Health Insurance (国民健康保険) at the same ward-office visit, at the insurance counter a few steps from the registration desk. Anyone staying more than three months who is not covered by an employer's scheme must enrol, and language-school students are the textbook case. Enrolment means you pay 30% of medical costs at clinics and hospitals instead of the full amount — the difference between a ¥3,000 visit and a ¥10,000 one. Premiums are calculated annually from your previous year's income in Japan, so a first-year student with no Japan income yet usually pays a low premium, and many cities reduce premiums for students; confirm the exact figure at the counter rather than budgeting from another student's bill, because it varies by city and income.
Since 1 December 2024, paper health insurance cards are no longer issued. Instead, use your My Number Card as your health insurance card — after registering it for that use via MynaPortal, a Seven Bank ATM or the ward office — or use the qualification confirmation document the office gives you. Your My Number itself is a 12-digit number assigned after registration; the notification letter arrives by post at your registered address within a few weeks. Keep the number private — it is used for tax, employment and banking — and do not confuse the notification letter with the My Number Card, the optional photo-ID card you can apply for at the ward office or online. The card is increasingly useful for official procedures, but the number itself is what unlocks services; the letter is enough to start.
Here is the circle every newcomer meets: the bank wants a Japanese phone number for SMS verification, and a full phone contract often wants a bank account or credit card plus a registered address. The way out is to start small. A prepaid SIM or a low-cost MVNO plan — a smaller carrier reselling capacity on a major network — usually accepts your residence card with its newly printed address and your passport, and a voice SIM guides at roughly ¥1,000–¥3,000 a month. Get the number first, open the bank account with it, and switch to a longer or cheaper contract later once you have both. That first SIM is a tool, not a marriage.
What to bring to the phone shop: residence card with the address printed on it, passport, and a payment method — a foreign credit or debit card is usually accepted for the first month. If you buy a phone with the contract, expect a credit check and more paperwork; bringing your own unlocked phone keeps it simple. Keep your home-country number active for a while too: banks and services back home still send verification codes to it, and losing it in week one is a headache you do not need. Carrier shops around Umeda, Namba and Kyoto Station handle foreign customers most often, but English support varies by branch, so confirm before you travel across the city — or ask your school which shop other students used.
Japan Post Bank (ゆうちょ銀行, Yucho) is the usual first account for international students, and for a simple reason: its branch and ATM network is enormous — post offices and convenience stores everywhere in Osaka and Kyoto — and it tends to be more forgiving of a short residence history than most city banks. Bring your residence card with the address on the back, your passport, your student ID, and your new Japanese phone number. A personal seal (hanko) is traditional, but a signature is usually accepted for students; bring one if you have it, do not delay the visit for want of one. The account is where part-time pay lands and where rent and utilities can be paid from, so set up online banking and the cash card on the same visit and keep the passbook safe.
Some major banks apply a waiting period for new residents before certain features, such as domestic transfers, are enabled — a guide, not a rule, so confirm at the branch. If one bank turns you away, ask exactly what is missing rather than trying five banks in one afternoon: the missing item is usually the printed address, the phone number, or a document you left at home, and all three are fixable in a day. Once the account is open, tell your employer and your school, and keep your PIN and online-banking passwords private — no bank, school or agent will ever ask for them. With the account open, the chain is complete: card, address, insurance, number, phone, bank. The rest of your first month is classes, not counters.
The best news in this guide is the price. Almost every administrative step is free: registration, insurance enrolment, the My Number notification, the work permission and the bank account all cost ¥0. The money in your first month goes to the phone and to living, not to paperwork. The table below is a planning guide — confirm the SIM price at the shop and the insurance premium at your ward office, because both vary.
Before your first class, run the check below. If every line is ticked, your admin is done and your next two years run on routine: attend classes, keep your address current, and renew on time.
☑ First-fortnight checklist
☑ Residence card received at the airport (or noted as arriving by post)
☑ Address registered at the ward office within 14 days of moving in
☑ National Health Insurance enrolled at the same visit
☑ My Number notification letter received by post
☑ Japanese SIM active and number saved
☑ Bank account open, cash card and online banking set up
☑ Work permission (28 hours/week) stamped or applied for
☑ First week of classes attended — attendance is reported to Immigration
Sources checked for this guide: the Immigration Services Agency (residence card, 14-day notifications, work permission); Osaka City and Kyoto City ward-office guidance; the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and MynaPortal (My Number); and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (National Health Insurance and the My Number health-insurance card). Procedures change, so treat this guide as a map and your ward office as the ground truth. If a counter tells you something different from this page, the counter is right — and tell us, so we can update the guide. To plan the money around the admin, see our Costs page and the Osaka neighbourhood guide, or run the School Finder to match a school to your budget and start date.
| Item | Guide cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Resident registration | ¥0 | Within 14 days of moving in |
| NHI enrolment | ¥0 to enrol | Premium billed later; varies by city/income |
| My Number notification | ¥0 | Arrives by post in a few weeks |
| My Number Card (optional) | ¥0 first issue | Photo ID; apply at the office or online |
| SIM, first month | ¥1,000–¥3,000 | Prepaid / MVNO voice SIM |
| Bank account | ¥0 | Japan Post Bank is the usual first account |
| Work permission | ¥0 | 28 hours/week; ask at the airport |
| Residence certificate copies | ~¥300 each | Get two spares at registration |
First-month setup costs (guide)
Go to the ward office immediately — late registration is far better than none. A fine is possible, and your school should know, but the office's job is to get you registered, not to punish you for being a week late.
Practically no. Banks check the address printed on the back of your residence card, and it only appears after registration. Register first, then visit the bank.
A signature is usually accepted for students opening a first account. A hanko is useful later for contracts, but do not delay your bank visit for want of one.
The one for the ward where you live — Osaka has 24 wards and Kyoto has 11. Your school or dormitory can confirm the right office and its foreign-resident counter.
Yes, after registering it for that use via MynaPortal, a Seven Bank ATM or your ward office. Otherwise use the qualification confirmation document the office issues.
Find My School Free Counseling
Fees are taken from each school's official website (checked November 2026) and are confirmed, together with seat availability, during free counseling before you apply. KANSAI KOTOBA is an independent counseling service — listing a school does not imply a formal partnership or agency agreement with it. We never charge students: schools pay us a referral fee, and your tuition is the same as applying directly.