The 14-day city hall run: what to do when you arrive in Japan

Last reviewed 27 July 2026 · Always confirm with the relevant office

Your first legal deadline in Japan starts the day you move into your address, not the day you land. You have 14 days to register at your local ward office (kuyakusho) or city hall (shiyakusho).

Almost everything else — a bank account, a phone contract, health insurance — depends on having done this. It is the bottleneck, and it is the one people most often leave too late.

What to bring

Your passport
Your residence card (zairyu card)
Your new address written in Japanese — ask your landlord or hotel to write it down
A hanko (personal seal) if you have one; a signature is usually accepted

Step 1 — Resident registration

Find the Resident Registration window (住民登録). Fill in the move-in notification, hand over your residence card, and they will write your new address on the back of it. This is the step with the legal deadline.

Step 2 — Health insurance

If your employer does not cover you, you enrol in National Health Insurance (Kokumin Kenko Hoken) at the pension and insurance window in the same building.

This changed recently. Japan stopped issuing the old paper insurance card in December 2024. You will not receive one in the post. Instead, either register your My Number Card as your insurance card, or ask for a Certificate of Eligibility (資格確認書), which is posted to you and works at clinic counters in the meantime.

Step 3 — Pension

If you are between 20 and 59 and not enrolled through an employer, National Pension enrolment happens at the same counter. It is compulsory, and — increasingly — it matters later: payment records are examined closely for permanent residency, and are planned to factor into residence status renewals from 2027.

Step 4 — My Number

Your My Number is assigned automatically when you register. The card is optional and has no application deadline, despite what a lot of guides claim. It is worth getting anyway, because it doubles as your health insurance card and unlocks online procedures.

Since 14 June 2026 there is also an optional Specified Residence Card (特定在留カード) combining your residence card and My Number Card into one. It is issued by Immigration, not city hall, so it is not part of this visit.

The phrases that help

住民登録をしたいです。 — Jūmin tōroku o shitai desu. — I would like to register my address.
国民健康保険に入りたいです。 — Kokumin kenkō hoken ni hairitai desu. — I would like to enrol in National Health Insurance.
資格確認書をもらえますか？ — Shikaku kakuninsho o moraemasu ka? — Can I get a Certificate of Eligibility?

Bring more time than you think you need. Ward offices are busy at the start and end of the month, and the counters close earlier than you would expect.

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