Now that you’ve made it to Japan, it’s time to get settled in. The first step you need to complete is to visit your ward’s 区役所 (kuyakusho – ward office) and register your change of address. You officially live in Tokyo now! Hooray!
What you need to do is head down to the 戸籍住民課 (koseki jūminka – Resident Registry Section) and submit a 住民異動届 (jūmin idō todoke – Notification of Change of Address). This enters you into the ward’s registry of residents.
How to Fill in a Notification of Change of Address
To fill out the 住民異動届, follow the steps below, moving from top to bottom and left to right. You’ll also need to provide either your passport or 在留カード (zairyū kādo – Residence Card) to confirm your information. Only the boxes enclosed by the thick border require your attention.
*Please note that a few wards like Nerima-ku will have it split into 転入届 (tennyū todoke – Notification of Moving In) and 転出届 (tenshutsu todoke – Notification of Moving Out). In most cases, please remember to circle 転入届 when moving in.
Personal Information
- Write your move-in date in 異動日 (idōbi – date of change of address). This might also be written as 異動年月日 (idō nengappi – date of change of address) or 引っ越しをした日 (hikkoshi o shita hi – moving date).
- Write your application date under 届出日 (todokedebi – notification date).
- Write your new Japanese address under 新住所 (shin jūsho) or 新しい住所 (atarashii jūsho) and your name under 世帯主 (setai nushi – head of the household). If you are moving with relatives, write the name of the head of the household instead.
- Write your old address under 旧住所 (kyū jūsho) or 今までの住所 (ima made no jūsho) and your name under 世帯主. If you are moving with relatives, write the name of the head of the household instead.
- In boxes marked 本人との関係 (honnin tono kankei – relationship to the person) or 異動者との関係 (idōsha tono kankei – relationship to the person moving), write 本人 (honnin) to indicate that you are both the person moving into the ward and the person submitting the application.
- If you have a Japanese phone number, write it in boxes marked 電話 (denwa – telephone), 電話番号 (denwabagō – telephone number), or連絡先 (renrakusaki – contact information). Then, circle 自宅 (jitaku) for home phones and 携帯 (keitai) for mobile phones.
*For information on how to write your address in Japanese, check out our Beginner’s Guide to Tokyo.
異動した（する）人全員
For boxes under 異動した（する）人全員 (idō shita (suru) hito zenin – people who moved), write down the necessary information for all persons, including yourself, even if it’s just you who is moving.
- In 氏名 (shimei), write a person’s name in English, last name first and separated by a comma. In the thin box above 氏名, write the katakana reading. If there is a space for 通称 (tsūshō), write your shortened name, if you have one (e.g. Jonathan -> Jon).
- In 生年月日 (seinengappi – birthday), circle 西暦 (seireki – Common Era) and write the person’s birthday in this order: 年 (year), 月 (month), and 日 (day).
- In 性別 (seibetsu – gender), circle 男 (otoko) for male and 女 (onna) for female.
- Under 続柄 (zokugara – family relationship), write 本人 to indicate the person moving and submitting the application are the same, otherwise indicate your relationship.
- In 住基カード (jūki kādo – Basic Resident Register Card), 通知カード (tsūchi kādo – Notification Card), and 個人番号カード (kojinbangō kādo – My Number Card), circle 有 (aru), if you have one, and 無 (nai), if you don’t. マイナンバーカード (My Number card) is the same as the 個人番号カード.
*Please note that the 住基カード was replaced by the 個人番号カード in 2015.
**To learn more about the My Number Card, including how to apply for one, check out our separate guide here.
Moving onto Your Next Big Adventure
You’ve been at the grind for a while now and you’ve managed to save up a decent sum for yourself. It’s finally time to upgrade your life. Moving to a bigger and better place sounds like a good idea. Somewhere more convenient and scenic, for sure. Once you’ve signed the paperwork though, it’s more than just moving into your new place.
You have to do the necessary paperwork to change addresses. Otherwise, you’ll be in quite a pickle if you don’t get all your missives, and you definitely DO NOT want to be running late on bills and payments to anyone.
First things first, you’ll need to notify your old ward that you’ll be moving – within or out to another ward. To do this, you need to submit another 住民異動届 to your current ward office and indicate your change of address by marking 転居届 (tenkyo todoke – Notification of Relocation) when moving within the ward, and 転出届 when moving out of the ward, or out of Japan.
When moving within the same ward, remember to submit a 転居届 to your nearest Post Office too.
*Please note that this is a different 転居届 from the one you submit to your ward office when moving within that ward.
When moving out of the ward (or Japan), you’ll need to take the 転出証明書 (tenshutsu shōmeisho – Certificate of Change of Address) they give you to the NHI section along with either your My Number Card or Notification Card.
You need to cancel your NHI in the old ward before you can enter the NHI in the new ward. Next, you’ll need to bring the 転出証明書 to the new ward office and submit a new 住民異動届 to the new ward. Finally, you’ll need to submit a 転居届 to your nearest Post Office to complete the process.
Registering Your Forwarding Address
Whether or not you choose to get a bank account with Japan Post, you’ll need to drop by the Post Office to register your forwarding address. A forwarding address is essentially where the Post Office will send letters and envelopes that are sent to your old address, for one year.
This gives you the chance to update the address on bills and subscriptions so that they’re sent to the right house in the future.
To do this, head on over to your nearest Japan Post office and pick-up one of their 転居届 (tenkyo todoke – Notification of Relocation) and submit it to the Post Office section,
The form contains proper English, so it is thankfully very straightforward. Hand it over to the Post Office clerk and you’re good to go! After that, it’s home to a nice cold (or hot) drink.
Hey, it’s been a long day, right?
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