Finding a Tokyo home when you live abroad

If you’re a Japanese citizen living abroad, explain that when you enquire about a Tokyo apartment. Include your dates, whether you’re visiting or moving back, and which identity and address documents you have.

Your Japanese passport provides ID, but a rental application may ask for more. The company may also want a current address, payment information or an emergency contact. Ask for its checklist for someone living overseas instead of trying to fit yourself into a form written for an applicant already settled in Tokyo.

Separate identity from your current address

If an application asks for a residence card, explain that you are applying as a Japanese citizen and ask which identity document it accepts. Don't leave the company guessing from a blank field. If it asks for a resident-record certificate, or jūminhyō, explain whether you currently have a registered address in Japan.

A passport identifies you; a resident record shows the address registered with a municipality. A parent's address, an old address and the apartment you hope to book should not be entered as your current registered address merely to complete the form.

A useful enquiry is: “I am a Japanese citizen living in Canada and visiting Tokyo from 4 April to 3 June. I have a valid Japanese passport but no current resident record in Japan. What documents can you accept for this booking?” Adjust the country, dates and facts to your situation.

Ask the company to confirm that it accepts your documents before you pay anything non-refundable. If someone must guarantee your rent, they promise to cover it if you do not pay. This may be a person or a paid guarantee company. Ask which documents they need and whether they can approve your application while you are overseas.

A short booking does not decide resident registration

The important question for a municipality is whether you have actually established your home there. Nerima's guidance for moving in from abroad says that someone whose home is still overseas, such as a person temporarily returning for a holiday, cannot register as a resident. The guidance focuses on where your home is, rather than treating the length of a rental contract as the deciding factor.

Consider two readers booking the same furnished apartment for two months. One is visiting family before returning to their established home abroad. The other has moved back to Japan and is using the apartment while finding a longer-term home. They have booked for the same length of time, but one is visiting and the other is making a home in Japan. The municipality needs to know which situation applies.

Explain your actual circumstances to the municipality where the apartment is located. If your plan changes from a visit to a move, tell the municipality about the change. Don't register solely to satisfy a booking form, and don't assume a temporary first apartment prevents registration when you are genuinely establishing your home.

If you are moving back, prepare the municipal documents

If you move to Nerima from overseas, tell the ward within 14 days of starting to live there. Its checklist asks for passports and proof of when you entered Japan. Japanese citizens also need documents from their family register, including the record of previous addresses. The checklist explains when some documents are unnecessary and when the ward needs to contact the municipality that holds your family register. Use the checklist for your own municipality rather than treating Nerima's procedure as identical everywhere.

Keep evidence of your arrival. If an automated gate means your passport has no entry stamp, check the municipality's accepted alternatives before discarding travel documents. Nerima explicitly mentions a boarding-pass stub or similar evidence showing the entry date.

Allow time for the visit and any follow-up documents. Collecting the keys, registering your address and opening a bank account may each need a separate visit. Don’t plan on finishing all three in one day.

Choose housing that fits the visit you are making

For a temporary visit, compare furnished apartments, hotels and sharehouses by checking whether they accept your documents and comparing the full cost. Ask whether utilities and internet are already arranged, how you pay from abroad, and how a deposit can be returned after you leave.

If you are moving back, check two things before booking your first home: whether you could extend the stay, and whether the company can supply any documents the ward needs to register your address. If the apartment is only a starting point, compare the cost of extending it with another move. Include setup fees, moving costs and any overlapping rent.

If you can stay with family, agree on how long you will stay and how much you will contribute to household costs. Talk about where you will work and whether you can invite guests.