move · the checklist

the whole move, in order.

nobody hands you a guide for this. i found out about the ward office in the most random, unorganized way possible. and i know people who never went at all, then spent months wondering why their mail kept breaking. six months of chaos, sorted into five phases: the step-by-step i wish someone had given me. check things off, download it, live by it.

the shape of the move

five phases. nothing out of order, nothing forgotten.

phase 0 · deciding

is this real?

6+ months out

point yourself at japan

3 months out

the coe window

1 month out

visa in hand

landing week

the golden 7 days

first month

become a resident

the checklist · tap a phase, check things off

0/53 done overall

6+ months out: point yourself at japan

pick your route. job offer or school acceptance is the real first stepcheck your passport: 6+ months validity, renew now if notthe money. most people say $5,000 is fine. i disagree, because of key money, the plane ticket, and everything else. i set aside $10,000 just for peace of mind. but i was coming into a job with a stable income, so if you're a student it's different: figure out how long you can realistically go without onegather the documents your sponsor asks for. they give you the list. mine (ecc) wanted: a resume with my full education history from grade one (they sent it back the first time), a high quality passport scan, proof of graduation, and a plain background photothe coe application asks for your japan address before you have one. i had to ask ecc what to write. if a company is bringing you over, ask them, they have a standard answer for thisexpect the three questions: how many times you've been to japan, the entry and exit dates of your last visit, and whether you've ever applied for a coe before. have the dates readyif you just graduated, your diploma might not exist yet. mine came at the end of july for a february start and they said that was enough time, but only juststart japanese now. even 10 minutes a day compounds

all five phases, with your progress saved into the file

my actual timeline

seven months, start to landing

this is the real one from my spreadsheet, so you can see what "the process moves fast" actually means in dates.

june 20, 2024

applied online, on a whim

saw the ad, clicked it, applied for the interview experience. ecc got back to me the same day.

june 26, 2024

recruitment session in la

a week after applying. i lived in orange county so i could make it, which was pure luck.

july 3 to 4, 2024

call, then the official offer

unofficial offer on the call, official offer the next day. i accepted and sent my preferences the same day.

october 12, 2024

placement and training date

three months of nothing, then the email with the district and the core training date.

november 2, 2024

coe arrived

four months after accepting. this is the document that makes the visa possible.

november 19, 2024

submitted the visa application

at the consulate, with the coe. took a month.

december 14 to 19, 2024

housing email, then the visa in the mail

share house details came first, the visa came five days later.

january 24 to 26, 2025

flew, landed, moved in

left the 24th, landed the 25th, slept at a business hotel, met the share house person at the station at 10am on the 26th.

the stuff that actually bites

the 14-day rule

every time you move in anywhere, you have 14 days to register your address at the ward office (住民登録). skip it and it isn't a slap on the wrist. it's mail that never finds you and paperwork that breaks months later, because insurance, my number, and the bank all run through that building.

coe before flights

the coe takes 1-3 months and nothing moves without it. booking flights before it exists is the most common (and most expensive) rookie mistake.

the airport moment

your residence card and (for students) the work-permission stamp happen AT the airport. walk past that counter and you're queuing at immigration offices for weeks.

how it actually started

i already knew i wanted to do something new, and then i saw an ad for applying to be an english teacher and just clicked it without even thinking. the interviews happened to be the next week. i applied on a whim, honestly just for the interview experience, and they emailed me back the same day asking if i could come to la. i wasn't expecting anything. the whole thing ended up moving fast.

the phone number

i set up my number with rakuten using my share house address and the esim was really easy. one location turned me down though, apparently it depends on your phone and where you're from. honestly just go to a different rakuten, one of them is bound to accept you.

the hanko

everyone will tell you that you need a hanko. i have literally never needed one. regardless of what people say, skip it until something actually asks for it.

the ward office

it was hard, mostly the language barrier. what i'd do differently: find the address form online, fill it out before you go, have your address in japanese and in english, and bring every document you own. you also need a phone number to write on the form, so get the sim first.

the my number card

something you should definitely get is your my number card, even though it's really annoying. it's funny because i don't even have one yet lol. when i switched from a work visa to a student visa mine basically became invalid, and i didn't bother renewing it because i'm about to switch to a work visa again and i'd just have to redo it. but seriously, it acts as your residence card and health insurance in one, you can connect it to your iphone, and it helps with a lot of things like switching your visa and shit. just get it.