Lifestyle Guide

Banking in Japan

For the most part Japan is still a cash-based society – most everyday payments are made in cash. However, frequently retail shops or restaurants will accept credit cards, and some may even have debit card readers,zz which automatically withdraw money from your account. To be... Continue reading »

Buying & Renting Furniture

Buying Furniture in Tokyo When it comes to buying furniture in a shopper’s dream-world like Tokyo, there are many stores with lots of brands to choose from. In the Tokyo area, the biggest furniture shop is without a doubt the IDC Otuka Kagu (Furniture). IDC has a total of 8 showrooms... Continue reading »

Driving in Japan

  AUTO DIRECT - Services in English ‘One stop shop’ for all your automobile needs. Tel: 03-5573-8776 (English line) Driving, Renting & Buying Cars in Japan In Japan, driving is the same as Australia, Britain, and some other European countries. Drivers sit on the... Continue reading »

Immigration

Visas, Immigration & Alien Registration in Japan    Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau Office 5-5-30, Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo Tel: 03-5796-7112 Hours: 9am - 12pm, 1pm-4pm Monday – Friday (except National holidays) telephone inquiries during office hours only Working... Continue reading »

Insurance in Japan

Home Insurance - Standard Policies Property insurance protects you against loss or damage to personal property, which includes homes and home contents. Standard homeowner insurance policies provide coverage for liability claims, medical payments to third parties, legal costs, as... Continue reading »

Internet Services in Tokyo

Whether you want to surf the internet for business or pleasure it is one of the things you will probably want to get set up as soon as possible. You will need to choose an ISP (Internet Service Provider), and what type of connection you would like to use. Other than dial-up, ISDN... Continue reading »

Post Offices

Postal Offices in Japan The Japanese postal system was privatized in early 2007, but most of the services offered have remained relatively the same. Most post offices are open between 9:00am and 5:00pm, Monday through Friday. Large central post offices are also open on the weekends. It... Continue reading »

TV Services in Tokyo

Getting TV Service There are 12 channels of publicly broadcast TV in Tokyo including the government NHK channels. Since most of the programming is exclusively in Japanese (although some news programs are broadcast with English translations) it is not very interesting to most... Continue reading »