===== What? =====
My notes on moving to Japan. See also [[https://fluxcoil.net/files/2016_japan_move/japan.html|here]].
  * [[https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Germany&city1=Munich&country2=Japan&city2=Tokyo|Comparison of living costs Munich vs. Tokyo]]

===== Dependencies =====
Trying to use indentation to illustrate dependencies, what is required for what, as of MArch 2016. Might depend on the country I come from, Germany, and change over time.  Germans can stay for 3 months in Japan without Visa application in advance.  This visa is glued into the passport, along with a paper "certificate of eligibility".  Startpoint for the dependency tree here is this work visa for Japan.

  * **1. Flight to Japan** Upon entering the country, one has to fill out the "landing paper", as also required when Germans come to Japan as visitors.  After leaving the airplane, a "resident card"/在留カード is issued.  The cards back is empty.
  * **2. Hanko/判子** A stamp/判子 will be required later. It can be ordered at any hanko-shop, producing takes hours/days. [[https://www.turning-japanese.info/2013/08/all-about-japanese-inkanhankochopsseals.html|Details on the required format.]]
  * **3. Residence** A permanent residence/address has to be found, to be reachable. Renting a normal flat is likely to require a guarantor/連帯保証人, who will be asked to cover damages if the renting person moves out without compensating damages. Also companies can do this now, for a fee.
  * **4. Receiving mail** After renting a place, one should visit the next post office/郵便局 and announce the name and address.  This is common style.  In exchange, it is not required to have a label with the name on the post box.
  * **5. Wardoffice/区役所** With the address, one has to be registered at the wardoffice now. The address will be noted on the backside of the "resident card". Also, the hanko can be officially registered here at the office. Additionally to a certificate about the registration, a magnet stripe card is handed out. The hanko is required for some apartments when renting. At the wardoffice one can also enter the public health insurance. When starting to work, the company will also sign you up for a health insurance, it is common to drop out from the "public health insurance" in that case.
   * **6. Phone** Even if you did not intend to get a phone, you are asked for a phone number everywhere: renting flat, registering at the wardoffice (which is a deadlock - you need the registration first) and for the bank account. There are no prepaid-cards with phone numbers. One can enter a contract and have the payments for the contract fetched via credit card.
   * **7. Bank account/口座** With the hanko (signature was sufficient for my bank), the address, the "resident card" and a phone number one can open a bank account. The account will be required for receiving wages from an employer in Japan. The employer might request you to avoid certain banks, they are not able to interact with all of them.

===== Tokyo Flat search links =====
  * https://www.tdh.metro.tokyo.jp
  * https://www.ur-net.go.jp/ -- company with good reputation
  * https://suumo.jp/library/
  * https://www.mitsui-chintai.co.jp/rf/tatemono/6822
  * https://www.leopalace21.com -- uncomplicated renting for foreigners, English speaking
  * https://airdoor.jp/ - low or zero 'introduction fee'. That fee is usually one months rent, goes to the estate company, and has to be paid every two years again at contract renewal
  * [[https://shiba6v.hatenablog.com/entry/fast_internet_2023|Which internet connections are possible at the place you want to move to?]]
  * [[https://unseen-japan.com/best-cities-japan-by-region/|Which cities are nice to live in?]]
===== Renting a room =====
Various things have to be in place for renting a room.

  * **A guarantor** (連帯保証人) is required in most cases, someone who will jump in, if the renter leaves without paying for all damages. For Japanese, usually family members like parents act as guarantor. Some rent contracts allow that a special company can be used instead of a guarantor, that service costs ~one months rent per 2 years of rent contract.
  * **Deposit money**, so money which is used when the renter moves out. Also used for a cleaning after you move out, be prepared to not get this money back. For my 23qm room I had to put down 48万円/3600€.
  * **Agent fee**, this is what the real estate agent who found the flat for you takes as "service fee". In my case they charged ~1.2 times of a months rent (rent is 10万円/750€) when the contract was written, and they request that sum again all 2 years when the contract is renewed.
  * **Insurance** - typically one sum paid for the 2 years the contract is running
  * **Rent** - the rent for the first month
===== Comparison =====
Comparing my commuting time and other relevant factors, considering a flat in different parts of Tokyo.

^               ^   恵比寿^   麻布十番^ 世田谷^   九品仏駅^  大岡山駅^   浮間^
^               ^        ^ あざぶ十番^       ^ こほんぶつ^  おかやま^       ^
|    30qm prices|      -2|       -3|      -1|       -1|       -1|      0|
| commute time bike|   10min|    20min|   36min|    45min|    35min|  90min|
| commute time train|        0|   20min|   30min|    15min|    16min|  50min|
| Jogging places near?|    20min|   20min|   25min|    15min|    25min|  10min|
|                     |    代々木|    皇居|   たま川|    たま川|   たま川|    荒川|
| Good onsen in vicinity?|         |        |        |         |        |   15min|

===== Visa =====
Notes on various kinds of visa.  [[https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/index.html|Immigration site]]

  * **3 month business- or tourist visa**
    * When German citizen arrive at the airport/ports, they get a 3 monthes visa onthefly. Purpose of stay can be either tourism or business.
    * Initially I came to Japan as tourist, and got these visa.
    * When coming to Japan in 2016, I got a 5 year visa, as I started to work as a specialist.

  * **Extension of existing visa**
    * This requires less paper work than PR.
    * required papers: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/index.html (my deeper links no longer work after site reconstruction)
    * Basically, if one still is employed by a Japanese company (or local subsidiary of an international company), extension of the work visa is possible

  * **永住/Permanent Residency (PR):**
    * I had many deep links, but with a isa.go.jp website restructure these changed.
      * [[https://www.isa.go.jp/en/publications/materials/nyukan_nyukan50.html|isa.go.jp has guidelines for PR]]
    * Required for all PR variants: the guarantor.
      * "guarantor" is usually used for more serious responsibilities, but in this case it's pretty limited.
      * Paul has added a section to his article, https://www.dampfkraft.com/how-i-got-my-japanese-pr.html#guarantors
    * I handed over ~35 pages for the application. For documents which are not in Japanese, a Japanese translation has to be provided.
    * option 3: working as a specialist
      * This variant requires to show that taxes have been payed for the past 5 years -> just eligible after 5 years
      * con 1: one needs to live in Japan for at least 5 years
      * con 2: many papers to aquire, and print out
      * pro 1: no points counting, no guarantor
    * option 4: professional/points table
      * A table for point calculation is used for this option.  Depending on your characteristics (Do you have jlpt? How much do you earn? etc.) one gets points, and needs to achieve at least 70 or 80 points.
      * con 1: many papers to aquire, and print out
      * con 2: guarantor required
      * 2 variants:
        * if you have 80 points: requires tax papers for the past year
        * if you have 70 points: requires tax papers for the past 3 years
      * The 70 point variant applied to me.