Procedures at the Ward Office
After finding a place to live, you must register at your local ward office within 14 days of your arrival. You must bring your residence card with you. Then apply for National Health Insurance.
An insurance card will be issued, and by presenting the card at a medical institution, you can receive medical treatment at 30% of the cost. You can join at the Ward Office of your Tokyo residential area. The cost varies depending on the residential area, but it is about 15,000 yen per year.
Accommodation
While our school does not provide any sort of housing for students, we can definitely help you with your housing search.
When you arrive in Japan, there are a number of guesthouse for international students and inns that are a short commute away from the school.
GUESTHOUSE
Students will live with other foreign and Japanese students. The monthly rent includes a furnished room, internet access (WiFi), use of a shared kitchen, and often all utilities are included. Some are large with up to 30 people in one building, while others are small with only 3 or 4 people living together. If possible, research the different possibilities before you come to Japan to find the dormitory that best suits you.
- Sakura House – guest house and apartment rental agency.
- Borderless House – Let’s room share with Japanese! – Location: More than 60 places inside Tokyo area.
Apartments
The Costs
If you’ve found your perfect property. As you will see, the initial cost of renting can run up to 3-6 months’ worth of rent.
- Base rent : It is the monthly rent for the property.
- Maintenance fee: Apartments have monthly maintenance fee.
- Reikin: Often translated as “key money”, reikin is an upfront fee that you pay to the landlord in order to sign the contract. Unlike a deposit, It will not be returned to you.
- Deposit: The deposit is typically one month’s rent. Do not expect to get all of this back. There will be a charge to have the apartment professionally cleaned when you move out and there may be other fees that cover changing the locks or cleaning the air-conditioning unit(s).
- Insurance: This comprises of rent insurance (usually around 40% of one month’s rent) and fire insurance (about 5-10% of one month’s rent).
- Brokerage fee: This is the real estate agent’s fee. Real estate agents will charge you up to one month’s rent as a brokerage fee.
How to open a bank account
If you open a bank account, utility and telephone charges can be automatically deducted from your bank account. In addition, part-time wages and other expenses can be automatically deposited in your account, making it easy to receive living expenses and school fees from your parents. Only Japan Post Bank allows you to open an account immediately after arriving in Japan.
If you have lived in Japan for more than six months, you can open an account at other banks. (Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act)
Buy a Cheap SIM Card
Japanese major mobile phone operators offer you to contract at least two years for use. If you stop using it before your contract is over, you will get the penalty charges. On the other hand, Japan’s SIM cards do not have these rules. The contract term is shorter, and no need to pay penalties to cancel the contract (not all the cases). In addition, SIM cards usually cost lower price than these major operators. They are good for those who stay for working holiday or study abroad in Japan.
Part-time Work
Permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted under the resident status may be given at airports.
Residence card, permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted under the resident status may be given at Airports (where residence cards are issued).
Those who are granted “Student” status and to whom a residence card (zairyuu-card) is issued.
The status of residence will be ‘Student’, and you will, consequently, be granted a part time work permit up to 28hrs per week. The period of stay of a student visa ranges from 1 year to 2 years and 3 months maximum from the date of entry in Japan.
Many students work in restaurants or shops. Students will use Japanese in everyday work situations, not just in the classroom, so part-time work can also help them improve their conversational Japanese. English speakers may be able to find work teaching English.
※ “許可: 原則週28時間以内,風俗営業等の事業を除く” is a permission stamp.
English translation:”Permission: In principle, within 28 hours per week, excluding businesses such as adult entertainment.”
Student Activities
Studying Japanese just from a textbook could be an unfulfilling experience that can leave you disappointed.Learning a new language begins with learning the culture of that country. That is why here at EVERGREEN, we want to engage you in different activities. Throughout our history, we have helped learners of Japanese to socialize together and learn through different experiences.
Furthermore, as our school hosts many Japanese students who want to learn English, we have fun organizing trips that connect international students and Japanese.
  |
We post information about school events, activities, and more on Facebook and Instagram.