Moving to Japan is one of those things that sounds straightforward until you’re three weeks out and realise you’ve been researching the fun stuff like neighbourhoods and food and completely ignoring the unglamorous logistics that actually determine whether your first month is manageable or a complete disaster.
I’ve done it. Here is what I wish someone had told me before I landed.
Sorting your money before you arrive is more important than most guides tell you
Japanese society still runs heavily on cash in a way that will genuinely surprise you if you’re coming from Australia, Europe or anywhere that went mostly cashless in the last five years. Plenty of restaurants, smaller shops and local services are cash only. Having a way to access yen cheaply and immediately when you land matters more than most people plan for.
The two things that made the biggest difference for me were having a Wise account set up before I arrived and picking up a local SIM at the airport the moment I landed. Wise lets you hold and convert multiple currencies at mid-market rates which means you’re not getting eaten alive by bank conversion fees every time you withdraw cash or pay for something in yen. For anyone moving internationally it’s genuinely one of the most useful financial tools available and I wish I’d set it up earlier than I did rather than spending my first week paying unnecessary fees at airport ATMs.
For the SIM situation, Airalo is worth looking at before you land if you want a data eSIM sorted before you even get on the plane. Having maps and translation working from the moment you clear customs rather than hunting for a SIM vending machine while jetlagged is a small thing that makes a big difference.
The visa situation requires more lead time than you think
Japan has several visa pathways depending on your situation — working holiday visas for eligible nationalities, work visas tied to a specific employer, the highly skilled professional visa, and various others. The key thing is that most of them require paperwork that takes weeks or months to process and cannot be rushed. If you’re from the Netherlands, Belgium or Australia like I am the working holiday visa is one of the more accessible entry points for an initial move but age limits and country quotas apply so it’s worth researching your specific situation early rather than assuming it’ll work out.
Finding an apartment as a foreigner is genuinely harder than finding one as a local
This is the part most guides understate. Many Japanese landlords and agencies are reluctant to rent to foreigners, not universally but enough that your options are narrower than they would be for a Japanese tenant. The two practical workarounds are using a foreigner friendly agency which several Tokyo based ones specialise in, or looking at monthly mansion options for your first month while you get sorted on the ground.
Guarantor requirements are also a real hurdle. Most standard rentals require a Japanese guarantor which as a new arrival you almost certainly don’t have. Services like Sakura House and various gaijin houses are worth knowing about as a landing pad while you sort something more permanent.
Learn katakana before you arrive, not after
Hiragana and kanji are a long journey. Katakana you can genuinely learn in a week and it unlocks a surprising amount of daily life because most foreign loanwords in Japanese — which includes a lot of food, product names and services — are written in katakana. Being able to read a menu even partially makes the first few weeks significantly less stressful. Apps like Migaku are useful for building this kind of foundational reading quickly.
The things nobody mentions but everyone needs
Get a Suica or Pasmo card sorted as early as possible. It’s a rechargeable IC card that works on trains, buses and in a huge number of convenience stores and vending machines across Japan. Fumbling for cash or trying to buy individual train tickets every time you travel will wear you down quickly.
Speaking of convenience stores — embrace them fully and without shame. Konbini culture in Japan is genuinely different to anywhere else. The food is good, the prices are reasonable, the ATMs inside them (especially 7-Eleven) are reliable for international cards, and they are open every hour of every day including every public holiday. In your first month they will be your most visited location and there is nothing wrong with that.
Budget more than you think for the initial setup costs. First month, last month, deposit and key money on a standard Japanese apartment can add up to several months of rent upfront. Having a financial buffer before you arrive rather than trying to sort it on the fly makes the whole process significantly less stressful.
The honest truth about moving to Japan
It is more logistically complex than moving to most Western countries and less forgiving of improvisation. The systems are specific, the language barrier is real, and the paperwork has paperwork. But it is also one of the most rewarding places I have lived across several countries and continents and the investment of getting the logistics right at the start pays off quickly once you’re actually settled and living here rather than just surviving here.
If you have specific questions about any part of the process feel free to drop them in the comments. I’ll keep updating this post as things change or as I find better ways of doing things.
TimTime JP 
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