Having moved five times to my sixth apartment in the span of 3.5 years, I’ve done up the moving checklist so many times, it’s getting a little tiring. So I’m just going to post it here so that I don’t have to do it up again if I do move again, and if you do need to move, this may help.
1) Arrange mover
2) Cancel current room rental
3) Cancel electricity at current place
4) Start electricity at new place
5) Cancel water at old place
6) Start water at new place
7) Cancel gas at old place
8) Start gas at new place
9) Cancel Internet at old place
10) Apply Internet at new place
11) if you are moving within the same city/ward
– Inform ward office/city hall of address change
if you are moving to a different city/ward
– Inform old ward office/city hall that you are moving out
– Inform new ward office/city hall that you are moving in
* note that you must get the moving out document from your old ward office/city hall before you can go to the new ward office/city hall
12) Inform bank of address change
13) Inform post office of address change (so they can forward your mails sent to your old address to your new address for a period of one year)
Regarding movers, I thought you might want to know that there are those that a) collect your luggage and baggage from your old place and can keep them for up to a week before delivery to your new place; b) collect your luggage and baggage and deliver them on the same day (which is more like immediately).
Most movers do option b) and I don’t really know too many companies that offer option a). But if you feel you prefer option a) you can try Kuroneko Yamato. One thing I’ve learnt is that, if you want to go for option a), but sure to pack all your stuff including those that you intend to move yourself, so you can make a more informed decision on what to hand over to the mover. Just don’t seal them first. This is because it is very easy to underestimate the amount of baggage and space your stuff take up. I’ve had a couple of such experiences including the time when I helped friends move.
I always wanted to ask you but never had the time. In order to work in japan, is N2 really required? Besides teaching english(which is not required), what about foreign american/english companies based in japan?
Also, how easy/hard to apply for PR
Hi Matthias,
No, N2 is not always required. Like I’ve written a couple of times in the past, there are foreign MNCs that don’t require you to know a single word of Japanese. I know people who can’t speak a word of Japanese working here as well.
I am not so certain about the requirements for PR, but you may want to check it out here: http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/zairyuu/eizyuu.html
Also, is there any websites i can check for job openings in japan?
location doesnt really matter. but i prefer suburban/urban like tokyo/osaka
I believe I wrote a list of links somewhere before though I don’t remember where.
You can try searching for Gaijinpot, Career Cross, Michael Page, Tsubasa Inc, Hi Work, and Daijob.
Hi,
I’m a Singaporean in Tokyo looking to move to another apartment. I just thought I’d search for a Singaporean moving company and I stumbled upon this blog heh. Do you have any recommendations for a relatively cheap moving company?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Jinfa,
It really depends on how much stuff you’ve got. If it’s just you, and there isn’t too many stuff, you could try using Kuroneko Yamato. It costs around 17,000 yen.
I’ve heard that akabou is quite cheap as well although I’ve never engaged them, but they do not do protection work (i.e. sheeting the floors to prevent scratches while moving heavy items like washing machine, etc.), so they do not take responsibility if your walls or floors are scratched or damaged during the move.