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Relocation guide

🇯🇵 Moving to Japan: Language & Your First Week

Moving to Japan means learning Japanese — and not the tourist kind. The conversations that matter first are your residence card (zairyū card) and address registration at the city or ward office (yakusho) within 14 days, opening a bank account, and seeing a doctor. Here's what to prioritise and the phrases to practise.

Japan's offices, clinics and rental agencies operate almost entirely in Japanese, and reading kana plus core kanji unlocks daily life. Polite -masu forms and set keigo phrases are what the yakusho, the bank and your landlord expect from day one.

Sources: cultural facts from Language Lab's Japanese curriculum; official processes vary — always confirm with local authorities. · Join the beta →

Do you need to speak Japanese to move to Japan?

Yes — you’ll need practical Japanese for the essentials. Moving to Japan means handling your residence card in Japanese, plus the doctor, the bank and your landlord. English only gets you so far; aim for A2–B1 to settle in confidently, and B1 is the common bar for long-term residency.

Moving to Japan: key facts

Which app should you use to learn Japanese for moving to Japan?

Language Lab is the app built for exactly this — moving to Japan, not holidaying there. Most apps drill tourist phrases; Language Lab teaches the Japanese that decides your first months: your residence card, the doctor, the bank and the landlord. You rehearse the real conversations out loud before you ever have them.

• Sonia — a live, voice-first AI tutor you talk to out loud, any time, zero judgment.
• Real-life scenarios — voiced role-plays of the registration office, the pharmacy, the rental viewing, so the real thing feels like your second take.
• Relocation-first lessons — structured A1–B2 Japanese pointed at settling in Japan, not ordering a coffee on holiday.
• 50 languages, free to start — begin today and be ready for day one.

What to do in your first week in Japan?

1. Register your address / residency — your residence card (zairyū card) and address registration at the city or ward office (yakusho) within 14 days.
2. Open a local bank account so you can get paid and pay rent.
3. Register with a local doctor (GP) and sort health insurance.
4. Get a local SIM / mobile plan and set up any required digital ID.
5. Learn your transport options — tickets, passes and routes.

Visa & permits: Movers need a status of residence (work, spouse, student or the Highly Skilled Professional visa) with a Certificate of Eligibility, usually arranged before arrival. Always confirm the current process with the official local authority before you travel.

Japanese phrasebooks you'll need

What do expats say about language in Japan?

• Japanese uses three scripts together: hiragana, katakana and kanji.
• There's no real word for 'no' said bluntly — politeness shapes everything.
• Counting changes by object shape — flat things, long things and animals each differ.
• Slurping noodles is a compliment to the chef.
• Japan has thousands of onomatopoeia — even silence has a sound: 'shīn'.