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Settling in

Settling in Tokyo

Tokyo is tamed through the ward office: it registers your address, opens health insurance, issues the mother and child health handbook and the card that makes children's care free. The rest follows in order: bank account, phone, consular register, then housing and transport. Here is what we would have liked to know before arriving, checked against official Japanese and French sources.

Verified on 31 October 2026

Arrival and first steps

In Japan, every family member has their own residence status and residence card, handed over at the airport. The first fourteen days are decisive: that is the deadline to register your address at the ward office, which triggers everything else.

Good to know

  • The working parent gets a professional residence status; partner and children arrive under 'Dependent' status, attached to theirs. This status does not allow work: a partner who wants to work applies to the immigration bureau for 'permission to engage in activities other than those permitted'. The official Immigration Services Agency guide exists in French. Source
  • The residence card (zairyu card) is issued on arrival at Narita or Haneda; it shows status and period of stay. From age 16 it must be carried at all times. Renewals and changes of status are requested at the immigration bureau, in Tokyo at the Yotsuya tower. Source
  • Within 14 days of moving in, file a 'moving-in notification' at your ward office (kuyakusho), with everyone's residence card or passport. You thereby enter the resident register, receive your My Number and can enrol in National Health Insurance at the same counter. Source
  • Registration with the French consular register is free, valid 5 years and done online on service-public.fr with French ID, proof of residence in Japan and a recent photo; allow about four weeks of processing. It opens school grants, shortens passport appointments and lets the consulate reach you in an earthquake or typhoon. Source
  • Week 1, in order: ward office (address, health insurance, child allowance and children's medical certificate), My Number card, bank account, phone, then the consular register. If you are pregnant, the mother and child health handbook is also collected at the ward office. Source
  • The consular section receives by appointment, booked on consulat.gouv.fr; civil status (birth declaration, transcription) is handled by post after a first contact. The France Consulaire phone service answers Monday to Friday, 15:00 to 21:00 Japan time. Source

Addresses

  • Section consulaire de l'ambassade de France à Tokyo

    Consulate

    4-11-44 Minami-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8514

    Within the embassy compound in Hiroo: Hibiya line, Hiroo station, exit 1 (towards Tengenji-bashi). Procedures by appointment; visas Monday to Friday 9:00 to 11:30; no parking in front of the gate. This is where the AFJ holds its monthly welcome breakfast.

    Website Source

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Housing: neighbourhoods and renting

French families spread across three hubs: Hiroo and Minami-Azabu around the embassy, Kagurazaka and Iidabashi around the Institut français, and the north of the city around the Lycée français in Takinogawa. Renting in Japan requires a guarantor, several months' rent upfront and a little Japanese, or an agency that speaks it for you.

Good to know

  • Hiroo is 'the second neighbourhood with the most French residents in the city': green, quiet, ideal for families, with the embassy and international clinics. For more space, Setagaya and Nerima, to the west, are often recommended: parks, schools and supermarkets nearby. Roppongi remains the most international district, Kabukicho (Shinjuku) the least suited to children. Source
  • Budget about five months' rent at signing: the deposit (shikikin, about a month, partly refunded), the landlord's 'gift' (reikin, about a month, never refunded), the agency fee, rent for the current and following month, and fire and water damage insurance. Source
  • A guarantor is almost always required; without relatives in Japan, the agency will point you to a paid guarantee company. Leases usually run two years and are renewed against a renewal fee (koshin). Documents to prepare: residence card, proof of employment and income, sometimes a bank statement. Source
  • Pitfalls to know: distance to the station matters more than floor space in daily life; buildings from before 1981 escape modern seismic standards; a 'jiko bukken' (a home where a death occurred) is offered at a discount. Visit a neighbourhood at several times of day before signing. Source
  • Homes are let truly empty: no ceiling lights, curtains, fridge or washing machine, and pets are often refused. Agencies used to foreigners (including one run by a Frenchman) and relocation companies make the search easier when you cannot yet read Japanese. Source
  • Japan's housing ministry publishes an English 'Apartment Search Guidebook' detailing the procedure, documents, budget and rules of life in a Japanese building (waste sorting, noise, bicycles). Source

Addresses

  • Hiroo, Minami-Azabu et Shirokane

    Neighbourhood

    The historic French heart: embassy and consular section, Arisugawa park, metropolitan library, international clinics, import supermarkets. Quiet and green, but among the highest rents in town.

    Source

  • Kagurazaka, Iidabashi et Ichigaya

    Neighbourhood

    Tokyo's 'little Paris': the Institut français du Japon and its médiathèque, the Omeisha French bookshop, bakeries and bistros, cobbled lanes. Very central, well linked to the Lycée français by the Namboku line.

    Source

  • Takinogawa et Kita-ku

    Neighbourhood

    The Lycée français international de Tokyo, nursery to final year, and its parents' association. A more affordable residential area in the north of the city, with the Rikugien and Kyu-Furukawa gardens close by; families gain space and a walk to school.

    Source

  • Setagaya et Nerima

    Neighbourhood

    The big residential wards of the west: houses with small gardens, Kinuta park, the national children's hospital, Futako-Tamagawa and Sangenjaya for outings. Further from the centre, more space for the same budget.

    Source

  • Roppongi, Azabudai et Akasaka

    Neighbourhood

    The most international district: embassies, corporate headquarters, international schools, furnished expatriate residences and the new teamLab Borderless at Azabudai Hills. Handy for a first year, expensive and very urban.

    Source

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Phone and insurance

Your phone is quickly sorted with the residence card. As for insurance, two are compulsory: health for everyone, third-party liability for anyone with a car.

Good to know

  • For the phone, a contract plan with a major carrier requires the residence card and a Japanese address; low-cost operators (MVNO) and prepaid eSIMs cover the first days and often suit children.
  • Health insurance is compulsory for any stay over three months: employee insurance for salaried workers (premium shared with the employer), National Health Insurance (Kokumin kenko hoken) for everyone else, taken out at the ward office and based on household size and income. Source
  • Compulsory automobile liability insurance (CALI, jibaiseki hoken) is mandatory for every registered vehicle, car or two-wheeler; driving without it is an offence. It covers victims, not your car: voluntary insurance is almost always added. Source
  • Tenant's fire insurance is required at lease signing; earthquake insurance, optional, can only be bought on top of it, in a state-backed scheme. The tenant's belongings are only covered if you ask. Source

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Banking and money

Japan is still a country where people often pay cash and where banks require patience: many expect six months of residence. IC cards and PayPay make daily life easier in the meantime.

Good to know

  • To open an account, a bank asks for the residence card, a reachable phone number and a seal (hanko), which some replace with a signature. Many banks require six months of residence in Japan: Japan Post Bank (Yucho Ginko) and some online banks are the classic addresses of the first weeks. Source
  • Until your local account is open, your French card is accepted in big chains; Wise also offers its multi-currency account and card to residents of Japan. A Japanese credit card requires a residence card, an address, a Japanese bank account and a phone. Source
  • Day to day, IC cards (Suica, PASMO), as a card or in your iPhone, pay for trains, the metro and many shops, with nationwide interoperability. PayPay pays by QR code in many shops and restaurants. Source
  • Always keep cash: small clinics, neighbourhood restaurants and festivals often take neither cards nor phones. Source
  • Keep at least one account in France, useful for bills and refunds, and tell your bank before you leave: it switches to non-resident status, and some products such as the LEP savings account must be closed. Ask about the conditions it applies to non-residents. Source

Addresses

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Getting set up

IKEA closed Harajuku and Shinjuku in February 2026 but opened Toyosu in September; Nitori and the big electronics chains fill the gaps, and second-hand goes through Mercari and Jimoty.

Addresses

Getting around with children

Subway, JR, private lines and buses: everything is paid with a tap of a Suica or PASMO card, little ones travel free and schoolchildren half price. A car is almost never needed inside Tokyo, and children ride the train alone from primary age.

Good to know

  • On the Tokyo subway, preschool children travel free with a fare-paying adult; from 6 to 11 (elementary school), the child fare is half the adult fare, and a 12-year-old still in elementary school keeps it. Source
  • A Suica or PASMO card makes the trip slightly cheaper than a ticket and also pays at the konbini; the child version applies the half fare automatically at the gate. Commuter passes (teikiken) for one, three or six months pay off for the school run, with a student rate on presentation of a school certificate. Source
  • Pushchair: almost every station has a lift, marked on the maps, and the front or rear cars have a free space for wheelchairs and pushchairs; buses are low-floor. Just avoid the morning rush, when you will be asked to fold the pushchair, and spot the women-only cars, open to small children.
  • The French international driving permit is not recognised in Japan: to drive, you need a certified translation of the French licence (JAF or the ALADDIN association), valid with the licence and passport during the first year of residence. Beyond a year, a Japanese licence is compulsory. Source
  • Exchanging the French licence (gaimen kirikae) is done at a Tokyo licence centre (Samezu in Shinagawa, Fuchu or Koto) with an eye and hearing check: residence certificate, passport, licence and translation, proof of three months' stay in France after obtaining the licence, two photos. The embassy issues neither translations nor residence certificates. Source
  • By car, children under 6 must sit in a child seat, and you must prove a parking space before registering a vehicle. Inside Tokyo, car sharing or daily hire is enough for Chiba, Hakone or the mountains; taxis are summoned in minutes by app. Source

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Admin: My Number, taxes and the consulate

Japan has its own carte Vitale and tax number rolled into one: My Number, assigned to everyone on registration at the ward office. Income tax is withheld at source, resident tax arrives a year late, and the consulate remains your French town hall.

Good to know

  • My Number (individual number) is assigned to every resident registered at the ward office; the accompanying chip card serves as a health insurance card, allows online tax filing and nursery applications, and is obtained on request after the notification arrives. Source
  • Income tax is withheld monthly by the employer, who settles up in December (year-end adjustment); a return (kakutei shinkoku) is only due with other income or self-employed status, between 16 February and 15 March. The tax year follows the calendar year. Source
  • Resident tax (juminzei), the local tax of ward and prefecture, is based on the previous year's income and paid from June: it therefore usually only arrives from the second year, and keeps running the year after you leave. Source
  • Consumption tax is 10%, reduced to 8% on take-away food and drinks (excluding alcohol); prices are almost always displayed tax included. A tax treaty links France and Japan to avoid double taxation. Source
  • What the consulate does: passports and ID cards, registration of births and marriages, consular register, elections, social assistance, and AEFE school grants, reserved for French children on the register attending the Lycée français international de Tokyo or Kyoto, applied for on the SCOLAIDE platform from January to March. Source
  • What it does not do: the French state does not cover your health, hospital or repatriation costs in Japan; the consulate issues no certified translations and does not handle Japanese visas, which belong to immigration. It does, however, publish lists of doctors, translators and lawyers. Source

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Budget: what costs more, what costs less

Tokyo has a reputation for being unaffordable; reality is more nuanced. Central housing and international schools weigh heavily, but children's healthcare, transport, outings and daily life are often gentler than in Paris. No precise figures, but here are the orders of magnitude.

Good to know

  • Housing: markedly more expensive in the centre, for smaller spaces than in France, and an entry budget of four to six months' rent. You quickly gain space a few stations out, in Setagaya, Nerima or in the north around the Lycée. Source
  • Childcare and school: Japanese nurseries (hoikuen) charge according to income, and care for 3 to 5-year-olds in nursery, kindergarten or certified centre is free; Japanese state school is free. The Lycée français and international schools charge fees, the latter markedly more, see our school fees page. Source
  • Health: much cheaper for children. With the medical certificate issued by the ward, consultations, hospital stays and reimbursable medicines for under-18s cost nothing; adults pay 30% of care. Source
  • Allowances: the child allowance (jido teate) is paid monthly for every child up to 18, higher before age 3 and for the third child; apply at the ward office on arrival, with no nationality condition. Source
  • Transport: adult season ticket comparable to Paris, children free before elementary school then half price, and no car to maintain, insure, park or put through a costly inspection. Source
  • Groceries and outings: fruit, cheese, bread, wine and imported goods cost double or more; rice, fish, seasonal vegetables and everyday dishes are comparable. Eating out as a family is often cheaper than in France, with no tipping, and parks, temples and many children's museums are free or nearly so.

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A place has closed, something has changed? Tell us: the mums of Tokyo will thank you.

Sources for this page

The public pages these landmarks come from. The official website always prevails.

  1. 1 Section consulaire de l'ambassade de France à Tokyo
  2. 2 Ambassade de France au Japon, inscription au registre
  3. 3 Agence des services d'immigration, guide pratique pour vivre et travailler au Japon
  4. 4 Portail interculturel de Tokyo, guide de la vie quotidienne (démarches)
  5. 5 Portail interculturel de Tokyo, trouver un logement
  6. 6 Tokyo Metro, tarifs selon l'âge
  7. 7 lepetitjournal.com Tokyo, se loger à Tokyo
  8. 8 Portail interculturel de Tokyo, banque et carte de crédit

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