[Pooge]

Used to live in Japan for more than a year. Heard about this visa a few weeks ago while traveling to said country.

Since they don't give you a residence card, I wonder how easy it would be to get a phone number and bank account. If some government officials didn't get information on this visa, how can we expect companies to have? They will look at your passport with dead eyes and think you are fooling them with a fake stamp.

I'm very interested in applying for that visa, but not being in the Japanese system (e.g. no health insurance, no residence card) is kind of putting me off because that spells more administrative nonsense.

[morpheuskafka]

There's at least one company (Mobal) that will give you a "real" (not VoIP prefix) phone number with a passport as a tourist, so that would work for DN too. The data part of their eSIM wasn't great but the voice part worked fine when I tried it.

If you need health care it would definitely be a hassle at least if you don't have a lot of spare cash--you'd have to see if the mandatory travel insurance you purchased has some sort of direct payment arrangement with selected clinics. But it shouldn't be any issue to just receive the service and pay the full cash price, again same as a tourist.

The real issue is going to be a bank account, which would primarily be needed if you tried to rent a "regular" apartment. The best workaround might be to see if the owner would take cash, up front if needed. You'd be within the "treated as nonresident" period at first anyway, so it would already be hard to get an account even with a residence card. If you don't need it for rent/utilities (ex. share house that takes online payments, hotel/airbnb, etc.) then you probably wouldn't want the hassle of opening and closing a local bank account anyway.

[quacksilver]

Look for 'Nomad travel insurance' and see if it fits your individual needs for health insurance

I use one called safetywing, though thankfully have never had to claim and don't know if they are better or worse than their competitors. (posted as an example and not a recommendation or endorsement)

[carlosjobim]

Can't you do international wires to Japanese bank accounts for paying rent?

[patrakov]

I don't know for Japan, but it did work during my previous trip to the Philippines (November 2017 - August 2018). The only problem is that you will not be able to pay the exact amount if the source bank does not support the destination bank account's currency, which is quite often the case for Philippine peso.

But JPY is quite popular; I have just checked that Raiffeisen Bank in Russia still allows selecting it online as a currency for a foreign transfer. It's too bad I won't be able to do the same online from my Metrobank account in the Philippines.

[shiroiushi]

>Since they don't give you a residence card

They don't? Then what use is the visa? You cannot live here without a residence card. As a non-citizen, you're actually legally required to carry your residence card with you whenever you're in public, and present it to a police officer upon request.

Something doesn't seem right here.

Edit: apparently you can live here, without a residence card, in a temporary apartment, for up to 6 months with this visa. Just be sure to carry your passport everywhere you go.

[tjpnz]

Technically you would be expected to bring your passport everywhere you go.

[shiroiushi]

That's for foreign tourists who have a visa stamp in their passport. So I guess for these digital nomads, that would work too, as long as they don't overstay whatever date is on that visa.

It's not going to help them find a place to live though: they'll be stuck in hotels the entire time they're here.

[lIl-IIIl]

The author was able to get an apartment and shared the website and the reddit thread be used to find it.

[shiroiushi]

I see now. Looking at the site, those kinds of apartments are called "monthly mansions"; I stayed in one when I first came here before I could find a real apartment. These places are very small, and furnished, so perfect for someone only staying 3 or 6 months. But they're quite expensive for what you get. But if you're only staying 6 months, it's perfect.

[Klonoar]

> they'll be stuck in hotels the entire time they're here.

Eh, Tokyo has plenty of monthly apartment rentals that are effectively corporate rentals that you can do without a residence card.

(I used to do this before having an actual visa there)

It's functionally better than a hotel, insofar as it doesn't read or act as one.

[flemhans]

Rented a flat in Tokyo for a month too as a tourist. But it wasn't cheap. Around $1500/month, in 2011. But it was 3 rooms, and very nice. So maybe not so bad, actually? But then again, it was many years ago.

[digging]

I feel like everyone is missing "in 2011".

[Foobar8568]

3 rooms, in Tokyo, for a month, is bloody cheap unless I miss something.

[Twisol]

My studio apartment in California is $1500/month. At the same price, I would be in a 3-room Tokyo flat yesterday!

[CPLX]

That is comically cheap.

[shiroiushi]

True, and it generally has better amenities than a hotel too: a kitchen (though tiny), fridge, microwave, stove (no oven though), clothes washer, maybe a vacuum, etc. Also importantly, a mailbox, so you can receive deliveries (and in newer places, there's an automated delivery box system).

[themaninthedark]

They have ovens...just super tiny and meant for fish only https://www.yamada-denkiweb.com/category/202/006/001/

[tayo42]

> stove (no oven though)

Maybe I'm misremembering but I thought that was typical for Japanese homes?

[csomar]

Tip: a photo of your passport and the stamp will most likely do in most circumstances. Much better than risking taking your passport with you all the time.

[Pooge]

Bad advice. Photos are not accepted and police will expect you to carry your passport at all times, just as you're supposed to carry your residence card at all times if you have one.

[csomar]

Not sure why people want to stick to a rule that could get them in real trouble. I am speaking from real experience. The police is very unlikely to want to arrest/take you to the station for not having your passport. On the other hand, if you do lose your passport and you have a slow/far embassy then you are in real trouble.

[makeitdouble]

The police will stop you for any random reason, including walking alone in the street at an unusual hour or just to check your bike.

From there, if you have nothing to officially prove your identity you might totally spend a while at the station, and potentially have them kindly escort you to your home so they get a look while you're looking for your passport.

All of this is just mild inconvenience, except it will happen a lot more frequently than losing one's passport.

PS: For the real trouble relative to passports, an embassy can reemit an emergency passport within a day, and you can probably reemit the visa at an immigration branch. It's not fun for sure, but I'm not sure it's real troubles.

[quacksilver]

I carry a locally notarized photocopy of my passport in a similar country. I am not sure if it is fully legal, but people tend to do that here in practice, particularly when the government office needs your passport for processing.

The court was willing to stamp and sign that I have that passport and it matches me, so it is probably good enough for most police if I offer to show them the original at home.

[dagw]

I cannot think of any circumstances where someone would be demanding to see your passport and then accept a photo of your passport instead.

That being said having a photo of your passport and relevant stamps is good advice, but only to make it slightly easier to deal with all the hassel that comes if you do lose your passport.

[CuriousCosmic]

In most countries you can get what is called a notarized or certified "true copy" of identifying documents (passports being one of them). The intent is for you to submit them with applications so you don't have to submit the original copy. Now how you get a true copy depends on the country. Canadian passports for example can only have true copies made by their embassy or immigrations offices.

Note that this doesn't include your passport stamp pages but Japan hasn't issued passport stamps for several years now and they just look up your passport in a registry instead. So for that purpose, a true copy should be effectively the same thing.

That's where it comes down to what is essentially a technicality but given they carry an embossed seal and signature with the words "TRUE COPY" on them, they look very official and officials are very rarely going to push back on it even if whether they are to be treated as a full substitute for a passport (for identification purposes) is technically a grey area.

[toomuchtodo]

I loved the QR code passport stamps Japan previously used. Are those no more?

[csomar]

> I cannot think of any circumstances where someone would be demanding to see your passport and then accept a photo of your passport instead.

Unless you are involved with a particular interaction, they just want to check your visa status. A passport photo/stamp will do if their system is digitized. Arresting someone (except for the US where the police likes to arrest people) is a major hassle.

[tumult]

I am a resident of Japan. This is extremely bad advice. Do not follow this advice.

To csomar: you are willingly spreading harmful advice. Stop it. Stop making people reply to clean up your mess.

[tjpnz]

You won't be getting a phone number or bank account without one. You might also have problems getting prescriptions filled.

[shiroiushi]

In my experience, you need more than a residence card to get a bank account here: you also need a certificate of employment from your employer.

[gwervc]

No you just need your residence card, fill a form, sign (no hanko required) and you can open a bank account at the Post Bank. At least that's how it went 10 years ago as a student. It's easier to open an account as a foreigner there than opening an account as a citizen in France... (no appointment bullshit, no proof of residency asked)

[Pooge]

This is still how it goes.

I became a client of Sony Bank (yes, that Sony) but they would accepted "financial resident of Japan" which means people that have either 1) a work contract or 2) lived for 6 months in Japan.

It absolutely blows my mind why Japan Post is the only one to not have those restrictions.

[shiroiushi]

>No you just need your residence card...

>no appointment bullshit, no proof of residency asked)

Your residence card IS your proof of residency in Japan, hence the name. It even has your most up-to-date residence printed on the back.

[tjpnz]

Shinsei sorted me out without one. But wouldn't surprise me for any of the "respectable" banks.

[creakingstairs]

Getting a bank account via SMBC Olive was a painless experience for me. It can all be done an app and a phone call later confirming some details. I was not employed at the time.

[rootsudo]

Pretty hard, there are some services like sakura sim card and another that just uses your passport, but the rates/services are pretty meh. But it is a softbank sim card, a JP number (thay may not be used for line verification sometimes) and the lowest priority data - meaning if you're in shibuya or shinjuku, sometimes you have no signal.

[forgotoldacc]

Getting a credit card as a long term resident alone is hard. Getting a phone number can be troublesome for some people fresh off the boat. One longstanding issue has been people who come to Japan expecting to settle down, then quickly realize it's not for them and take a flight home without telling anybody. Debts left unpaid and landlords not even contacted.

People who come here with the intention of milking some cash and living in a "cheap" country have even less reason to be loyal to it. The consequence will be companies being even stricter, but parasites like AirBnB and similar companies making a killing off offering apartments 5x above normal asking price to rich nomads who will say "wow, it's so cheap!" without realizing they're being ripped off, and killing neighborhoods by driving rent prices up. Owners of multiple homes stand to gain, but typical companies have been doing the math for a long time and see nothing but losses. The general sentiment by locals towards this policy has been "So we're really becoming like Vietnam and Thailand, huh?", so the vast majority of people will not be welcoming nomads with open arms, or at all. There's already massive controversy over new apartments being bought up by foreign investors and locals being pushed farther out of Tokyo.

People can downvote because they don't like hearing this. But it's the state of things here. It's a system forced against the citizens against their will. In a country with a noted history of centuries of distrust of foreigners, this visa scheme is not helping.

[tjpnz]

It's quite common for apartment blocks to forbid "holiday" rentals. Mine has visible signage about this in the lobby and the building manager also looks out for it. Your typical apartment owner has zero interest in all the trouble these arrangements bring.

[shiroiushi]

That's for regular apartments. The blog author went to a monthly mansion, which are used for holiday rentals and other short-duration stays of a few months or so (such as people moving to a new city and needing a place before they can find a permanent apartment, or maybe people on temporary work assignments in a new city).

[forgotoldacc]

They do. But lots of people buy homes just to rent them out. That removes a home from the market, and the competition pushes prices up.

The problem isn't signage.

Plus evicting/canceling a contract is an arduous process. It almost always favors the renter. And in the case of actually buying a home, there isn't much anyone can do.

[esperent]

> One longstanding issue has been people who come to Japan expecting to settle down, then quickly realize it's not for them and take a flight home without telling anybody. Debts left unpaid and landlords not even contacted

This really sounds like one of those not-quite-racist "problems with foreigners" that every country likes to pretend they have. Every "knows" it's a problem, there's no way to prove it right or wrong, but hey, it gives people something to complain about.

[forgotoldacc]

It might be racism. But those thoughts aren't going to be undone with visas for rich nomads/tourists who'll stay for 6 months and dip. It's only accelerating justification for racism amongst locals.

And lumping any sort of economic concerns a country has into racism, then considering it something that shouldn't even be talked about because it's "racism", is how these issues start to snowball fast and more extreme racist reactions grow. A few European countries have taken hard right swings because people who said anything about immigration policies were shut down as racists. Now people don't even care about being called racist because the word is normalized. And that's a dangerous path to have started treading down. Japan is a country where being said to have some prejudice isn't something people will shamefully back away from; things could snowball much faster than in Europe.

[nicbou]

It’s exactly the same in Germany. It’s not that the system is designed against foreigners, but that it’s not designed for them at all. It’s a sort of “Falsehoods states believe about people” situation . This leads to a lot of Catch-22 situations where you need A to get B and B to get A, and the only way to fix it is to go through expensive loopholes.

[BoringTimesGang]

It's not a 'Japan thing'. I pay a higher rate on my mortgage because my spouse was not a citizen of where we live when we took it out. There are fewer providers willing to offer mortgages in this situation but, presumably, there's still enough of a price incentive that the premium isn't pulled out of thin air.

It's also common for landlords to ask for higher deposits or months paid up-front.

[esperent]

It's also possible that the banks have less legal requirements to non-citizens so they make up a bullshit reason for charging you higher. Which is absolutely something a bank would do.

[carlosjobim]

> but parasites like AirBnB and similar companies making a killing off offering apartments 5x above normal asking price to rich nomads who will say "wow, it's so cheap!" without realizing they're being ripped off, and killing neighborhoods by driving rent prices up.

The parasites in this case are the landlords, not AirBnB. And they're the one driving the rent prices up, not the renters.

Why does everybody refuse to adress the elephant in the room? Because they have parents and uncles who live by exploiting young workers for rent, and don't want to hurt their feelings?

[diggan]

> The parasites in this case are the landlords, not AirBnB. And they're the one driving the rent prices up, not the renters.

What about considering both as parasites, just different methods for achieving basically the same thing: "More money for me".

Obviously, the landlords are the ones who raise the prices. But I think it'd be ignoring reality if you didn't consider the fact that AirBnb made all of this so much easier and simpler from the landlords. There are platforms that let you sync to many portals, and even see what weeks you should raise the prices to optimize for as much profit as possible. AirBnb and the other platforms are contributing to a constant, collaborative raise of prices.

[carlosjobim]

AirBnB plays a very minor role in this. Yes, they make short-term rentals possible for landlords who are too dumb and lazy to be able to do it otherwise. There were other simliar platforms before AirBnB, there will be others after them.

[diggan]

> There were other simliar platforms before AirBnB, there will be others after them.

That's true, but it wasn't a huge industry like it is now, at least not here where I live (Barcelona, Spain). Once AirBnb appeared on the market, it kind of blew up in popularity. And while hotels/hostels needed permission from the government to make properties into hotels, the vacation rental market didn't (initially) so they ended up buying a lot of property meant for residents, but used it for tourists.

I'm not saying AirBnb is the sole party to blame here, but vacation rental companies do carry some responsibility for this.

[rty32]

That's why the original post says "like Airbnb", and laws like those in NYC ban all of them.

[carlosjobim]

What does that have to do with my comment? The blame is squarely on the landlords, blaming AirBnB or other similar websites is just because people can't deal with the fact that the persons harming them are nearby. So they need an outside force to put the blame on.

Good on NYC to ban short term rentals of residential properties. Short term visitors should stay in buildings especially made for that purpose, such as hotels.