With my visa in hand, I made my plane reservation for the beginning of August 2023. My initial thought was, how difficult could it be to find a long-term rental and get myself settled here, so I booked a one-month stay at a Service Apartment in Hatsudai, Shibuya. Well, I was wrong. I will explain in a future blog.
Somewhere during my research, I had learned that one of the first things that I needed to do was to get established as a Resident here in Japan and that when I first arrived and processed through Immigration at the Airport I should ask for a Residence Card.
Not speaking any Japanese at this point of my journey, I somehow was able to communicate that I was supposed to get a Residence Card upon arrival.
After a bit of research on the computer, the Immigration Officer gestured OK, printed my Residence Card, and handed it to me. I thought that was not that difficult, but that was just the beginning.
Next, I needed to update my Residence Card with a current address and look into Health Care here in Japan. This entailed a trip to the Shibuya City Building.
On the third floor of the City Building is the Department called Procedure of Living which includes the Residents and Family Registration Division (family register, seal registration, seal certificate, resident’s card, my number) National Health Insurance Division (enrollment, withdrawal, payment of insurance premiums, national pension).
I was a little nervous about not being able to converse in Japanese, but found out they have interpreters available for non-Japanese speakers.
First, I had my address registered and placed onto my Residence Card.
Registered for My Number, which is similar to our Social Security Number here in the United States. My Number was not given to me, but was notified about a month later that I could make an appointment to pick the card up. My Number became important as it was needed for me to process transactions at the Bank.
I asked about National Health Insurance. They asked me to wait and called me to another counter. I showed them my Residence Card, and they provided me with both my National Health Insurance Card and Long Term Nursing Card (I guess because I’m considered a Senior). I was told premium slips would be sent to me in the Mail. This process was actually very easy, and I am now covered by the Japanese National Health Insurance.