MMoving to Japan

Do I need a Japanese bank account to pay rent for a share house in Tokyo?

  • December 10, 2025

Hey everyone,

I’m moving to Tokyo soon and looking at different share houses. One thing I can’t find a clear answer on: do I absolutely need a Japanese bank account to pay the monthly rent, or do most share house companies accept credit/debit cards, Wise, PayPal, or anything similar?

If anyone has recent experience with share houses in Tokyo, how did you handle the rent payments when you first arrived? I’m trying to figure out whether I need to sort out a bank account immediately or if I can survive the first month or two without one.

Thanks!

by Ok-Panic2042

5 comments

  1. I’m in an Oakhouse and you don’t need one. They use Flywire for you to make bank transfers from your home bank (or you can pay with your bank card)

    You also can’t open a Japanese account yet without your Residence Card (which you get on arrival), Japanese phone number (easy to get but done after you arrive) and My Number, which takes a month or so to get after you register your residency at the city office within two weeks of landing.

    Also, the big share house chains – Sakura House, Oakhouse, Borderless etc – heavily market to foreigners, so obviously they’d have to have ways for foreigners to pay easily (not that I can speak for the others aside from Oakhouse).

  2. Hello, they will surely provide you another way to pay for your rent if you don’t have a Japanese Bank account don’t worry. I personally use wise for bank transfer as it’s quite easy to use. The downside of this method is that you have to pay a fee for every transaction (one of the lowest of every other method tho). As said in another comment, you won’t be able to open an account before some time anyway.

  5. I currently rent an office and pay with cash every month. LL is pretty jazzed by the idea too. Cash is King here.

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