Before you start

Residence card with your address written on the back
Ward registration completed
A Japanese phone number
A personal seal (inkan), still requested by some institutions

Step-by-step

1
Complete ward registration before attempting a bank
Your address must be printed on the back of the residence card, which happens at ward registration. Banks will refuse an application without it. This is why the fourteen-day deadline matters so much in practice.
In personWho: YouBefore the bank visit
2
Start with Japan Post Bank or SBI Shinsei
Yūcho and SBI Shinsei reliably open accounts for newly arrived foreign residents without a six-month wait — Yūcho from around three months of residence period. Yūcho branches are everywhere and the account is accepted for salary payment. This is the standard first account. Sony Bank and SMBC Trust (Prestia), which older guides recommend, both apply the six-month rule themselves.
In personWho: YouWeek 1–2
3
Ask your employer which bank they prefer
Some Japanese employers pay salary only into particular banks, and some will help arrange the account as part of onboarding. Asking before you open one avoids opening two.
Via employerWho: You
4
Get an inkan if you will deal with traditional institutions
The personal seal is being phased out of government procedures but remains in use at some banks, for property contracts and for certain employers. A simple unregistered one is inexpensive; a registered jitsuin is needed for major contracts and is registered at the ward office.
In personWho: You
5
Get an IC card and set up a commuter pass on it
Suica or Pasmo covers trains, buses, convenience stores and vending machines nationally. In a commuter city the important part is loading your teikiken season pass onto the same card — your employer reimburses it, and it makes the whole journey a single tap.
In personWho: YouDay 1
6
Keep cash on you despite the digital progress
QR and IC payments are widespread, but small restaurants, the Nogechō bars, older shops and some clinics remain cash-only. Carrying ten thousand yen is normal and unremarkable here.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Residence card with address printed on the reverse
Passport
Japanese phone number
Inkan, for some institutions
Employment certificate, sometimes requested

Things most newcomers don’t know

Several major banks will not open a full account until you have six months of residence.

Bank policy varies by institution and sometimes by branch, but it tracks a real legal line: under the Foreign Exchange Act a foreign national is a 'resident' only once employed at an office in Japan or resident here six months, and until then is limited to a restricted non-resident yen account. MUFG's own guidance sorts applicants into exactly those categories. Japan Post Bank and SBI Shinsei will open an ordinary account earlier, which is why nearly every foreign resident's first Japanese account is one of those.

Source: community-reported; MUFG official guidance

Load your commuter pass onto the same IC card and let your employer pay for it.

Japanese employers reimburse the teikiken commuter season pass as a matter of course, and from Yokohama into central Tokyo that is a meaningful monthly amount. The pass sits on your Suica or Pasmo alongside the stored value, so one tap covers both your commuted route and any journey beyond it. New arrivals routinely pay for months of individual fares before anyone tells them to submit the route to HR.

Source: community-reported

ATM fees outside your bank's hours are a real cost and Japan is unusual in this.

Withdrawing from another bank's machine, or your own outside daytime hours, commonly attracts a per-transaction fee. Convenience store ATMs are ubiquitous and charge accordingly. Choosing a bank whose fee structure matches how you actually withdraw money is worth five minutes of comparison.

Source: community-reported

Close your accounts and settle your taxes before you leave, not after.

Closing a Japanese bank account from overseas is extremely difficult, and residence tax obligations can survive your departure. Anyone leaving Japan should appoint a tax representative or settle the outstanding residence tax, claim the pension lump-sum withdrawal, and close accounts in person. Each item is much harder to fix from abroad.

Source: National Tax Agency

Common mistakes to avoid

Attempting a bank account before ward registration puts your address on the residence card.
Walking into a major city bank in your first week and being refused without explanation.
Paying individual fares for months instead of claiming a reimbursed commuter pass.
Using a Japanese bank for international transfers instead of a specialist service.
Leaving Japan without closing accounts, settling residence tax and claiming the pension refund.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.