Expat Community > Japan

daw0lverine
Joined 2019
Posts: 1

Moving from HK to Tokyo

5 years ago

Hello everybody,

Thanks for creating this community, I have found some help already but sometimes the information is outdated, so please find a bunch of questions, any help would be greatly appreciated. I am planning to move to Tokyo, Minato-ku in August from Hong-Kong with my Japanese SO. We will both be out of work and we are moving on our own expense, so we are trying to find the most economical ways to make the move. We have found an apartment for when we arrive in Tokyo.

1/ Moving from Hong Kong : Anybody got recommendation for a good international mover ? I have contacted a few but they all seem pretty similar, wondering if one is better or cheaper than the other. Additionally we have a bunch of furniture and this is a good occasion to de-clutter. Does anybody know the best way to sell second-hand stuff in HK ?

2/ Electricity/Gas/Water : Anything we should be aware of when we start registering ? Pitfalls, hidden expenses etc... More generally is there a service that can help a Gaijin deal with all this ?

3/ Internet/TV : Cheapest service for 100mbps to 1gbp at the moment ? Happy to consider bundling with cable if necessary, looking for the cheapest options

4/ Phone : We are bringing our phones with us, they are unlocked. I understand the phone companies charge pretty exorbitant prices, is there an economical way to get family subscriptions for 2 people with unlimited data while not buying a handset at the same time ?

5/ Medical : I understand the security system is quite good in Japan but there is still 30% to pay upfront. I am used to affordable private medical insurance in HK and I would like to consider the same in Japan, is that recommended and if yes, what would be the choice ?

6/ Job Hunting : I am skilled and experienced in my field but I am considering a change of career potentially for fintech or an international tech company, what are the best ways to find a job that's not baito ?

7/ Handyman : Unfortunately, we are not very skilled in that department, what do people do to get a handyman to fix stuff around the house ?

8/ Transport : passmo ? suica ? what is the latest recommendation

9/ Car : We will probably purchase a car, any good resource to find one second-hand ?

10/ Admin : How is the Minato-ku ward administration like, are they helpful for gaijins ?

11/ Electricity : what is the recommendation for the electrical appliances such as refrigirator, tv etc.... can we buy cheap but powerful enough transformers ? Do they consume more electricity and will my bill go up ?

?

I appreciate that this is a lot of questions, but thank you very much for anybody who will take the time to read them !

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