Tips for Moving 
- Report to the City Office
Whenever and wherever you move within or
away from Okazaki, you are required to report
to the City Hall or its branch within 14
days of moving to your new residence or before
leaving your present one.
You or the head of your household should
appear in person at the citizens' section
(Shimin-ka) of the City Hall or of the nearest
branch office.
You should take you and your family members'
identification, if you have family - passports,
Foreign Registration Cards, your seal (if
you use), health insurance and pension certificates
(if applicable) and documentation of your
moving.
For further information, contact the Okazaki
City Hall - Shimin-ka (Citizens' Section)
at telephone 23-6128.
- Transferring schools
Before you move, you are required to obtain
a certificate of attendance from the school
your child attended. Upon report of establishing
a new residence to the local public office,
the appropriate school will be designated
for your child and a form for entering the
new school issued. Be sure to obtain a "certificate
of attendance" from the former school
your child(ren) attended to complete the
transfer procedure.
- Utilities
You should contact the offices of your utility
companies no less than one week before your
move to terminate or commence service:
| Utilities |
Company Name |
Phone |
| Water |
Okazaki City Water Works (Okazaki-shi Suidokyoku) |
23-6350 |
| Electricity |
Chubu Electric Co. (Chubu Denryoku) |
51-5911 |
| Gas |
Okazaki Gas (Okazaki Gasu) |
21-2231 |
When contacting the companies to terminate
service, be sure to have a bill on hand so
that you can tell them your customer number.
You will also need to have your new address
so that bills for any remaining balances
can be mailed to that address. If you are
moving out of Japan, you will need to designate
someone still living in Japan to complete
such transactions on your behalf.
When requesting the commencement of utility
services, you will need to tell the companies
the exact date you want services to begin.
You should check with your landlord regarding
this procedure.
Important! For gas service, you must make sure that the appliances you already
own compatible with the type of gas supplied
to your new residence (either city gas type
13A or LPG, liquid propane gas). If you use
inappropriate appliances for your gas service,
they may cause fires or result in gas poisoning!
- Telephone
Setting up new phone service is a very complicated
and expensive procedure. We therefore recommend
that short-term residents rent prepaid cellular
phones from convenience stores.
If you currently have phone service and you
are planning a move to a new address within
Japan, you should dial 116 (toll-free) to
notify the telephone company. They will give
you a toll-free phone number to call and
make an appointment to set up your new phone
service, and will disconnect service at your
old address. You cannot keep the same
phone number unless you are relocating within
a single area code.
- Mail
Change-of-address forms can be picked up
at the City Hall (Shimin-ka) or at any post
office. Mail will be forwarded to your new
address for up to one year free of charge.
- Trash disposal
If your are new to Okazaki, it is important
that your familiarize yourself with the proper
procedures for sorting and disposal of household
trash.
- Sort your garbage in the following manner:
- burnable non-recyclable trash (paper, food,
etc.)
- non-burnable non-recyclable trash (certain
plastics and metals, etc.)
- recyclable trash (aluminum and steel cans,
glass bottles, newspapers)
- large items (furniture, large appliances;
collected only a few times a year)
- Different categories of trash are collected
on different days of the week with varying
frequency, and trash collection locations
vary according to neighborhood. You should
check with your landlord or neighbor about
the details of trash collection at your new
residence.
Moving tends to generate a lot of trash.
You will need to take as much of it as possible
to the following waste disposal sites yourself.
Do NOT leave your trash at the regular trash
collection site.
Burnable trash: Haccho Clean Center(22-5436)
Burnables, non-burnables and large trash:
Chuo Clean Center(22-1153).
There is a charge 500 yen per 100 kilograms
of waste.
- Trouble-free Moving
Recently disputes related to moving and relocation
have increased. Misunderstandings between
the customer and the moving company over
the moving company's charges for various
services are a major cause of these problems.
Here are some hints to help you avoid such
misunderstandings:
- Movers licensed by the Ministry of Transport
have standardized fees, and are generally
reliable. It might also be a good idea to
ask someone who has a recently moved for
advice in selecting a reliable moving company.
- The movers should provide an estimate
of your moving expenses free of charge. You
should be prepared to explain to them
exactly what you want done: what you want
them to pack and transport, what you will
pack by yourself, whether you want the items
insured, and so on. It is recommended that
you get competitive bids from several moving
companies for comparison. You may find
that their services and charges differ.
- Read the agreement carefully before
signing anything. If any problems arise in
the handling of your goods, they will be
resolved solely on the basis of the contract.
- If possible, avoid moving on weekend. Traffic
is lighter on weekdays and you will probably
have fewer hassles. There is often an extra
charge for weekend moves.
- If there are any problems, contact the following
bureaus:
| Name |
Phone |
Consumer Affairs Bureau
(Nishi-Mikawa Shohi Seikatsu Center) |
27-0999 |
Aichi Prefecture Trucking Association
(Aichi-Ken Truck Kyokai) |
052-871-1921 |
|
