Setting up electricity, gas and water in Japan as a foreigner

Every utility bill in Japan comes from a separate provider: an electricity company, a gas company and your city’s water bureau. You set up each one yourself, usually by phone or online, and only gas needs you at home, because a technician turns it on. None of the official pages we checked ask about your visa or residence status. As of October 2026, the latest official average (2025) is ¥13,333 a month for one person and ¥24,547 for two or more.

What do I need before I call?

Have these ready for each company:

• Your new address, written exactly as on the lease, including the building name and room number.
• The move-in date you want service to start.
• A phone number where the company can reach you.
• Your name in the same spelling for all three accounts. Tokyo’s water bureau keeps card payment after a move only if the contract name stays the same.
• A bank account or credit card for payment, if you want to set it up at once. See opening a bank account if you don’t have one yet.

Your landlord or agent can tell you which gas company and water bureau serve the building. Ask when you sign the lease (renting an apartment).

How do I set up electricity in Japan?

Since 1 April 2016, every household can choose its electricity company and rate plan. Before that, each region’s power company supplied homes at prices set by a method fixed by law. The Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (資源エネルギー庁) says the power and its reliability are the same whichever company you pick, because all use the same grid.

You can still use the regional company, such as TEPCO in the Tokyo area, or a new retailer. Some offer bundle discounts with gas or a mobile phone, or points. Before you sign, the agency suggests you:

• check the company is on its list of registered retailers (登録小売電気事業者一覧),
• check the contract period and any cancellation fee (解約金).

You need a contract even for a short stay in an empty unit. Apply before you move in.

English help. TEPCO’s English page lists two toll-free numbers: 0120-995-113 (non-regulated plans, press 7) and 0120-995-001 (regulated plans, press 8). After a Japanese recording, you’re connected to an operator with a three-way interpreter in English, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese or Spanish. Hours are Monday to Saturday, 9:00 to 17:00. If you don’t know your plan type, TEPCO says to call the first number.

On move-in day, if the lights don’t work, check the breaker panel. TEPCO’s steps: switch on the amp breaker, then the earth-leakage breaker (漏電ブレーカー), then the individual breakers. Newer smart meters may have no amp breaker.

How do I set up gas, and do I need to be home?

Yes, for gas you usually need to be home. Tokyo Gas’s English page says you or a representative must be present when service starts. The technician does an ignition test and explains safety rules. If someone else attends, give their name and phone number in advance.

• When to apply: Tokyo Gas recommends at least about one week ahead, and earlier in March and April or at the start or end of a month.
• Fastest start: an online request by 7:30 a.m. can get a visit that afternoon; by 6 p.m., the next morning.
• Visit slots: 9:00 to 12:00, 13:00 to 15:00, 15:00 to 17:00 and 17:00 to 19:00 (the evening slot is not offered on Sundays and holidays).
• Language: the English pages explain the rules, but the online application forms are in Japanese only. Phone lines are open Monday to Saturday 9:00 to 19:00, and Sundays and holidays 9:00 to 17:00.

Not every building uses city gas (都市ガス). Tokyo Gas publishes its supply area, and outside it a different company supplies the gas. Your landlord or management company can tell you which company to call.

If you smell gas, don’t use any flame or touch the ventilation fan switch, open the windows and doors, close the gas valves, and call the gas company’s emergency line. For Tokyo Gas Network it’s 0570-002299, 24 hours. More in emergency numbers in Japan.

How do I start water service?

Water comes from a public waterworks bureau (水道局). In Tokyo it’s the metropolitan government’s bureau; elsewhere, check your city’s website.

In Tokyo, the Bureau of Waterworks (東京都水道局) has an English web form to start and cancel a water contract (suidonet English form). Its app also has an English mode, but that mode only covers starting and canceling a contract. You don’t need a customer number to start a new contract.

By phone, the Tokyo Customer Center is 0570-091-100, or 03-5326-1101 (23 wards) and 042-548-5110 (Tama). It’s open 8:30 to 20:00, closed Sundays and holidays. For fax applications, the center asks for start and stop requests at least 3 days ahead, not counting Sundays and holidays, so apply at least that early whichever way you choose. The center’s page doesn’t mention English support, so the web form is the easier route.

How do I pay utility bills in Japan?

You have three main options. Both Tokyo Gas and Tokyo’s water bureau offer all of them.

• Convenience stores. Tokyo’s water bills can be paid at Seven-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson, Ministop, Daily Yamazaki and others.
• Apps. Scan the bill’s barcode with PayPay, au PAY, d払い, 楽天ペイ, AEON Pay and other listed apps. App payments give no receipt, so keep the bill and check your history to avoid paying twice. See cashless payments in Japan.
• Timing. Tokyo Gas lets you set up card or bank payment online about 3 business days after gas starts. Bills that arrive before that are paid the old way.
• Small discount. Tokyo’s water bureau gives a ¥50 a month (before tax) discount for bank debit, not for card payment.

If your bank card is a debit card, it may be refused. See debit cards in Japan.

What happens if I pay late?

At Tokyo Gas, bills are due 30 days after the day following the meter reading. Late interest is 0.0274% a day, though some plans don’t charge it if you pay within 10 days. If gas charges stay unpaid more than 50 days after the day following the meter reading, the gas can be shut off after a notice. For Tokyo Gas electricity, charges left unpaid past the due date can end the contract after a notice.

If a bank debit fails, Tokyo Gas tries again about 7 to 10 days later. If you pay by card, a late card payment is a separate problem: see credit history in Japan.

How do I close utility accounts when I move out?

Call or apply online to each company with your move-out date.

• Gas (Tokyo Gas): you need your customer number (on the bill or the start-of-service notice). You usually don’t need to be home, unless the technician can’t reach the meter, for example behind a locked entrance.
• Electricity: Tokyo Gas says you don’t need to be there, and asks you to switch off the main breaker before you leave. TEPCO also asks you to switch off the breaker.
• Water: in Tokyo, the same English web form or the Customer Center by phone. Have a bill or usage notice showing your customer number ready.

Pay the final bills before you go. If you’re moving within Japan, update your address too (moving within Japan). If you’re leaving the country, add utilities to your leaving Japan checklist.

More guides: renting an apartment · home internet · renters’ fire insurance · moving within Japan