So you’ve made it through the buying process. Contract signed, keys in hand, maybe a renovation plan already taking shape. Exciting stuff. And then it hits you: none of the lights work, there’s no internet, and you’re not entirely sure how to turn the water on. Welcome to the slightly less glamorous part of owning a place in Japan, getting the utilities sorted.
The good news is none of this is particularly hard. It’s just a bit different from what you might be used to, especially if the property’s been sitting empty for a while and everything needs to be set up from scratch rather than just transferred into your name.
Electricity
Electricity in Japan is supplied by regional companies; which one depends on where the property is. Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) covers the Tokyo area, Kansai Electric covers Osaka and the surrounding region, and so on for other regions. If the property already had electricity connected before, even if it’s been disconnected for a while, reconnecting is usually pretty straightforward.
Applications can often be done online or by phone, and a lot of providers now have English language options on their websites, which makes this less painful than it used to be. There’s typically no big deposit required, unlike some countries. You’ll just start getting monthly bills once it’s connected, usually payable via bank transfer, convenience store, or direct debit.
One thing worth checking early, if the property has been empty a long time, the electrical wiring itself might need an inspection before the power company will reconnect it, especially in older akiya. This is also a good moment to think about whether you want to upgrade the wiring anyway as part of the renovation, rather than reconnecting old wiring and redoing it later.
Gas: City Gas vs Propane
This is one area where rural and urban properties tend to differ quite a bit. In cities and larger towns, you’ll often find city gas (toshi gas), which comes through underground pipes similar to how it works in a lot of other countries. It’s generally the cheaper option where it’s available.
In more rural areas, especially with older akiya, propane (LP gas) is much more common. This comes via tanks that get delivered and swapped out by a local supplier rather than through a pipeline. It tends to cost more per unit than city gas, sometimes noticeably more, but it’s also more flexible since it doesn’t depend on existing infrastructure.
If a property already has a propane setup, switching providers or just continuing with the existing supplier is usually simple; a phone call and someone comes out to get things connected and explain the billing setup. If there’s no gas connection at all, getting one installed is doable but worth factoring into your timeline, especially in more remote areas where the supplier might need to schedule a visit.
Water
Water is generally handled by the local municipal water authority, and this tends to be one of the more straightforward utilities to set up. A quick call or visit to the local water office, sometimes combined with the same office that handles other municipal registrations, usually gets things connected.
If the property has been empty for a while, there might be some initial work needed to check pipes for leaks or damage before water is turned back on, particularly in colder regions where pipes can crack if they’ve frozen at some point while the house was unoccupied. Worth asking about this specifically if you’re buying in an area that gets proper winters.
Costs for water tend to be relatively modest and are usually billed based on usage, similar to how it works in most other countries.
Internet
This is often the one that takes longest, mostly because of installation timelines rather than complexity. Major providers like NTT, SoftBank, and au offer fiber internet across a large part of the country, including a lot of rural areas, though coverage and speed can vary depending on exactly where the property is.
In cities, getting fiber internet installed might take a couple of weeks. In more remote areas, it can take longer, sometimes a month or more, partly because of scheduling technicians to come out to less frequently serviced areas. If internet access is a priority for you, especially if you’re planning to work remotely from the property, it’s worth starting this process as early as possible, ideally as soon as the property is officially yours, since the application and installation timeline runs independently of everything else you’re doing.
For anyone who needs something faster in the meantime, or as a backup, mobile data plans and pocket wifi devices are widely available and can bridge the gap while fiber gets installed.
Doing This Without Speaking Japanese
A fair amount of this can now be done in English, at least for the major providers, but not all of it, and not always smoothly. A few things that make this easier:
If you’re working with a real estate agent who’s used to helping foreign buyers, ask if they can assist with utility setup as part of the process or at least point you toward providers known for being foreigner-friendly. Some agents include this kind of help as part of their service, especially for akiya purchases, where they know overseas buyers will need extra support.
Local city halls (yakuba) are often more helpful than people expect for things like water registration and general “I just moved here, what do I need to do?” questions, even with a language barrier. Bringing a translation app or a local friend, if you have one, makes these visits go a lot smoother.
A Rough Order to Do Things In
If you’re starting from a completely empty property with nothing connected, a reasonable order looks something like this. Electricity first, since you’ll need power for basically everything else, including any renovation work. Water next, especially if there’s any work being done that needs it. Gas around the same time, particularly if propane needs scheduling. And internet as early as possible given how long installation can take, even if you won’t be living there full time right away.
None of these have to happen on the same day, and depending on your situation, some might already be connected if the previous owner only recently moved out. But having a rough order in mind helps avoid the situation where everything gets started at once and then you’re waiting on four different appointments in the same week.
Final Thoughts
Getting utilities set up is one of those tasks that sounds more complicated than it actually is, mostly because it’s unfamiliar rather than genuinely difficult. Once you’ve done it once, it’s pretty much like setting up utilities anywhere, just with different company names and a bit more lead time for things like internet in rural areas.
If you’re still in the planning stages and want to think through this kind of practical, after-the-purchase stuff before committing to a specific property, it’s worth browsing listings on CheapJapanHouses.com with these questions in mind: How recently was the house occupied? How rural is it really? And what utilities are already connected? Getting a sense of this upfront makes the whole moving in process a lot smoother, and it’s a useful part of any broader Japan relocation guide for anyone planning the move from the ground up.
