Paying bills in Japan

Hello everyone,

What bills do you pay? If you are renting, are bills included in the price of rent, and is this common practice in Japan?

How can you pay your bills (e.g. online, at provider's store, at the post office)? Which is the most convenient or reliable way?

With what frequency are different bills sent in Japan? Are there different deadlines for payment?

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Priscilla

Hi Priscilla,

Since I have my own house, I am paying all kinds of bills that you can think of.
Regarding your question if the bills are already included on your monthly rent, this really depends on the owner. Rent in a Shared House already includes all the Utilities. But if you are renting your own apartment or a mansion, you will have to pay it on your own.

You can pay it thru Convenience Stores or have it auto debited to your account.
Yes the deadline depends on the company. Water`s bill is sent every 2 months.

Thank you and God Bless


Lyn

We have a 2 system to pay the bill one is post office bank . And supermarkets . And cash on delivery . For the perching cash on delivery is best way hire . Wan you receive the thing to your Han same time you won to pay the bill to post man

Hi Priscilla,

Thank you for your questions.

Apart from the rent (which is often paid by bank transfer), we have to pay internet, electricity, gas, water, and health insurance bills. It also depends on the type of renting. Sometimes, water or gas may be included in the rent.

You can choose to pay at the convenience stores (combini). You just have to bring your bill to the store and have the staff scan the barcode on the bill, then you pay them the exact money written on it - no fee charged.

Also, you can apply for bank transfer. Give the provider you bank details, every month the money will be automatically withdrawn from your account. Of course, there is no other fee charged.

The bills are usually sent in the middle of the month and the deadline will be the middle of next month. If you missed the deadline, they will kindly continuously send the invoice to your address.

If you want to know more about life in Japan, please take a look at my page gaijinconcierge.gaijinbank.com

If possible, please copy your question to this page so that I can answer it again because I'm sure there are many people have the same questions as you do. Please keep asking ^^

Mostly by credit card,and i pay my credit card by auto charge from my bank account.
From phone to internet to celphone and loans and online shopping.
The easiest credit card is Yahoo Card! Limit is only 100k but still it's enough for some things. Next is Amazon Credit card, got approved after 3 tried within 3mos.
Credit card is so convenient in paying bills i suggest you get one!

BTW payments visa credit card has no extra fees, you get 1 to 2% points and rewards! If you don't have a credit card yet, try Line Debit! It also works!

I too pay some bills at the Post Office or convinience store. When we rented a house we had a bank standing order. Daily newspaper delivery representive comes to the house once a month and we pay cash. Slipped my mind, but I think my car insurance is by standard order. Oh, I pay some computer payments by PayPal or visa card. It's all pretty easy actually. I do have a Japanese bank account and monthly payments, such as highway tolls, Amazon are taken from my account.