Before you start

Residence card with your address printed on the reverse
Ward registration completed
A Japanese phone number
A personal seal (inkan), still requested by some institutions

Step-by-step

1
Register at the ward office first
Your address must be printed on the back of the residence card, which happens only at ward registration. Banks refuse applications without it. This is the practical reason the fourteen-day deadline matters so much.
In personWho: YouBefore the bank visit
2
Open with Japan Post Bank or an online bank
Yūcho, Sony Bank, Rakuten and SBI Shinsei reliably open accounts for newly arrived foreign residents without a six-month wait. Yūcho branches reach into every Hokkaido town, which matters if you travel on the island, and the account is accepted for salary payment.
In personWho: YouWeek 1–2
3
Add a Hokkaido regional bank once you are settled
North Pacific Bank (Hokuyō) and Hokkaido Bank (Dōgin) dominate the local network. Small landlords, kerosene suppliers, neighbourhood associations and some employers assume one of them, and their ATMs are where the megabanks' are not.
In personWho: You
4
Ask your employer which bank they pay into
Some Japanese employers pay salary only into particular institutions and some arrange the account during onboarding. Asking first avoids opening two accounts you did not need.
Via employerWho: You
5
Get an inkan and know when you need the registered one
A cheap unregistered seal covers everyday banking. A registered jitsuin, registered at your ward office and evidenced by a seal certificate, is needed for a car purchase, some leases and major contracts. Non-Japanese names can be registered in katakana or roman letters.
In personWho: You
6
Get a Kitaca and use it for everything
JR Hokkaido's Kitaca is interoperable with Suica, ICOCA and the rest of the national IC network, and it works on the subway, the tram, buses and in convenience stores. Load your commuter pass onto it and let your employer reimburse the commuting portion.
In personWho: YouDay 1

Documents you’ll need

Residence card with address printed on the reverse
Passport
Japanese phone number
Inkan, for some institutions
Employment certificate, sometimes requested

Things most newcomers don’t know

Several major banks will not open a full account until you have six months of residence.

This is internal policy rather than law and it varies by bank and even by branch, so nobody warns you. It catches people who walk into a big-name bank in their first fortnight and are turned away without a reason being given. Japan Post Bank and the online banks do not apply it, which is why nearly every foreign resident's first Japanese account is one of those.

Source: community-reported

In Hokkaido the regional bank is not a nostalgic choice, it is a coverage one.

North Pacific Bank and Hokkaido Bank hold the branch and ATM network across an island where towns are eighty kilometres apart and megabank branches barely exist. Small landlords, kerosene suppliers and neighbourhood associations assume one of them for direct debits. Keeping a Yūcho or online account for salary and a local account for everything domestic is what most long-term residents end up doing.

Source: community-reported

Winter administration still runs on direct debit and cash in envelopes.

Kerosene deliveries are billed by consumption and settled by kōza furikae, neighbourhood association dues and any contribution towards hauling snow off your street are frequently collected door to door in cash by a rota of residents, and small older landlords may still want the rent transferred rather than taken. Setting up the direct debits early and keeping cash at home makes January much less irritating.

Source: community-reported

Close the accounts and settle the tax before you leave, not after.

Closing a Japanese bank account from overseas is close to impossible, and residence tax obligations outlive your departure. Anyone leaving should appoint a tax representative or settle the outstanding residence tax, claim the pension lump-sum withdrawal — which needs a bank account or a representative to receive it — and close accounts in person. Every one of these is dramatically harder once you have gone.

Source: National Tax Agency

Common mistakes to avoid

Attempting a bank account before ward registration has put your address on the residence card.
Walking into a major city bank in your first week and being refused without explanation.
Relying only on a megabank account and finding no ATM when you travel in Hokkaido.
Using a Japanese bank for international transfers rather than a specialist service.
Leaving Japan without closing accounts, settling residence tax and claiming the pension refund.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.