Arrive & Settle | Digital Nomads Tokyo

An aisle in a Japanese department store food hall, lined on both sides with glass cases of neatly arranged prepared dishes under warm light

What Is a Depachika? Tokyo's Department Store Food Halls, Explained

Depachika are the food halls in the basements of Tokyo department stores. What they sell, when the evening discounts start, and how to shop one well.

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A packed carry-on case with a laptop inside, a backpack and two passports on a bare pale wooden floor in afternoon light

Arrive & Settle

Leaving Tokyo: The Exit Checklist Nobody Hands You

Arriving in Tokyo comes with guides. Leaving does not. Here is what to close, cancel, notify and carry out the door, and when to start.

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A sparse Tokyo apartment room in soft daylight, with a folding chair, a plain wooden desk holding a monitor, and a suitcase standing against the wall beside a curtained window

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Rent It, Don't Buy It: Tokyo's Quiet Rental Economy for Short Stays

Tokyo will rent you a monitor, a suit, a suitcase, a camera, a bicycle and a folding chair. For a stay measured in weeks, renting is usually cheaper than buying and always cheaper than carrying.

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A narrow Tokyo shopping street at golden hour, with paper lanterns, a noren curtain and potted plants outside old wooden shopfronts

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What Is a Shotengai? Tokyo's Covered Shopping Streets, Explained

A shotengai is the covered shopping street near your station. What they are, what you can buy, and why they beat the supermarket on price and speed.

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A long wall of teal and cream coin lockers receding down a quiet station concourse, with a single suitcase standing on the polished floor

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Tokyo Coin Lockers by Station: Sizes, Costs and Finding an Empty One

Where the lockers are at Tokyo, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Shinagawa, Ueno and Ikebukuro stations, what the three sizes actually fit, how overnight charging works, and what to do when every large locker is taken.

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An open carry-on suitcase with a laptop, a backpack and travel documents on a pale wooden floor

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Your First 48 Hours in Tokyo: What to Do in What Order

A calm, sequenced checklist for the first two days in Tokyo, from the airport counter to your first productive working morning.

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A calm neighborhood health and care storefront in Tokyo in soft daylight

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Massage and Seitai in Tokyo: Fixing a Laptop Body

How to tell a relaxation massage from a seitai studio or an insured sekkotsuin, what to expect at each, and how to book one in Tokyo without much Japanese.

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A calm, brightly lit dental clinic waiting room in Tokyo with clean lines and soft daylight

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Going to the Dentist in Tokyo: A Guide for Remote Workers

How to find a dentist in Tokyo, book an appointment with limited Japanese, and understand why Japanese dental care is split across several short visits.

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A bright Tokyo shopfront in the early evening with neatly arranged shelves visible through the window

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Getting Glasses and Contact Lenses in Tokyo

How eyewear shopping works in Tokyo, why a new pair of glasses can be ready the same afternoon, and why contact lenses follow a slower path through an eye clinic.

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Shelves of neatly arranged secondhand goods in a Tokyo recycle shop

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Tokyo's Secondhand Economy: Furnishing a Temporary Life for Less

Recycle shops, Book-Off, Mercari and weekend flea markets make it possible to equip a Tokyo stay cheaply, then sell most of it back before the flight out.

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Heavy rain falling on an empty Tokyo side street, shop lights reflecting on the flooded asphalt

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Typhoon Season in Tokyo: What Remote Workers Should Actually Do

From roughly August through October, a typhoon can quietly cancel a Tokyo working day. Here is how the warnings work, what closes, and how to keep a remote schedule intact.

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The calm interior of a small Tokyo shop with warm wooden shelves and soft daylight from the street

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Getting a Haircut in Tokyo Without Speaking Japanese

A haircut is the small errand that quietly stresses out newcomers. Here is how Tokyo's salons and barbers work, what to expect, and how to book and communicate without Japanese.

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A brightly lit Tokyo convenience store on a quiet residential street at night, shelves visible through the glass

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Eating in Tokyo With Dietary Restrictions: A Practical Guide

How vegetarian, vegan, halal, gluten-free, and allergy-aware remote workers can eat well in Tokyo, including the hidden ingredients to watch for and the phrases that actually help.

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A narrow Tokyo backstreet in evening light, lined with wooden houses, paper lanterns and potted plants

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Cycling in Tokyo: Bike Share, Rules, and Where to Park

A practical guide to getting around Tokyo by bicycle as a remote worker: share services, the rules that changed in 2026, registration, insurance, and the parking mistake that costs the most.

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A quiet municipal gym and lap pool in Tokyo with clean tiled floors, natural light through tall windows, and neatly arranged equipment

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Gyms and Pools in Tokyo Without a Long Contract

Most Tokyo gyms are built for residents who stay for years. Here is how short-stay remote workers can train anyway, from ward sports centres to drop-in passes and no-frills chains.

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A stack of cardboard parcels and a delivery slip on a quiet Tokyo street corner in soft morning light

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Sending and Receiving Packages in Tokyo: A Nomad's Guide to Takkyubin

Tokyo's delivery network is one of the quiet luxuries of living here. Here is how takkyubin, konbini pickup, delivery lockers, and luggage forwarding work when you have no fixed address.

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A quiet Tokyo residential street at dusk, low buildings and calm sky

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Earthquake Preparedness in Tokyo for Digital Nomads

A calm, practical guide to living with earthquakes in Tokyo when you work remotely and travel light, from the first jolt to the apps, bags, and habits that make them a non-event.

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A tidy row of labeled recycling and burnable-waste bins on a quiet Tokyo residential street in the morning

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How to Sort Trash in Tokyo: Gomi Rules for Newcomers

Tokyo garbage rules trip up almost everyone at first. How burnable, non-burnable and recyclable sorting works, collection days, and reading your building rules.

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An open suitcase with neatly folded clothes and a laptop, packed for life on the move

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Doing Laundry in Tokyo: A Nomad's Guide to Coin Laundries

When you live out of a suitcase, the coin laundry becomes part of your weekly rhythm. Here is how Tokyo's laundromats work, what they cost, and how to use one without any Japanese.

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A smartphone tapping a train station fare gate reader in Tokyo, with an IC card and coins nearby

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Is Tokyo Cashless? Paying by Suica, IC Card and QR Code

Tokyo runs on taps and scans more than cash, but not everywhere. Setting up a mobile Suica, which QR apps matter, and when you still need yen.

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A quiet study corner by a Tokyo apartment window with an open notebook of Japanese characters, flashcards, and a cup of coffee

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Learning Japanese in Tokyo Without Quitting Your Job

A realistic guide to picking up Japanese while working remotely from Tokyo, from survival phrases to the study routines that actually fit around a laptop life.

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A warm wooden table in a Tokyo café with a coffee cup, a familiar everyday spot between meals

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Eating Well in Tokyo on a Nomad Budget: Konbini, Teishoku & Izakaya (2026)

A practical map of how to eat in Tokyo when you work from a laptop: convenience stores, set-meal shops, standing eateries, supermarkets, and izakaya, with rough costs and quiet etiquette.

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A bright neighborhood pharmacy in Tokyo with neatly stocked shelves in the early evening

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Healthcare and Pharmacies in Tokyo for Remote Workers

How to see a doctor, fill a prescription, and stock a medicine cabinet in Tokyo when you are working remotely and do not yet speak much Japanese.

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A person training in a bright gym, representing keeping a fitness routine while traveling

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Staying Fit When You Live Out of a Suitcase

The nomad life makes it easy to let your body slide. For me, a training routine became the one fixed point that keeps everything else, including the work, standing up.

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A neatly packed carry-on and backpack representing a minimalist nomad's belongings

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Living on 35 Kilograms: What a Nomad CEO Actually Carries

I run my business from a single 35kg of luggage across Japan, Taiwan, and beyond. Here's how living light became less about packing and more about choosing.

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View from an airplane window over a glittering Asian city at night

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The Case for Making Tokyo Your Asia Base

The nomad instinct is to keep moving. The smarter move is often to stop, and let one stable city become a launchpad for the rest of Asia.

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Japanese yen notes and coins with a smartphone, representing cost of living in Tokyo

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Cost of Living in Tokyo for Digital Nomads: Monthly Budget (2026)

How much does it cost to live in Tokyo as a digital nomad? A 2026 monthly budget breakdown for accommodation, food, transport, coworking, and more.

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A wallet with Japanese yen notes, coins, and a smartphone payment app

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Banking and Money in Japan for Digital Nomads (2026)

How to manage money in Japan as a digital nomad: cash vs cashless, which ATMs accept foreign cards, and whether you need a Japanese bank account.

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A smartphone showing an eSIM setup screen with a Tokyo street in the background

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Mobile and Internet in Japan: SIM, eSIM & Pocket Wi-Fi (2026)

How digital nomads get online in Japan, comparing eSIMs, prepaid SIM cards, and pocket Wi-Fi, plus the 2026 ID rule for all SIM purchases.

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A passport and travel documents on a desk with a Tokyo skyline view

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Japan Digital Nomad Visa: 2026 Guide for Remote Workers

Japan's digital nomad visa explained: who qualifies, the income and insurance requirements, how long you can stay, and how it compares to tourist entry.

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Tokyo Life Hacks for Digital Nomads: 25 Practical Tips (2026)

Practical life hacks for digital nomads in Tokyo, covering transport, food, housing, work, language, health, money, and emergencies, to settle in fast.

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