Leaving Japan
When you leave Japan, there are several points you should consider:
Shipping your possessions. This is not cheap, so you may want to sell or throw away most of your possessions before you go. If you want to spend the hundreds of dollars necessary, you might want to look into buying space in a cargo container. Alas, I have no information on this resource.
Sayonara Sales. You will probably try out your luck where you work first, posting a list of items for sale, and arranging with co-workers when they can be picked up. Everything else you will want to advertise in someplace like the Tokyo Classifieds or the Daily Yomiuri; often these ads are free.
Telephone line. This can be sold to a co-worker or via a sayonara sale. You will probably get a lot of calls; turn off the ringer on your telephone the day the ad comes out in the paper unless you want people calling you at 6am. Better yet, just let the machine take all the calls, and then select the best candidate according to the recordings. You might want to keep one or two extra people on stand-by, if they can wait; if your first choice chickens out at the last minute, you may not have any time to place another ad.
You will have to pick up papers at the NTT office for your district, then meet the phone buyer at the NTT office for their district. Make sure you both bring your foreign registration cards (or a photo I.D. if they are Japanese). Also make sure your phone bills are paid, and arrange for the last one to be paid by a friend if there's a charge coming after you leave.
Insurance and Taxes. Since national insurance and city taxes are based on the prior year's income statement, both will charge very little the first several months you are in Japan. They will make up for this by charging you the difference when you leave, often equivalent to up to 6 months of charges. Be prepared to pay all of this. The extra cash from receiving a paycheck without paying rent, as well as your returned deposit on your apartment will help. Just be sure not to send so much money home that you don't have enough to cover your final expenses.
Apartment. Make sure you've informed the landlord well in advance. When you leave, make sure nothing is left in the apartment (unless the landlord expressly says it is OK), and arrange for your landlord to come over and look at the place. If there is any damage, you will be charged for repairs. Do not let them charge you for replacement of tatami; this should be automatic. Sometimes landlords will try to pull a fast one; you don't have to worry too much, but be prepared. If they try anything, first discuss it with them, and if nothing works, then threaten legal action. I don't know if there is much that you can do, but they might decide that the few extra bucks is not worth the hassle. If you want to give yourself a little breathing space, you might ask a friend to put you up for a few days between leaving your apartment and leaving the country.
Paycheck. If you leave the country within a month after you stop working, you will probably want to make arrangements for your last paycheck to be cashed and/or sent to you.
Alien Registration Card. You will have to turn this in at the airport when you leave, so don't forget it! The immigration people at the airport will know you have one because it will be so noted in your passport.
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