In Japan, residents are signed up for water, electricity, gas and Internet as utility payments – with the exclusion of some properties that have no gas, and are all electric (or “all-denka”), or have Internet costs included as part of the rent.
Electricity, gas and Internet are billed monthly, while water is billed every two months. Billing months have usage periods which do not exactly match up with the month listed (for example, a June bill may include charges for the term of May 25th – June 24th).
Usage Notices
These will say ご使用量のお知らせ “goshiyouryou no oshirase” – or Notice of Usage – on the top of the notice. Usage notices are left when technicians take the meter reading. These slips of paper are left in the mailbox a week or so ahead of the bill being delivered. They can also occasionally have the payment slip attached (depending on the company.) A detailed breakdown of notices can be found in the book at the bottom of the page. Included companies are listed below.
Kansai Electricity (関西電力)
Osaka Gas (大阪ガス)
Osaka Gas (大阪ガス)
Osaka Gas & Electricity (大阪ガス)
Osaka Water Bureau (大阪水道局)
Akashi City Water Bureau (明石市水道局)
Ashiya City Water Bureau (芦屋市水道局)
Kobe City Water Bureau (神戸市水道局)
NTT Communications (NTT コミュニケーションズ)
Payment Slips
Once you receive the payment slip, you can take it to the nearest convenience store and make the payment. Usually, the easiest way to tell it is a bill and not a notice is that it will have a barcode to be scanned at the register. Please note that if you wish to set up an auto payment for one of the services below, it will take a few months until automatic deductions start, and until then you will still receive bills that must be paid manually. Setting up the service will also be dependent on whether your bank is accepted by the utility, or whether they accept Credit Card payments.
Kansai Electricity (関西電力)
Kansai Electricity (関西電力)
Osaka Gas (大阪ガス)
Kobe City Water (神戸市水道局)
NTT Communications (NTT コミュニケーションズ)
