Important ID's for ICS Students

When staying in Japan for more than 90 days you need to apply for an Alien Registration Card (ARC) and this has to be done at the city hall in Gifu. So when you come to Japan be sure to bring about 3 or 4 extra passport photos because you will need one for this.


It was supposed to take 3-4 weeks for it to be processed but we all received ours in about 2 and a half weeks so that was very convenient. This is one of the most important ID's you will have while in living in Japan as this will allow you to open a bank account then after get a phone. An 'inkan' which is your own stamp you use instead of your signature, you actually have to create one when you first arrive and it takes a couple of weeks to come in as well and cost about $12.

Also remember a few posts back about the National Health Care Card, I finally realised that you needed to bring that with you when you apply for a telephone, who would have thought that was what I would be using it for. I know I didn't.

Some other documents you would like to get is an International Driver's Permit, it costs about $45 and you can get it from your Local NRMA before coming to Japan and it's really useful for when you want to go on road trips or even just drive in Japan.




I've driven twice already in a friends car and it's really fun driving in Japan, there's no douche bags like in Australia cutting you off or anything and roads here are so much better than Sydney. Also flashing my Wakefield Racing Licence helped convince my friend I was a good enough driver to take her car to the touge as well.


Lastly your Student ID card, this was pretty much the last form of ID I got, it lets you use the university's computers and I think borrow books, none of which I've done yet. This also comes with a username and password for you to use the shared internet in the lobby at the kaikan and I think a couple of other places around the uni too. Also you need to bring this when you apply for a phone too so don't forget!