English
Website, application guide and bank guide.
Village House · Updated October 2026Ad · Affiliate links
Renting Village House as a foreigner
Village House says all its apartments are open to foreign residents. You apply online with a residence card as photo ID, register a bank account for rent, and can get help in six languages besides Japanese. This guide covers each step.
On this page
What you need to apply
From Village House’s application document guide and FAQ, read October 5, 2026.
- A residence card as photo ID, for you and every adult who will live there.
- Proof of income, such as your latest payslip, in the form that fits your situation (student, self-employed and other cases have their own list on the screening guide).
- A copy of the bankbook for the account your income is paid into, or a screenshot of your online banking that shows the latest salary deposit and your account details.
- A contract-holder email address and a phone number you can answer. Village House contacts you by email, and verifies employment by phone.
- A Japanese bank account for the monthly rent, which is paid by direct debit. Registration is online and takes place before move-in.
Whether an account at a bank outside Japan is accepted for either purpose is not stated in the guides we read. Ask the call center before you apply.
Help in your language
Village House’s site, application guide and bank-registration guide are available in seven languages. The person who shows you the apartment speaks Japanese, so ask the call center to explain the agreement.
Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
Website, application guide and bank guide.
Português (Portuguese)
Website, application guide and bank guide.
Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
Website, application guide and bank guide.
नेपाली (Nepali)
Website, application guide and bank guide.
မြန်မာဘာသာ (Burmese)
Website, application guide and bank guide.
Phone: 0120-266-078 from the Village House home page. The English viewing guide also lists the Sumai Soudan Center at 0120-133-430, 9:00 to 18:00 on weekdays. Confirm the line for your language on the site.
Who answers in your language
Village House has run an international support team of foreign staff since 2019. In July 2025 the team had 26 people in five languages, and it handles vacancy inquiries, applications, screening results, contract steps, questions after you move in and cancellation. It also made videos in each language on Japanese living rules and manners.
| Language | Support since | Staff (June 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Portuguese | June 2019 | 10, from Brazil |
| English | June 2019 | 4 |
| Vietnamese | June 2021 | 8 |
| Nepali | July 2025 | 2 |
| Indonesian | July 2025 | 2 |
| Burmese | Listed as planned for autumn 2025 | Not stated |
Source: Village House news release of July 1, 2025. About 38% of its new individual contracts in the year to March 2025 were foreign nationals, so this is a large share of its business, not a side service. A 2025 release on a Hyogo building adds that over 20% of its residents are foreign nationals, many of them Vietnamese.
Register your bank for rent: the online steps
Village House’s guide for Japan Post Bank (ゆうちょ銀行, Yūcho Ginkō) accounts shows how. The screen lists other banks too, so ask whether yours works online.
- Open the link Village House sends and fill in the formYou need your application number, your phone number without hyphens, your name in full-width katakana with no spaces, and your date of birth.
- Check the details and acceptConfirm what you typed, then agree to the privacy policy to continue.
- Choose your bank from the listFor Japan Post Bank pick ゆうちょ銀行（WEB受付） (Japan Post Bank, web reception) and press 金融機関へ (to the financial institution).
- Accept the bank’s termsRead the terms, press 閉じる (close), then press 同意する (I agree).
- Enter your account detailsType your account number digits as the screen shows, your date of birth and the phone number registered with the bank. Update that number at the bank first if it changed.
- Confirm and finishCheck the summary and press 進む (proceed) to complete the registration.
Turn off browser translation
Village House says automatic translation in Chrome can garble this form. On an iPhone, use Safari instead of Chrome.
What foreign residents report
Three accounts from the English-speaking foreign-resident community on Reddit mention language support and the process.
Nothing was charged at move-in beyond two years of insurance, and there was a campaign. No guarantor, only an emergency contact. Real English and other-language support, everything online including signing, with documents sent in English. Their renovated unit had air conditioning, new walls, a wall-mounted kerosene heater and a system kitchen, plus cheap rent, cheap parking, city gas and a storage unit.
Very good: no fees as advertised and cheap gas. Of two rooms seen in the same building, one had old tatami and patchy walls and the one they took was freshly renovated with three air conditioners and a bidet. They hear little from neighbors in a top corner room, the management office answers in their language, and a bus stop 3 minutes away reaches a major station in 15.
Could not send the website’s email form, which demanded a phone number starting with zero, and found some listed phone numbers disconnected. Asked for an English contact.
Living there as a foreign resident
Village House says residents are a diverse group and must follow the building’s rules on waste disposal, noise and other living rules. Residents’ accounts add that some blocks have many elderly neighbors who are not used to foreigners, and that the shared hallways are not always clean. Others, in renovated rooms, report quiet buildings and a management office that answers in their own language.
Ask at the viewing how rubbish is sorted and collected, who clears snow in winter, and whether the building has fiber internet. One Sapporo resident reports that fiber was not permitted. Utilities are set up with each company directly, so start early if you need a connection on day one.
Next steps
Screening
The document list by applicant type, how the checks work and how to avoid delays.
Costs
The move-in bill step by step, campaigns, parking, add-ons and a two-year cost sketch.
Reviews
Residents’ accounts from Reddit and Japanese sites, grouped by topic, with what is verified.
Village House
Costs, building age, residents’ reviews, how to apply and where the buildings are.
Village House’s apartment search
Opens Village House's site (English site)
Village House FAQ
Can foreigners rent Village House apartments?
Yes. Village House says all its apartments are available to foreign residents. You pass the same screening as anyone else, with a residence card as photo ID.
Does Village House speak English?
Its website, application guide and bank guide are in English and five other languages besides Japanese, and it has phone support. The staff who show apartments speak Japanese, so ask the call center to explain the lease.
Do I need a Japanese bank account for Village House?
Rent is paid by direct debit, and you register the bank account online before you move in. Ask the call center whether an account at a bank outside Japan is accepted.
Do foreigners need a guarantor at Village House?
Not as a rule. Village House may ask for a joint guarantor after evaluation, or in specific cases such as a student without income or scholarship papers.
Can I apply for Village House from outside Japan?
The application is online, but the guides we read do not say whether you can apply before you arrive. Ask the call center.
Set Up in Japan is an independent guide. It is not the property operator’s website.
Village House’s apartment search
Opens Village House's site (English site)
How we checked
Documents and steps are from Village House’s application document guide, its viewing and application guide and its Japan Post Bank registration guide, with the English FAQ and home page, all read on October 5, 2026. Residents’ accounts are paraphrased from the Reddit comments linked on each card.
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