Move-Out Procedures: Closing Utility Accounts
To close utility accounts in Japan is to cancel each address-based contract before you leave, then settle a final meter reading and a final bill per provider.1 Get the timing and the provider list right and the rest is predictable.
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at Tokyo Gas, TEPCO Energy Partner, your municipal water bureau, and your ward or city office.
Overview
Closing utility accounts means ending the electricity, gas, and water contracts tied to your current address when a tenancy ends.1 It applies to tenants who hold those contracts in their own name, whether moving within Japan or leaving the country.234
Each utility is a separate contract with a separate provider, so each needs its own cancellation request.15 The standard flow is the same every time: identify each provider, contact each one before the move-out date with that date plus a forwarding address, let the final reading happen, then pay the final bill.164
When and whom to contact
Contact each provider before the move-out date, not after. Tokyo Gas recommends requesting a stop at least approximately one week in advance (as of 2026-09-06; confirm current figures with Tokyo Gas), with earlier contact during busy moving periods such as March to April and month boundaries.2
Shibuya City advises contacting TEPCO and Tokyo Gas one or two weeks before the move (as of 2026-09-06), and contacting the water bureau as early as possible before the move.5 Practitioner guidance converges on three to seven days for electricity, five to seven days for gas, and three to five days for water (as of 2026-03-13), with earlier scheduling in the March to April peak.1
The sequence below shows the whole closeout in order, including the parallel ward-office step covered later.
How far in advance to call
Call as soon as the move-out date is fixed. TEPCO asks customers to notify before the last day of electricity use, and by the day before the termination day for gas, warning that the desired gas shutoff day may be unavailable without early notice.3
Japan Dev advises ending the electricity contract exactly on moving day, booking the gas appointment for moving day, and giving water notice three days to a week ahead (as of 2025-04-21).7 Treat the primary one-week to two-week framing as the rule and the day ranges as practitioner guidance.
Which provider holds each contract
Your electricity retailer is the company on your bill or online account, either a regional incumbent such as TEPCO in Kanto or a new-power retailer.1 Your gas supplier follows the building: piped city gas (都市ガス, toshi gasu, "city gas") in urban areas, or tank-delivered LPガス (LP gasu, "liquefied petroleum gas") elsewhere.78
Water has no retailer choice. The municipal water bureau for your address is the supplier, for example the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Waterworks for the 23 wards plus 26 Tama municipalities.47 Tokyo online water applications cover one contract each and only those service areas.4
Closing electricity
Electricity is the simplest stop. Request it online, by phone, or through the provider customer portal, and supply is normally terminated remotely with no technician visit.13
TEPCO states that presence is not required unless facility conditions require it, in which case the distributor or TEPCO contacts the customer directly.3 Usable electricity runs until the shutoff date and ends at 12:00 on that date (as of 2026-09-06; confirm current figures with TEPCO Energy Partner).3
On final departure, switch off the main breaker for safety after the shutoff.3
What to prepare for the call or online form
Prepare the customer number, current address, move-out date, forwarding address, and a contact phone number.1 TEPCO customer numbers run ten digits on non-regulated plans or thirteen digits on regulated plans, plus a separate supply-point identification number.3
Tokyo Gas electricity procedures linked from its English guide run on Japanese-only online forms. Reviewing, modifying, or canceling a submitted electricity request online needs the ten-digit processing number and must happen by 11:59 a.m. of the business day before the scheduled work date.2
Closing gas
Request the gas stop online or by phone with your name, the address to be stopped, a phone number, building type, desired stop date and time slot, forwarding address, payment method, and the customer number for online forms.62
Tokyo Gas customer numbers use a four-digit, three-digit, four-digit shape found on the paper bill, the gas-opening work result notice, or myTOKYOGAS.2 Osaka Gas reads the meter on the cancellation date and settles the gas charge then.16
The shutoff visit and what to expect
Attendance rules depend on meter access. Tokyo Gas generally needs no attendance at the stop visit, but requires it where the technician cannot reach the meter, for example behind a locked building entrance.2 A representative may attend instead when the name and phone number are given in advance.2
TEPCO gas guidance requires presence where valves are operated and an indoor safety inspection is needed, but not where an outdoor meter is freely accessible without an autolock restriction.3 Osaka Gas describes the closing visit at about five minutes, against fifteen to twenty minutes for an opening visit with leak and ignition checks, and requires attendance for autolock buildings or indoor meters.6
Tokyo Gas stop-visit slots run 9:00 to 12:00, 13:00 to 15:00, 15:00 to 17:00, and Monday to Saturday only 17:00 to 19:00 (as of 2026-09-06).2 When leaving the dwelling for the last time, switch off the electricity breaker and close the main gas valve.3
Closing water
Request the water stop directly with the municipal water bureau, online or by phone.45 The Tokyo online stop application needs a document showing the customer number for the address to be stopped, such as the meter-reading notice or bill.4
The Tokyo contract rests on the Tokyo Water Supply Ordinance and its enforcement regulations, linked from the application page.4 A combined stop-and-start application is available when moving within the Tokyo service areas.4
Tokyo Water App English mode supports only starting or canceling water contracts (as of 2025-02-13; confirm current figures with the Bureau of Waterworks). Other procedures need Japanese mode or the customer center.9
How the final water reading works
The bureau performs a final reading and issues the final bill to the forwarding address or charges the registered payment method.1 Practitioner sources describe the shutoff as needing no presence, with the meter read externally.1
Shibuya City lists the Tokyo water customer center at 5326-1100 and advises contacting it as early as possible before the move (as of 2026-09-06).5 A relocation guide lists the number as 03-5326-1100, open daily except Sundays and national holidays from 8:30 to 20:00 (as of 2025-06-16).10
Final meter reading and final bill
Each utility bills separately from its own final reading around the move-out date.61 Tokyo Gas sets the payment due date at 30 days from the day after the meter reading date or electricity billing date, moving to the next business day when the thirtieth day is a holiday.2
Tokyo Gas late payment interest accrues at 0.0274 percent per day until paid (as of 2026-09-06; confirm current figures with Tokyo Gas), with no late interest on specified Tokyo Gas gas and electricity contracts when payment arrives within ten days after the due date.2
| Item | Settlement method | As of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gas final bill (Osaka Gas example) | Bank draw, credit card billing, or paper slip mailed to forwarding address | 2026-09-066 | Bank draw takes about 15 days after billing; slip needs the forwarding address |
| Electricity and gas (TEPCO example) | Credit card, automatic withdrawal, paper invoice, or SMS billing | 2026-09-063 | Paper invoices payable at banks, convenience stores, and apps including LINE Pay |
| Water final bill (Tokyo example) | Forwarding-address billing or registered payment method | 2026-03-131 | Practitioner-described flow; confirm method with the local bureau |
Electricity and gas normally bill monthly while water bills every two months, though cycles vary by bureau and retailer.7 At convenience stores, most locations take cash only, and the stamped receipt (領収書, ryōshūsho, "receipt") should be kept as proof of payment.7
How to pay after you move
Give every provider a forwarding address so paper slips reach the new address, or keep the bank transfer or credit card active until the final charges clear.61 If leaving Japan permanently, confirm the settlement method per provider, keep written confirmation, and do not assume the landlord settles tenant-held contracts.1
Final charges can arrive after departure. Closing the bank account or card first strands the payment and can complicate future contracts or guarantor relations.1
Utility equipment to return
Routine rental equipment has no standard return inventory across providers, so confirm with the provider or landlord whether anything must be handed back. For the demolition edge case, TEPCO requires advance phone notice at least two weeks before demolition for removing drop lines, meters, or amp breakers, and online termination does not apply there.3
Language barriers and getting help
Tokyo Gas procedure pages linked from its English guide are Japanese-only, so browser translation or phone support fills the gap.2 Tokyo Gas phone hours run Monday to Saturday 9:00 to 19:00 and Sunday and holidays 9:00 to 17:00 (as of 2026-09-06).2
The Tokyo Gas customer center numbers cited for Tokyo are 0570-002-211 or 03-3344-9100, Monday to Saturday 9:00 to 19:00 and Sunday and holidays 9:00 to 17:00 (as of 2025-06-16). Callers wait through the Japanese auto-attendant without pressing buttons, then speak in English via an interpreter or an English-speaking operator.10
TEPCO runs area-split English customer service around toll-free 0120-995-113 with charged area numbers alongside it.10 Toll-free 0120 numbers cannot be reached from overseas or some IP phones, so the charged alternates are 03-6374-8936 for regulated plans and 03-6375-9835 for non-regulated, gas, and bundle plans (as of 2026-09-06).3
For Tokyo Gas account steps by phone, the documented English-request phrase is Eigo de kaishi tetsuzuki shitai desu, after which the caller is transferred to an English-speaking operator.8 English support varies by provider: Tokyo water offers English online stop and start pages, while Yokohama and Kawasaki handle English water requests by phone within stated hours.48
Where no English line exists, many residents use an English-speaking friend for the Japanese-only cancellation call or pre-arrange through the property manager.1 This workaround is practitioner-described rather than stated on any primary provider page.
Ward office notification alongside utilities
Utility cancellation does not notify the ward, and ward notification does not cancel utilities. File a moving-out notification (転出届, tenshutsu todoke, "moving-out notification") at the current ward or city office in parallel with the utility calls.5
Shibuya City accepts moving-out-of-the-city notification from 14 days before moving and issues a moving-out certificate (転出証明書, tenshutsu shomeisho, "moving-out certificate") or equivalent at filing. Moving out of Japan is filed before departure.5
Moves within the same city use a change-of-address notification (転居届, tenkyo todoke, "change-of-address notification") within 14 days of moving instead.5 Shibuya City lists electricity, gas, water, phone, post office, banks, and licensing offices as parallel contacts alongside the ward filing.5
Good to know
Calling too late in March and April
March to April plus month boundaries form the peak moving season. Tokyo Gas asks for requests as soon as possible in these windows, and TEPCO warns that the desired gas shutoff day may be unavailable without early notice.23 Booking the gas slot first, then fitting electricity and water around it, avoids the most common delay.
Assuming one call closes all three utilities
Contracts are address-based and provider-specific, so staying with the same brand still requires a stop at the old address and a start at the new one.1 Assuming an automatic transfer leaves the old contract billing. List electricity retailer, gas company, and water bureau separately and close each one by name.
Closing a bank account before the final bill clears
Final bills can arrive after departure through the forwarding address, a bank draw about 15 days after billing, or credit card company billing.61 Closing the account or card first leaves the balance unsettled. Keep one payment path open until every provider confirms settlement.
Gas shutoff rules differ by provider and gas type
City-gas stop goes to the city-gas supplier for the area while LP-gas stop goes to the LP supplier, with Osaka Gas naming a separate LP contact in Kansai.6 Attendance rules also split by meter location, with outdoor accessible meters often needing no visit and indoor or autolock meters needing one.23 Confirm against the actual bill and provider instructions rather than treating Tokyo Gas practice as universal.
See also
- Jūminhyō: Japan's Residence Record Explained
- Electricity in Japan: TEPCO and New-Power Retailers
- Gas in Japan: City Gas vs. Propane and the Safety Inspection
- Setting Up Water Service in Japan
- Internet and TV: Utility Setup Overview
- Departure Checklist: The 90-Day Run-Up