Your First Day at a Japanese Part-Time Job: What to Bring, Say, and Expect

The rirekisho worked, the interview went well, and you are hired. The first day at a Japanese workplace has its own small rituals — arrive prepared and you will look like someone who has done this before.

Documents to bring (or prepare)

• Residence card (在留カード): the employer must confirm your status and work permission — bring the original.
• Bank details: your bank book (通帳) or cash card, for salary transfer.
• My Number: employers need it for tax paperwork. Bring the card or the paper notification.
• Hanko (印鑑): some workplaces still stamp contracts; a cheap 認印 is fine. A signature is often accepted for foreigners — ask beforehand.
• Student ID if you are a student, and your work-permission details.

The greetings that matter

Arrive 10 minutes early. At the staff entrance or backroom, greet everyone you meet: 「おはようございます。今日からお世話になります、〇〇です。よろしくお願いします。」 (“Good morning, I'm ___, starting today. I look forward to working with you.”) — おはようございます is the standard arrival greeting in shift workplaces at any hour. When leaving: 「お先に失礼します」, and to someone finishing work: 「お疲れ様です」. These three phrases carry you through week one.

What the first shifts look like

• Expect paperwork, a uniform, and shadowing a senior staff member (先輩) rather than solo work.
• Take notes — a small memo pad signals seriousness, and nobody minds you writing things down.
• Training pay may differ slightly from the ad's headline rate but must never fall below minimum wage — see how part-time pay works.
• Ask when unsure: 「すみません、確認してもいいですか」 is always better than a silent mistake.

The paperwork: read your working conditions

By law, Japanese employers must give you your main working conditions in writing when you are hired — usually a 労働条件通知書 (notice of working conditions) or an employment contract. Before you sign, check the hourly wage, the expected hours and days, the training period and training wage, the transport allowance, the pay period, and payday. If something differs from what was said at the interview, ask about it then; it is much harder to raise after a month of shifts.

You will usually also fill in a 扶養控除等申告書, a short tax form that decides how much income tax is withheld from your pay. Fill it in for your main job only. If you have two part-time jobs, submit it to just one of them.

Understanding your first payday

Japanese payroll works on a cut-off date (締め日) and a payday (給料日). A common pattern is “末締め翌月25日払い”: hours up to the end of the month are paid on the 25th of the next month. If you start on 10 April, your first pay may not arrive until 25 May, so plan your money for that gap. Your payslip (給与明細) shows hours worked, any income tax withheld, and transport allowance; check it each month against your own record of shifts.

If you are sick or running late

Contact the workplace as early as possible, and by phone unless your manager has said a message is fine. A simple script: 「お疲れ様です、○○です。申し訳ありませんが、体調が悪く、今日の シフトをお休みさせていただけますか。」 For lateness: 「電車が遅れていて、10分ほど遅れそうです。」 Train companies issue a delay certificate (遅延証明書) at the ticket gate or online, and some workplaces ask for one.

The habits that get you more shifts

Reliability beats brilliance in shift work: arrive early, never no-show, message properly if sick (call, do not just LINE-stamp), and greet customers with energy. Managers give the good shifts to the person they never worry about. Do that for a month and you will also have the reference and the confidence for the next, better job — at which point you can update your resume with real Japanese work history.