Moving in · Utilities

You Bought a House in Japan. How Do You Turn the Utilities On?

Author: AkiyaHub Team
Published: September 15, 2026

Contents

Your first utility check when you arrive

You arrive at your new house in Japan after a long trip. You turn on a light, open a faucet, and expect the house to come back to life.

Instead, nothing happens.

That does not always mean something is broken. A vacant house may have a breaker switched off, a water valve closed, or a gas meter in safety mode. But utility service may also have been canceled during the vacancy or may not yet be active in your name.

Before you start troubleshooting the house itself, confirm that electricity, water, and gas accounts are active and that the relevant provider has completed any required startup process.

Your first steps

What you need to know

This guide helps you identify the main utility controls in a Japanese home and decide what you can safely check yourself before calling the utility provider or a qualified professional.

Use this guide to

1 Find the breaker panel, water shutoff valve, gas meter, and water-heater controls.
2 Make a calm first-day check without treating a switched-off system as proof that something is broken.
3 Photograph useful details and know when the next call should go to a provider, technician, or property manager.

Start with the condition of the house, not the controls. A quick visual check can tell you when it is safe to proceed and when the right decision is to stop and call for help.

Before you begin

Before you switch anything on

A house that has been empty for a long time deserves a quick visual check before you turn on every system at once. Start by looking for conditions that make it unsafe to proceed.

Check before operating equipment

✓Look for visible damage, standing water, leaks, loose wiring, unusual smells, and corroded or unsafe-looking equipment.
✓Keep a flashlight, your utility account details, and a phone ready to photograph meters, labels, and error codes.
!Do not operate equipment if you smell gas, see damaged wiring, or find a serious leak. Leave the area if necessary and contact the utility company or a qualified professional.

Electricity is usually the simplest place to begin. If the service is active, a switched-off breaker may be the only reason the house appears to have no power.

Utility check 01

Start with electricity

The breaker panel may simply be switched off after a vacancy. Check the panel first, then test one light and one outlet before assuming there is an electrical fault.

Find and check the panel

✓Look for the 分電盤 (bundenban), or breaker panel, often near the entryway, kitchen, or utility area.
✓Before turning power on, switch off or unplug major appliances where practical. Check the main breaker, the 漏電遮断器 (roden shadanki) or earth-leakage breaker, and relevant circuit breakers.
!If a breaker trips again immediately, do not keep resetting it. The problem may be in the circuit or connected equipment.

Article illustration for You Bought a House in Japan. How Do You Turn the Utilities On?

Once you have confirmed that the electrical system is behaving normally, check the water supply before testing hot water or appliances that rely on it.

Utility check 02

Check the water supply

Water may be active but shut off locally while the house is vacant. Start with cold water, open one faucet slowly, and watch for leaks before using the water heater.

Confirm the supply

✓Find the 水道メーター (suidō mēta), or water meter. It is often near the property boundary.
✓Locate the nearby 止水栓 (shisuisen), or shutoff valve. It may have been closed during the vacancy.
✓If service is active and the valve is open, run a cold-water faucet briefly and inspect visible pipes, under-sink areas, faucets, and toilet connections for leaks.

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Gas needs more caution than the other basic systems. The property may use city gas or LP gas, and service activation or a safety shutdown may require action from the provider.

Utility check 03

Check the gas carefully

Gas systems have their own provider and safety controls. A gas meter may stop supply after an earthquake or an abnormal condition, but a meter reset does not replace required service activation or inspection.

Identify the system and stop when needed

✓Find the ガスメーター. The house may use city gas or LP gas supplied from tanks on the property.
✓Check the meter indicator and follow the instructions printed on that specific meter. Do not assume another meter works the same way.
!If you smell gas, do not reset the meter, operate electrical switches, use an open flame, or look for the leak yourself. Leave the area and contact the gas company or emergency services.

After electricity, cold water, and gas are available, you can check the hot-water system. This is where several separate controls often need to work together.

Utility check 04

Turn on the hot water

Having gas at the property does not always mean hot water is ready. The heater may have its own electrical supply, controller, safety setting, or error code.

Check the heating system in order

01Find the 給湯器 (kyūtōki), or water heater, and its リモコン (rimokon), or control panel.
02Confirm that electricity is on, cold water is available, gas supply is active, and the control panel is on with an appropriate temperature setting.
03Open a hot-water faucet and allow the system a moment to respond. Photograph any error code, along with the model number, before asking for help.

These steps apply to a typical gas water heater. If the house does not use gas for hot water, pause before applying the same process to unfamiliar equipment.

System type matters

What if the house is all-electric?

Some homes use an エコキュート (EcoCute) or another electric water-heating system. These systems work differently from a typical gas water heater, so use the instructions for the equipment you actually have.

Document before you operate

✓Check whether the system has a storage tank, dedicated electrical breakers, water supply controls, timers, or remote controls.
✓Find the manufacturer's instructions for the specific unit rather than applying the gas water-heater steps.
✓If you are unsure what system you have, photograph the unit, model number, and control panel before operating it or asking for support.

Once each utility is available, take a little time to test the house as a whole. You are looking for obvious issues that need follow-up, not trying to inspect or repair every system yourself.

First-day sequence

Make a first-day utility check

Once the basic utilities are working, test the house in a deliberate order. The aim is to catch an obvious problem early without taking equipment apart or trying to diagnose it yourself.

Work through the basics

✓Turn on lights in several rooms and test a few outlets with a known working device.
✓Run cold water from several faucets, flush each toilet, and test hot water at a faucet and, if relevant, the bath controls.
✓Check that appliances you plan to use have power.
!Look and listen for leaks, drips, unusual sounds, or warning lights. If something is not working, contact the relevant provider, manufacturer, or qualified professional.

When the main systems are working, make a record before you forget where everything is. A few clear photos can save time when you need help later.

Keep a record

Photograph the controls while everything is working

A clear record makes later problems easier to explain, especially if you are arranging help from overseas or asking a property manager or technician to visit the house.

Create a useful reference

✓Photograph the breaker panel and its labels, the water meter and shutoff valve, and the gas meter.
✓Photograph the water heater, every water-heater control panel, and model numbers or serial labels.
✓Save visible error codes with the date and a note about which appliance or control panel displayed them.

The easiest utility problem to solve is the one you avoid before traveling. Use this final checklist while arranging the handover, planning your first stay, or asking a local contact to prepare the house.

Pre-arrival checklist

Questions to ask before you arrive

Confirm the utility situation before you travel. A house may have working equipment but inactive accounts, or active accounts with a breaker, valve, or gas supply that still needs attention.

Confirm service and access

□Are electricity, water, and gas accounts active in my name? If not, what must I do to transfer or start each account?
□On what date will each service become active, and is any service still registered in the seller's name?
□Does any provider need to visit the property before service can begin? Does gas activation require someone to be present?
□Does the house use city gas, LP gas, or no gas? Who supplies it, and how do I arrange activation if needed?

Confirm the property systems

□Is the water supply municipal water, a private well, or another source? Is there a septic tank, solar system, battery, or equipment that needs separate handover information?
□Where are the breaker panel, water meter, water shutoff valve, gas meter, and water heater?
□What type of water heater does the house have: gas, electric, EcoCute, or another system?
□Are manuals, model numbers, maintenance records, provider contacts, and meter readings available? Who should I contact if a utility does not work, I smell gas, or I find a serious leak?

A calm first check can prevent a costly mistake

A house that has been vacant can feel unfamiliar on the first day, especially when the lights, water, or hot water do not work immediately. Start by confirming that each utility account is active. Then check the main controls one system at a time, rather than switching everything on at once.

A breaker, valve, or meter reset may solve a simple startup issue. It does not rule out a leak, electrical fault, disconnected service, or problem with older equipment. If something trips repeatedly, leaks, shows an error code, or produces a gas smell, stop and contact the appropriate utility provider or qualified professional.

The useful habit is simple: learn where the house's main controls are, photograph the labels and model numbers, and keep a record of the companies responsible for each service. That will make the first day easier and give you a clearer starting point when a property manager, technician, or utility provider needs to help.

Sources used for this article

TEPCO Power Grid, Inc.: What Does a Distribution Panel Do - 分電盤ってどんな仕事をしてる？(text in Japanese)
Tokyo Gas Network: How to Reset a Gas Meter - ガスメーターの復帰方法 (text in Japanese)
Bureau of Waterworks Tokyo Metropolitan Government: No Water is Coming Out - 水が出ない (text in Japanese)
Rinnai Corporation: Hot Water and Heating Remote Control / Bath Water Heater Remote Control - 給湯暖房・ふろ給湯器リモコン (text in Japanese)

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