If you’re renting an apartment in Japan for a few months or a year — whether for work, study, or an extended stay — you will eventually face a very Japanese problem: what do you do with the bed frame, the kotatsu table, or the dead microwave when you move out? You can’t just leave it on the curb like you might elsewhere. Japan’s municipal garbage systems treat large items as a separate category called sodai gomi (粗大ゴミ, “oversized trash”), with its own booking process, its own stickers, and its own fees. Get it wrong and you’ll either get fined, get your item left behind on collection day, or get stuck negotiating with your landlord after you’ve already flown home. Here’s how the system actually works.
What Counts as Sodai Gomi (and What Doesn’t)
Most municipalities define sodai gomi as any non-combustible item longer than 30cm on one side — futons, sofas, desks, bookshelves, bicycles, chests of drawers, and kotatsu tables all fall into this category. Smaller items (a trash can, a small fan, a stack of magazine racks) usually go out with regular burnable or non-burnable trash on their assigned collection day, no booking required.
The important exception is home appliances. TVs, refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, clothes dryers, and air conditioners are specifically excluded from sodai gomi under the Home Appliance Recycling Law (kaden recycling-hō). You cannot put these out with a sodai gomi sticker even if you want to — more on that below.
How to Book a Pickup: Phone, Online, and Convenience Store Stickers
Every city, ward, or town runs its own sodai gomi service, so the exact process varies, but the pattern across Tokyo’s 23 wards and most other cities is consistent:
- Reserve a slot. Call the ward’s sodai gomi hotline (usually staffed in Japanese only, though some wards like Shinjuku and Shibuya offer limited English support) or use the online booking form. You’ll be asked what the item is, roughly how many there are, and your address.
- Get a date and a price. The staff assigns you a collection date — often 7 to 14 days out, longer during busy periods — and tells you the fee for each item, typically ¥400 to ¥3,000 depending on size and type (a single chair might be ¥400; a sofa or wardrobe can run ¥2,000–¥3,000).
- Buy a disposal sticker (shori-ken). These are sold at convenience stores and some supermarkets near the till — ask for “sodai gomi shori-ken” for the amount quoted. Write your receipt number and name on the sticker and attach it visibly to the item.
- Put it out by 8:00 or 8:30am on the assigned collection day, at your building’s designated garbage point — not just anywhere on the street.
No sticker means no pickup, and in some wards it can also mean a fine for illegal dumping, even if your intent was just to “get rid of it quickly.”
The Appliance Recycling Law Trap: TVs, Fridges, Washers, and ACs
This is where visitors and new renters most often go wrong. Because TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, and air conditioners contain recyclable materials regulated by law, you pay a separate recycling fee (typically ¥1,000–¥4,000 depending on the appliance and manufacturer) rather than a sodai gomi sticker fee. There are three common routes:
- Ask the retailer. If you bought the appliance new, most electronics stores will take back the old unit for a fee when they deliver a replacement — the simplest option if you’re upgrading anyway.
- Buy a recycling ticket. You purchase a “kaden recycling-ken” at a post office for the appliance type, then arrange pickup through a designated collection point or your municipality’s partner hauler.
- Call a licensed recycler directly. Many renters simply search for a local appliance recycling company, who will come collect it (sometimes for free or even paying you a small amount if the unit still works, since they resell or part it out overseas).
If your apartment relies on a portable electric heater rather than central heating — common in Japanese rentals — note that most oil and panel heaters are not covered by the recycling law and can go out as regular sodai gomi; see our guide on Japanese electric oil and panel heaters for what renters typically buy and eventually need to dispose of.
Best Timing: Avoid the March–April Moving Season Crunch
Japan’s fiscal and school year starts April 1, which means late February through early April is peak moving season nationwide. Sodai gomi booking lines get jammed, online slots fill up, and wait times for a collection date can stretch to three or four weeks instead of the usual one to two. If you know you’re leaving your apartment around that period, call to book at least a month ahead. Outside of moving season, booking a week or two in advance is normally enough.
DIY Drop-Off vs. Hiring a Removal Service: Budget to Splurge
- Budget (¥100–¥500 per item): Many municipalities run a clean center or shigen kaishū center where you can drive or carry items yourself and pay a reduced self-drop-off fee — cheaper than a sticker, but you need your own transport and the item usually must be disassembled to fit.
- Mid-range (¥400–¥3,000 per item): Standard sodai gomi pickup through your ward, as described above. This is what most renters use.
- Splurge (¥10,000–¥50,000+ for a full room): Private “unkoyasan” or full cleanout services will come, haul everything out — including from upper-floor apartments without elevators — sort recyclables from trash, and leave the room empty. Worth it if you’re leaving the country in a few days and have no time to deal with multiple sticker purchases and collection dates.
Common Mistakes Foreign Residents Make
- Leaving furniture out without a sticker hoping it’ll get taken anyway — it won’t, and it may trigger a fine or a warning notice taped to the item.
- Trying to sodai-gomi an appliance that falls under the recycling law — collectors will refuse it and you’ll have wasted a booking slot.
- Booking too late before a lease ends, especially during March–April, and then having to pay a premium for same-week private pickup.
- Assuming rules are the same citywide — Shibuya’s process, pricing, and hotline are different from Shinjuku’s or Setagaya’s even though they’re adjacent wards. Always check your specific ward or city’s website rather than a friend’s experience one neighborhood over.
A Quick Note for Short-Term Renters
If you’re only in Japan for a few months on a furnished short-term lease, sodai gomi usually isn’t your problem — the furniture belongs to the landlord or management company, and your contract should specify who handles disposal of anything you damage or replace. It only becomes a real logistics task if you’ve furnished an apartment yourself for a longer stay, which is common for people doing work exchanges or extended volunteer stints — see our guide to WWOOF Japan and guesthouse work-exchange stays for how those arrangements typically handle housing. Either way, knowing the sodai gomi system in advance means your move-out day won’t end with a half-disassembled bookshelf and a flight to catch.