Start your water service in Kumamoto City, Kikuyo Town and Ozu Town: how to apply, pay and stop (2026)

When you move into a new home, you need to tell the water supplier the day you will start using water. In Kumamoto City, the supplier is the city’s Waterworks and Sewerage Bureau. In Ozu Town and most of Kikuyo Town, it is the Ozu-Kikuyo Water Supply Authority. This guide compares how to apply, pay and stop the service, using the suppliers’ official pages.

Where you live	Supplier	How to apply	Phone
Kumamoto City	Kumamoto City Waterworks and Sewerage Bureau	Post, phone or online	096-381-1118
Kikuyo Town	Ozu-Kikuyo Water Supply Authority (most areas)	Online, 1 week ahead; phone if sooner	096-293-7711
Ozu Town	Ozu-Kikuyo Water Supply Authority	Online, 1 week ahead; phone if sooner	096-293-7711

1. Who supplies my water?

In Kumamoto City, the Kumamoto City Waterworks and Sewerage Bureau (熊本市上下水道局) supplies water. If your building is on the sewer system, the sewerage charge comes on the same bill.

In Ozu Town and in Kikuyo Town, water comes from the Ozu-Kikuyo Water Supply Authority (大津菊陽水道企業団), based in Ozu Town, not from the town office. Kikuyo Town says this covers the whole town except some areas; for example, businesses in Semicon Techno Park get their water from Koshi City. If you are not sure which supplier covers your address, ask Kikuyo Town or the Authority.

2. Kumamoto City Waterworks and Sewerage Bureau

Kumamoto City

2.1 How do I start my water?

1. Look for the blue plastic bag on your door or mailbox. It holds the application form (上下水道使用申込書) and a return envelope.
2. Apply in one of three ways. By post: fill in the form and mail it in the envelope; no stamp is needed. By phone: call the Customer Center. Online: use the bureau’s internet service (section 2.2).
3. Set up payment. The paper form is also the direct debit application (口座振替申込書). You can choose other ways to pay later (section 2.3).

You do not need to be at home when the service starts. If there is no form at your home, or no water comes out, call the Customer Center.

2.2 What does the online form ask for?

The online start form is in Japanese. It accepts start dates from 30 days before to 30 days after the day you apply; for other dates, call. It asks for:

• the start date (使用開始予定日), and your water account number (水せん番号) if you know it;
• the address, with the building name and room number (方書, katagaki);
• the user’s name twice, in katakana (カナ) and in kanji (漢字). Both are required. Put a space between family name and given name;
• at least one phone number, and an email address. The bureau sends a confirmation email.

The bureau says it may call you about the application, and it may not be able to complete it if it cannot reach you. If you are moving within Kumamoto City and want to keep your direct debit or credit card payment, write that in the message box (通信欄) with your old water account number or old address.

2.3 How do I pay, and when does the bill come?

The bureau reads your meter once every two months. It splits the amount in half and bills one half in the next month and the other half in the month after. The first bill normally arrives about two to three months after you start. Your water usage notice (検針票) shows your water account number; give this number when you contact the bureau.

There are three ways to pay:

• Direct debit from a bank account, on the 25th of each month. Use the paper form, apply at the bank, or apply online (some banks only). It takes about two months to set up.
• Invoice: pay at a bank, a post office or a convenience store, or scan the barcode with an app such as PayPay, au PAY, d Payment or Rakuten Pay.
• Credit card: register the card online for recurring payment (Visa, Mastercard, JCB, American Express, Diners Club). You cannot pay by showing a card at a counter or a store.

The bureau explains billing and payment in English on its pages for foreign residents.

2.4 What do I do when I move out?

Contact the bureau 4–5 days before you move. Tell them the last day you will use water, your new address and how you will pay the final bill. Until you report that you have stopped, the basic charge continues even if you use no water. The final bill is larger than usual, because billing runs about two months behind. You can also stop the service online. If you move within Kumamoto City, you apply again for the new home, but you can keep the same bank account for direct debit.

2.5 Who do I call?

• Starting, stopping, bills and meter readings: Customer Center (お客さまセンター), 096-381-1118, weekdays 8:30–17:15.
• Red or white water, weak water pressure, or a leak on the road: Water Supply Maintenance Section, 096-381-5600.
• Weekday nights (17:15–8:30), weekends and public holidays: after-hours line, 096-381-0012.

A leak inside your home, between the meter and the tap, is repaired by a designated contractor at your cost. The bureau’s English page When this happens explains what to check first.

Address: Kumamoto City Waterworks and Sewerage Bureau, 6-2-45 Suizenji, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto-shi, Kumamoto 862-8620 · Google Maps
Phone: 096-381-1118 (Customer Center, weekdays 8:30–17:15)
Official page on starting and stopping water (Japanese)

3. Kikuyo Town and Ozu Town: Ozu-Kikuyo Water Supply Authority

Ozu-Kikuyo Water Supply Authority

The steps are the same in both towns, so they are written once here.

3.1 How do I start my water?

1. Send the online form at least one week before you move in. Use the Authority’s water start form (水道使用開始(開栓)申請フォーム). You, a family member or a real estate company can send it.
2. Call if you move in within a week. Phone 096-293-7711 on a weekday during business hours (8:30–17:15). As a rule, the Authority does not turn water on at weekends, on public holidays or outside business hours.
3. Let them turn the water on. You do not need to be there. The Authority turns the water on by the day before your start date.
4. Set up payment. For direct debit, send the bank transfer request form (口座振替依頼書). If there is none at your home, say so in the form’s message box (その他・お問い合わせ), and the Authority posts one to you.

The form asks for the applicant’s name and relationship, a phone number and an email address; the address, with the building name, building number and room number for an apartment; the contract holder’s name and its reading in full-width katakana (フリガナ); and the start date. If bills should go to a different address, add it.

3.2 How do I pay, and when are meters read?

Meters are read every two months: in even-numbered months in Ozu Town, and in odd-numbered months in Kikuyo Town. Half of the two months’ amount is billed in the reading month and half in the next month. For homes on the sewer, the bill also includes the sewerage charge.

You can pay by direct debit from an account at one of the Authority’s banks (Higo Bank, Kumamoto Bank, Kumamoto Daiichi Shinkin Bank, Kumamoto Shinkin Bank, Kumamoto Prefectural Credit Union, JA Kikuchi, Japan Post Bank, Kyushu Labour Bank, Tokyo Star Bank). Otherwise, the Authority posts you a payment slip to pay at those banks, a convenience store or its counter. Some apps also work, such as PayPay, d Payment, au PAY and Rakuten Pay. The Authority does not accept credit cards. Charges differ between the two towns; see the Authority’s charge tables (PDF, Japanese).

3.3 What do I do when I move out?

Send the Authority a separate stop request, even if you are moving to another home in Ozu Town or Kikuyo Town. The start and stop page links to both forms.

Address: Ozu-Kikuyo Water Supply Authority, 1938-1 Jinnai, Ozu-machi, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto 869-1221 · Google Maps
Phone: 096-293-7711 (weekdays 8:30–17:15; closed on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and over the New Year) · after hours, for emergencies: 096-293-7714

4. Can I apply in English?

The Kumamoto City bureau has English pages on bills, payment, stopping service and who to call, but its online start form is in Japanese. The Ozu-Kikuyo Water Supply Authority’s website has a language menu with English, Chinese and Vietnamese; its start form is in Japanese. Neither supplier says whether staff can take calls in English.

If you need help, ask a consultation desk for foreign residents. Ozu Town’s Foreign Residents Consultation Desk helps with procedures at the town office; it does not say whether it helps with a water application, so ask first. See Where to get help in your language in Kumamoto.

Common questions

Do I need to be at home when the water is turned on?

No. Both suppliers say you do not need to be there. The Ozu-Kikuyo Water Supply Authority turns the water on by the day before your start date.

Can a real estate company apply for me in Kikuyo or Ozu?

Yes. The Authority’s start form asks whether the applicant is the contract holder, a family member or a real estate company.

Can I pay my Kumamoto City water bill with a credit card at a convenience store?

No. The bureau accepts credit cards only as a recurring payment that you register online. At a store, pay with the invoice, or scan its barcode with a supported app.

I am moving within Kumamoto City. Do I need to apply again?

Yes. Stop the service at the old home and apply for the new one. You can keep your direct debit account.

Sources (checked October 6, 2026)

• Kumamoto City Waterworks and Sewerage Bureau: starting and stopping water, online start form, Starting or Stopping Water Use, When you will stop using water, Calculating your water use fee, Paying your bill, Contact information, phone numbers and hours (Japanese), When this happens (English pages)
• Ozu-Kikuyo Water Supply Authority: water start form, starting and stopping water, charges and payment, meter reading and billing, charge tables
• Kikuyo Town: water supply (page dated April 2018). Ozu Town: Foreign Residents Consultation Desk