City Hall Hours in Yamaguchi Prefecture 2026: 16:30 Close from Dec 1, Thu to 19:00

This page is general information from official sources. It is not legal advice. For your own case, ask the Citizens Division (市民課, shiminka) of your city hall.

A city hall (市役所, shiyakusho) is where you register your address, get a copy of your resident record (住民票, juminhyo) and handle other city paperwork. Counter hours are shorter than many newcomers expect, and by December 1, 2026, four of the five main cities in Yamaguchi Prefecture will close their counters at 16:30. This page compares Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Ube, Shunan and Iwakuni: when the main counters close, where to go in the evening or on a Sunday, how to get certificates at a convenience store for ¥10 to ¥200, and where to park. For the full list of moving-in steps, see Moving to Yamaguchi with Children.

City	Weekday counter	Evening or Sunday	Car
Shimonoseki	9:00–16:30	2nd and 4th Sun, 13:00–17:00	200 spaces, 1 hour free
Yamaguchi	8:30–17:15 (9:00–16:30 from Dec 1)	Every Thu, until 19:00	See the city page
Ube	9:00–16:30	Every Thu, until 19:00	220 spaces, 1 hour free for business
Shunan	8:30–17:15	Tue and Thu, until 19:00	147 spaces, free for business
Iwakuni	8:30–17:15 (9:00–16:30 from Dec 1)	1st and 3rd Thu, until 19:00	Not stated

Read next7 pages, swipe sideways

1. Yamaguchi Driver’s License Address Change (2026): Where, When and What to Bring, No ReservationLive
2. Yamaguchi Driver’s License Renewal (2026): Fees, Reservations and Sunday Hours at 3 CentersLive
3. My Number card in Yamaguchi: how to apply, pick it up and renew it (2026)Live
4. Flu and Shingles Shots in Yamaguchi (2026–27): ¥1,490 Flu Shot for 65+ in 4 Cities, Shingles Fees and Who Gets Them FreeLive
5. Garbage Bags and Sorting in 5 Yamaguchi Cities (2026): Bag Prices from ¥18 and Collection DaysLive
6. Water When You Move in Yamaguchi: Start and Stop Deadlines and Phone Numbers in 5 CitiesLive
7. Public High School Entrance Exams in Yamaguchi 2027: Dates, How to Apply and Support for Students from AbroadLearn

1. How late are the counters open?

Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Ube, Shunan, Iwakuni

Right now the counters close at 16:30 in Shimonoseki and Ube and at 17:15 in Yamaguchi, Shunan and Iwakuni, but Yamaguchi and Iwakuni move to 16:30 on December 1, 2026. After that, Shunan will be the only one of the five open until 17:15. In the four cities that change, phone lines and staff working hours stay the same. Only the time the counter takes visitors changes.

• Shimonoseki: 9:00–16:30 since June 1, 2026.
• Ube: 9:00–16:30 since October 1, 2025.
• Yamaguchi: 9:00–16:30 from December 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, as a trial.
• Iwakuni: 9:00–16:30 from December 1, 2026, as a one-year trial. The city plans to make it permanent from December 1, 2027.

City	Weekday counter	Evening counter	Sunday
Shimonoseki	9:00–16:30	None found	2nd and 4th, 13:00–17:00
Yamaguchi	8:30–17:15, then 9:00–16:30	Thu, until 19:00	2nd, 8:30–12:00 (card only)
Ube	9:00–16:30	Thu, until 19:00	Closed
Shunan	8:30–17:15	Tue and Thu, until 19:00	Card by appointment
Iwakuni	8:30–17:15, then 9:00–16:30	1st and 3rd Thu, until 19:00	1st Sun, 9:00–12:00 (card only)

All five are closed on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and from December 29 to January 3. Evening counters take fewer kinds of paperwork than the daytime counters, so read the city’s section below before you go. Birth and marriage notifications (戸籍の届出, koseki todoke) can be left at the night-duty or guard desk (in Ube, the after-hours window) in all five cities when the counters are closed.

The changes cover more than the main buildings. Yamaguchi, for example, lists its main building, its branch offices (総合支所, sogo shisho) and its health centers.

2. How much is a certificate at a convenience store?

Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Ube, Shunan, Iwakuni

With a My Number Card, you can get a resident record copy and a seal registration certificate (印鑑登録証明書, inkan toroku shomeisho) at a convenience store every day from 6:30 to 23:00, and the fee depends on the city. Copies of the family register (戸籍, koseki) are available on weekdays from 9:00 to 17:00 only. None of the five cities offers this service on December 29 to January 3 or on maintenance days.

City	Resident record	Seal certificate	Family register
Shimonoseki	¥10	¥10	¥10
Yamaguchi	¥100	¥100	¥300
Ube	¥150	¥150	¥150
Shunan	¥200	¥200	¥450
Iwakuni	¥200	¥200	¥450

Shimonoseki’s ¥10 applies to every certificate from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 (Shimonoseki City: ¥10 campaign, Japanese). Yamaguchi lists ¥200 for a resident record at the counter (¥300 from April 1, 2027) and ¥450 for a family register copy (Yamaguchi City: convenience-store service, Japanese). Ube lists ¥300 and ¥450 at the counter (Ube City: convenience-store service, Japanese). The Shunan and Iwakuni fees are on their own pages (Shunan, Iwakuni).

• Who can use it: a person registered as a resident of that city. For a family register copy, the family register (honseki, 本籍) must be in that city.
• What you need: a My Number Card with a valid user certificate for electronic authentication (利用者証明用電子証明書) and its 4-digit PIN. Yamaguchi and Ube also accept a smartphone that holds the card’s certificate. Yamaguchi’s page says the user must be 15 or older.
• If you have filed a move-out notice: Yamaguchi and Iwakuni say you cannot get a resident record until the move-out is confirmed.

In Yamaguchi, kiosks at the Yamaguchi, Ogori and Aji branch offices give the same certificates during office hours, which become 9:00–16:30 from December 1. In Ube, a self-service machine in the lobby of the main building works with a My Number Card on weekdays from 9:00 to 16:30, and until 19:00 on Thursday (family register copies until 17:00).

3. Shimonoseki City Hall (下関市役所)

Shimonoseki City

The main building and the branch offices in its area have taken visitors from 9:00 to 16:30 since June 1, 2026. Staff working hours and phone service did not change (Shimonoseki City: counter hours change, Japanese).

If you cannot come on a weekday, the Citizen Services Division (市民サービス課) in the main building opens a holiday counter on the 2nd and 4th Sundays from 13:00 to 17:00. It issues resident record copies, seal registration certificates, family register copies and income and tax certificates, takes seal registration applications, and accepts address-change notices (住民票の異動届). Branch offices are not open on Sundays. Wide-area requests for another city’s records are not accepted that day. Upcoming Sundays: October 25, November 8 and 29 (November has no 4th-Sunday opening because of system maintenance, so the 5th Sunday opens instead), and December 13 and 27 (Shimonoseki City: holiday counter, Japanese, updated October 6, 2026).

Two satellite offices issue resident records, seal registration certificates and tax certificates, but not family register copies. The one in Shimonoseki Station building (3rd floor) is open on weekdays 10:00–17:15 and on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays 12:00–17:00. The one in Yamanoda is open on weekdays 9:00–17:15 and on weekends and holidays 12:00–17:00, and closed on Mondays. Both are closed on the first Saturday of the month and over the year-end holidays, and the station one also closes on Wednesdays and other days the children’s facility around it is closed (Shimonoseki City: satellite offices, Japanese).

The City Hall car park has 200 spaces and is open 24 hours. The first hour is free, and a visitor on city business can have the time they need made free if they tell the staff. Otherwise it costs ¥200 per hour, up to ¥800 per 12 hours. The city’s parking page was last updated in 2021 (Shimonoseki City: car park, Japanese).

Name	Shimonoseki City Hall
Address	1-1 Nanbu-cho, Shimonoseki City
Hours / Closed	Weekdays 9:00–16:30 (from June 1, 2026). Holiday counter: 2nd and 4th Sundays 13:00–17:00 (Citizen Services Division; closed Saturdays, public holidays, and Dec 29–Jan 3)
Phone	083-231-1111 (main line)
Map	Open in Google Maps ↗
Official site	Open the official site ↗

↑ Back to the comparison table

4. Yamaguchi City Hall (山口市役所)

Yamaguchi City

The counters are open 8:30–17:15 until November 30. From December 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, the main building, the branch offices and the health centers take visitors from 9:00 to 16:30 as a trial. Phone service and staff hours do not change (Yamaguchi City: counter hours change, Japanese PDF).

Every Thursday, the 1st floor of the main building and the Ogori branch office issue certificates until 19:00. At present the evening counter starts at 17:15. The city’s trial leaflet says it will start at 16:30 from December 1. The evening counter issues resident record copies, family register copies, seal registration certificates and income and tax certificates. It does not take seal registration applications, address-change notices or My Number Card changes (Yamaguchi City: Thursday evening counter, Japanese).

On Sundays, the Family Register and Resident Division (戸籍住民課) on the 1st floor of the main building opens on the 2nd Sunday of the month, 8:30–12:00. It is only for My Number Card matters such as collecting the card and resetting the PIN. It does not issue certificates or take address-change notices. The next dates are November 8 and December 13, 2026, and January 10, February 7 (a 1st Sunday) and March 14, 2027 (Yamaguchi City: My Number Card Sunday counter, Japanese).

The main building is also called the Yamaguchi General Branch Office (山口総合支所). Its car parks and the way from Yamaguchi Station are on the city’s page for the building (Yamaguchi City: main building, Japanese).

Name	Yamaguchi City Hall (Yamaguchi General Branch)
Address	2-1 Kameyama-cho, Yamaguchi City, Yamaguchi
Hours / Closed	Weekdays 8:30–17:15 (9:00–16:30 from December 1, 2026). Certificate issuance until 19:00 on Thursdays (Main Building 1F and Ogori General Branch). Closed weekends, public holidays, and Dec 29–Jan 3
Phone	083-922-4111 (main line)
Map	Open in Google Maps ↗
Official site	Open the official site ↗

↑ Back to the comparison table

5. Ube City Hall (宇部市役所)

Ube City

The main building and the civic centers have taken visitors from 9:00 to 16:30 since October 1, 2025. Phone service did not change (Ube City: counter hours change, Japanese).

Every Thursday, the Citizens Division on the 1st floor of the main building stays open from 16:30 to 19:00. You can register a move-in, move-out or change of address, register a seal, and get a resident record, seal certificate or family register copy. My Number Card procedures are also handled. Seal registration may not be possible on the same day. Wide-area requests for family registers kept in another city are not handled. The civic centers have no evening counter (Ube City: evening counter, Japanese). On Thursdays, the health insurance and pension, child policy, nursery, city tax and tax collection counters also stay open until 19:00 (Ube City: hours and after-hours services, Japanese).

On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, the after-hours window on the west side of the main building and the civic centers accept only family register notifications such as births and marriages.

There are 150 spaces in the multi-storey car park and 70 on the surface, open 24 hours. On city business, you pass your ticket through the discount machine for one hour free. If you stay longer, ask the section you visit for a service ticket. Otherwise the daytime rate is ¥60 per 30 minutes, and the first two hours are free on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays (Ube City: car park, Japanese). By train, it is a 10-minute walk from Kotoshiba Station on the JR Ube Line. By bus, it is a 2-minute walk from the stop Shiyakusho-mae (Ube City: main building, Japanese).

Name	Ube City Hall
Address	1-7-1 Tokiwa-cho, Ube City
Hours / Closed	Weekdays 9:00–16:30. Citizens Division and other counters open until 19:00 on Thursdays. Closed weekends, public holidays, and Dec 29–Jan 3
Phone	0836-31-4111 (main line)
Map	Open in Google Maps ↗
Official site	Open the official site ↗

↑ Back to the comparison table

6. Shunan City Hall (周南市役所)

Shunan City

The main building takes visitors on weekdays from 8:30 to 17:15, and we found no announcement of a change. The Citizens Division at the main building stays open until 19:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but only that division. Other divisions are closed then, so anything that needs another division or another city’s records may not be possible (Shunan City: if you cannot come in the daytime, Japanese).

For a resident record or seal registration certificate only, you can book by phone and collect it at the guard desk of the main building. Call the Citizens Division (0834-22-8293) during opening hours. For an evening, book on the same day. For a holiday, book on the last open day before it. You can collect on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 17:30 to 20:00, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 19:00 to 20:00, and on holidays from 8:30 to 20:00. The fee is ¥200 per copy, and no change is given. The person collecting must be you or someone in your household, and must show ID. For a seal certificate, you read out your seal registration card number when you book, and bring the seal registration card (印鑑登録証) when you collect it.

On holidays, the guard desk of the main building, the Kumage branch office and Core Plaza Kano take only family register notifications and burial permits. They do not take address-change notices or national health insurance procedures (Shunan City: holiday notifications, Japanese). A My Number Card holiday counter opens from 9:00 to 12:00 on Saturday, November 21 (book by Thursday, November 19) and Sunday, December 27, 2026 (book by Thursday, December 24). It is by phone appointment only (0834-22-8339). Hours from January are not yet set (Shunan City: My Number Card holiday counter, Japanese).

The main car park has 147 spaces and is open 24 hours. Since July 1, 2026 the “first two hours free” rule is gone. If you come on city business, take a parking ticket at the gate and have it processed free at the counter. If you skip that, you pay the general rate of ¥100 per hour, up to ¥1,000 per 12 hours (Shunan City: main building car park, Japanese).

Address: 1-1 Kisan-dori, Shunan City. Phone: 0834-22-8211 (main). Google Maps

Name	Shunan City Hall
Address	1-1 Kisan-dori, Shunan City
Hours / Closed	Weekdays 8:30–17:15. Citizens Division open until 19:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Closed weekends, public holidays, and Dec 29–Jan 3
Phone	0834-22-8293 (Citizens Division, registration and certificates)
Map	Open in Google Maps ↗
Official site	Open the official site ↗

↑ Back to the comparison table

7. Iwakuni City Hall (岩国市役所)

Iwakuni City

The main building is open 8:30–17:15 now. From December 1, 2026, the main building, branch offices, health centers and others take visitors from 9:00 to 16:30. The first year is a trial, and the city plans to make it permanent from December 1, 2027. Phone service and the evening counter hours do not change (Iwakuni City: counter hours change, Japanese).

The evening counter of the Citizens Division is open on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month from 17:15 to 19:00. If that Thursday is a holiday, it moves to the next week. You can register a move-in, move-out or change of address, register a seal, get certificates and collect a passport. Branch offices have no evening counter. Procedures that need checking with another organization may not be possible (Iwakuni City: evening counter, Japanese).

My Number Card matters are handled at the My Number Card Center on the 6th floor of Fujigran Iwakuni. It opens on the 1st Sunday and 3rd Saturday of each month from 9:00 to 12:00, and until 19:00 on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays. Collecting a card requires an appointment (phone 0827-33-3141) (Iwakuni City: My Number Card evening and holiday counter, Japanese). On other holidays, only family register notifications are accepted, at the guard desk of the main building and at the branch offices (Iwakuni City: counter hours, Japanese).

The number of spaces and the fee at the City Hall car park are not stated on the pages we read. The city says its lot gets very crowded on days of events at the Civic Hall, and suggests public transport or the nearby municipal car parks. That page is from 2018 and is about the Civic Hall (Iwakuni City: car parks near the Civic Hall, Japanese).

Name	Iwakuni City Hall
Address	1-14-51 Imazu-cho, Iwakuni City
Hours / Closed	Weekdays 8:30–17:15 (9:00–16:30 from December 1, 2026). Citizens Division evening counter: 1st and 3rd Thursdays 17:15–19:00. Closed weekends, public holidays, and Dec 29–Jan 3
Phone	0827-29-5000 (main line)
Map	Open in Google Maps ↗
Official site	Open the official site ↗

↑ Back to the comparison table

8. Which way fits you, and can I get help in English?

Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Ube, Shunan, Iwakuni

If you can only go after work, choose a Thursday evening counter or the convenience store; if you can only go on a Sunday, Shimonoseki is the only one of the five with a Sunday counter for certificates, and Shunan lets you collect a phone-booked resident record or seal certificate. On a weekday daytime, the Citizens Division of your own city hall can handle moving in, moving out and certificates. Do not plan to arrive at 17:00 in Shimonoseki, Ube, or (from December) Yamaguchi and Iwakuni, because the counters will already be closed. Allow extra time for address changes, which take longer than a certificate.

The pages we read do not say whether counter staff speak English or offer interpreters. This is not stated by the cities, so ask by phone before you go, or bring someone who speaks Japanese. Two of the city websites offer machine translation. Ube’s site is translated by Google into English and other languages, and Shimonoseki’s site has an automatic translation in English, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. Both say the result can contain errors. For hours and fees, use the Japanese page as the final word. The Yamaguchi, Shunan and Iwakuni pages we read say nothing about language support.

If you are moving, the moving-in notice and other steps are covered separately. See Moving to Yamaguchi with Children for those.

Common questions

Can I register my new address on a Sunday?

Only in Shimonoseki, on the 2nd and 4th Sundays from 13:00 to 17:00, where the holiday counter accepts address-change notices. In Yamaguchi, Shunan and Iwakuni, the Sunday counters are for My Number Card matters only. Ube’s Sunday after-hours window takes family register notifications only.

Can I get a resident record in the evening?

Yes, on Thursday in Yamaguchi and Ube (until 19:00), on Tuesday and Thursday in Shunan, and on the 1st and 3rd Thursday in Iwakuni. In Shimonoseki there is no evening counter, but the convenience-store service works from 6:30 to 23:00 with a My Number Card.

Do I need a My Number Card to get a certificate at a convenience store?

Yes, or in Yamaguchi and Ube a smartphone that holds the card’s certificate. You need the user certificate for electronic authentication and its 4-digit PIN. Without them, use a counter, the Thursday evening counters, or Shunan’s phone booking for a resident record or seal certificate.

Will the counters be open on December 29 to January 3?

No. All five cities close their normal counters from December 29 to January 3, and the convenience-store service also stops in that period.

Sources (checked October 2026)

5 pages we checkedShow

• Shimonoseki City: counter hours change, holiday counter (休日窓口), satellite offices, ¥10 convenience-store campaign, City Hall car park, website translation
• Yamaguchi City: counter hours trial (PDF), Thursday evening counter, My Number Card Sunday counter, convenience-store service, main building, branch offices
• Ube City: counter hours change, hours and after-hours services, evening counter, convenience-store service, car park, main building, Foreign language
• Shunan City: if you cannot come in the daytime, holiday notifications, My Number Card holiday counter, convenience-store service, main building car park
• Iwakuni City: counter hours change, evening counter, counter hours, My Number Card evening and holiday counter, convenience-store service, car parks near the Civic Hall