alien registration before 90 days

I will be moving to Tokyo to study japanese at a language institute. But the first 3 months I will study with a tourist visa and then leave the country to get my student visa. I would like to get a cell phone and bank account, so I need to have a alien registration.
My question is: can I get the alien registration card with a tourist visa? if not, what can I do to get a cell phone during the first 3 months in Japan? and can I apply for the alien registration afterwords? Thanks!

Isabelle,

Yes, you can get an alien registration card as soon as you have a fixed address in Japan (i.e. not a hotel).

One mistake I often see in other foreigner related forums is people think a Alien Registration Card byitself will allow them to open a bank account and get things like a phone. What they don't do is read the fine print.

Anyone can get an Alien Registration Card even temporary visitors, however in order to open things like a bank account and sometimes to get a phone is you need a "Status of Residence" OTHER then Temporary Visitor. Your status of residence is listed on your Alien Registration Card. So even if you had an Alien Registration Card, but your status is Temporary Visitor, places like banks will not open you a bank account.

(Btw Temporary Visitor is the official name for what people often call "Tourist Visa").

I can't read my alien registration card, but I'm here on a work visa. Even though I have a work visa the registration card wasn't enough for the bank account. Most banks will require one of two things before the open the account in Tokyo:

1) Your registration card is over 6 months old.
2) You have a signed contract from the place that is employing you requiring you to open the account.

I didn't quite understand part 2, but basically after being here in tokyo for over 1 month with a registration card I couldn't open a bank account unless I brought my boss with me to negotiate with them. And it wasn't until the third bank we tried that we were successful.

Cell phones though are much easier.

One thing to remember though is that it might take up to a month to get your registration card. So make sure you ask for the "Certified" document saying that you applied as you can use this in place of the card for the cell phone and bank accounts.

The six month thing is kind of old and depends on the bank you go to. I was in Japan 1 week when I opened my Shinsei Account, my Chinese friend was in Japan only a month, he got a SMBC card AND A CREDIT CARD!

I never had to supply part 2, since well when I came I was a student. Well at least that was for SMBC and Shinsei Bank, can't account for anything else.

But in your case you had a "status of residence" other then temporary visitor, if the original poster got a ARC with a status of Temporary Visitor it would be much harder if not impossible. It is all about your status of residence on the card!