Mail and Bill-Payment Service for Second Property Owners
Mail, tax, and bill payment services for akiya, Airbnb, and vacation homeowners
Remote, automated mail management of your second property
MailMate’s features tailored to akiya, Airbnb, and vacation homeowners.
Virtual mailbox
Manage the Japanese mail that comes to your akiya and Airbnb–completely online. Avoid missing important notices sent to your second property.
Water and power liaison
Need a liaison with water and power companies? Use MailMate's utility liaison service, which includes a bill payment service.
Tax agent service
Appoint us as your tax representative, and let us handle the paperwork and payments for fixed property tax and real estate acquisition tax.
Ideal use cases for MailMate’s Akiya & Vacation Home Package
Customers who choose the Akiya & Vacation Home Package include the following user types:
Akiya owners
Second property owners
Vacation homeowners
Airbnb/minpaku owners
Plans
MailMate offers home & building set-up support starting from ¥5,500 per hour for customers subscribed to one of our three packages. Support for non subscribed customers starts from ¥9,800 per hour.
Mail & Tax Representative
What's included- Receive and pay your utility bills directly on MailMate
- English Mail Summaries Available upon request
- Tax Representative included
¥7,800p/mo
Mail Only
What's included- Receive and pay your utility bills directly on MailMate
- English Mail Summaries Available upon request
¥3,800p/mo
* Virtual Mailbox requires Japanese Government Mandated KYC protocols
* Deposit may be required
A La Carte Services
| Service | Billable Hours | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fire/disaster Insurance | 2 hours | Annual costs vary by property. If MailMate is point of contact, 1 monthly billable hour applies. |
| Utility Set-up - Water | 2 hours | If MailMate is to be the designated contact for utilities, 2 monthly billable hours would apply. |
| Utility Set-up - Electricity | 2 hours | If MailMate is to be the designated contact for utilities, 2 monthly billable hours would apply. |
| Utility Set-up - Gas | 4 hours | Requires physical attendance at the property – additional charges may be incurred if MailMate staff is to attend. If MailMate is to be the designated contact for utilities, 2 monthly billable hours would apply. |
| High Speed unlimited internet connection | 4 hours | Requires physical attendance at the property – additional charges may be incurred if MailMate staff is to attend. Contract will be made under MailMate's name in case of nonresident owners – 70,000 JPY deposit will be required in this case. If MailMate is to be the designated contact for internet services, 1 monthly billable hour would apply. |
| Non-sewage toilet facilities maintenance contract (septic tanks, pump tank) – if applicable | 8 hours | Annual costs vary by property. |
| Solar array maintenance contract, grid feed-in connectivity - if applicable | 25 hours | Depending on provider, contract may be signed under MailMate’s name in case of non-resident owners. In this case, additional billing may be required. |
| Regular cleaning/airing | 18 hours | Price and terms of contract vary by property - maintenance company will hold a set of keys to the property. If MailMate’s is to be the designated contact for cleaners, 1 monthly billable hour would apply. |
| Regular garden/yard maintenance & weeding | 15 hours | Price and terms of contract vary by property. If MailMate is to be the designated contact for cleaners, 1 monthly billable hour would apply. |
| Additional keys copied | 2 hours | |
| Building/resort fees Handling | 2 hours |
Why Choose Us?
We do all the work for you
You don’t have the time to jump through hoops. That’s why we do everything for you. From scanning, translating, and securely storing—to shredding and even paying your invoices.
Superior customer support
If you ever have any questions, our digital mailroom customer service team are the best in the business. And, most importantly, they all speak fluent English.
Security focused
Security is our #1 priority. All your mail stays under 24/7 surveillance or can be shredded to ensure your privacy. Once your mail is digitally converted, it’s encrypted with 256-bit encryption level technology.
Absolute flexibility
Whether you’re in the office, travelling the globe, or drinking cocktails on the beach, you’ll always have 100% access to all your mail and documents.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for below, reach out to our customer support team.
There are two ways for us to receive your mail. 1) Submit the post office's forwarding service (change of address notification). 2) Please register your MailMate address directly with the service you are using.
Yes! You can open, scan, forward, request shredding, share, request translation summaries and bill payment, and more all from within MailMate's dashboard. Anyone who regularly uses e-mail can use it immediately.
We can accommodate everything from documents and envelopes that fit in mailboxes to items with (W) width + (D) depth + (H) height of less than 170cm. Please contact us if you would like to forward a package larger than 170cm.
When appointing a tax representative, you must submit a '納税管理人の届出書 Notification Form of Appointment of Tax Agent' to the tax office responsible for your tax jurisdiction. Please book a call, and we can help you with the details to use when filling out the form.
We can call the gas, water, and electricity companies and get your utilities turned on. Additionally, our bill payment service will pay the utility bills as they come in.
Happy Customers
Don’t just take our word for it...
After spending 10 years based in Tokyo as an expat you accumulate a lot of correspondence which doesn’t go away the minute you leave. Thanks to MailMate bringing this service (finally) to Japan it was a worry I crossed off my list. The process is simple, online and offers various levels of service so you have choices. My mail is making it to me in South Korea regularly and securely.
Mailmate's service has proven to be much, much more than virtual mail forwarding. They assist with getting me copies of all my Japanese correspondence, utility bills, and government notices, provide a bill payment facility when I am outside of Japan, and even help translate correspondence I don’t understand.
They’re practically my Japanese concierge at a fraction of the cost I was previously paying property managers, assistants, and translators, etc. for the same service(s).
Don’t live near your second property?
Sign up to MailMate, and manage your property’s mail, property tax, and water and power all online–no matter where in the world you are.✨
