Is it easy to open a bank account in Japan?

Hi Patricia!

In order to open a bank account here, you'll need all these with you:

Residence card (known as the zariyu card 在留カード)
Passport with valid visa
Your Japanese address and phone number
A hanko seal, which is a stamp used in place of a signature and denotes authorisation (Note that hanko are hand carved and sold in specific stores; make sure your hanko isn’t smudged or else it won’t be considered valid)

Also, you can check Shinsei Bank. It is really foreigner-friendly bank with staffs speaks good English!

http://www.shinseibank.com/english/

Hope the above can be helpful to you!