Category: Life in Japan

Revenue Stamp For Re-Entry Permit

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I went to the local immigration office this morning to get my re-entry permit, required with my visa if I leave the country and plan to return.
The office was staffed by your run-of-the-mill, grumpy, low-level bureaucrats. No additional information is given unless specifically asked for, including the fact that you have to pay for the permit with a special revenue stamp (seen above) that must be purchased at a building across the street — a major thoroughfare with no convenient crosswalks, meaning a game of live Frogger is necessary.
It was refreshing to see some diversity at the immigration office. There was a huge family from China, some Brazilians, and assorted other foreigners, creating a buzz of languages other than Japanese. Although Tokyo has a decent mix of people, finding ethnic diversity in the outlying areas of Japan is largely limited to the handful of Thai, Filipino and Russian bar hostesses and to the western English teachers. A melting pot it’s not. I’m looking forward to getting back to a more multi-cultural society. And I’m so looking forward to a break from the sticking-out-like-a-sore-thumb syndrome.

Ready To Go Roaming

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My internet connection gets switched off this Sunday, as I leave my apartment here in Nagano for three weeks of travel before I head back to Seattle.
Despite the fact that my phone forces me to change each and every character I type from uppercase to lowercase, making an already tedious method of text entry almost unbearable, I plan to post occasional (short) entries during those three weeks of travel (thanks to Kevin Cameron’s Mobloging For Other People).
So, I’ve been sitting here trying to think of an appropriate icon or tag line for use with entries posted from my mobile. But then I realized that labeling the entries as such is really more of a “gee-whiz” reaction to new technology. In the end, it doesn’t really matter how the entry is posted.
However, if you’re interested, entries during the next few weeks that are only one or two sentences are likely posted from my mobile. Either that or I’ve got a lot of time on my hands. A longer entry probably means I’ve found an internet cafe.

Gym Freaks

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My gym has a campaign going (“campaigns” are big in Japan — big marketing pushes to get people to buy something). The artwork in one of the campaign brochures features an array of freakishly developed humanoids exercising, relaxing and socializing at the gym. Workout trends change so quickly. When did the rack become a popular exercise machine?

No SARS Cases Reported In Japan

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There’s currently a SARS scare in Japan, following the discovery that a Taiwanese doctor who visited the country was diagnosed with the disease upon his return to Taiwan. However, it appears no one who came into contact with the doctor has contracted the disease.
I hesitate to post this information for fear of alarming some, but I figure any news of this back home will just make it sound worse than it is anyway.
There are still no cases of SARS in Japan. And an incident like this continues to be a threat not only here in Asia, but in any other part of the world where people travel.
My personal risk-assessment level (on a scale of 1-10, with ten being the worst) remains around three.