I'm back!

No posts in over a week now! I must have gone through some sort of dry spell, some kind of writers block. I think it would be a safe assessment to say that not too much is going on in my life right now. The little notebook I bought to record my brilliant ideas during the day is sorely lacking in brilliant ideas. It is however filled with random thoughts, translations and a to-do list which is mostly just a 'things to take back to Japan from Canada' list. If someone were to fill a suitcase with peanut butter, maple syrup and video games then I could pretty much throw this list out.

I did have an interesting day yesterday on my one day weekend. I had to go to somewhere way the heck up in northern Tokyo (actually outside the prefecture of Tokyo in my prefecture of Saitama) in order to get my re-entry visa. Japan has one of these crazy things that if you leave the country without getting a re-entry visa then you are basically screwed. Most visa's allow you come and go from a country as you please but with Japan the visa only allows you to get in and then it's null and void. My visa literally has a big "USED" stamped across it.

My experience applying for a re-entry visa was traumatic to say the least. I didn't bother stopping at my bank to get some money because my roommate was having me to rush to Ikebukero to catch the 1:02 train because I could get there without having to change trains. I ended up missing that train which was just as well because it turned out that it wasn't some "special" train but rather the local train that stops at every station. I took the rapid and just changed to the local at the station before. Anyways I got to the place and the only bank I could find had a japanese only bank machine. So I went to the immigration office hoping that they would accept VISA. The form had english thank God but that's about all the english there was there. I talked to some lady who basically spoke no english as she quizzed me about my form.
When she mentioned money I asked her if they accepted VISA because I didn't have any. I couldnt understand her answer but I assumed that she was telling me no and that I had to go to the bank machine. I think what she was really telling me was that she didn't know if they would accept a credit card or not because she wasn't the one who handled the money-that was done in another building. Yes that's right, you fill out and hand in the form in one building and then you go pay for it in another. Genius.

Anyways I went to the bank machine and somehow managed to bully my way through the japanese buttons-pretty frightening considering that that morning I had just sent 57,000 yen to my landlord by accident instead of to the travel agency and had to pay 600 yen to get it reversed. With my 3000 yen in hand I went back to the lady who then shooed me away with a 'go around the building' pointing motion and mentioned something about "DPE" and "book store." At this point I am cursing the Japanese again. I walk around the building and see nothing that looks like a government building. There is a book store and and I go inside. I don't know what the heck I am looking for but finally I see a sign that says "DPE" and points off to one corner of the store. There are no further signs to follow and there is a counter in the corner but no DPE sign in sight. I go up to the counter and mumble, "Sumimasen, kochira wa DPE desuka?" They asked me how much and I said 3000 yen. Then they gave me a stamp. Yes a stamp like you put on a letter. I can't help but wonder what is wrong with a country that sends you around to the corner store to pay for something important like a visa and they give you a stamp.

Anyways I finally got out of there but it was a very frightening and intimidating and humbling experience as it always is when money and Japanese bureaucracy are concerned. It's a running joke between Jared and I whenever we go to any official or somewhat official building (ie bank, grocery store, phone store) that no matter what we are going to have to fill out ten forms in triplicate upon which we will be charged 10 million yen for daring to inconvenience them by forcing them to help their clients.