Gaikokujin Tourokushou

Useful things for people studying abroad in Japan to know!

Always carry your passport with you until you get your Alien Registration Card (Gaikokujin Tourokushou) because it's entirely legal and encouraged for the policemen to ask to see the passport or alien card of anyone they believe to be a foreigner. In fact, I got stopped today in the train station and was asked to show my passport and Visa. You run the risk of being detained and even deported if the cops are in a bad mood, so keep it on you at ALL times. That being said, the Alien Registration Card is much more convenient and safer than carrying your passport (because replacing as lost passport quickly is hell, but the alien card is much easier). Only the passport or Alien Registration Card are acceptable forms of ID for foreigners--your school ID and other things won't be accepted.

To get the Alien Registration Card you'll need to go to the ward office of the ward you live in. You must go to the main large branch, not the smaller local branches in the ward. You'll need to bring your passport and two photos (4.5 cm x 3.5 cm). You'll also need to give your address of where you're staying in Japan, and fill out some paperwork (which conveniently has English translations) to submit it. Now, at that point tell them person behind the counter that you also need to apply for the National Health Insurance as well. In Japan, if you're here for more than 90 days (e.g. on an actual Visa and not the tourist Visa waiver) then you are REQUIRED to apply for this Alien Registration Card and the National Health Insurance. It doesn't matter if you have other insurance already--Japan doesn't care. Most doctors won't accept health insurance they don't recognize already, and some only take the National Health Insurance plan. So, apply for it because it's actually a good deal. For students with no income it's about $15 a month and covers 70% of all medical expenses while here, including dental. You can then take the remaining expenses and claim them from your own insurance when you get back home so in the end you may end up paying nothing.

You'll want to start this process early because it's a hassle and tempting fate to have your passport on you at all times. Also, make sure to go first thing in the morning right as the ward office opens because it gets really busy really fast. I got there before they opened and it still took a couple hours to get everything done and head home. They will give you proof of having applied for the alien card, but until you pick it up you still need to carry your passport at all times. It takes about 3 weeks to get it all processed and made after application. You should leave with your National Health Insurance Card the same day you apply for it and then you can immediately begin using it :)

So... who wants to see some dumb videos of me on a bus on the way to the ward office at freaking 7:30 am? Nobody? Well, I'm putting them up anyway! The first two links below are short bits of the bus ride to the huge Edogawa Ward Office in the morning, and kind of give you a feel for the other parts of Edogawa. The bottom link is a short excerpt from my 25 min walk to/from the train station everyday, while chatting with my dorm mate. We happen to live on one of the big highways in the Ward, so it's typically pretty busy. This was a fairly tame night, though. Not nearly as many people and bikes crowding the sidewalk.

Bus to Edogawa Ward Office

Bus to Edogawa Ward Office 2

Walk Home

In other news, I went out and explored Shinjuku with a couple of Korean friends, and they took me to this awesome little noodle shop. The stuff is crazy-cheap and it's surrounded by the typical crazy Tokyo night life and bright lights.

Visa!

I got my passport back with the Visa sticker in the mail today. Totally wasn't expecting it so quickly--It had just reached the consulate on Wednesday, and they had to mail it back to me once processed so I figured it'd be here sometime next week. With this I am finally all set to go to Japan in 2.5 weeks. Just have to finish packing after doing a few big loads of laundry.

I'm excited, but I'm really anxious too. I haven't flown in years, and can't recall actually having ever flown alone. That in itself makes me nervous; I have a connection to make at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport to get onto the international 14 hr flight to Japan. Once I get there, get my bags, go through Immigration and then Customs, I have to change terminals/areas to get to the meeting place where the KCP people will be waiting for me. I'm fairly confident in my survival Japanese, and there will be English-speaking attendants around, but I still think it might be a bit crazy. I have a tendency to stress myself out about unfamiliar events and big things (like going to Japan!) so whenever I think about this I freak out a bit. Don't get me wrong: I am SO excited for it and am really looking forward to it, but I'm also thinking "What could go wrong? What should I prepare for? What happens if I miss my flight?" and stuff. I'm trying to plan as many details as possible to help combat the anxiety; if I know what's going on, where to go, and how to get there then I can diminish the nervousness a bit. I can also occupy myself with packing, making a packing list, making copies of important things to keep in multiple locations (traveler's checks, passport, itenerary and stuff) and give to family so they have copies if something needs to be addressed while I'm abroad.

My Dorm! Part 2

So, my dorm information has been fully confirmed. The dorm stuff I linked before in a previous post is all correct; I will have roughly 1-1.5 hr commute one way, but at least the route is pretty straight forward. I'll have to walk or take the bus to the metro station, which is about 20-30 min walk due north of my dorm. Then I'll take the train across town to a station near the school. My train route only has one transfer, so I'm less likely to get lost (but the transfer is at one of the busy, larger, transfer stations in the area, so that sucks). After I get off at the final station, the main school building is about 5-10 min north of station.

The program director sent me a nice, concise little packet that has some general info on my dorm. The dorm has a dining hall that I can purchase meals from, and it's set up on a ticket system. I'll purchase a ticket for breakfast and/or dinner, and then give it to the dorm manager. The dining in the Japanese dorms seems to be different from the US ones, in that it's not a cafeteria set up. It's rather a set meal that varies day by day and is prepared according to the number of people who reserve the meal with that ticket. Seems like an efficient system that reduces waste :) The breakfast will be 250円 ($3) and dinner will be 500円 ($6). There's no lunch served; I'm responsible for that. I'm totally gonna have lunch at the Mister Donut across the street! Mmmm donuts. I actually like this set up better than the static meal plan I was expecting; this way I can choose whether or not to get meals and can save some money there if I want. If I choose to eat every meal then it'll still be the exact same price as the meal plan would have been. In all likelihood though, I'm totally unlikely to get up for all the breakfasts or be home in the dorm on time for all the dinners :) There is no curfew, which I actually didn't expect. The main door locks at 11:00 pm, but my key will open the side door to let me in. Awesome.

On a side note: I mailed out my Visa stuff yesterday, and so it's on its way to Chicago. It should be there tomorrow morning ish. With luck I'll have my passport with a Visa stamp back in hand next week!

Oooh, Documents

So, who wants to see my spiffy official documents from Japanese Immigration? I'll be mailing these and and some other stuff to my local consulate with my passport to get my Visa.

The first is my Certificate of Eligibility. I had to wait about 6 months for Japanese Immigration to get stuff processed and announced. This is THE most important thing I need to get my actual Visa stamp in my passport, and essentially says that Immigration has pre-qualified me to be allowed to

enter the country for my intended purpose. The second picture is my acceptance letter into the language school KCP International. I need this guy

to get my Visa as well.

It's pretty cool; they look all official and stuff ;) I'm mailing my stuff to the Chicago Japanese Consulate tomorrow, and should hopefully have my passport with Visa stamp in-hand by next week at the latest. I hope.

Crisis Averted

So, after some financial aid confusion, my Certificate of Eligibility is finally in the mail from Japan. It should be here in about 4 days (It's being shipped via EMS, which is nice). Thankfully even with this delay I should have enough time to submit all the Visa stuff even if there's some sort of processing delay. As long as I get my passport back from the consulate in time after I mail it to them, then it'll all be fine :) I should have a comfortable 2-3 weeks to get everything mailed off and returned to me.

Word to to the wise: If you're doing the KCP program you'll need to have 6 months of tuition paid in full to get your certificate generally. The coordinator is more than willing to work with you if you can provide the information of financial aid disbursement dates/amounts and will likely send it to you if you can prove that upon disbursement the amount will be paid in full. In general, though, plan to have the tuition paid off before you leave or make sure to get everything sorted out ahead of time so you're not running around all crazy-like like I just did.

My issue actually stemmed from some confusion with communication between all the universities and people involved. The amount was paid off, but wasn't communicated to the school in Japan that it was. So, I got word back from the representative in Japan about my certificate, but he told me he couldn't send it to me because my balance wasn't paid in full yet. Long story short, I had to contact both the proxy university from CCIS and K-State to figure out where the shenanigans had happened to get it sorted out. I've been frantically emailing people for the past week-ish, but it's finally all figured out. Mr. Tanaka (the rep in Japan) told me the certificate was sent out yesterday. I ended up having to forward a lot of the emails that I'd exchanged with the universities in the US to prove that the balance was paid and it was being figured out, or at least in the process of it--it'll probably take a week for the electronic confirmations to be sent around to everybody :P For anyone considering this program don't overlook the sheer hassle this can be and keep updated invoices and contact with your representatives. It's not difficult, and will save you one hell of a headache and a freakout.

Now, time to fill out the actual Visa application! For you people in Kansas and some of the surrounding area, your regional Japanese consulate will be in Chicago. Click that link to go to the consulate's Visa page. You can get the info you need to submit the application either in person or by mail (which is what I'll be doing. Chicago is something of a drive for me). At the very least you'll need:

• The Certificate of Eligibility from Japanese Immigration
• A front and back photocopy of the certificate
• A letter of admission from the school in Japan (I think; not 100% sure, but KCP is sending it to me so there's no reason not to submit it with my Visa stuff just in case)
  
• A passport-sized photo
• The application form itself
• And of course your passport.

If you're mailing it DON'T FORGET to send a self-addressed stamped envelope or something prepaid for the consulate to mail back your passport in. They won't mail it back otherwise.

One Step Closer

So, I heard back yesterday from the representative guy in Japan who translated my Visa stuff for me: I got the Certificate of Eligibility that I can now use to get my Visa once the certificate reaches me here in the States (has to be mailed from Japan :P) Yay!

Also: I bought my plane ticket! Given that the time is quickly approaching, I was getting near the point where I would lose any real "early booking" discount and the prices would have jumped up a decent amount. Now that I have the certificate I need, the chances of being denied the actual Visa are near nonexistent, so it was in my best interest to buy a ticket now :)

To the flight info! I'll be flying out of MCI at 6:00 AM--which of course means I'll need to be there at like 4-something in order to make sure everything is set. I'll have a 2.5 hr layover in Texas at DFW airport (and that 2.5 hrs will probably be just BARELY enough time for me to get my bags, check in for the international portion of my flight, change terminals, and deal with customs/security). After that, I'll have a roughly 14 hr flight to Narita Airport in Japan (about 1.5-2 hrs outside of Tokyo) and I'll hit the ground there at 1:25 PM Japan time (I have no idea what that will be here in the states. I guestimate about 3:30 AM central time, but I'm not 100% sure on that)

OMG I'm freaking out

So, I'm still waiting to hear about my Certificate of Eligibility that I'll use to get my Visa. I've been told that the results will be announced at the end of August (eg: TOMORROW or soon after) and it's making me really anxious. I've done all I can to have made sure I'll get it, but it just sucks to know that if they deny me that certificate then I won't be able to get my Visa and it'll ruin the plans I've made for study abroad :( If denied, I won't be able to stay for 6 months for the 2 semesters I've planned. Seeing as how I've already paid... At the least I'd be able to go on the default tourist Visa and be there for one semester, but I really want to study there for 2 :P

Meh, on to more positive things. If I get the certificate then all I have to do is mail it to Chicago and the consulate there with my Passport, photos, and the required paperwork. After receiving the certificate I'll feel comfortable enough to FINALLY buy my plane ticket.

I'm also kind of worried about what level I'll place in when I get to the classes in Japan. I've been studying and reviewing, but I don't know what the placement test or process will be like. Guess we'll see.

Submitted!

So, I mailed in the Visa application yesterday, and it should be in Japan in a couple days. From there, the rep at the university I'm going to will translate it into Japanese and submit it to the Japanese Bureau of Immigration. They'll also petition on my behalf for a Certificate of Eligibility. Later this year they'll announce the results of that (In August, I think) and then I'll take that certificate and use it to get a Visa stamp in my passport shortly before I leave for Japan :D

Visa applications

Wow! For anyone planning to go to Japan and stay past the exemption period (90 days max for US citizens) definitely make sure you begin the process of getting your visa early. It's not difficult, per se, but it does require a lot of information that takes time to gather no matter what you do. Japanese Immigration is very strict in their review of the applications, so even the smallest mistake or misrepresentation of information can get your app rejected :( Given that it can take about a couple months to complete the whole process and receive your Certificate of Eligibility that you then take to a consulate with which to get your Visa , it's definitely worth it to start gathering things like:

• Proof of enrollment if you're a student
• Proof of graduation from a high school
• Documentation of finances from banks, investment accounts etc (Most recent statements at time of submission)
  
• Name, addresses and dates for your elementary, junior high, and high schools (You must have had 12 years of the normal mandatory education for Japan to think about letting you in, it seems)
• Copy of your passport
• Documentation of your parent's finances from banks etc, if you're listing them as financial supporters (Most recent statements at time of submission)
  

And the list goes on :P It's definitely not something you want to scramble for at the last minute. And then you've gotta account for if you have to send the materials to Japan... that can take about a week depending on shipping method.