and then some

so the other day I went to the bank to change my registered address on my account--cause you can't do that online, you have to do it in person. whatever. anyway, in the process of showing them my gaijin card to prove my current address, it was pointed out to me that my card had expired.  In August.
>_< doh
I guess, when I got my visa, I thought that took care of everything, and I didn't realize that my actual card was expiring too.  upshot of which is I had to get up really early and head over to the ward office the other morning before work to get it all fixed up.  and hope they weren't too mad at me.  lol. which, it turns out, they weren't, so that's all good. cause, i mean, my visa stuff was all taken care of, so it's not like I was staying illegally or anything. and since I was good and got up early and got there right at 8:30 when the office opened, I wasn't even late for work! well, not by more than 10 minutes anyway.
let's see, what else... oh, I found out my latest bar review is going in 763, so look out for that Nov 7.

we had a big meeting about the redesign this morning, and Steve had given us all sorts of stuff we were sposed to come up with ideas for. i was okay on the ideas for the new sections, and multimedia which i'm gonna be in charge of, but Steve wanted us each to come with 2 ideas for features that we could do in-house, with photos and stuff.  and i was just drawing a COMPLETE blank. I mean, I can come up with lots of ideas, but nothing that feels big enough to be a feature, you know? anyway, I managed to fudge through it okay. and we're gonna start having regular Ed meetings too (genuis! what an idea!) so we'll be talking more about it again next week.

free lunch (and dinner, and another dinner...)

i really need to start doing more of the whole one quick post every night thing, or something.  cause if i don't, then it gets to like now, where I have a million things to write about, but no energy to do it.  >_<

oh well.

most important news first--I finally got my work visa!  and yes, i know you're going "but hasn't she been working for over a month already?"  to which I say: sshhhhh!

got to go to a couple more restaurant openings this past week (three, to be exact.  god i love my job).  really, there's nothing that tops a delicious free dinner.  especially when you're living on my budget.

Sunday night was dinner at Console, a restaurant/wime bar in Roppongi.  had a really good recommendation from the sommelier, a Chilean red called Montes Alpha that I liked a lot.  

Monday night I went to the opening party for a new restaurant near Yokohama station.  This one was more of a press thing, so it was crazy crowded and really hot, but the food was pretty good. 

Tuesday I got to go to a press conference for this TV Tokyo show called Pochitama, all about pets or something.  Anyway, I'm kind of a fan of one of the hosts of the show--and am currently subbing one of his dramas (hehe)--so I finagled my way into going.  I mean whatever, I turned it into a terebi blurb, so it's not like it was completely pointless.

Wednesday night was yum!  Went with the rest of the eds to the opening of a new macrobiotic restaurant in Ark Hills, called Chaya.  Apparently there's one in LA or something?  Anyway, it was incredibly good food, I was stuffed.  Plus there were several Japanese celebs that came, which was kind of cool.  None of my personal favorites, sadly, but several people I reconized, one of whom was Fujiwara Norika, a crazy famous actress/model/former Miss Japan.  I swear, I see her on at least 3 billboards/TV commercials a day.  

Thursday I got to go to a restaurant for lunch, to do a review!  ^_^  Haven't quite finished writing the review yet, but it's scheduled to go in 756, which pubs in like, 2 weeks or so.

Speaking of reviews, some of you already know this, but check out the Metropolis site cause this week I have TWO articles in--my bar review of Gala Dear, and the Star Struck piece about Jodie Foster (look under Faces & Places).

the times we live in?

I don't think I've mentioned this in the blog yet, but I decided after all to go home for Christmas (15 days to go, yay!)
Because of that, I had to go down to the Immigration Office after school today to get my 再入国許可 Re-Entry Permit, so that I could actually come back to Japan after my break is done. Lol.
While I waited for my paperwork to be processed, this video was playing on repeat, in several languages, on TV screens all around the room.

The video highlights Japan's new security policy, implemented as of Nov. 1 this year, the gist of which is that in an attempt to combat terrorism, all foreigners entering Japan will be fingerprinted and photographed. This includes not just tourists, but also foreigners resident in Japan--so in other words, when I come back to Yokohama in January, my fingerprints will be on file with the Japanese government. The beginning of the video describes the procedures for how the fingerprints will be taken, and then the bulk of the rest shows footage from the 9/11 attcks, the London Underground bombings, and various other terrorist incidents, implying that by fingerprinting all foreigners Japan will be able to protect itself from such things.

I've got to admit, it's a little bit of an unnerving thought, although from what I understand it's not all that different from the current "US Visit" system for foreigners entering the states. There hasn't been as much discussion about the policy here as you might think--other than the Tourist Office being worried that the new procedures will discourage people from traveling to Japan. But it's big news in the expat/blog community, where words like "discrimination" and "interrogation" get tossed around frequently, with other people proclaiming that the new policy has caused them to cut Japan out of their travel plans.

Having not experienced the process firsthand, I don't really know what I think yet. I wouldn't go so far to say it's a reason to stay away from Japan, but I do understand the feelings, for instance, of people who are longtime, tax-paying residents and now must have their fingerprints on file. Especially in a country where most people don't own any kind of photo identification (and aren't required to), and the most common form of ID is a Health Insurance card.

Anyway, like I said, I'm not sure what I think about all this yet, really, but I just thought I'd share.

**Important** Visa

So, this is a very important post for any future Light Fellows who, like me, want to do some combination of summer and academic year at two different programs.
Since you're allowed to be in Japan for up to 90 days as a tourist, or "temporary visitor" without a visa, for the summer programs like HIF a visa is not necessary. For a year-long program like IUC a visa is necessary, but the staff there are prepared for this, and will help you get whatever type of visa is needed. However, according to IUC staff, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, the Japanese consulate, and pretty much anywhere else official that I looked, while one can switch from one type of visa to another (say, from "student" to "worker"), it is impossible to go from being a "temporary visitor" to having a visa without leaving Japan. Herein lay the problem.
BUT...having 1) read that sometimes if asked nicely, Japanese immigration will grant you a visa, and 2) heard from a previous Light Fellow that he had received a visa in-country...I thought it was possible that I might be able to get my visa in Japan as well (the alternative being to make a quick trip to Korea, Hong Kong, or some other nearby country with a Japanese consulate).
With that in mind, I headed over to the Yokohama Immigration Office as soon as I arrived. I had prepared a whole sob story, about how I really needed my visa and didn't have enough money/time to go to Korea, and could they please, please give me a visa in Japan... I approached the information desk nervously, ready to beg, plead, and bribe--however no sooner had I gotten out that I wanted to switch from temporary visitor to my cultural activities visa, then the man at the desk interrupted my carefully rehearsed story with a matter-of-fact "Fill out these two forms and go to the second window." And that was the end of the story. One week and 4000 Yen later, I got my visa; and at no time did anyone at Immigration seem to think that what I wanted was anything but perfectly normal.
So--The Moral of the Story:
No matter what the MOFA site and anyone you might speak to in the States says, it is 100% possible to get your visa in between programs, without leaving Japan. And I hope this tale saves any future Light Fellows the stress and worry that I went through.
**P.S. Another small note: although they never actually checked mine at Customs, in order to enter Japan as a "temporary visitor," you are supposed to have proof (i.e. a ticket to somewhere) that you will be leaving Japan within 90 days. In this case, the best thing is to either buy a refundable ticket (what I did), or a ticket home that you can then change to the date you actually want to go home.