Continue reading »]]> Tokyo trip

Pictures of my Tokyo trip and the international Anime fair.

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The big bicycle trip through Japan approaches. Thus it takes a lot of resources to organize this event. A little side note in advance. I’m going to start in Korea. I have to begin my trip there due to the fact that there is no way to extend my stay in Japan after my working holiday visa expires. An advice for all who also would like to stay in Japan as long as possible. First make use of your tourist visa, extend it after the regular three months for another three months and make then use of your working holiday visa. It’s not possible the other way around!

Since last Friday I had only one day off which is why I still haven’t managed to do all the updates. This volume of work wasn’t predictable. Once I don’t work full time any more I can concentrate on blogging once again, so that there will be longer posts again.

Special thanks to: Hubertus Neidhart from  Webspace Provider Network for excellent web page hosting services; Lilith Pendzich;

Continue reading »]]> Am I a cheater for having a break in my stay in Japan? My blog says “one year work and travel in Japan” after all! No worries. It won’t be less than a year! However there are things which simply don’t fit into two backpacks. For instance a bulky bicycle with 28-inch-tires is not very helpful when couchsurfing in Tokyo where living space is very limited. Anyway in Tokyo you can’t take your bicycle with you on the metro unlike in many German cities. Even if you could, it would be impossible during peak times!

If you possess a visa for Japan which is valid for a few months and you want to leave Japan for a while but want to come back before the visa expires you’ll need a “re-entry permit” which you have to apply for while in Japan and it will be issued in Japan as well. If you leave Japan without this permit your visa will lose its validity and you’d have to apply for a new visa. In Tokyo the Regional Immigration Bureau in Shinagawa is responsible for this. You’ll also find such a bureau in the Saitama prefecture in Omiya. On arriving there you have the choice between a single re-entry permit and a multiple re-entry permit. A single permit costs 1,000 Yen whereas 6,000 Yen are being charged for a multiple re-entry permit.

The environment in which the immigration bureau can be found reminds me a bit on Ellis Island in New York. Should you come to Tokyo via ship this artificial island could be used as an interception base for unsolicited immigrants. I hope I won’t be deported and taken to the next ship to Hamburg if there’s something be wrong with my visa. Thank god the island only has a giant port of transshipment but no landing stage for passenger ships. Lucky me!