On my way to Seattle to visit family, renew my tourist visa for Japan, renew my U.S. passport.
I need to leave Japan before October 27, when my 90-day visa expires. The original plan was a weekend trip to Taipei with Mari, but I messed up. My passport expires next month, and I didn’t know that, in order to enter Taiwan, or many other Asian countries, my passport would need to be valid for at least six more months. I had figured as long as it’s not expired, it’s good. Oops. I found this out just as Mari and I were about to buy our ticket, which we’d already reserved. Cancelling cost Â¥12000. Mari was surprisingly patient. Later she told me that the same thing happened to her when she was 20, but she didn’t find out until she’d already packed her bags and made the 2-hour trip to the airport.
Anyway, I already had this ticket to the U.S. and was about to let it go to waste. Instead, it will be nice to see family before the holidays. And I can pick up my Xbox and bring it back to Kyoto, just in time for Halo 2! (You video game geeks out there know what I’m talking about.)
Osaka airport has free wireless Internet! I found the stations next to some of the wired stations, which cost ¥100 for 10 minutes before the passport control gate, free after passport control. Plus, electrical outlets!
I’ll only be gone 10 days, but I’ll miss you, Mari and Kyoto. I’m taking with me some sweet memories from today — walking leisurely in the sun past rice fields and the lush green near Manshuin temple, the smell of the fresh basil Mari picked for our spaghetti, which we ate while crouched on our tiny balcony.
