Three Year Visa

You see this?

Yes, that's right. Three Year Visa!

That means that I can be here for three more years if I want.

From what I heard it's really up to the whim of whoever is processing the visa, but the usual is two one year visas and THEN a three year one is granted.

Of course I boasted to the other teachers. One who's Australian said, "F*&ckin' B***tard!!"

I had many things on my mind today. Not being least was my debacle with the sunglasses.

I had trouble sleeping last night and being awake at 8am, I decided to just get up and get the Visa unpleasantness (AND the possibility of refund unpleasantness) out of the way.

The Immigration Office was very busy today. Again, if you have to do this as well, arrive early.

While I was waiting I constantly willed the powers-that-be to give me a three year visa and somehow, with this jedi mind trick I managed to score one. I hid my excitement well, but inside I was joyous as you can imagine.

Luckily, after waiting a while I decided to get my ticket for the re-entry visa line slightly earlier. With a multiple entry visa as well, I won't have to visit this place for another three years, which suits me just fine.

All up I was there for a little over an hour. I had an extra queue ticket that I gave to a girl who would've had to wait much longer. If only for a little extra karma, I think it was a nice gesture.

After going back and forth whether to keep the sunglasses or not, I decided to just go back to the shop and try to exchange or refund them.
If I waited for Oakley to check the glasses, it might take longer than the store allowed for that.

I figured if another pair was suitable, I'd be ok.

At first they weren't keen to even exchange them, but after trying on the alternative I still wasn't totally satisfied so I asked for a refund.

It wasn't the most comfortable situation, but I have to say it's not just this place that are reluctant to give refunds. Just be sure that you'll be happy with what you buy, and maybe this won't be a problem. The only exception to this would be your big chains like Yodobashi Camera, where I don't think a refund would be that difficult.

After such a long day I was happy for station beers to come along.

At the combini they had some 8% STRONG lemon drink that I just couldn't resist. I bought two.

I bought what I thought was a nikuman, but it had no pork (vegetarian?) I was still satisfied because I was pretty hungry.

The gf SMS'd with an unusual request for pudding on the way home. I asked "Purin, wa doko des ka?" and a clerk swayed the shelf like a TV game show girl to point out the obvious.

Hey, I was pretty drunk by this stage.

I could have done all this tomorrow on my day off, but like the old man says, "Don't do tomorrow what you can do today". Good advice but me being lazy, maybe I should have done this tomorrow on my day off.

Tired Eyes

I've been shooting off emails to Oakley (US & Japan) trying to find out what the go is with my new glasses.

They were pretty quick with a response. Both said there is a possibility of lens distortion.

Oakley Japan is located in Ebisu.

They asked me to bring it in to test for defects and said it would take 2-3 days.

My dilemma is this. The shop that I bought them from will offer an exchange or refund only in a week. If Oakley find nothing wrong with the glasses, I have just wasted my time.

What if the sunglasses are just unsuitable for my eyes? I don't really feel like going out of my way to fix something like this. I'd rather be sleeping.

In other news, in Ginza it looks like Kimuraya have increased the 189 yen price of Anpan to 220 yen each.

I asked the girl in my bad Japanese ("Kore.. Anpan?") if what I had was the same anpan (it was in a paper wrap). She didn't speak English so I just went, "hmm.. ok" and bought them anyway.

I was on a real azuki craving. Sampleman made it worthwhile by eating as many samples on display as possible.

The train home is quite amusing.

At one point the train filled up every inch of the available space so much that I almost had a woman in my lap (yes, I was sitting). Shame she was a bit of a hag, but anyway. Can't choose these things.

I've finally changed my Homer "Doh!" ringtone to the NES Mario Bros theme. A change is not as good as a holiday.

Double Vision

Yet another detour to geek heaven, Nakano Broadway.

Snoopy was 7,350 yen and not in the best condition. Some of the LCDs looked a little faded and the overall unit looked a bit worn. The gameplay was ok, but playing it didn't give me the goosebumps of playing Donkey Kong Jr again.

Donkey Kong II was a bit of a disappointment. For 2,100 yen I thought it could be a good bargain, but this was a little too used as well. The hinges and buttons were loose, the LCDs faded and the case was a little scratched too. Better off just playing the flash game of it linked above.

At least I saved my money. That's a good thing.

I really want to get at least Donkey Kong Hockey and Invaders Of The Mummy's Tomb. Then I'll stop.

Maybe.

Galaxy Invader 1000 IS calling me though. Hmm..

Some American geek boys were filming themselves happy that they got Galaga for 500 yen. Losers. I laughed on the inside, then thought to myself, "Just like me." Oh.

My new sunglasses are giving me a bit of trouble. For some reason they're giving me killer headaches. They seem to make it harder for me to focus on things further away. I don't think they're too dark.

I walked into the Bic at Tachikawa today where they had the same glasses. They gave me the same feeling too. Maybe it was because I was still dazed from wearing the ones I had coming here.

I tried their other lenses and none were any better. If it's any consolation, they cost 24,500 yen here so I got a great price.

I just wish I had my old sunglasses back.

Where are you?

Half Jacket Required

This apartment isn't that big. I looked and looked, and they were nowhere to be found. I've given up on my search for my sunglasses. I think I must have left them in Osaka.

So.. until the early hours of the morning I went on my exhaustive internet search for a new pair. In my sights were a replacement pair of Oakley's.

Going back many years I used to have a pair of Oakley Frogskins.

Actually two of them. The first pair I absent-mindedly left on a library shelf, and the second met an unfortunate end falling on the ground, and THEN getting scraped good with a door.

I was very mean to them.

Funnily enough, Oakley has decided to release a limited edition collection of these classic specs. In America, they have sold out completely, but here in Japan it looks like it's still possible to get them.

They were the first (and second) best sunglasses I've ever owned.

They had a bronze tint that was so dark, it was almost possible to stare into the sun without squinting (Not to say that I did. Just stating how good they were). Sadly, the ones they make today aren't as dark as my old ones, so I'm not expecting this new edition to be same either.

My two sources for cheap treats are Yahoo Auctions, and Kakaku.

Like eBay, Yahoo Auctions can be a little bit hit and miss. Most of the stuff is secondhand, and it's possible to receive non-genuine goods.

The better option is Kakaku. It's a price comparison site like Australia's Shopbot or Static Ice.

I often find many things MUCH cheaper than Yodobashi Camera or Bic Camera, THE stores when it comes to mostly electrical and household goods.

I wanted the darkest Oakley glasses so I settled on the 12-800 "Half Jacket" with Black Iridium lenses. They are polarised, so glare should be non-existent.

I paid 15,800 yen which is CHEAP. In Australia, these currently retail for $299.95! I got them from here.

Unlike a lot of internet-only shops, these guys actually have a shop-front in Okachimachi, near Ueno on the Yamanote line.
The actual shop was a little hard to find. The site name here is Liberta, but the actual name of the shop is Brad? Go figure.

Lucky I brought with me the actual street address, and the sunglasses model names I was after. The salesgirl had to call someone to get them out of the storage (No sunnies are actually on display).

Anyway, to cut a long story slightly shorter, I'm really liking my sunglasses. The sun doesn't come out all that often here, but when it does it's a blinder. If you're in Tokyo it's worth checking out.

Donkey Kong Jr's Come Home

Look what I have here!

This is Nintendo's Donkey Kong Jr (Panorama Screen). The memories from so long ago are slowly being reconstructed.

Out of the Panorama Screen series I think it's the best one.

It has the full directional pad, so the most control out of the lot. (Maybe Snoopy or Mario's Bombs Away would be others worth getting).

It's actually pretty hard to find. I DID see it in Nakano Broadway for 12,600 yen, but I baulked at paying so much. It's almost as much as a DS! These models get crazy prices up to 30,000 yen! I think it's easy to see why. The main difference to the usual Game & Watch series, is that these have vibrant COLOURED LCDs.

I bought it at Friends for 7,500 yen. It was 8,000 yen, but I managed to talk the sweet lady into giving me a bit of a discount. I gave it a go and it was like a shot in the arm taking me back to 1983!

The game was rated a C in condition by the store. It looks slightly yellow on the back (very slight), bottom half but apart from that everything looks great. Bright LCDs, no scratches and the controls are solid. What more could you ask for?

I was still racked with guilt for spending so much. Less so now that I'm writing this post though. She threw in the batteries in the "bargain".

Only a few more now to get. I'm sure my parents think I have lost it by now.

Arriving back home I found the postcard from the Immigration Office saying to come in for my visa renewal. Great News!

Finally, the Wonka chocolate has been opened for our enjoyment. There is some unwritten rule that things unopened will stay that way until upon opening, it will finish in no time.

Strange.

What's Mine Is Yours

An English teacher colleague is leaving supposedly for greener pastures in two weeks.

One benefit for me is that he gave me his steel string acoustic for impromptu jams.

I think we are all envious of his new position. Being a great, down to earth person, I think he'll be missed a lot.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any great incentive to stay for a long period of time. This year I expect to pay a higher premium for my health insurance now that my yearly income has been established.

I did get a slight increase in pay, but it doesn't really make a substantial difference to my living arrangements. I believe that in a lot of English schools there'd be a high turnover of staff.

It's a bit of a shame as I genuinely like helping all my students in speaking English well. And, I'm actually enjoying it still.

Let's hope things might change.

With some things that I don't like about here, there's a lot to like about Japan.

Hey, thanks for the guitar!

Please Do It At Home

There are a few activities frowned upon on the trains.

Eating bentos, talking on the phone, listening to music too loud, and NOT sleeping, or playing a computer game of some sort. Ok, the last two I made up but everyone's doing it!

One thing that I find bizarre is watching young women putting on makeup.

I'm not talking about just a touch of lipstick, but the precise operation of putting on fake lashes which looks like an eye transplant.

Thank you to Japan Metro for doing something to spare us this ritual.

Hopefully there will be also posters of salarymen that pick their noses openly, or even one with someone making a platform pizza. Oh, it seems endless.