The bureaucracies of leaving Japan

My “cultural exchange” visa ran out on the last day of December, and my flight was scheduled for Jan. 3.  So I tried in November to get an extension of the visa.  They said to come back in December.  In early December, they said to come back in later December.  And in later December they said I needed my passport, a form filled out, my residence card, and a “stamp” recognizing my paying a fee of around 40 dollars.  When I returned with those, it was actually quick and straight forward to get the visa extended.  

I have a great prescription medicine for dry eye that is only available in Japan.  (It is in trials in the US.)  I wanted a refill when I was there at the end of January, so I stopped by the pharmacy.  BUT – a refill required a visit to the doctor.  So the next morning, I went back to the Kyoto University hospital, without an appointment, and worked my way through the system. 

You start on the first floor where they give you a folder and a buzzer/text thing.  Then I went to ophthalmology and waited about an hour – at that point I went directly in to see the doctor and got good care.  The last step is to go to a window, wait for the thing to buzz, and then use a machine to pay with credit card or cash.  About $10.

At the pharmacy, they were efficient and very kind.  Customers sit, and the staff kneels down next to them to look up at their face.  I got drops to last several more months – don’t know what I will do after that.  Total, under $10.

Next bureaucracy was the Ward Office – where we had registered when we arrived.  We needed to tell them we were leaving, and close down the Japanese health insurance.  I took Will’s cards and tried in the morning to go through the procedures for both of us.  No go.  So both of us went in the afternoon, paid the remaining fees for the few days in February for the Japanese health insurance, and finished the procedures.  

Japanese bank.  Several people suggested that it was very hard to open a Japanese bank account, and that I should therefor consider leaving it open.  In the end, I decided to close the account and take my money with me.  They gave me a number, and quickly I was able to go to a desk and take my money out in cash (a few thousand dollars). 

Then I went to the money exchange part of the bank.  They had a box for UNICEF, and were VERY surprised at the large quantity of coins that I was going to donate.  They took them directly through the window and gave me a big thanks.

Then I worked to change my 10,000 yen notes into $100 bills.  She brought out the oddest items as $100 bills.  I asked a lot of questions since I had never seen anything like that before.  She said they were a new design and she showed me the security features.   Finally I asked her to show me a picture.  She brought out a poster, and I was convinced to accept them.

I asked for some ones – apparently crisp ones are very useful in Myanmar.  They were so crisp, that I asked for more – hope that they work out. 

And the Post Office.  We were not organized enough to mail our boxes and give them a forwarding address on Friday.  At the information desk at the Kyoto Handicraft Center, I was told about one big post office that was open on Saturday.  With a couple of tries, we found it, mailed our boxes, and with 3 trips through lines, completed our forwarding address card.  Surface mail – might arrive in 3 months.