Certificate of Foreign Registration
Sunday was quite busy, and included enough walking and talking to make me very tired. Our plans included getting lunch, going to city hall, meeting Ayako’s cousin Yasuko (more nihongo practice for me!), birthday present shopping for Ayako’s friend, and grocery shopping.
For lunch today we decided to do something very American - and eat at one of the very few Burger King restaurants in Japan. Although there was a “Teriyaki Whopper” that looked tasty - I went with the classic with onion rings for good measure. Feast your eyes on this picture:
After lunch we traveled to Shibuya (a very famous shopping district of Tokyo) to visit the city hall. Ayako and I currently live in Shibuya-ku which is one of the 23 wards of Tokyo. The government building is open on Sunday’s with limited staff in order to assist foreigners and local residents with certain common tasks. Today my task was foreign registration which will help me extend my visa here, and also allow us to secure an apartment easier than if I only had a temporary visa. Note - as far as I know, this doesn’t actually extend my visa, let me explain a bit more:
In less than 2 weeks we will go to Maebashi to visit Ayako’s parents. During our visit we will go through Yuinou - which is a formal, private ceremony confirming our engagement. You can read what appears to be a student’s essay on Yuinou here. After Yuinou, Ayako, her parents, and I will go to the local government office to apply for family registration. This form of registration will join us together legally in Japan, and will allow me to finish any necessary paperwork for a different extended visa. My current visa runs out around April 20, so we want to get this all taken care of before then.
