Visa Renewal

It's been a pain in the ass. You wouldn't think it, but renewing a visa is almost as bad as getting one in the first place. Five trips to the hell that is the Tokyo Immigration Bureau it took, and four times did they send me back home. I was wrong to think renewing a long-term visa that was given to me because I had Japanese blood relatives would be easy. Why wouldn't it be? I still had the blood right?
 This time it took:
 -  A document certifying I still worked where I claimed to work.
 - A document showing how much tax I owed to the government.
 - A document certifying I paid said taxes.
 - A document proving I live where I claim to live.
 - A signed document from a guarantor (should I murder someone and flee the country.)
 If you want to know what it took the first time around, you can look here. That's a lot of running around and getting signatures and sheets from the city hall. And once I did round the documents up, they said to me "wait three weeks."
 I waited 7. My visa had expired one month already. After two, you're illegible to get deported. Fun. "Present yourself to the appropriate department should one month go by after the expiration of your visa." So I went.
 And they just gave it to me! To think I was expecting wave upon wave of more bullshit. This next visa doesn't expire until December 2016. I'm good for another three years, Japan. You're not rid of me yet.

Here's to a few more years of adventure!