I spent yesterday morning at the Tokyo Immigration Bureau gathering information about how to obtain a work visa. The Bureau is located out in the middle of nowhere. To get there you have to take the Tokyo Monorail to a small island off Shinagawa. I’m not sure if the place is an actual island or not, but we did cross water, and they call the area “Tennōzu Isle.”
In any event, I had never ridden the Tokyo Monorail before, and as such, finding it was a baffling process of trial and error. The directions said that that the monorail platform was right outside the station. While this was technically true, the only sign I could find was a comical arrow that said “Monorail Station This Way.” The arrow pointed out of the station entrance and into the heart of the bustling city. I couldn’t help but smile.
After wandering around for about 10 minutes on the directions of the train station attendant, I finally ended up in a parking lot. I asked the parking lot attendant how to get to the monorail platform and he pointed me to a tiny staircase near the back of the lot. I had found the monorail, albeit completely by accident.
As far as I can tell, Tennōzu Isle is basically an area specifically designed for shipping companies and storage businesses. The entire area is devoid of anything residential. Nestled amongst the freight containers and forklift garages is the Immigration Bureau. I bet when they lock you up for overstaying your visa, they store you in an underground prison at Tennōzu Isle. No one would ever find you in this place.
For some reason, being in the immigration office made me tense. Even though I knew full well that I was staying in Japan legally, there is something about the atmosphere of places like that. There’s a lot of tension in the air from all the busy and stressed applicants. I bet this wave of tension is what pets feel when they first enter the veterinarian’s office.
Needless to say, my anxiety was unfounded, as both of the immigration officers I met with were very kind and helpful. Both however spoke very limited English, so we had to conduct all our business in Japanese. I saw that there were staff members speaking English, so it would seem that I just “lucked out” with the Japanese-only helpers.
I received explanation forms written entirely in Japanese about how to properly go about obtaining a work visa. The immigration officer was kind enough to go over it with me and explain everything a sponsoring company needs to supply the government. In addition to the applicant’s required materials, there is actually quite a bit of work required on the company’s part, from supplying fiscal reports, to writing up an incredibly specific job contract. This may explain why many Japanese companies are hesitant to sponsor foreign workers in the first place.
Having read over the entire work visa procedure document in Japanese, I’m now convinced that a great way to rapidly increase one’s reading comprehension skills is to read nothing but dense and complicated government documents. You learn so many new vocabulary words!
I snapped a few pictures at Tennōzu Isle that you can see below. Ironically, I forgot to snap a picture of the Immigration Bureau itself. Don’t worry, you aren’t missing much. It was basically just a building with a Japanese flag flying outside…
…that and a giant sign that said “GAIJIN GO HOME!!!” Just kidding…or am I?
B.E.W.
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