10am:
Picked up my Alien Registration Card. Kind of like a California driver's
license, but pink. It was really quick, just go in, show 'em your
passport and the "come get your A.R.C. between July 11 and July
18" letter, and you're in and out in a minute. Although I told
them my stay is only for 90 days, and the A.R.C. says "Period
of Stay: 90 days", the card itself also says it's good for one
full year. Not that I'll ever need it (unless maybe I'm arrested or
something)!
With
the A.R.C. in hand, Kayo and I headed to the Immigration office (in
Yokohama; depending on where you live, you might have to go elsewhere).
We also had all those fun forms we needed to fill out ("How did
you meet" stuff, family trees, maps of where we'd live, photos
of us together, etc.)...
We
took the train to Sakuragicho Station, then caught the #125 bus (Y210,
no matter how far you ride) for the 10 minute ride to the Immigration
office. Took the elevator to 5F, followed the colored lines on the
floor, waited in a line for about 10 minutes (two other people were
in front of us). When it became out turn, we went over the forms,
fairly rapidly, with official #1. Once she was satisfied we had filled
in all the blanks, and after she had answered a couple of our questions,
we got a ticket number, waited for another 10 minutes (sitting down
this time) until our number was called, then spoke to official #2,
discussed a couple more things, and since everything was pretty much
in order, he said in a month or so we'd get a postcard saying, "Come
back and get yer spousal visa" (assuming everything checked out).
Pretty painless.
The
place is open from 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, but closes from
noon to 2 for lunch; we went on a Wednesday around 2:30. Mondays and
Fridays the place is packed, I hear.
After
that we caught the bus back to the station (it stops across from the
VW dealership, around the corner), skimming the outskirts of Yokohama's
Chinatown before we wound up back at Sakuragicho. Next month, on my
return trip, I wanna hit Chinatown to see if it's as cool as the one
in New York... a.k.a. oodles of bootlegged visual rock CDs, VCDs,
and maybe even some cool DVDs.
We
stopped by Landmark Tower, bought some Ms. Fields-ish cookies from
Mrs. Elizabeth Muffin (using the free $10 coupon Kayo had won on our
last visit) and hung out for a bit before heading to Disk Union, where
I spotted L'Arc's new DVD Realive. For Y3800! <lunge!>
Also
got an Aikawa Nanase single, China Rose, which has a cool b-side
called B.U.B. The live version of it off her 2000 concert video
is better (the guitar is just a little oomphier, with more flourishes),
but it's a cool song to have the studio version of, and cheap at only
Y100.
But
back to Realive, which is probably the coolest video I've ever
seen. The post-production work is staggering; the editing and visuals
will have me watching it many, many times. The songs L'Arc played
are only okay (fine performances, but bad song choices, imho... not
enough guitar-based tunes, too many computery-SFX tracks)... but I
have a feeling they'll grow on me as I watch the video again and again.
I don't even know how to describe what Maverick (the production company)
did for the first couple minutes of track 1; it's like jump-cut morphs,
only weirder.
Twenty
camera operators are listed in the closing credits, and along the
front of the stage, another dozen or so stationary video cameras are
visible. I imagine they had another dozen or so stationary cameras
wrapping around the back of the stage too, from what I saw... for
a club show, it must have been an enormous production. Though the
term "club show" on the box is a bit misleading -- the place
looks a bit more like a theater-sized venue to me.
Also,
Hyde and Tetsu look very different. Hyde's a lot more like Anchang
(Sex Machine Guns) now than anything else! Tetsu's lookin' a bit like
Shaggy from Scooby Doo, or maybe like a Lynyrd Skynyrd guy, only not
fat. Everyone was dressed kinda heavy metally (black leather, sleeveless
t-shirts, that kinda thing).
Hyde
and Tetsu
Or is it Motley Crue?!
Anyway,
highly recommended!
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