Visa for China

Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Happy 6th Birthday Jakey!
I knew that I was supposed to meet Yoshie at the train station at 8:47am to head to Osaka. No problem, seeing as though I am at school AROUND 8am. Well, I was so warm in my blankies that I didn't want to get up. SO when I looked at the clock and noticed it was 8:00, I had to rush around and get ready because I had about a 20-minute bike ride to the station! LUCKILY, I made it on time.

UGH! That's all I can say! As you all know, I will be leaving in 12 days for China and India. I have been pretty pro-active about getting things together for India, but have been slackin a bit with China. Why, you ask? Weeeeeellllllllll.....because unlike every other consulate in the world, China requires you to deliver your passport and application to their consulate in person. Other consulates usually let you send it (via registered mail) to them and they will send it back to you the same way. The problem???? China's consulate hours are 9am - 12pm Monday - Thursday. Not exactly convenient for a teacher that works 5 days a week 8:20am - 5:00pm! LUCKILY, with this week being testing week, I was able to get away without question. AND, since Yoshie is often bored these days, she offered to help me find the Consulate of China in Osaka City since it was in a pretty unfamiliar part of the town. I was glad to have company!! It's always a good time when she's around.

When arrived in Osaka I immediately noticed a bakery that Jenny and I searched high and low for one day. It is called Choco Cro. Basically it is a croissant that has been wrapped around a pice of chocolate and cooked. They are DELICIOUS. So I convinced Yoshie to take a break and try one. It was just as good as I remembered! I also got to try a new flavor today....hazlenut choco...........mmmmm!!! After our "breakfast" we took the subway to the consulate. When we walked out of the exit, I noticed a really handsome Japanese policeman, I noticed Yoshie took a fancy to him as well!! ;o) We ended up asking him the exact directions to the building, it was really close! Once we arrived, they asked to see my foreigners card before I could enter. I walked over to the line for visas (being proactive, I already had the application filled out, the picture cut to size, a copy of my flight itinerary, copy of my foreigners card and my passport). I gave all of my info to the lady and she said, "here..... bring this back on Monday, December 11th and you can get your passport back. Bye bye." That was it! It took literally 2 minutes to give her my things and that was it. No questions, no explanations NOTHIN! It was such a complete waste of time. I spent SO much more time on the train than I did in there. And the worst part, I have to go BACK on Monday to pick up my visa and pay....I couldn't even pay today! ARG!

The good thing was that gave Yoshie and I time to bum around Osaka. We went to a pretty popular place for shopping called Nanba, or as we pronounce it Namba. She took me to a famous street (can't remember the name of it) where they sell EVERYTHING under the sun that is necessary for a restaurant. Pots, pans, stoves, utensils, plates, cups, bowls, chopticks, grills, bottles, registers, receipts, you name it....it was there! It was fascinating to see. Especially since many of the items (bowls, cups, trays, sake sets) were hand-crafted in Japan. Check out some pics!

They even had fake food to make the dishes look more appealing!!

One of the most interesting stores was the Sakai City knife store. Sakai City is very near Osaka City. It is very well known for it's brand of knives (which, to sushi chefs a good knife is EVERYTHING when cutting fish). They were beautifully crafted and ranged from 6,000yen (about $55) t0 60,000yen (about $550) for ONE knife! Here is a pic of the main display in front of the store! There was an emplyoee who was demonstrating just how sharp the knives were in the back of the store. It was soooooo small that the three people who were watching him, were completely blocking the view. So I didn't get to see it. But I did get a chance to browse through numerous stores....it was great!

The best find of the day was a ladel....made with a bamboo stick and a seashell. I tried to take a picture of it, but the owner yelled at me. The seond best find was a bird that was actually a toothpick grabber!

After walking all around the Namba area, we wound up at a famous bookstore called Junkudo. They have an AMAZING selection of English books (for about triple their cost in America). I was able to find one thing I was looking for...a birthday present for my Godson, Jakey. There is a very popular comic book here called Doraemon. The kids here LOVE this blue cat from the future. I have always wanted to read the comics so that I know what the story is with this cat! The other day on the bus with my student, she told me about how he had no ears.....which I never noticed, because a mouse ate them. So now he doesn't like mice! Interesting. Anyhoo, I found an English version of the 1st book, some pencils and an eraser of Doraemon and thought it would be the perfect gift! After the bookstore, we headed to a quaint little cafe for lunch where I was lucky enough to find a bagel sandwhich....and I cherished every bite! It tasted almost as good as my daddy's egg sandwiches! (It had eggs, ham, cheese and tomato.)

After lunch we journied back to Wakayama. When Yoshie and I parted ways, I pulled out the Doraemon book and started reading........I now know why the book is so addicting. I hope Jakey will enjoy it! Other than that, I'm off to bed now....have to prepare myself for the mountain of exams that is waiting for me when I get to school in the morning. UGH!! Just the thought is giving me a headache! Oh and by the way....I stopped at the 100yen store and got me a new pair of gloves and a scarf!! Now I'll be warm for sure! (^o^)