Got my Chinese Visa

Yup. Quite simple, really. All you gotta do is hike-down to the grim-looking service window at the People's Republic consulate in Osaka during its four (non-contiguous) hours of operation, fill-out the paperwork, pay the yen-equivalent charge of $183, and-- three days later-- voila!


To stand in line for a sticker that expensive, I was hoping for a hell of a lot more decorative bling, you know? Or maybe something, like, I dunno, a complementary goody-bag full of bath oils and chocolate truffles? Or a voucher for a free Grand-Slam Breakfast at Denny's?

At least make it a scratch-n-sniff visa, right?

What's mildly surprising to me is that Japanese citizens don't need a tourist visa to visit China. But if there was one country on the planet that you'd think China would want to screw as much money out of as bureaucratically possible, it'd absolutely be Japan, right? Go figure.

Incidentally, late last year, Japan relaxed the rules for Chinese who want to apply for a tourist visa. Apparently, having a gold credit card will smooth the way.

Oh, did I mention that Mari and I are planning to take her dad to Beijing in August? Yeah, we're talkin' Great Wall. Temple of Heaven. Forbidden City. Peking duck. And with my fabulous Mandarin language skillz, absolutely nothing can pissably go wrong!

Er, possibly go wrong, I mean!

Nothing can possibly go wrong.

Right.

It's gonna rawk, bay-beh!