COE done, next stop, work visa

I just got my COE, Certificate of Eligibility today.  This is the final and longest wait that’s require before I can go to a Japan Consulate in the US and apply for a work visa.  I’m flying back for a biz trip soon, so I’m gonna be picking it up then.  I also stopping by the south bay on the Jan 9 – 11th.  

It’s a 3 year visa, obviously because 2 years is way to short.  Actually, I don’t really know why it’s 3, but Diana’s was 3 uea, so I’ll go ahead and make the blind assumption that the standard time period is 3 years.  It came in a bit early, so I had to re-sign my offer letter at the local JP office, so I could have an earlier start date.  

It was pretty nice seeing my salary (in Yen) on the offer letter.  The salary was frozen months ago during the work visa application when the Yen was weaker.  Due to the Japanese Yen getting stronger now at 89 Yen / 1 USD, I’m getting an “increased” cost of living adjustment =).  Maybe one day I will be able to afford that 3,500 YEN ( > $40) whole frozen chicken (maybe 4 lbs size?) at the only supermarket that I know, which actually carries a whole chicken.  Or, maybe even that $9 cantaloupe.  As for my “po-ass” right now, I’ll stick to the cheaper typical Japanese 100% fruit juice (i.e. JP liquid fruit diet, haha).

P.S.:  While attempting to spell “cantaloupe”, I stumbled upon the Wikipedia article about the fruit.  In the “Production and use” section, the author describes how to pick a good melon.  It’s good useful information, I recommend reading it.