GaijinNewbie wrote:Simple question, oh wise and weathered gaijin: how many times can I enter and re-enter Japan on a tourist visa?
How much money do you have?
How many times can you repeat the procedure until you decide you need a real job? You can get tourist visa extentions if you claim you want to visit Kyoto, Nara, Hakaido, Bum-fvck Shima, etc. You'll get a 90 day landing (tourist) visa at immigration which you can extend for a further 90 days at any immigration office within Japan. Just tell them you want to travel more in Japan and do more siteseeing. They may want to see proof that you have enough funds to keep you going for another 90 days before they issuse your extension.
PLEASE NOTE: Japanese landlords and stores do not accept frequent flyer credits en lieu of yen.
GaijinNewbie wrote:What's the law?
Wrong idea.
Japan does not have visa "laws", only "guidelines".
More than two renewals is "basically prohibited", but your mileage may differ.
I have met people who have claimed to have worked in Japan for seven years on a tourist visa (press guys working out of Hongkong to take advantage of lower income taxes). The third and subsequent entries after a "visa foxtrot" to another country of a couple of days are suspicious from an immigration inspector's point of view and increase your chances of being denied entry.
Of course you could just call Immigration and ask...
http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/IB/ib-18.html
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/index.html