My trip to the FG Zoo*

[GomiGirl]

*Otherwise known as the Tokyo Immigration Centre

What a surreal way to start the week!!

Firstly the trip from JR Shinagawa to the bus.. imagine if you will, a herd of stampeeding salaried workers in soft-soled loafers; the walls echoing a low rumbling peppered with the occassional staccatto clicky-click from the kitten heels of the OL's. A human sea of thousands, all moving quickly yet defiantly towards their daily cells... however, not one person is talking. The only sound was this eerie thunder from of the soles on a faux marble walkway. (spooky)

A lone uniformed train worker, not old enough to shave, Jacket too large for his elvin frame, deer-eyes-in-headlights look of fear in his pre-pubescent face, trying to direct this human tsunami towards the exit.

Ok am getting a bit off track here.. however, this was freaky this morning. I arrived at the Immigration office well before the 9am opening time, filled forms in hand but only managed to secure the 59th ticket in the queue.. WTF...

What a zoo!! There were hundreds of people, all shapes, sizes and colours, hardly anyone knew what they were doing. Very patient multi-lingual staff switching between English, Japanese, Chinese and Korean helping the lost find where to go and which forms to fill. I have never seen anything like this before.

It was sad to see the FG's in the deportation area with backpacks and suitcases waiting for their expulsion..

But I have survived, barely.. forms are submitted and now I just have to wait for my little postcard and do it all again to get my pet licence for another 3 years.

[cstaylor]

Yokohama immigration isn't nearly that bad, but I get a free pass because I bring Rie with me.

[DJEB]

Eloquent story-telling. I love how they spent all that money for a new centre, but still didn't build it big enough (ie. enough staff) to handle the numbers of people that regularly come in. I get the message they are trying to send.

[GomiGirl]

Eloquent story-telling. I love how they spent all that money for a new centre, but still didn't build it big enough (ie. enough staff) to handle the numbers of people that regularly come in. I get the message they are trying to send.

They were putting through the applicants pretty quickly.. they had about 3-4 staff per window and I only had to wait about 35 minutes to reach number 59. The submission process took around 5 minutes and then I was out the door.

I think the biggest issue is that they close for lunch rather than putting staff on a staggered lunch rotation to keep the line moving (you know like every other organisation that deals with the public). Everybody knows that if you get there after 10 am you will be there all day. Closing for lunch puts them behind by two hours.

[cstaylor]

I think the biggest issue is that they close for lunch

Yeah, first time I saw that, I was pretty pissed off. They only do that because we can't vote.

[DJEB]

The entertaining part is that, when I go, I get to see so many angry and upset people. It's as good or better than a traffic jam. [Gotta get your kicks somehow...]

[Caustic Saint]

You know, with a post like that, you could almost be blogging....