Well my hubbies departure is finally set for Sunday afternoon and I am working hard to help him get ready to go. A week ago we didn’t even have the date settled and I wondered if we would ever get to Japan. The contact is almost done - just a few minor wording issues and it will all be official once it is signed in Japan.

We got our visas form the Japan Consulate as promised and there were no significant problems. However, they did assume that I was American (my husband is American) when they applied for the certificate of eligibility even though I provided a copy of my Canadian passport. So now I have a visa with a note in Japanese explaining the error and was told by the consulate that there should be no problems when I try to enter Japan - we’ll see?

The date of the first meeting was finalized after many emails and phone calls and the luggage issue is also resolved. It turns out that someone will be driving to Kamogawa and will take the luggage with him. So my hubby saved a few days sitting in a basically empty apartment in chilly Chiba before hitting the road for a month.

We finally go our address in Japan - I searched this address on diddlefinger and you can see a map of our location in Chiba here. The satellite image is much more interesting so make sure to click that tab in the upper left hand corner.

I’ve ordered some Yen from the bank, a stock of medicine for hubby and purchased all of the omiyage (gifts) so he’s almost ready to go. Now I have a month to take care of everything else before I head off….