petina wrote:

QUOTE:
Arguing your case would not achieve anything...
just get them offside, maybe :unsure:

since the answer is currently no, the outcome could not be any worse. by japanese coworkers agree that I should pursue it further, and that the person I dealt with was probably just a bad person to talk to.

Cravez wrote:

QUOTE:

ThomBoh wrote:

QUOTE:
Highcommander, you implied that I might not want to mention my intention to use the Japan Rail Pass? Is there a reason for that? I mean the way I see it it's the only compelling reason for them to grant me the temporary visitors visa, as there's nothing else from stopping me from being in Japan until May 10th since my work visa won't expire.

Possibly, it may be because (MAY be) that transport is a lucrative source of revenue for the country. I know when i went to Japan i spent over 1000 euros on Shinkansen tickets on a 470 euro 3 week j-rail pass. They only issue these to people who are in Japan on temporary vistor visa with intentions for Tourism/cultural exchange/visting family etc. The fact that you are on a different visa to a temporary vistor, mentioning that you want to change over to the temporary vistor visa while on a college/internship visa and get a j-rail pass might be shooting yourself in the foot. To some people it seems logical to do that since it saves money, but when it involves government it gets tricky since they may be effectively losing money.

I can understand the frustration though, it is expensive to use Shinkansen but at the same time you are caught inbetween time lines that makes getting a j-rail pass a bit difficult while trying to act within the rules.

Just a question, you say you are going back to Canada May 10th and your internship finishes on April 28th. Do you HAVE to be back in Canada on May 10th for any reason? I was thinking that when your Internship ends, letting immigration know that you have finished your internship should write off your visa status, you could always go home and fly back again? (would that be too expensive?). I say this because you need to be outside Japan to get a j-rail pass anyway, as far as im aware you can't get them inside the country since they are only issued to foreigners and external Japanese. You may be able to get one in South Korea, but im not 100% sure.

While I can appreciate the government's desire to make money off the shinkansen, I assume the JR Passes are offered to make it possible for people to be able to afford to come to Japan and spend money in the hospitality/tourism sector when they otherwise would not be able to, which is my situation. There's no way I can afford to stay and travel without a JR Pass, and I'll simply have to go home after my internship. And if I'm not staying, then my two other friends who were going to come to Japan to travel with me would not come either. The outcome is purely a loss of thousands of dollars in tourism. I've tried to see it from both sides, but from what I can tell they have nothing to gain from not granting me temporary visitor status for my travels, which is what really seems strange to me about this whole thing.

With regards to going home on May 10th, I'm returning to Canada at that time for school. Going back to Canada and coming back to Japan again before then is totally out of the question as the flight would cost over a thousand dollars and take about two days. I was planning on getting the JR Pass in Korea where it's readily available. If I can somehow find a way to fly to Korea again and back the same day after my internship ends for ~$200 it's looking like that might be my best option. I'm assuming that South Korea is the closest and cheapest international destination to fly to, yes?

Thanks again for your thoughts on this.