Visa Run Clock Ticking

No tracker movement for a few days as my permission to be in Japan needed a refresh. I made it to Korea with a day to spare, and met up with Yumiko (who was taking a well-earned break from work) in Seoul. Time flew, but we had fun and went up the Namsan Tower for a view of this immense metropolitan area, population 26 million. Mind-boggling that cities function at all, and even more impressive that they seem to function remarkably well.

However, I digress, because a visa run isn't done until the return leg is complete, and this time - for a while - that was in the balance, (book plug opportunity). I was handed over to a different immigration officer who said that I had overstayed, which isn't the case at all. I gently pushed back to highlight that my documentation is all fully in order including extensions and exit dates. I stayed upbeat, and explained the journey with the help of some pictures and the oh-so-useful YB Tracker app, hoping to demonstrate that I am not living in Japan but simply trying to windsurf round the main archipelago: "Starto Chiba, finish Chiba, then leave Japan," I half-explained, half-pleaded.

After some questioning and some waiting, I was required to write and sign a pledge that I would leave Japan within 90 days. I scribbled what would more accurately be described as a statement of intent to complete the journey and be gone within that time period. No more extensions was the message. The clock is ticking.

Hopefully this result is good enough to enable me to complete the journey. It's not fun dealing with immigration, and I feel for all those without a passport or the permission to be where they want to be.

Afterwards - a little shell-shocked - I got on the wrong bullet train that flew past my desired stop without actually stopping. No mishaps after that, and I eventually got back to Ichiki Fureai Onsen Center, where the very obliging Manube-san was caring for the board.

Back to the adventure. Maybe I am going soft; or maybe the under-the-sail camping has got tougher in the rainy season, with climbing temperatures, and the mosquitoes ever more numerous. Certainly, good sleep has been difficult to come by. To remedy this I have taken delivery of a lightweight one-person tent; and to offset the weight gain I have jettisoned the bivvy bag and downgraded my sleeping bag to a much skinnier model. Last night I slept like a baby.

This morning I've repaired the board (having left it to drain while I was away), switched harness lines, and done a few other small jobs. Sometimes the sailing is the easy part. Next is to send this update, then rig the sail. And then head out for the first miles, of the first push, of this third visa period.