My wife's residency card period of stay is in September, so she finished the application process in August at the immigration office. This time we went to get a new residence card.
Due to the effects of the new corona, the Tokyo Immigration Bureau has been designating admission times based on numbered tickets. It would have been better if we could make a reservation on the Internet in advance, but we had to go there to get a numbered ticket because Japan is an IT-developed country.
The last time I went to apply, I didn't know about that situation (it's not listed on the website), and when I got my numbered ticket, it wasn't until three hours later that I could get in.
The Tokyo Regional Immigration Office is located a little far from Shinagawa Station (it takes about 25 minutes by walk, but not more than 10 minutes by bus), so I had to go shopping to kill time. In addition, it was useless because I didn't know that only I could apply in person (I thought I could apply by proxy).
This time, I made a schedule to arrive before 8:00 a.m. because of that reflection and my wife's request to go to Tokyo Sky Tree.
There are many foreigners as usual, there was a long line, but we were able to enter at 9:00. However, it was hard work after that; we thought we wouldn't have much time to wait because we had already been given permission to receive our residence cards, but it was unbelievable.
The reception itself was smooth, but it took an hour and 45 minutes to get the residence card. We had to take a social distance due to the new corona, so we could only use half the seats in the waiting room, and standing up was very tiring indeed.
Why does it take so long to get permission? I can only speculate here, but I think it's because the date of issuance (the date of issuance at the counter) is written on the card, so the card is made after receiving it at the immigration office.
When printing on plastic cards, it seems to take 35 seconds per card by magicard. When I think about the time to input and check the finished card, it takes at least one minute.
This time the reception number was 114, so maybe an hour and 45 minute wait was in order. However, I wondered if there was something I could do.
The immigration office is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but I have the impression that there are fewer people there in the late afternoon. So I'm thinking of going there next year at the late afternoon.
