Hello everyone! This is Jenny, and I will be talking about pre-departure items that I had to do before going to Japan! Some topics I will be talking about today are visits to the consulate, airport procedures, transportation, and SIM cards.
First of all, after receiving your Certificate of Admissions and Certificate of Eligibility, you will want to go to the Consulate of Japan to get your student visa (which will be added to your passport). Something to note is that their hours are a bit difficult to make, especially if you have classes, as they are closed on weekends and close at 3:00 PM every day. You will need these two certificates and your passport. It’s important to know that your passport will be taken and held until your given pick-up date, so you should make copies of both the certificates and your passport just in case you need any information. Along with these official documents, you will need to fill out the application form (see here for a list of needed documents including the link to the application pdf: https://www.honolulu.us.emb-japan.go.jp/files/100510594.pdf), and, on the application, you will need a photo (which is easy to get from Walgreens).
When you are close to approaching your flight, I really recommend that you register on Visit Japan Web (https://www.digital.go.jp/en/services/visit_japan_web-en/). This allows you to pre-register your customs, immigration, and COVID card, which will let you skip lines to make it easier at the airport. This is very helpful, as the airport is very crowded. One more tip is that you should make sure to plan out the time that you arrive in Japan since all the check-ins will take a long time. You don’t want to be stuck at the airport until late at night, then have to find a way to go to your accommodation (with all your suitcases). After filling out all the necessary information Visit Japan Web, you will be given QR codes for customs and immigration and a page to screenshot of your COVID card acceptance.
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