I'm an alien visitor

Last week I changed my visa status. I'm now a Temporary Visitor. Getting the visa was not too confusing as I'd gone through the same process in my first year here getting a re-entry permit which allowed me to come in and out of the country. First you go to the 7th floor of some official building where you find the Department of Immigration. This is possibly the only place in Sapporo where nobody speaks any English. You fill out the form and provide all the required evidence including your Alien Registration Card (yes, I'm a registered alien -nanu nanu), evidence of funds (did I mention that my bankbook has pictures of Felix the Cat on it? All the banks put some kind of cute cartoon character on their bankbooks), and a detailed schedule of your intended activities while in Japan. I put camping, although the only camping I've actually done was at the Rising Sun Rock Festival last weekend. Then you get sent down to the basement of the building, where strangely enough there is a convenience store, full of people buying rice balls and chocolate bars. You have to buy a stamp which looks exactly like a postage stamp but costs about 100 times as much. "I'll have a Snickers bar and a visa extension, thanks" kind of thing. Once you've got your really expensive stamp you go back upstairs, they do some more stuff to your passport, and you are allowed to still be in Japan. Yippee! A friend of mine forgot to get his visa changed before his 3 year work visa had finished, so just one day after his visa had expired he got a phone call crisply telling him to leave the country immediately. Superb efficiency!