LG DV392H Region Free

Also today I decided to try out a new DVD player from CostCo. The LG DV392H for ￥6400.



It's quite a thin DVD player, it has video and HDMI out.



The silver in this picture is the previous DVD player for region 4 DVD's, this will be donated to the in-laws.

By default it was set to region 2, but after following the instructions listed on this page, I was able to play all of my Australian DVD's on it. The picture quality is quite good, though a little jerky in places. I will update after I turn off the "upscailing" feature.

Souvenirs for Australia

Today we went to CostCo and I picked up some GIANT bags of snacks to hand out to my friends in Australia.

They will be different enough from regular Australian snacks as to be interesting, but not so different as to be strange. I didn't bother with the type that had a small dried fish inside the bag, those just make me want to heave looking at them.

Omiya Immigration Office

All done! Today I transferred my visa over to my new passport and also spent ￥3000 on a re-entry permit.

Also I took my son along, he thoroughly enjoyed the train trip and looking at all of the trains.

If you want to get to the only immigration office in all of Saitama, you might want some directions.




Here we have KitaYono station, it was a little bit of a pain to get to as not all trains stop there. So we had to change at Omiya and wait for a local train, these go once every 40 minutes.

Exit the station and turn left.



The first thing you see is Queen's Isetan, this is a truly ordinary shopping centre. If you are still new to Japan, you'll find it very interesting. If you are an old hand, avoid it.



To the left is the Saitiama Immigration Office. Mission accomplished.

Here's a few tips
1. Bring a pen. There probably is another form to fill out.
2. Bring a book. It's pretty busy and you might have to wait.
3. Expect to take a walk to the post office to buy a stamp to cover the cost of your transaction.

After we handed in my paperwork, we walked to the post office. In the time it took us to walk there, buy the stamp and walk back, my visa details had been completed. I guess it was very fast this time as this wasn't my first re-entry permit.

In other news I have also booked my hotel for next month. Sydney here I come!

Wow, Passport, Wow

It just arrived!

The guy came from Japan Post and delivered it just a few minutes ago.

Under a week to get my new passport? Awesome!

And each of the pages has really cool artwork on them, looking at them made me feel a little homesick. No problem though, I am going back to Oz next month for 1 week. Yay!

Getting to the Australian Embassy

Today I went to the Australian Embassy, while there is a handy map on the embassy website, it will help you a lot if you can see some of the land marks.

Here's the Wendy's located next to the exit of Azabu Juban Station.

And here is the police box that is across the road, now turn around!

This is the way you should be heading, down the street.

You can see the Shuto Expressway over head, go along this road.

And on the right hand side of the street, we have a pretty funky looking building. The Australian Embassy!

It took me over an hour and a half to get there from home, but of course I live all the way up in Saitama, so I guess that's life.

Once inside it took about 10 minutes to review my paperwork. ￥15900 and a few cuts made to my existing passport and I will have my new one in my hands within 10-14 days. Yay!

Next I will need to have my 3 year visa moved over and apply for a re-entry permit. Fun Fun FUN!

Advice for fellow Australians:
Bring cash, they don't take credit cards.
Have your forms completed before you arrive.
Don't eat at Wendy's Japan, the food is crap and the drinks will have exactly 45% ice. Even the large.

Stopping support for IVF treatments

Recently I read a tear jerker article about how the Labor Government in Australia is reducing the subsidy for IVF treatments.

Infertile couples paying a heavy price for Labor

Good.

Lets get some facts straight

A woman's fertility is highest from 19-14 and seriously begins to decline by 35. Source Wikipedia.
If a woman is working from 19/22 to 35 we can assume that she will have some savings to show for this, along with the support of her husband. DINKS.

For people to ignore their biological limits while pursuing a career and then to turn around and expect the tax-payer to support them when they decide to have a family is the height of arrogance.

For people who say that they didn't meet their soul mate until later in life, too bad. On a planet with over SIX BILLION people, the chances of your soul mate being born in a geographically close position is absurd, combine differences of ethnicity, religion and culture and your "soul mate" might not be a good match. Those divine spirits have a lot to answer for, imho.

A compromise needs to be sought.

Either you were working and joining the frenzy of people to push real estate prices to the point where only people on a dual income can afford a house or you couldn't get your life in order within the biological time limits imposed upon you by evolution. Either way, I don't feel like paying more money to support your choices, the same way that I don't feel like supporting people to start single parent families.

For me, I have understood the limits of my humanity for over half my life (since I was 15) and have sought to work within those limits rather than to hope that science will help me overcome them later in life. I have moved to a country where I can afford a modest apartment on a single income. We've had (and having) our children early enough so that we will still be "young" when they leave home and can enjoy our life as well as our grandchildren.

Life is not easy or fair, I've played by the rules despite my own shortcomings and done OK. Don't expect me to support you because you didn't and couldn't.

Time for a new passport

Sigh, it's now time for me to get a new passport.

I've filled in the application forms and got my passport photos today.

Next I need to make an appointment with the Australian Consulate as well as get a "guarantor" to sign the photos.

I'm expecting to pay ￥14000 or so for the new passport.

THEN, once I have the passport I will need to go to Japanese immigration and apply for a new visa & re-entry permit to be placed into the new passport.

Fun Fun Fun!