Marriage, Covid, and Japan

The last year has been a blur. 

...make that the last two years. 

Who am I kidding? Life is a blur. I'm going to be pushing 40 soon. Huh? Didn't I just graduate from college? Weird.

OK....let's see...last I updated, I believe I had announced that I had quit the shipyard and was going to school for editing. Since then....

- Covid happened
- I finished school
- I rekindled my work-relationship with the poker media company -- PokerNews.
- I got married to my now wife, Ayumi. 
- I obtained Japanese residency. 

As I write this, I am quarantined in a tiny Japanese business hotel room. Covid has, of course, put a damper on international travel, but it is a straight pain in the ass to get into Japan right now. The second half of yesterday was one of the most unpleasant days of my life. I'll get back to that. 

The big elephant in the room -- yes, I got married. For anyone that doesn't know, I met Ayumi in early 2018 during a work trip in Japan. We began dating and decided to try and make things work. Several trips (on both ends) to each other's countries and the ability to stay in constant contact (yay internet) have led us to where we are today. 

Having said that, Ayumi and I vacationed in Honolulu this past December and it was there that we got married. This was more or less a "paper marriage." We do plan on having a smaller ceremony/party at some point, but it is a difficult proposition at the moment between Covid and the fact we have family in two different (far away) countries. 

The vacation was a very nice reprieve from "virus life." Here are some photos (forgive my lack of layout skills using blogger):














From that time, it took about seven months to square everything away (marriage recognition/paperwork from both USA and Japan). The general process to get a spousal visa and into Japan went as follows:

- Got married in America
- Hired a lawyer in Japan who specializes in USA-Japanese spousal visas
- Ayumi provided all sorts of proof that it was a valid marriage (time together, photos, marriage certificate, etc)
- Obtained a "certificate of eligibility" from the Japanese government (which basically just states that I am eligible to get a visa)
- Submitted that and other paperwork to the Seattle embassy.
- Obtained a temporary visa and a load of paperwork that deals with quarantining after arrival because of the virus
- Flew to Japan

...which leads me to the time of writing. After arriving in Japan about 11 hours after the time of departure (I had a layover in Vancouver BC), I had to run the "covid gauntlet," and what a gauntlet it turned out to be. 

Basically, you get herded from check point to check point, which includes getting a covid test, installing tracking/compliance applications on your phone (required for 14 days after landing in Japan), going through customs, and finally waiting to be transported to a government hotel for a mandatory 3-day quarantine (as part of the 14-day total quarantine). Every step of the way involved lengthy lines and explanations from Japanese authorities. I also happened to be on a plane with a lot of Olympians from Canada, which lengthened the process.

eyyy - I'm a resident of Japan

I landed in Narita at about 2pm local time and wasn't checked into my "quarantine hotel" and settled until about 10pm. The jetlag, lack of sleep, and overall fatigue hit me really hard around 7pm and I honestly thought I was going to throw up. I felt terrible...not fun. (bonus: I also had to hold in my pee to the absolute breaking point before I could use the toilet in my room). Here's where I am (and unable to leave) for the next three days: 



It's not all bad. They will deliver me three bento boxes a day and it's all (the stay and food) subsidized by the government. After I'm finished here, I will be shuttled back to Narita, where I will meet a hired driver to finally drive me home in Yokohama. From there, I will continue to quarantine and "check in" (using apps to let the government know where I am and that I am actually quarantining) for the remainder of the 14-day process. 

Ayu and I decided that we will live in Japan for at least two years (the length of our lease for our new apartment in Yokohama). I will be making sporadic trips back to America, including a work trip from late September until late November.

...and that's pretty much it! I intend to make studying the Japanese language a priority and look forward to this next chapter in my life. I've been contemplating making a "Dan in Japan"-type blog while I'm out here to document my experiences. We'll see, but for now -- がんばります




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