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So as Mari and I are soon to be embarking on our sellout Australian tour, I had to make my way to the Immigration Department to get a re-entry permit.

A re-entry permit is a little money making scheme by the Japanese government to charge visa holders to get back into the country. A “one use only” re-entry permit sets you back 3000-yen. A “multiple use” one (it expires when your working visa expires) sets you back an additional 3000-yen. So if you know that you’re going to come back into Japan more than once during the term of your visa the “multiple use” one is the way to go.

The re-entry permit has changed since I last had one. The new one has a 2-D barcode. These new barcodes are everywhere here now. Many mobile phones have a scanner in them that can read these new barcodes. For instance, if a shop’s advertisement has the barcode then a quick scan will take you to the shop’s web page. Handy if you want to find out where the shop is, what’s on sale, etc…



I wonder what information the barcode on my permit links to?