Bureaucracy

Dealing with governmental systems in Japan is not for the faint of heart. I'm exhausted today after getting a bank account, which took about 3 hours and 1 weekend to complete. To begin with, don't try doing it alone. You absolutely need a Japanese babysitter to hold your hand and do most of the actual work. Last week I went to the ward office (don't ask what it is as I don't know) and registered as a gaijin (foreigner), because I knew I would need to do that for the bank account (which I need if Iwant to get paid). They gave me a temporary paper and told me to come back in a month for the document. Last Friday I went with my Japanese babysitter to the bank where they told me that I needed a blue paper, not a white one from the ward office. So I trucked across town to get the blue paper. Couldn't come back to the bank that day as they close at 3. This morning, my babysitter and I went back to the bank with the blue paper and 3 other documents. Keiko filled out most of the information in Japanese. My date of birth was in year 22 of the emperor. Who knew? (Hopefully you can't figure out what year that is.) Anyway, I printed and signed my name, and they took the paper and we waited for 15 minutes. The banker came back and said that my name needed to be exactly the same as it was on my passport. I was perplexed. What was wrong? Apparently the passport has the name written in all capital letters. So we had to fill the paper out completly again, this time with my name in caps. Another 15 minute wait. The banker comes back to say that they want my last name first.
Another 15 minutes and I get my account. I'd like to get a cell phone, but I'm not sure I'm up to it. Meanwhile, the cherry blossoms are still lovely.