Most JETs, at some point during their stay in Japan, will want to take a break to either go back home and visit family, or explore some of Japan’s neighboring countries. Either way, if you plan on leaving the country, make sure you…
Notify Your School/BOE
Most Contracting Organizations require very specific itineraries when you go abroad. Usually they will ask for your flight schedule, where you will be staying each night, and contact information. Casually mentioning it to a few English teachers doesn’t count; it is your responsibility to make sure your vice principal, BOE go-between, or whoever is “officially” responsible for you, has been notified in writing.
You might find it strange, but understand that this is very standard over here (yes, your Japanese coworkers have to do it too).
At the Airport:
Departure Procedures
Credit to Ceci for the following information
At an international airport, such as KIX, there is a special procedure for people with residence cards when going through immigration.
First, you will need to find the section with a sign for “Special Residents” or “Residence Card Holders”. There may be another sign with a picture of a residence card to guide you. Get your residence card out before you join the queue, as often there will be a staff member there to prevent the wrong people from joining (I have been body-blocked before, so just show them your residence card to avoid this!).
Second, you must fill in a short form (see above) called a re-entry departure record (sainyuukoku kyoka). This form requires basic information like your name and travel details. It can be collected from a stand or rack after you have entered the area. I recommend picking up multiple copies so that the next time you leave Japan, you can fill it out at home to save time.
Third, once the form is completed, join the queue. Sometimes this line is empty and sometimes it is extremely busy. This depends on the airport, as some use the same queue for families and residence card holders. At KIX, wait times can be up to 45 minutes here.
Finally, give the immigration officer the completed form, along with your passport and residence card. They will take half of the form (the departure part) and staple the other half into your passport. Do not remove this, as immigration will remove it upon re-entering Japan.
Arrival Procedures
When coming back to Japan, similar to the departing procedure, find the “Residence Card Holders” section and join the queue. Wait times vary again depending on the airport and/or arrival time. The immigration officer will get you to scan your fingerprints again and remove the stapled part of the re-entry departure record. Prior to coming back to Japan, a good tip is to fill out the Visit Japan Web form on your phone in order to have a seamless time through quarantine if you have nothing to declare. This skips the need to fill out a paper form and join a long queue and instead show the QR code and move to the exit quickly.
