Hello, Friends!
Applying for a tourist visa to Japan is one of the most daunting tasks an intrepid traveler who holds an immaculately brown Philippine passport will ever have to face. There is a mind-numbing list of documents for submission, some of which will take days - even weeks, perhaps months - to process.
And, when finally you think you have everything required, you'll realize the Japanese consulate prefers to deal with an accredited travel agent instead of seeing you face-to-face. Nothing personal. Just a way to pre-screen applicants who, like you, also hold an immaculately brown Philippine passport.
And there's simply too many of us
trying to get into
"The Land of the Rising Sun."
(HGB note: time to update that monicker into something more snazzy and current!)
Dusit Thani Manila was the very first 5-star digs I ever experienced as a kid. My dad booked a weekend for the entire family (2 parents + 6 kids) back when the hotel was still called "Hotel Nikko Manila Garden." I loved all of it - the shower cap, the little toiletries, the humongous bed...
I was ecstatic when, going down the list of travel agencies accredited by the Japanese Consulate in Manila, I saw that one was located in Dusit.
The hotel is even more snobbish than I remember... The lobby smells of some exotic blend of lilies and lemongrass, smiling attendants pad through the marbled foyer noiselessly, musicians play beautiful ethnic instruments, the grand staircase is rendered in solid hardwood, everything's covered in gold leaf - including, I'm sure, the kitchen sink.
If I'm gonna go through the full third-world experience of applying for a visa, I might as well do it in first-world style.
Honestly.
With Affection,
James