Paranoia fantastic...

I caught the ferry back to Fukuoka from Korea today. Pretty standard journey, caught the train then the ferry. I have an APEC travel card which means I don't need a visa to travel to certain countries and I can use diplomatic lanes at immigration points. Of course I was stopped (I reckon I have that criminal look because it happens to me everytime I go back to Australia without fail) and then detained for about 30 mins. These guys didn't really know what the APEC card was which was unusual considering the usual Japanese efficiency. It took one senior guy to finally recognise it but he still won't let me through and I had to go through a gazillion questions - why are you here? Where are you staying? What is the address? Do you have a return air ticket. At this point I was starting to get impatient and annoyed but since they held my passport and could block me from entering Japan, I had to be nice. Grr...I very kindly showed the guy that I've been in Japan the past two weeks before I went to Korea. It didn't matter - he had no idea what I was talking about. So...I waited and waited and waited and lucky I jotted down the name of the guesthouse I booked the other day. He finally came back and said "No problem now. Thank you for your cooperation."

Was that the end? Of course not...I got to customs and since I was the last passenger getting through and maybe through smoke signals or something, I had to unpack my carefully packed (stuff everything in and stomp the bag) and show him all the contents of my big bag. At this point I was VERY grumpy and I guess the guy could see it in my face and he kept apologising and then let me repack my bag.

I cleared customs into the arrival hall only to be met by two guys in plain clothes that flashed me their nice shiny badges. I was beginning to think I must be on the FBI most wanted list or something...Anyway, no point in getting angry with them so I asked what's up? They were very friendly and asked where I was staying and whether I could show them the address of my guesthouse to which I obliged. Then they apologised for disturbing me and thanked me for my cooperation and then explained the heightened security - good old G8 Summit is in Hokkaido next week. Argghh... You guys know that the G8 summits are like all over the world. I don't mind peaceful protests but to me, a lot of these guys are just hooligans out to cause trouble and make it worse for everyone else.

So the plain clothes cops told me to make sure I booked my hotel in Tokyo and carry a printout as they will be lots of police stopping people 'at random' for questioning in Tokyo. I guess there goes my peaceful walks in the parks and stuff. He also said I can have a lot of 'problems' if I don't pre-book my accommodation first. Sigh...so much paranoia. And Hokkaido is on the other side of Japan from where I am now (Kyushu).

At least now I'm sitting here typing this blog after having a very nice Japanese dinner tonight. I had no idea what I ordered but it was good. I am staying in a place near the city centre and there's lots and lots of back alleys and they're all littered with small Japanese restaurants that have nothing but Japanese writings on the wall. I took a chance after the 23rd restaurant (yes I was counting) and decided to go to one that was quite full. The menu had a tiny little picture but it was good enough for me. More photos on Facebook when I go home. :-)

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