Japan tourist visa, step by step
A Japanese temporary visitor visa covers tourism, visiting relatives and short business trips. It is issued for a single entry, or for two or multiple entries where the applicant qualifies, and each entry allows a stay of either 30 or 90 days depending on the visa granted.
Where you apply
You apply to the Japanese consulate whose district covers where you live in the United States, and the districts are not obvious: Nevada belongs to San Francisco, West Virginia to New York, and California is split by ZIP code. The district decides which office accepts your file.
Several offices also accept applications by post, and some run a drop box. The consulate keeps your passport while the visa is processed, so plan around not having it for a few days.
How long it takes
The standard published time is a small number of working days once the file is complete. What varies is whether it is complete: reviewers describe being turned away at the counter over staples, over photocopies and over a supporting letter that was not in the format expected.
Reviewers at more than one consulate report the same thing: the file that is right the first time comes back in days, and the file that is not can take weeks.Single, double and multiple entry
A temporary visitor visa comes in three shapes. A single-entry visa is used once. A double-entry visa allows two. A multiple-entry visa allows repeated visits over its validity, and it is granted on the applicant's history and circumstances rather than on request.
The stay granted at the border is 30 or 90 days depending on the visa, and it is separate from the visa's validity. A multiple-entry visa valid for five years still admits you for 90 days at a time.
Applying with a guarantor in Japan
Where the trip is funded or hosted by someone in Japan, that person becomes the guarantor and supplies their own documents: a letter of guarantee, proof of income, and a copy of their residence record. Those documents come from Japan and are the part that takes time.
Ask your guarantor to start collecting their paperwork before you begin yours. The applicant's half of a temporary visitor file takes an afternoon; the guarantor's can take weeks.After the visa is issued
The consulate holds your passport while it works, and returns it with the visa inside. Check the dates before you leave the counter: the validity period is when you may enter, not how long you may stay, and a visa that expires the week of your flight is a problem you want to find in the building.