Japanese Efficency : Myth or Truth ?

Exactly 45 days after moving to Tokyo..... how do I feel about Tokyo now ? Nothing much has changed my impression of Tokyo.

Tokyo is still fairly interesting to me, except it amazes me how the most highly "wired" country can be so manual when it comes to policies. Being singaporean.... probably i'm saying so because i am comparing between Singapore and Japan.

Trying to renew my wife's tourist visa, took 2 visits to the immigration department and short of reaching across the counter to choke the immigration clerk. Converting my wife's tourist visa to a dependent visa was a little bizzare.

First we queued inline, had clerked asked us question, checked all the application forms against our passport and "Alien" registration card to make sure our particulars are filled in correctly. Then we waited 6 hrs till we were called, all hopeful to get my wife's new visa, but instead were told to fill up a postcard with our mailing address and then to go home and wait for them to mail us the application result. The immigration clerk says they don't know when they will know the result, just wait at home. ?!?!?!

Hmmmm..... spend a total of 3 trips to the immigration dependent, just to be told to go home and wait.. Why can't they have save us that 6 hr wait by just accepting our forms, ask us to filled the postcard and go home to wait at that by that first clerk ?? hmmmm..... so much for japanese precision and efficiency :)

This is probably the first time I REALLY REALLY appreciate just how efficient singapore is.....