[Nyororin]

My first stay was only 3 months, I came to Japan from the US so I didn`t need to apply for a visa. There is a visa exemption policy between the US and Japan - up to 90 days and you receive an automatic tourist visa upon entry to the country.
What I did was stay here 3 months, then go back to the US for 3 months work really hard and save up enough to come back again... for 3 months. I did the same thing twice again after that 3 months - The next time I borrowed some money from friends and instead of going back to the US I took a 3 day long trip to Korea and then came back to Japan. If you leave the country at all they refresh your visa, so I was able to stay 6 months that time, during which I met my future husband-to-be. I went home to the US again after the 6 months, and my boyfriend came and visited me after a couple months (I was in the US again for 3 months working through the summer - he stayed with me for the last 3 weeks of it), and we came back again together. We decided to get married, so when my visa ran out that time I went home for Christmas, broke the news to everyone. I came back to Japan after the holidays (he paid) and we got married in the end of January. I got a spousal visa, and no longer had to worry about the going home mess and was able to legally work in Japan. So... I`ve only been home a couple short visits since then. (6 years ago)

Phew.