Originally Posted by
joejones
It is clear that you need an onward ticket in order to change your status to "temporary visitor" if you are already in Japan under a different status.
Heh. I nearly ended up in the gaijin gulag in Shimonoseki in precisely that situation. The immigration officer demanded to see my onward ticket after changing my status. Thanks dude.
I'm sure I've mentioned it in this forum before. (Having a post office account book that showed a healthy balance was my get out of jail card).