Japan Tourist Visa

Could anyone tell me the process and general difficulty of getting a japanese tourist visa for a thai? I can't even find the embassy's website for it. Is my fiancee's prospects at all viable?:

pro: I (US citizen) will be a student there 4 months, my school dean in tokyo has agreed to write letter attesting to my, and by implication, my gf's legitimacy, she has 10k USD in bank, we've been to many Asian countries before (I can scan my passport to prove). she owns half million baht parcel of land exclusively in her name in udon.

con: she is ladyboy, the bank account is in her grandma's name (though she's had exclusive control over it forever, but I can't think of anyway to prove that), she's self employed through relative's beverage stall, so no official salary, etc. ouch

I'm also worried about the timing- i probably won't get my certificate of elibility until next week, then i have to go to a local consulate here in USA to get the actual visa.... then i'd forward a copy to the bkk embassy... would that be in time for my gf to get an early january tourist visa?