The Japan Years

We've Moved!

2010-07-18T08:59:00.004+09:00

If you hadn't guessed it by now, considering our abrupt shutting down of the blog for the past nine months, we have returned to the States. Our experience in Japan was a wonderful chapter in our lives and we feel honored to have experienced all that we did and to meet the wonderful people we met while in the Land of the Rising Sun. Also, we thank those of you that have followed this blog over its four years of life.

We started a new blog shortly after our return Stateside, which we find ourselves posting to irregularly. If you are interested in following it, follow this link:

http://norcalyears.blogspot.com/

As for The Japan Years blog, it is time for us to say "Sayonara" and "Domo Arigatou Gozaimasu".

UPDATE: After this post, we've moved yet again... this time to Germany. You can continue to follow us at our Germany blog, The Wurst Years:

http://wurstyears.blogspot.com/

Someone's Turning 1... and Walking

2009-10-01T07:25:00.004+09:00

Amongst all our recent business, Samuel will be turning one year this coming Monday. I will be busy making a cake. I REALLY can't believe how quickly it's come by. This is a quickie but hopefully I'll come up with something a little more articulate in a couple of days.

Addendum: Sam is walking. He's been cruising for a while now and we knew he had the ability, but tonight was the first time he actually put the courage into it to take a few steps without grabbing for the nearest table or chair. That's one small step for baby, one giant leap towards toddlerhood.

Cake Boss

2009-09-06T17:43:00.002+09:00

No, not the guy on TLC... but me! When I asked what Nicki wanted for her birthday cake this year, she told me "chocolate cake with butter-cream frosting". Thank goodness I have mad cake-making skills and a top secret weapon (thanks Google).

In all honesty, fortunately for me, I stumbled upon the greatest website for uber engineering geeks like me, Cooking for Engineers. The host of that website knows his stuff; and he knows how to present it in a manner that engineers will understand - step by step, with pictures, and no nonsense details (the comments at the bottom of his recipe pages are great, too).

Without further ado, and with a tip of the hat to my mom (who is bar none the best cake maker I've ever met in person), behold the majesty of my first ever homemade from scratch birthday cake:

Mahalo for your kokua watching out for our keiki

2009-09-02T19:39:00.007+09:00

Aloha!

You know what's fun? Going on a work trip to Hawaii.

You know what's more fun? Taking the family along and having a few days of rest and relaxation around the work schedule to ease the pain of summer's demise.

We spent August 16-23 on O'ahu, with the primary purpose being my attendance at a training course. The secondary purpose was fun, fun, fun. I gotta tell you, though, when we first arrived, Sam had some major jet lag - to the extent that my first pictures during the trip were night shots as I was strolling him through Waikiki at all hours of the night so that Nicki and Josh could get some shut eye.

We spent the first couple of days lounging around Waikiki Beach and met a few times with our old friends, Kristin and Dan, and their kids; who happen to be living on the windward side of O'ahu these days. My class kept me busy through August 20, but after that, we made the most of our time on the island.

On the 21st, we planned a big trip to the North Shore, only to find out amongst the entire island traffic jam that Aug 21st was the 50th anniversary of Hawaii's Statehood and was declared a state holiday. We went with the flow and managed to have a lot of fun up in Hale'iwa for a few hours. We stopped in at Cafe Hale'iwa to eat some brunch... banana pancakes for me... to die for. If you ever make it to Hale'iwa, be sure to get there on an empty stomach and hit the cafe. I promise you won't be disappointed. A few hours later, we stopped by Matsumoto's Store, which sells all kinds of stuff but is famous for its Shave Ice. When we got there, the line was out the door - FAR out the door. The Shave Ice was worth the wait. We eventually made it back down to Waikiki in time to watch the sunset, so with camera in hand I shot as many pictures as I could in the window of perfect lighting that occurs around Hawaii sunsets.

On Saturday, we went out to Kailua and Lanikai Beach. Lanikai Beach is in a residential area along the windward side, and its one of the most picturesque spots I've ever had the pleasure to shoot photos. The really good pictures from our trip came from this location (all pics are on our Gallery, dated 09/02/2009). We spent a few hours on the beach playing in the sand, but packed up early so that we could see our friends one last time before leaving the island. Before we left Kailua, we stopped at Bob's Pizza. Bob's a good guy and his pizza slices are huge. He makes authentic Boston style pizza, but I gotta tell you it reminds me a lot of Bronx Pizza in San Diego, hands down my favorite pizza joint on the planet Earth. But I know well enough not to compare anything "Boston" style to anything "New York" style... that'd be like adding gasoline to a fire. So I'll just say that if you ever find yourself in the Kailua area and you need a break from the natural beauty of the town itself (and its beaches), then head over to Bob's for the largest slice of "wicked good" pizza on O'ahu.

Sunday was a travel day. We woke up, returned the rental car, and took a shuttle over to the airport terminal. It's hard to say goodbye to Hawaii, so I'll finish this post in the same manner that I started it.

Aloha!

Letting the Cat Out of the Bag

2009-08-09T20:39:00.005+09:00

I'll be honest. I'm very much an optimist about most things. I rarely carry an umbrella on cloudy days, I'm a stock market "bull", and when life tosses me lemons, I try to make lemonade. But sometimes... lemons can start to pile up.

Today started out great. Overnight, I marinated sliced beef in my top secret homemade teriyaki recipe. This morning I got up early, added a secret blend of herbs and spices, and set the meat into the dehydrator to make some jerky. Then, Nicki and I got the kids ready (okay, so it was more Nicki than me), and we headed to Kurihama to catch the ferry over to Chiba... destination Kamogawa Seaworld. We've taken the Kurihama Ferry several times in the past and the benefit is that we can drive our car straight on, so we can bring basically everything we need for the day and still have wheels on the Chiba side to get around. Kamogawa Seaworld (which has no affiliation to Sea World back in the States) is fun: killer whales, sharks, dolphins, sea lions, sea otters, etc. We left the park a little after 3pm to get back to the ferry terminal out of Chiba, and were able to catch a boat right on time.

On the ferry ride, we discussed dinner plans and decided on our favorite sushi spot, near the intersection of Route 16 and 134, south of base. Unfortunately, it was crowded when we arrived and Sam was already beginning to fuss, an indicator that he was hungry and tired. No big deal, we just left and moved to our second option, the Korean BBQ joint in the same restaurant plaza area. The meal was good, but Sam was awful, screaming at the top of his lungs and squirming like a fish out of water.

After the meal, as I was loading Sam into his car seat, the parking spot next to ours opened up. Someone tried to pull in, but Sam's door was open and I was there trying to get his arms strapped into the restraints. Instead of waiting the necessary 10 seconds for me to get this done, the driver of the waiting car decided to honk his horn at me not once, but twice. The first time, I ignored him, hoping that he'd see I was obviously trying to get my squirmy tired kid into the car safely. The second time, I straightened up and shrugged my arms and shoulders at the guy, and said "what do you want me to do?... wait a minute" (as if he could understand me). After that, I finished strapping Sam into the seat, and got into the car myself. After all, if I had moved out of his way when he first honked, the guy would have parked but none of his passengers could have gotten out until I moved anyway. And the whole ordeal was about 30 seconds... Then, after I got in the car, I had to help Josh because his belt was a little tough to maneuver tonight. At this point, the other driver had pulled in and just sat in the driver's seat staring at us. His family got out of the car, but he just sat there staring, even as we pulled out and pulled away.

When we finally made it home, Sam went down like a sack of potatoes. He was tired... Josh, on the other hand, had a great day and was chop full of energy. To expedite his bedtime routine, I told him I'd "race" him to see who could get pajamas on first. Then, I heard Nicki downstairs saying, "Uh Oh" followed quickly by "OH NO". Then, I felt it... an EARTHQUAKE. I immediately ran into Josh's room, where I saw him standing, with a blank expression on a pale white face. I asked, "Are you okay?", to which he replied, "Something is just making a lot of noise in here". I had to explain that it was an earthquake, which he's learned about in school and even lived through a time or two in the past. But this is the first one that he's felt since he's been old enough and knowledgeable enough to comprehend. He didn't like it one bit. Nicki and I spent about 10 minutes explaining earthquakes, how and why they happen, how to respond, where our emergency kit is located, and that it is okay to be scared but important to be smart when events like that happen. After tucking Josh in, I checked the web. Sure enough, about 150 miles from here, a 7.1 magnitude quake struck at 7:55pm, right before Josh's 8pm bedtime.

This post has helped me put things in perspective and focus on the positive:

1. Sea World was fun and I had a great day with my family.
2. The Kurihama Ferry is a great experience and well worth the cost when traveling to the southern part of Chiba.
3. Southern Chiba is absolutely beautiful, especially along the east coast - an excellent blend of rural rice farming and small surf town mentality.
4. Although sushi would have been tasty, the Korean BBQ was excellent too.
5. My beef jerky is out-of-this-world delicious.

Everything else is... just lemons.

Chinhae, South Korea

2009-07-09T20:18:00.005+09:00

Back in early May, I had the good fortune of being sent on a business trip to Chinhae (sometimes seen as Jinhae), South Korea. Although my work provides service for Korea, I had yet to go over during my previous three years in Asia. What a great trip...

Chinhae is a small city about an hour or so from Busan, Korea's second largest city. The US has a small navy presence there, but it is in the shadows of the Korean navy's much larger presence there. The rest of the city embraces the military areas, but the place has a very small town feel to it, almost like some of the country towns along the mid-Atlantic area where I grew up. Except pretty much everyone on the streets is speaking Korean.

Since it was my first (and maybe last...) trip to Chinhae, I wanted to see it all. I walked the town's central area about a half dozen times, taking pictures of almost everything I saw. Except the areas that the Koreans have posted the "NO PHOTOS HERE" signs, basically, anywhere in range of the military zones.

During the weekend while I was in Korea, I took advantage of a MWR trip to Jirisan National Park, to visit a temple and a waterfall. The last real hike I'd been on was my Mt Fuji trip several years back, and man did it wear me out!

During my stay, I also ate fun foods, visited a farmer's market, strolled along an eco garden... and I did some work, too. The photos turned out great and they are in the Gallery, dated 07/09/2009.

Yokosuka Navy Burger

2009-06-29T11:06:00.003+09:00

Have you had a Yokosuka Navy Burger? Recently the Yokosuka City Government has worked to put our little Navy town on the map. The US Navy passed down a recipe to the city who has chosen several restaurants downtown to serve (as one article put it) this delicacy. I have never heard of a burger being described as a delicacy but whatever floats their boat! According to the pamphlet that I picked up at Yokohama Keikyu stop, there are 11 different restaurants in Yokosuka serving up their own style of the Yokosuka Navy Burger. Each establishment puts a little something different on top and a "secret" ingredient to make their burger different.

Other recent additions to the town have been a small Ferry boat tour over by the mall. It looks like the tour includes a cruise around the bay to see all of the Navy ships. (US Navy and the Japanese Defense force ships and subs.) For those wondering, 'Why on earth would I go out of the way to see Yokosuka?' The advertisment also mentions Spasso, Monkey Island (It's one of the few remaining natural islands left off the coast) and Mikasa Park. (Where there is a Japanese battle ship from the Russian war and a fantastic water fountain show). Oh yeah, and we just got a Burger King. (I may be the only one excited about this....)

Japanese Baby Food Update

2009-06-17T07:21:00.002+09:00

Thanks Illahee for the input on Japanese jarred baby food! This weekend we all drove up to Gunma prefecture to visit friends and they have a baby as well. Supposedly their baby's daycare pushes not to bring jarred baby food whenever possible because of the preservatives. They suggest mashing it at home. They also say no fruit....here, it's a dessert. I haven't found other brands of baby food besides Kewpie so, I'm going to have to go on a little hunt. I used to mash it myself for Joshua but now, I am a bit lazy and just buy the American Gerber brand at the Commissary. In the states when companies first came out with baby food, they packed them with salt and sugar and preservatives. Customers stopped buying so they changed their recipes to only have water and veggies/fruit. However when it comes to meat jarred food, I'm not sure what the ingredients are. Gerber now has organic options but that can get boring after a while. There are only a few options for organic....again, it gets a little monotonous.

Samuel loves baby senbei. He especially likes the veggie flavor ones. However, anything that he can hold and feel more grownup with he absolutely adores. I will have to try white fish with milk. I gave him small bits of Salmon in mashed rice and he gobbled it up.

I usually feed Sam brown rice cereal mixed with mama milk. Mike's parents just sent Sam a package of Familia Baby Muesli that I used to feed Joshua. I had totally forgotten about feeding that to Joshua when he was little. When I opened the bag it was like a little flood of memories feeding my little blond curly haired Joshua in his highchair in San Diego. I can start giving him that at 9 months. I may see if I can suggest it at the Commissary.....

Korea

2009-06-06T15:41:00.003+09:00

This last holiday weekend, Mike and I decided to take the family to Seoul, to visit our very close friends that we met here in Japan. They are mentioned a lot through the years in our blog. We went to Hida Takayama with them and to the Navy Ball. Nathalie was a very close mommy friend of mine. Always inspiring me to do more and see more all the time. They left Japan last year and moved to South Korea. We promised ourselves that we would go and see them. It took us a while to get up and go though. It feels like just recently we've come out of the baby haze. Plus, it's not really a great destination to go to during the winter unless one like to ski or snowboard or, just freeze! When spring hit we knew that it was the right time especially because during the Summer they go back to the States to visit family every year.

Our original trip was to just see our friends but we ended up doing so much more. DMZ, Lotte World and the SHOPPING!! The DMZ was definitely educational and it was really amazing to see how much of a tourist attraction it was. Strange. Despite the overall sadness of a divided country. There was a museum and even amusement rides located there. Lotte World is one of the largest indoor amusement parks in the world. There's an ice skating rink, roller coasters, kiddy rides, monorail to connect to another island, and shopping mall. Speaking of shopping, I have to conclude by saying the shopping was really a lot of fun. After being in Japan for so long, it's refreshing to go somewhere where I can spend about $100 and walk away with more than just one thing in my hand, especially now that the value of a dollar is in the toilet. The Korean people are very different from the Japanese... much more westernized. Needless to say it really was a fun trip. I recommend it to anyone living in Japan whose getting a little island fever! Pictures will follow soon and I'm sure that Mike's version of our trip will follow soon as well.

Japanese Baby Food

2009-06-05T07:27:00.006+09:00

There are many types of foods in Japan to feed your baby. A plethora of options await once baby starts eating solids. In fact, the Japanese baby may start of different fluids much earlier than the American baby. Americans are advised to do strictly breast milk or formula for the first few months. While the Japanese mother may be advised to supplement a bottle a little water after a bath. Japanese Mothers may also bottle feed miso soup or other fluids much earlier. While there is no "right" way, I leaned more to the American way early on. Only mama's milk for the first few months. For me though, Samuel got teeth by his 5th month (Joshua was 4 months when his first popped). He wasn't taking a bottle either. When Joshua was born and he was bottle fed, I remember listening to breastfeeding moms venting about their babies who wouldn't take a bottle and thinking 'Yeah right, if their hungry enough, they'll take it!' Well Samuel changed my thinking about that in about 2 seconds. I started realizing as well how irritating it was to hear people say that same statement to me. Anyway, again I am getting off subject.

Needless to say, I've been slowly muddling through the baby aisle at the local AVE or drug store. Most of the time, I stick with what I can get at the commissary which isn't too much. Because I am illiterate when it comes to reading Japanese, I don't know exactly what I am feeding Samuel when I feed him Japanese baby food. I mean, I can see from the picture and the English wording on the front that I'm feeding "Pumpkin Pudding" but, how much sugar, salt, additives, etc. are in it? I know from reading other blogs that there are organic options out there but where?! He absolutely loves some of the Japanese baby jar food that I've fed him. I tried it myself and it is very good. At the commissary on base there is organic baby food with just water and pureed fruit/vegetables. I used to make Joshua's baby food but really, I am a little burnt out on that. I suppose this post is partly question blog and partly report on what I've been experimenting on. There are some really neat little options in the baby food isle of the store but, what is it all? It looks like there is a rice cereal looking thing that I can plop in the rice cooker? Samuel also loves the Danon vegetable yogurt that I get for him out in town. I tried it myself and am not really a fan. It's like a veggie puree with gelatin atop yogurt but the yogurt tastes more like sour cream to me. I usually open it up and then mix it together (sort of like fruit on the bottom American yogurts) It's not super sweet, I'm pretty sure there isn't much sugar in it (Many Japanese mothers don't even feed their babies fruit the first year. Too sweet. They just stick to veggies). Like I stated earlier Samuel loves it and I'm not a fan but I don't really like gelatin type things. He likes it better than the organic fruit baby yogurt that I get on base and I love that stuff! He also really enjoys the baby rice crackers. There are several different types. He likes these better than the small Gerber Puffs and wagon wheels. They are also much cleaner than the tradition zwieback toast.

So here are the questions again. What are the general rules/standards in Japan that manufacturers have to adhere to for baby food? Are there organic options and where can I find them? Any mama's out there help! Thanks.

Just call me Martha

2009-06-03T18:06:00.004+09:00

A ton of things have been happening around our household. Samuel has started crawling, he's got 7 teeth, Joshua is about to get out of kindergarten, and we just returned from a trip to Seoul to see some good friends of ours. This is just to name a few things. Our time here lately has just been wooshing by.

Today I just finished this great little stroller liner/pad for Samuel's stroller. Sam has migrated to using the Maclaren umbrella stroller that was once Joshua's. I have to stress over and over again what a great stroller this has been for us. Anyone out there new on the market of baby gear should consider a Maclaren. Yes, they are pricey but, a stroller is something that new parents should NEVER cheap out on. Trust me, I cheaped out on my first stroller and ended up buying 3 more cheap ones before caving and buying this one. They can also be found second hand and still in great condition. Children will use a stroller longer than their crib and we all know how much cribs cost. It will not only serve as a child transport but something to pile shopping bags in along with anything else one might need to push along while holding a baby. Maclaren's are light, compact, and have incredibly good construction. Because it takes up so little space and holds up well, I plan on keeping it just to have on hand in case we have little visitors. I bought this one used on Ebay and have been really happy with it. I have a little bit of a reputation for being a stroller junky. I bought a Combi travel system with the car seat that clicked into the stroller and didn't like it much. It was nice when i was using the car seat but after several months of pushing it around, the wheels started really sticking and it became difficult to turn with one hand. Needless to say my Combi is sitting here fairly new. I bought a Combi Japanese style car seat that swivels at Hard off Book Off several months ago and absolutely love it. They just came out with a model of car seat that swivels in the states by Combi. Aprica is an awesome brand as well bit very expensive if brand new. In Europe and here in Japan, Aprica is a well known brand. Sadly in the US, they aren't very popular. Most likely because of the price tag. Their car seats are pretty fantastic though. I love to buy things second hand if I can. I found a Quinny pram stroller at the second hand store on base for $5.00. I was told that in Europe it could go for $400.

Anyway, I totally went on a writers rant and got off the original subject. After web browsing I cam across a web page where a person was making stroller pads for Maclaren strollers. I was so excited over this. I decided to type her an email and ask a few questions. Alas, she was flaky and didn't get back to me. (Either that or I just never got her email for some reason). I still wanted one really bad. After visiting her site, I figured out that with some help, I could probably make one myself. I bribed my crafty girlfriend Dayna to help me map out/measure out how I to make it. After some help making the measurements, I was off! I was so inspired after sewing a little bit at Dayna's house I was determined on getting it done. Sure enough, it's done and soooo cute.

Total chick blog I know. Trust me, we'll have so more interesting ones coming up but for now our readers have to endure through my product props.

Return to Diego Garcia

2009-05-21T23:24:00.003+09:00

Regular visitors to the Japan Years blog may remember back in August 2008, when I posted about my first trip ever south of the equator, to the British Indian Ocean Territory island of Diego Garcia. Last month, I had the opportunity to visit for my second time, as part of my 2009 travel-like-crazy for work plans (part of the reason this blog isn't being updated so frequently).

This second trip was much shorter than the first, which didn't allow me too much time to enjoy the scenic beauty of the island, but I was able to escape for a few hours here and there to visit some of my favorite spots.

Pictures are posted in the Gallery under the date 05/21/2009, or click here. Sometimes, I can't believe I get paid for this stuff...

Visitor from Home

2009-04-30T20:53:00.005+09:00

When you're overseas for a prolonged period of time, the only thing better than getting in touch with family and friends from home is getting a visit from family back home. In early April, over Josh's spring break from school, Nicki's mom came to visit. I'm not sure who was more excited about the trip, Nicki's mom, Laura, or the rest of us.

We picked her up from Narita on April 3 - the first time we had actually drive up to Narita Airport in the 3.5 years that we've been living here. She returned to the airport on April 13 to fly back to the States. And in between, we had a whole lot of fun.

We spent a few nights up at the New Sanno Hotel, which we were able to book only a week in advance, thanks to some last minute cancellations. It had been a while since we stayed up there... so long, in fact, that it made me realize how fun it actually can be. Josh got to spend a bit of time in the pool and hot tub, which he loves. And we were able to show Grammi many of the fun touristy things to see in Tokyo, including Harajuku, Tokyo Disneyland, the Emperor's Palace, and Shibuya (just Nicki and her mom). Outside of Tokyo, we also took her to Kamakura, to give her a taste of the real flavor of Japan's great temples and shrines. Grammi was even game for going to Kawasaki for the annual Fertility Festival, which was a blast as it is every year, even with the kids in tow.

Her trip coincided almost identically with the entire cherry blossom season, which led us into some great photo opportunities. Pics are in the Gallery, dated 04/30/2009, or you can view them by clicking here.

Joshisms

2009-04-17T19:33:00.002+09:00

Another mommy/family post. I have to type them down before I forget them. Joshua has been saying some really funny things lately.

Joshua: I'd like to go to Europe

Mom & Dad: Why is that Joshua

Joshua: Because Europe rhymes with syrup.

Tonight we were watching the Disney movie Hercules for Friday movie night. When Joshua said to us, "Hercules.....he sounds German"

At the end of the movie we asked him why Hercules sounded German to which he replied, "Well I think so because Jeremy can speak German".

Apparently there is a boy in his class named Jeremy who can speak German. 5 year old's are the best!

Hamagin Space Science Center

2009-04-03T10:21:00.003+09:00

Joshua took a field trip with his kindergarten class a few weeks ago to Hamagin Space Science Center. He had a blast and kept talking on and on about it, so we decided to take the trip ourselves so he could show us all about it.

Awesome place! Totally recommended for families with young kids. We drove up there and had no trouble finding a parking space, though parking is fairly limited under the building, but there is additional parking in the area. If you feel like training it, the station is right around the corner, too.

Photos are in the Gallery, dated 04/03/2009, or just click here.

The Shark Has Teeth

2009-04-03T09:38:00.004+09:00

As is typical with my side of the family, our 5-month old sprouted his first tooth sometime around March 22. And being the obnoxious photographer that I am, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to preserve the image. For all those that care, a click on the image provides a better view.

As of today, his neighboring tooth has also sprouted, and the top center ones appear about ready to move in.

Shades of Green

2009-03-28T07:05:00.007+09:00

For my birthday - which is coincidentally St. Patrick's Day - I took the day off from work to shoot photos in Kamakura. I've been wanting to revisit Hokoku-ji for a while now, but it's a little off the beaten path and not the most convenient temple to walk to with a stroller. But by myself, it's a breeze. So early on Tuesday morning, I woke up as usual, got Joshua ready for school, and then dropped him off just as the first bell was ringing (It's worth mentioning that The Sullivans School's bell rings to the tune of the "Chim Chim Cher-ee" song from Mary Poppins, which in my humble opinion is a great tune to start the day).

Afterward, while whistling "Chim Chim-i-ney, Chim Chim-i-ney, Chim Chim Cher-ee", I drove back home to grab some fuel for my belly, then hit the road. Miraculously, I arrived at JR Yokosuka station within about 15 seconds of the train arriving, which seriously never happens for me. Ever. Usualy it's a 10 minute or more wait, because I always seem to forget to look up the schedule online at Hyperdia (click the English button up top, if necessary). But good ol' Irish luck was on my side that morning, so I hopped on the train with the late round of salarymen commuters and made my way to Kamakura.

The walk to Hokoku-ji was fairly unmemorable, but it was nice being out in the cool morning air. Walking through Kamakura before 9am is an experience everyone should try once. Store merchants haven't opened their shops yet, but they are at work on the outside of their buildings, sweeping or organizing things before starting the day. Despite the activity, there's a peaceful calm that overwhelms the town. After 9am, the place is a zoo of shop keepers, tourists, and shoppers galore.

I spent about an hour walking through Hokoku-ji and its Bamboo Garden area, then took a leisurely stroll through other familiar temple pathways and narrow streets in the area. By noon, I was back on the JR train and heading home.

For the full set of photos, check out the Gallery dated March 28, 2009, or simply click here.

Edited for Directions: Alisa (comment #1 on this post) asks how to get to Hokoku-ji. I'll do my best to explain. Exit Kamakura Station in the direction of Hachiman-gu (Hachiman Shrine). Follow the main street, which is the one with the strip of cherry trees lining the center of the road. When you reach the large torii gate in front of Hachiman-gu, turn right and follow the road for about a mile, keeping your eyes open for signs that lead to Jomyoji Temple, which is on your left side. Once you pass Jomyoji, you'll be very close to the right-hand turn towards Hokokuji. When I went, I just made sure to be on the right side of the road, and at every right turn after Jomyoji, I looked for the tourist info signs for Hokokuji. Turn right at the info sign that I have photoed in my Gallery. From there, the temple is about a 2 minute walk ahead on your right hand side. You can't miss it. The Bamboo Garden is in the back of the shrine, so you'll have to go to the ticket window and ask for a ticket to enter the bamboo garden area. Click on the map to your left to make it larger.

The Cost of Things

2009-03-14T19:41:00.002+09:00

Most people think that it's expensive to live in Japan. In a lot of ways, they are so right. Things for the most part are much more expensive than in the States. However, I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that unfortunately, we as Americans can't read the sale ads when they come in the mail or are posted. We have to rely on word of mouth. For example, I found out that many vendors celebrate Wednesday as Ladies Day. Where everything for ladies is 1000 yen. Many times this is for onsen or a lunch special at the local restaurant. Also, there are certain days of the month that restaurants give deals. Like, 30% sushi. The trick is to find out when and where those deals happen.

I haven't really found out to many deals over the time we've been here but I'll share what I do know. Uniqlo has good deals on clothing. I'm usually a Medium in American size which equals out to a large in Uniqlo size. Some things are too short on me. I think it's set up like Petit sizes in America. However, for children they've got some great deals on basic clothing. I just purchased Joshua's shorts there for 1000 yen apiece. These shorts are great. They have a real drawstring and are styled long so that Joshua may get 2 summer's wear out of them.

We also really enjoy going to Hard Off / Book Off. This is a consignment chain store in Japan. I saw a Kate Spade bag there for 2200 yen. I just bought several jumpers for Samuel 100 yen a piece. I bought a Combi infant convertible car seat there for 3200 yen and a buffet style table for 8000 yen (has an outlet for the rice cooker). They sell just about anything there. I usually go first for the children's clothing section though. I find all of the boys Summer yukatas there. They also purchase used items as well but I hear that there isn't a lot of $$$ in that. A girlfriend of mine got me hooked on this place and the second hand store here on base. I have really grown to appreciate thrift stores and consignment stores and am amazed at what people just get rid of.

There are certain things that are just cheaper off base than on base. Diapers for example. I've found nothing as absorbant as American Pampers but I absolutely love Merries Diapers. I use those during the day and American Pampers at night so he doesn't wet through. Merries are soft and for some reason he doesn't get diaper rash from them.

Most folks know this already but the 100 yen store is still one of the best places to find deals. Another good place is Paseos. They sell futons, fabric, & clothing.

As far as food goes, the best deals daily are found in the evening at grocery stores. Most times vendors are trying to clear the shelves of their deli items like tempura, sushi, yakitori, yakisoba, etc. Oh yes, and be sure to bring your own bag. Many stores now offer a discount for customers that bring their own bags.

I hope that this helps anyone out there who is new to Japan and on a shoestring budget. As I find new things, I'll try to report. In the mean time, anyone out there come across some good deals or specials here in Yokosuka, be sure to comment!

Organic in Japan

2009-03-06T12:01:00.003+09:00

Most of my blogs have to do with food for one reason or another......obsession much? Anyway, for a while I've been trying to find out which milk at the local grocer is organic or, what the standards are for milk production here. I found out that the Japanese government has a symbol for the American version of "Certified Organic" like the American government, the Japanese government has standards that products must adhere to to get this symbol on their product. Today I found out what that symbol is and hoped that maybe it would help fellow gaijin. Look for this symbol on products at the grocery store.

Enoshima Aquarium Revisited

2009-03-01T19:13:00.002+09:00

It isn't the first time we've visited Enoshima Aquarium, and it won't be the last, I'm sure. Back in January, we took a short trip to one of our favorite aquariums in Japan... Enoshima Aquarium. I love shooting photos in that place, because I love oceans and sea life. What can I say?... I'm a Pisces.

I also brought my Lensbaby 2G, which these days seems like a dinosaur compared to the 'new' hip lines that Lensbaby is advertising. I guess, from the images I've seen, that my old Lensbaby is most closely related to the modern day "Muse".

Anyway, here's a few shots from my Lensbaby and from my 28-135mm. The whole set of pics can be found here or in the Gallery.

Oh the Joys

2009-02-26T08:09:00.002+09:00

Warning this is a mommy post. I have to beam and brag somewhere.

Mike woke up this morning, walked to Joshua's room to wake him up for school to find that he wasn't there. He went downstairs to find him sitting quietly on the couch in the dark.

Mike: "Joshua what are you doing down here?"

Joshua: "I'm waiting quietly down here for you to come down so we can make mommy breakfast in bed"

I'm so happy to have my boys. :) He probably woke up at around 5:30AM. Cutey.

Delizioso Gelato

2009-02-21T19:05:00.003+09:00

Gelato in Japan? Sure. Also, bratwurst, crepes, and just about all good things European. Today was a funky day. We are still a little stuck in the drudgery of Babydom... hating the idea of staying at home and doing nothing, but still a little overwhelmed and intimidated by the idea of taking a train trip somewhere. Needless to say, everytime Mike is able to push me out of the house, I end up really enjoying myself. It had probably almost been a year since our family had been to Kamakura, so we made a plan to head to the T-Side Indian Restaurant and then visit the bamboo forest at Hokoku-ji Temple. Well, we forgot the directions to Hokoku-ji. The idea of spending another 5 minutes getting the directions while Sam was screaming his head off was enough for us to just forget it.

Living on base, it's quite a production getting to the JR Train station. It's a good 15-20 minute walk from the front of base. If we were coming from our house, it would be about a 40-50 minute walk (remember we have a 5 year old walking along side us....no speed walking aloud). What we usually do is park up near the front of base and then walk to the station. We all piled into the car, drove to the front of base, then trecked to the station. Just the walk alone took some weight off of our shoulders and I was starting to feel better.

Once at Kamakura Station, I was thrilled to find out that they had FINALLY put in an elevator. No more carrying a baby stroller down those stairs while throngs of salarymen cut us off and glare. While walking down Komachidori, we noticed so many things had changed. So many new shops and cafes. They still had the awesome little Totoro shop though. We made it to T-Side and enjoyed a lunch set of chicken and mutton curry. Joshua doesn't like it, but he had nan and chai tea. Their chai tea tastes more like the milk tea that we can get from the vending machine but it's still a nice experience. About 2 shops before T-Side is a Gelato shop, called Gelateria Il Brigante. I don't think that I had seen a Gelato shop in a long time and I don't think that I've ever seen one in Japan and if I had, the sign would have most certainly been in kanji, katakana or hiragana and I would have passed right by it. We headed up to the window and looked at all of the creamy goodness displayed before us. I ended up ordering Nacciola (Hazelnut) and Crema (Vanilla). We had to order 2 flavors per cup. HEAVEN!! I think I will take the train ride back to Kamakura Station just for the gelato. I have never tasted better gelato in my life. It was so creamy. The Nacciola tasted similar to a Hazelnut truffle filling, but in ice cream form. The shopkeeper was Italian who spoke English and Japanese. Apparently there hadn't been too many Americans frequenting his shop (It was then and there that I determined my mission in life was to blog about his shop. He NEEDS to stay in business or I may consider hiring him to live in our house and make Gelato all day long). The store has been there about a year. We may have brought in some business while standing there. Our family of four (especially our kawaii America-jin baby) tends to do that. As they stare at the gaijin, they notice that we are oooing and ahhing over "Aisu Kurimu" and decide that maybe we are on to something. By the time we left, there was a good line of people waiting for their chance to oooh and ahhh.

We decided to walk off our lunch and Gelato, and headed towards Hachimangu Shrine, where we were lucky enough to catch a wedding in progress. Unfortunately, such is Mike's luck that he didn't bring his camera. One more treat... a candy grape to finish the day.

What a good day. It's been too long.

Our New Baby Girl

2009-02-03T20:00:00.003+09:00

The adoption isn't final for another week, but as for now we are the proud parents of a 7-month old baby girl. Isn't she beautiful?

And just so the boys don't get jealous, some pics of them too. This is what it looks like when you surprise a baby with a camera flash.

Then there's the happy baby shot. He's a quick learner.

Garlic Jo's

2009-01-20T07:23:00.003+09:00

Yesterday was an American holiday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day). After spending the whole morning and part of the afternoon trying to get out of the house we finally did. We made it a fairly short trip to Queens Tower in Yokohama. Mike was able to enjoy this place with light traffic instead of the herds of people that usually roam the floors of this shopping mall. It was a nice slow day. I was able to find another very nice "baby care" area while we were there. I may have stated this before but I'll go ahead and state it again. Japan's malls are extremely convenient in that they usually have clean, spacious facilities to change and feed baby. The location in Queens Tower is located on 4F Queens East in the Lego store. For anyone out there questioning whether or not to travel to Japan with a family, I'd say it's great for young children. Especially when it comes to cleanliness & safety. Even in an urban setting visitors are apt to find a small playground or play area of some sort and there are many "museums" that are more indoor playgrounds. The Japanese people in general pride themselves on their tolerance for young children. Yesterday, while Samuel was fussy, I was offered seating on our return trip home which rarely EVER happens to me. (It was in the middle of rush hour on a limited express).

Our goal was the make it to a restaurant called Garlic Jo's. It came highly recommended by a friend and neighbor of mine so, I thought we should try it out. After reading some reviews online, I found out there weren't too many kind words to be said about this place but I thought we'd go anyway. We aren't necessarily snobby restaurateurs. Especially when it comes to traveling with a 5 year old who prefers McDonald's (Happy Seto!)or Kaiten Sushi over filet mignon. The end result was positive and another place we can go back to when we have visiting family and friends overwhelmed and dazed by the array of signs showing Omurice, Soba, Sushi, Katsudon, Kare and Ramen and we are met with the common statement, "It just all looks the same and nothing looks good!" Garlic Jo's had what seemed to be Japanese/Italian type food with an overwhelming amount of garlic (hence the name). It's nothing fancy but the price is right (1000 per meal set before 5:00PM. Includes small salad, main dish, drink and dessert.). Mike and I had the garlic pizza and Joshua had the mozzarella and fresh basil pasta. We love garlic so we liked the restaurant a lot. This location is the only one in Japan and the rest are in California. The restaurant itself was decorated with posters from the Gilroy Garlic Festival which reminded me of my Northern California home.

All and all it was a nice short trip to get away from Yokosuka for a few hours. Joshua always likes taking the train too.

Baby's crying so, have to go. Each highlighted area has a link if at all interested. Enjoy!

New Years & Anpanman

2009-01-05T07:46:00.007+09:00

As many of our readers may know, I am a sucker for Japanese pop culture. I said a few years back that it's not really the shrines, temples, geisha, kimonos, kokeshi dolls, etc., that really interest me. It's popular views, technology, popular foods, and kawaii paraphernalia. Anyway, I have fulfilled one of my goals this holiday season. Taking the train with my girlfriend, her son, Joshua & Samuel to the Anpanman museum in Yokohama. Anpanman is probably a close runner up to Hello Kitty in this country. Young children go wild for this super hero who, for the most part, is a non-violent superhero. It is very "Japanese" in the sense that the villain in this anime cartoon is Baikinman, which translates to "Germ Man". Baikinman's ultimate goal is to take over the planet and make it into a germ world. Anpanman, our superhero is, as I stated, a non-violent super hero who tries to solve problems instead by sacrificing himself; a very "Japanese" and valuable lesson. To read more about the plot, click on Anpanman and it will lead you to the Wikipedia link. The museum itself is like many children's museums throughout Japan in that there aren't too many displays. Instead, it's more like indoor play areas. It's located very close to the Toy's R Us at Shin-Takashima train stop on the Minato Mira line. I really appreciate the Minato Mira line. It's very modern, clean and stroller/child friendly. Joshua is 5 and his friend is 4. They were a little too old for this museum. It's perfect for the 2.5-3 year range. We went during the New Year holiday which we should have known was going to be a nightmare, but it really was OK. They have a very cute Uncle Jam pastry shop (Uncle Jam or, Jam Ojisan was the original creator of Anpanman and he also repairs Anpanman now and again as needed) along with a Mega Block area, Anpanman ball area and small toddler play areas. The museum is great for taking babies as there are two very large nurseries located on the first and second floor of the museum.

New Years came and went. We have now officially entered the old person world. Maybe just because we are parents of young children, we value our sleep way too much to stay up late just to wish each other a Happy New Year. I woke up at around 2:00AM to feed Sam and I nudged Mike to wish him a Happy New Year.

The best part of the holiday was that our friends from Gunma came to visit. Their family has grown as well, and we were lucky enough to see their latest 3-week old addition. She is adorable. We love it when they visit. They are English teachers in Gunma Prefecture. Both American, but their children have been born here and speak more Japanese than English. We always learn something new about Japan when we have them here and they are able to give us a lot more information on general things as they can read and speak the language fairly well themselves. They enjoy visiting us of course because they can get a little taste of home. Their children also have an opportunity to play with English speaking children here on base. We were saving a turkey in the freezer for them so that we could deep fry it when they were finally up for a visit. We enjoyed a turkey dinner all over again and had a full house and a great time. Next time it will be our turn to visit. It still amazes me that they live (give or take) 100 miles from us and yet it takes 3 hours to drive there (Something that would take about an hour and a half in the States). Most road warriors of Japan will tell you that "all roads lead to Tokyo" and around here, that's pretty much the case.

I'm going to try and get some pictures up of Anpanman. Hope our readers enjoyed this segment. I know many folks were waiting on a non-family entry. Don't worry, we are slowly making our way back out into the wilds of Japan... with baby in tow.

Three Month Old

2009-01-04T19:50:00.003+09:00

Hard to believe, but Sam has reached the 3 month point entering New Year 2009. On a side note, Mr. T called the other day and asked for his mohawk back. I pity the fool.

Chistmas Party

2008-12-14T07:01:00.002+09:00

I thought everyone might enjoy seeing the Corry's with Santa. Santa found time out of his schedule to stop by Mike's Command Christmas Party. Unfortunately Hanukkah Harry couldn't make an appearance. After all, he's under a time crunch right now. Hanukkah falls a few days before Christmas! Happy Holidays.

Adventures in Japanese Diapers

2008-12-09T06:51:00.002+09:00

As Mike indicated on the last post, we haven't gotten out much. With a new baby we are leaning more towards being hermits. Especially with months of backlog to go through. Our weekends are filled with unloading boxes (we sent about 12 boxes home full of clothing, food & drink items, toys, etc.) writing thank you notes, working on Christmas stuff, catching up on doctor's appointments, kindergarten, bake-sales, etc. Leaving us little time to go out into the wilds of Japan. We are planning a trip to Okinawa soon and we would like to plan another trip to a ryoken sometime after that just to "get away".

Last night with our new addition was a tough one. I think he got up every hour after 11:00. Needless to say, I am savoring my coffee this morning! The previous night was a good night. He slept for a 6 hour stretch. I felt like a million bucks!

Several weeks ago I went to the commissary to find out that I must have had a baby the same time that every other Navy spouse had a baby. Diapers in Sam's size were sold out. The only brand they had leaked like crazy.

I had heard several of my Mommy friends talking up Japanese diapers so, I thought I'd give it a go. To my delight, the diapers are much cheaper than their American counterparts. I could get twice as many for a few $$ less. I had no idea what brand was good so, I was cautious at first and went with the Japanese version of Pampers. They worked OK. I appreciated the little color changing bar in the center that indicated when baby was wet. The next go, I decided to be a little more adventurous and buy Moony brand. I got 118 diapers for 1900 yen. Sweet! They turned out to be not so sweet. Just about every single diaper change is a leak. I've have to change the crib sheets everyday and change PJ's or daytime clothes just about every changing which is not so fun in the middle of the night or in the wee morning hours. I can't wait until these diapers are done! It's disappointing because they are so cute with Pooh Bear on them! I've heard through the grapevine that Merries and Goon are good brands so they will be next on my chopping block. However, for atleast night time, I've ordered some American Pampers online ( I love Pampers Swaddlers. They are the best) I had some left over in my diaper bag and sighed as I wrapped the last one I had around him yesterday. We shall meet again soon my beloved Pampers!

I'm still planning on going with cloth further on down the road. I think it will help him become potty trained A LOT quicker. Unfortunately, in our area there is no diaper service. A girlfriend of mine said that it may have had something to do with the change in garbage seperation in 2005 that made almost all mothers switch to disposables in this area of Japan. Making the need for a service obsolete.

If anyone out there has any more experience in the Japanese diaper department, please write in! I'm willing to try more brands as the price of these diapers can't be beat. I'm curiouse about all avenues. I don't know how to read Japanese so I am really going into this blindly. I did find out that Moony makes a type of diaper that doesn't absorb quickly as to make it easier for baby to know when he/she is wet. Helps with potty training. I think that this is the Torepan-man diapers that they make. I think that I bought Moony-man.

Wish me luck and send in suggestions and knowledge! I'll continue the dirty work of my research.

Hangin Around the Hood

2008-12-02T20:49:00.002+09:00

Since we've been back to Japan, we haven't really made much effort to get out into "real" Japan... we're still adapting to life with the new baby, my catching up with the pile of work that built up in my absence, and doing our best to get Joshua to school on time now that he's required to be there so early in the morning.

But we have been doing our best to capture all the moments of Sam's first few weeks of life on film and video. Several are posted to the Gallery, dated 12/02/2008. Kodak Gallery is using a new format, so you'll have to fill me in and let me know if it works for you.

Here's a few freebies from the week or so around Thanksgiving:

You don't even need to ask what I'm thankful for this year!

Have Infant - Will Travel

2008-11-09T15:04:00.007+09:00

Hisashiburi desu, ne? It's been a long time...

But we've arrived back home to Yokosuka, Japan. For Nicki and Joshua, it had been nearly four months since they had slept in their own beds. As for me, just under 90 days as required by the good folks in the Navy Housing Office. Best of all, we didn't have too much trouble in our first international journey as a family of four.

We left Sacramento on the afternoon of Thursday, November 6, so that we could head to San Francisco for the night. Our flight itinerary had us leaving from San Fran in the early morning and we didn't want to risk driving over 100 miles into morning rush hour traffic. We stayed the night at the Embassy Suites San Fran Airport, and I would like to take a moment to give them a major Domo Arigatou Gozaimasu. Only a few minutes away from downtown San Francisco, the hotel was reasonably priced, with clean and comfortable rooms and some of the friendliest hotel staff imaginable. High class from A to Z.

Early on Friday morning, we were awoken to the beautiful buzzing of our hotel alarm, followed a second later by the wake-up courtesy call from the hotel's front desk. We finished packing our suitcases, grabbed a hearty complimentary breakfast in the hotel lobby, and boarded the hotel shuttle to the airport.

Upon arrival, our luggage was carried by a friendly airport staffer to our American Airlines check-in counter. I barely had to do any heavy lifting. Once we checked in, we went to the gate to wait for the plane. There, I asked at the gate desk about bulkhead seating, so we'd have more space for the baby. The representative at the counter immediately called me by name (without even asking) and handed me the bulkhead seating tickets that were already printed out. I guess she had been tipped off that we were the ones with the one month old baby on board.

We had a layover in Los Angeles, and the flight there was a major success. Joshua was a stellar five year old and Samuel slept and ate (not at the same time) the entire way. At LAX, we asked again about bulkhead seating, and this time they even provided a bassinet for us to use as well. Excellent. Despite the 11 hours we spent commuting between LAX and Narita Airport in Tokyo, everything went quite well. We arrived on time, our luggage arrived rather expeditiously, and we made it through immigrations and customs alright with the new baby... no questions asked. (Baby Sam's passport was a newly issued tourist passport, while the rest of us traveled using "official" passports, so I was a little worried about getting cleared through).

The only snag in our plans came when we got to the DoD Shuttle Bus a few minutes too late for the bus ride to Yokosuka. Instead of taking the train, we opted to sit the next two hours and wait for the next bus. We just had too much luggage to try to lug around on trains... and we had no trouble sitting and sleeping on the bus.

By the time we made it back to Yokosuka, it was 9:00pm. I ran over to long term parking to get the car, and it started up on my first try... thank goodness. Drove back over to PSD to pick up the family and then we got home, safe, sound, and sleepy.

Nicki's Turn

'Cha Cha Changes '(Quoted by David Bowie)

We are finally back home! So far it's taken us about 5-6 days to get "back to normal" whatever that means. I suppose it means that the days are not just flowing into one another and we are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to sleep deprivation. The hotel stay gave me about 2 hours of sleep and the plane ride gave me about 1 hour or sleep so all together in a 48 hour period I had about 3 hours of sleep. So, by smoothly I suppose Mike means that it went smoothly for Joshua and Samuel. It was sheer hell for me and that's as far as the bitching will go. (for this part)

I give a lot of credit to American Airlines though, they kick United's butt when it comes to service.

It's amazing the sense of change and amnesia we've gotten for being gone 4 months. I feel terrible that I've forgotten the names of some close acquaintances and friends and Joshua becomes unnerved when I ask him if he remembers "so and so" from his pre-school; whom he's now in kindergarten with. However things are trickling back into memory. The transition to Joshua's new kindergarten has gone fairly smoothly. Like most all of DODDS teachers, Mrs. Salter is familiar with the challenges students face during a transfer. She has done great with Joshua and he has had a good time in school so far. He has another field trip coming up soon to a Japanese Kindergarten and I can't wait to find out all about it.

We are completely busy trying to play paper work catch up in all areas of our lives. Most importantly getting Sam registered at the hospital so that he counts as a person in our family. Also working on his military passport. According to Mike, and going by the constant frantic look on his face, he has a mountain of things to catch up on at work. I on the other hand have to get used to the new home routine along with going through the numerous boxes that we sent back home.

I'm also having to restock the fridge. I received a phone call today that my grandmother passed away. I don't think it's hit me quite yet as I have things keeping me busy here. All of a sudden though, emotions will creep up on me in waves. It's especially hard, because in my childhood she was the prime caregiver for me for some time while my mother worked and went to school. Restocking the fridge is just one way to get my mind off of things. Today was the first errand that I did outside of base. I just HAD to get to a Japanese grocery store. I made sure to bring a list and stick to it... sort of. I ended up buying a couple of junk food items: Meiji Creamy Chocolat Meltykiss and the new Kit Kat flavor. I'm not quite sure what the flavor is. I have to wait until Mike comes home to read the package. It's some sort of tea though I know that much. Oh yes, and my Mt. Rainier coffee drinks. Other than the 3 junk food items, we are working hard to detox ourselves from the American diet we were going on. Basically it was a free-for-all there. The reason being that it could possibly be years before we have another carne asada burrito or In and Out Burger.

One more big change is that the Kitty Hawk has left and in its place is the George Washington. The carrier is much larger and carries many more service members. I haven't really had time to observe any transitional changes on base yet although I'm sure there will be many.

Halloween Family Portrait

2008-10-31T21:01:00.003+09:00

From our family to yours, we hope you have a Happy Halloween!

Pictured from front to back: Buzz Lightyear (Joshua),
Pumpkin Baby (Samuel), Beautiful Mother of Two (Nicki), and
The Invisible Man (Mike)

Mushy Brains and Carvings

2008-10-30T12:56:00.003+09:00

Several weeks ago, Joshua's kindergarten class took a field trip to a local pumpkin patch. Being the responsible parent that I am (and considering the rare circumstance I'm experiencing being away from my regular 9 to 5'er at the moment), I decided to volunteer my services as one of the class chaperones and as the unofficial photographer of the event.

We happened to hit the pumpkin patch during what must have been the windiest day in the history of Sacramento County. The poor children seemed just barely big enough not to get blown away by the wind. It also made for some interesting pictures for me. Hair in faces, eyes closed or squinted, and dust flying every which way. In the end, it was a terrific day for the little ones, filled with hay rides, hay bale mazes, picnic snack time, and picking the perfect pumpkin souvenir. Each child was allowed to bring home one pumpkin of his or her choosing, so long as he or she could carry it without parental support. Sure enough, Josh went for one of the largest he could find. But he did great, so it was a keeper.

Tonight, we decided to make a Jack-O-Lantern with the prized pumpkin. Josh had a blast, digging away at the "mushy pumpkin brains" - digging out the seeds and innards. He also chose the shapes he wanted for the pumpkin's eyes, nose, and mouth... down to "I want him to have three teeth, Daddy." I even gave him a bite of the pumpkin flesh from the inside of the Jack-O-Lantern lid. He loved it!

When the dust settled, turned out that we made a great Jack-O-Lantern. Perfect amount of spookiness for our kindergartner. Pictures are up and dated 10/30/2008 in the Gallery.

Someone Turned 5!!!

2008-10-21T13:48:00.002+09:00

These past few weeks have been mostly about baby, baby, baby; and rightfully so - after all, the birth of a new baby is kinda a big deal. But there's been one story that I have wanted to post about that is a few weeks behind it's original scheduled posting date:

Joshua's 5th Birthday!

Our eldest turned 5 at the end of August, shortly after my arrival in California to meet with Nicki and Josh. We're fortunate enough to have quite a few family members and old friends that live within driving distance, so we celebrated with a "Buzz Lightyear" themed party for our kindergartner. We also had the good fortune of seeing several of our newer friends at the party - Nicole, Leah and Hannah (we missed hubby, Alan) - all of whom we met during our overlapping tours in Japan. They're in Northern California now, and made the trip to all of our delight... but especially Josh's.

As always, the pictures tell the best stories. Check them out in the Gallery, dated 10/21/2008.

Paperwork

2008-10-14T06:08:00.005+09:00

Now that Samuel has made his entry into the world we are now working on all of the paperwork it takes for Sam to make his entry into Japan. Which means that he needs to be a person on paper. Unfortunately, this takes time. Time that we wish would be spent at home (Japan). We miss our little house and our little bed and Sam still has to inspect his nursery. Although we've been enjoying our time here with family and all the support they've supplied (including the roof over our heads for months now), it hasn't really been a vacation. Because I was "high risk" we were restricted on where we could go. So, no day trips to any of the local attractions (Lake Tahoe, Reno, Napa, San Fransisco, etc.) We were just waiting. Mike didn't want to go far either for fear that he might miss the labor. (The whole reason why he's here. Besides taking care of Joshua, Mommy & Baby) Plus, Joshua now has kindergarten to go to, so we are pretty restricted on where we can go during the weekdays. Most readers could not even imagine missing work, but Mike does, along with our daily routine. Not to mention all his vacation time being sucked up. Plus, I'm looking forward to Joshua starting kindergarten at the school on base. I (Joshua, Samuel, and I) may end up having Thanksgiving here as well. To all the friends and co-workers waiting for us to come home, believe me when I say we are doing our best. It's hard being away from home for so long. No matter where home happens to be.

I constantly need to remind myself how blessed we really are as a family though. For instance, Mike is able to have this time provided by his work to spend with us when many people out there don't have such a luxury; that we have a family happy to support us during this time; that we have a very happy, healthy fat new baby boy and that Joshua is thriving in his kindergarten class here. I'm sure that there are many other things but seeing it in black and white helps!

Gotta go. The milk shark (AKA: Samuel) is growling.

Announcing the Arrival

2008-10-11T14:48:00.002+09:00

We are proud to introduce to you, our beloved Japan Years readers, the newest member of our family. Samuel was born earlier this week and weighed in at a healthy 6 pounds, 11 ounces; and measured just over 18 inches long. Both momma and baby are doing great and are getting used to each other quite nicely.

As you can imagine, it's been a very hectic and tiring week for us, but we are completely excited about the arrival of our new bundle of joy.

It Never Rains in California

2008-10-04T23:20:00.003+09:00

Except for last night. Actually, California rains do this a lot. It will rain at night and just be overcast in the morning. Yes, we are still here in the sunshine state. It's felt good to have a little overcast weather to cool things down. It's actually starting to feel like Autumn. Surprisingly, I miss that about Japan right now. The seasons. Right now, the spiders should be just about everywhere. Last year the mosquitoes in our house where just about to give up buzzing in our ear. (Woo Hoo!). The air starting to feel cool and crisp and my favorite......YAKI-IMO!! All you Japan dwellers keep an eye and an ear out for this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRvoSF2pyt4 Also, if you are in a fairly rural area, see if there is a place where you can go digging. I'm fortunate here in Sacramento to take a trip to Oto's grocer and attempt to make some on my own.
On a bragging note, Mike took me out to the Firehouse yesterday before my doctors apt. for lunch. The Firehouse is a super duper fancy place located in Old Sacramento. I had Scottish King Salmon and Mike had the Wagyu Top Sirloin. YUM! Joshua was with the grandparents at the zoo. Thank you hon. Your the best.

New Product

2008-09-25T08:01:00.003+09:00

Hey all you friends living it up in Japan. Has anyone been able to try the new ice cream treat by Glico? The name is Bumba and I saw it on my hotmail advertisement. It looks REALLY good. Eat one for me!

Baby Talk

2008-09-21T06:11:00.000+09:00

Mike has been working on putting together some pictures and posting them......just hasn't had the time to do it all yet. However, there have been some entries on my preggo blog if your interested. Pictures of our California adventures are soon to come.

CA State Fair

2008-09-11T09:47:00.003+09:00

It's been a while since we've been able to go to a state fair. Plenty of matsuri festivals in Japan, but not too many state fairs, especially since there are no states in Japan. Anyway, sometime before Labor Day, we went to the California State Fair, held in Sacramento.

Lots of games, animals, and toys for kids of all ages. We had a blast... check out the photos in our Gallery, dated 9/11/2008.

Authority

2008-09-03T02:26:00.002+09:00

I have issues with teachers. I'm a little nervous around them. Maybe it has to do with the fact that in 1st grade I had a really bad teacher. I started getting sick just about everyday in her class and my poor mother had to take time off from work (at that time she was a single mom and didn't really have an understanding boss for things like that). My mother would get frustrated with me over my "illness" because, well, nobody could figure out why I was having so much trouble. Needless to say, the teacher was fired after her first year there and all the pieces came together. However, I was one of the unlucky children out of 25+ other 1st grade students that experienced her wrath. Ever since then, I've been a little nervous when I have had to ask teachers/school faculty for help.

Even Joshua's preschool teacher, Ms. Kim (who was awesome!), made me a little nervous - and I'm a grown woman! Today is Joshua's first day of school and, after going to orientation on the 28th, we found out that the school was subject to con-capping. Basically the elementary school is over its maximum limit for students and after the first three weeks, several students attending will be sent on buses to other neighborhood schools for the remainder of the year. Because he registered late, and because he'll only be here temporarely, we figured that Joshua would be a prime candidate for the cut off.

The other day we ran into the president of the PTA, who advised us to have a little sit down with the principal and see what could be done. Joshua has afternoon class so we went in before school to meet with her. I was a nervous wreck and felt like vomiting or crying the whole time we sat in her office. She too is an awesome lady. We found out that Joshua was not on the short list for capping so he will be staying at his school. This definitely put our minds at ease. The thought of his changing kindergartens 3 times in several months was crazy to us. As we walked back to the car, my legs felt like jell-o.

I'm so ashamed.

Our good friends, Nathalie and Thomas, who are educators and my sister-in-law, a second grade teacher, should get a kick out of this post.

Wanted: Missing Tooth

2008-09-01T05:38:00.007+09:00

Joshua was eating lunch today and his Aunt Kimberlee noticed an empty spot in his mouth previously occupied by a tooth. We weren't quite prepared for the Tooth Fairy speech, especially since we didn't even know he had a loose tooth. After lunch, he wrote a note for the Tooth Fairy, letting her know that his very first tooth fell out unnoticed. The good news is that his second bottom front tooth is loose now, too, so we'll be ready for that one when it decides to fall out.

(posted on Aug 31 in Pacific Standard Time)

Workin' for a Livin'

2008-08-12T21:29:00.006+09:00

My coworker, Brian, who visited Diego Garcia with me a few weeks back, sent me some of the pictures he took during the trip. He was kind enough to get a few shots of me while I was busy at work. Thanks Brian!

Photographing the Tropical Forest

Inspecting the Sea Life at Turtle Cove

Verifying the Structural Stability of the Palm Tree

New This Week

2008-08-02T07:02:00.006+09:00

I haven't written very much. I'm sure some folks may have noticed. The good news is that Joshua and I have been so busy, finding the time to sit down and write has been difficult. Joshua still has had swim lessons but this week, I took him out of 4th R to take part in Humpty Dumpty Camp at Fairytale town. Located in Sacramento's huge park downtown. Fairytale town is a little bit of a legend here in Sacramento. The small park was built in or around 1958 and the play structures are themed around Mother Goose Rhymes and various children's stories. The park is set up especially for preschoolers with small drinking fountains, bathrooms and garbage cans shaped as tin soldiers. My mother, my father, my brother and sister and I have enjoyed this park as children ourselves so it's really fun to watch Joshua enjoy it as well. This week Fairytale Town held a special summer camp where the children get to do crafts, read stories, water Mr. Mcgregor's Garden, visit the zoo across the street and many many other activities.

Joshua is really starting to swim like a frog and even though I have some gripes about the high school age teacher, Joshua has done well and I plan on him going again.

I've done some shopping but I've kept it under control... my husband may disagree with me! The biggest purchase we made was a car. We decided to buy a used car so that we would have a car waiting for us upon our return to the States. With everything else to worry about transitioning back to real life in America it will be nice to have that out of the way. I bought a Pontiac Vibe. The Vibe was a joint engineering venture between GM and Toyota. Pop the hood and you'll see a big Toyota engine in the middle of it. Not many folks know about this car but it really made me feel good to buy an American car. Plus, it was born close by in Fremont, CA. The car itself is almost identical to the Toyota Matrix but because it's got "Pontiac" on it, it goes for a little cheaper... I promise, they are the same car. I am absolutely loving it. It really feels so fancy to me compared to our little Suzuki Cultus back home! Also, another selling point for me getting a GM car is that my father works for GMC Elk Grove. Anyone reading this who lives in Sacramento, they are a great bunch of guys our there! Although with gas the way it is, used Vibes haven't been readily available. I really lucked out with ours.

I have to mention too that after seeing my girlfriends post on 4th of July, the tears started flowing as I thought of all of my good friends back home. Joshua and I miss you! Check out Yoga Mama. My heart goes out to you Karri!

OK, now for the ugly. I was just diagnosed with gestational diabetes. SUCKS! It's something that happens to pregnant women and will basically effect what I can and can't eat. This week is my first week having to log my eating and blood sugar numbers. Hopefully, if my numbers are good enough, I will only have to prick myself 2 times a day instead of 4. The good news is that they are making me eat 6 small meals a day... I am never hungry. But, I do crave something sweet and I can't stand all the sugar free crap that's sold in the stores... I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures. Some of the other tips of keeping my numbers down is to exercise and meditate. One of the brochures gives ideas on meditation. For instance, 'Imagine you are in a place you love to be in' OK, I think I'm going to imagine I'm at the Cheesecake Factory.

Diego Garcia, BIOT

2008-08-01T19:20:00.003+09:00

Work can be rough sometimes. This, however, is not one of those times.

I posted a little while ago about my trip to Singapore. But I don't think I ever mentioned why I was in Singapore. As it turns out, Singapore is one of the few locations in the world where one can get to the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) island of Diego Garcia. It's definitely the most idealistic layover location from Japan, anyway.

Diego Garcia is a British owned island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It's pretty isolated from the rest of the world. So much so, that I think Antarctica is one of the only places on the entire globe that is further away from another major landmass. The British, years ago, were kind enough to allow the United States to put a military base on Diego Garcia. And recently, my boss was kind enough to let me travel down there for work. And the military was kind enough to let me take pictures while I was there to share with the rest of you.

If you want to know more about Diego Garcia, check out that link above... as I am not an expert and would hate to mislead you. But what I will share with you are some pictures from one of the most unspoiled natural places I have had the good fortune to step foot upon.

Gallery is up and dated 08/01/2008. If you don't have the time, here are a few teaser snapshots.

Headquarters Building

Postcard Perfect Boat Staging Area

Welcome to the Jungle

This coconut has a heck of a view

Environmentally Protected Coconut Crab

Little Frog

2008-07-24T00:37:00.002+09:00

The last 2 weeks here in America have been pretty good. Joshua is just starting 4th R and he seems to be enjoying it. The program is different from the CDC because there are many older children but I think this will be good for him. The location is at the school he'll be attending for the start of Kindergarten so I'm hoping that there will be some other children attending 4th R this Summer that will be joining him in the Fall at kindergarten. I attended 4th R as a child and so did my brother and sister and we all really enjoyed it. The first day was hard and there were tears but he got over it pretty quick I was told. Plus, he was bored to tears at home with my mom & dad being gone at work and my brother & sister well, just being teenagers.

I also have him enrolled in swim lessons and it's amazing the progress he's making in that. He is actually, happily jumping off of the side of the pool. He's also holding his breath under water and floating on his back. All of which I have pictures of but I'm still trying to get my new camera stuff installed on one of these computers.

Last week, I took him to the Train Museum and he had a blast. The old trains were massive and I was really impressed with the museum in general. I was also suprised to spot some European foreign visitors there.....in Sacramento. After the museum, we ate lunch at Round Table in Old Sacramento. I absolutely love Round Table Pizza.

My parents have moved into a new house and Joshua and I have our own make shift room which has been really nice. The newly remodeled kitchen has been my small paradise.

Other than that, that's all to report. I'm sure that there's more but I'm experiencing a bit of writers block. We are happy and healthy in Sacramento Corry Land.

Before and After

2008-07-21T22:36:00.003+09:00

For reasons that I'm still trying to decipher, tonight I decided to shave my head. I've been cutting it pretty short for the past few months anyway, but tonight, I thought "to heck with the 1-guard" and went to town on my melon. Observations:

1. My head is kinda funny shaped.
2. It doesn't feel as weird as I thought it would.
3. My head is actually warmer now (but I don't know why).

Anyway, before you laugh too hard at my new head of skin, I've also included a picture of me circa 1995, when a much younger me had a full and uncontrollable head of hair.

By now you must be hoping for Nicki to post again soon!

What Do You Do If You Can't Sing Well?

2008-07-15T21:32:00.006+09:00

You Singapore.

Bad joke, I know. But what can I say, my wife and kid left Japan without me, so my typical 4-year old range jokes are building up without an audience.

Good news for you Japan Years readers, even though my family has returned to the States for a few months, I'm still here to share my pictures and stories about the Land of the Rising Sun. And I'll start... by posting pictures of my trip to Singapore a few weeks ago.

Singapore is a great town/city/state/country. Some of my observations from the trip:

1. The population is diverse - plenty of folks with Chinese, Korean, Indian, or Western descent - which keeps it interesting. Not to mention that just about all of the world's major religions are represented in that group.

2. Everyone spoke English. And they did it well. Good old fashioned Queen's English, not the kind that I'm used to hearing from my own thoughts and words.

3. The food was to die for, and not like the "to die for" experience I had when I got Salmonella in Thailand. The good kind of "to die for". I ate some of the best Indian and Chinese food I've had in years, at very reasonable prices.

4. The city was clean and orderly, at least the touristy areas were. But considering that there was an extra-large fine for the smallest of offenses, it's no wonder that people are unwilling to publicly litter, chew gum, ride bikes in tunnels, or go on killing sprees.

5. I would love to visit there again. It was a unique place. It felt like being in Asia, which is good because that's where it's located. But it also felt a lot like being in parts of Western Europe. What a great blend.

Anyway, photos are up in the gallery, dated 07/15/2008.

Living in America

2008-07-12T23:22:00.003+09:00

At least for several months.

Joshua and I have arrived and the action never stops for us. The plane ride was long and uncomfortable but especially this time around considering I'm carrying about 10-15 extra pounds of "baby fat". I was thrown a lot of challenges this time around namely the awesome customer service of airline employees (I hope readers can note the sarcasm in my last statement). However, I will try and keep this positive. Joshua slept for about 2 hours of the 9 hour flight and I got around 3 thanks to the Thomas The Train DVD that Daddy downloaded onto our iPod.

My mom picked me up in San Fran and all was well. I was uncomfortable but I chalked it up from being on such a long flight, in quarters so close to a large man who snored. Joshua stayed awake until about 7:00 local time and Grammi read him a story. No sooner was she about to finish up the book than we found him snoring. Needless to say, he was just a little tired. I stayed up until about 9:30. As long as I'm talking, I can stay awake! That night, I woke up several times: once with Joshua having a nightmare and the other times were because of discomfort. The next day, I took it pretty easy. I ran a couple of errands and then came home, all the while still having this uncomfortable nagging pressure. My mom came home from work around 4:00, and I told her about it. She called the doctor's office and encouraged me to go in and get checked out.

After speaking with the receptionist at my future doctor's office, she informed us that because I was not officially a patient of theirs yet, I had to go in to urgent care and not to labor and delivery at the hospital (the general rule of thumb is that if preggos are past 23 weeks, they should go directly to labor and delivery if they are in any pain or discomfort). She (the receptionist) said that urgent care is open after hours and that they should be open when we get there. We drove to urgent care only to find that they didn't open for another 45 minutes. We waited and were the first in line. When they opened, the front desk woman informed us that they didn't take pregnancy, and in fact, they didn't even have a fetal monitor there. She said that we would have to go to the ER. After my mom played "mama bear" and laid into the receptionist (I pulled her away saying it wasn't her fault and there was nothing she could do to help us.... it's not worth it, etc.), we headed to the ER. Before signing in there, I informed them of my situation and the receptionist there (we'll just call her my savior) told me I needed to go directly up to labor and delivery. Even if I wasn't quite yet a patient, I was 27 weeks pregnant and they don't take any chances. So we headed up and I was treated immediately by some very awesome nurses.

Turns out, everything was OK, but I have been banned to sitting on my butt, or should I say laying down on my side, this weekend. Because of sitting in one position for so long and getting dehydrated on the plane, along with the bad air quality from the Northern California fires and the summer heat, I could have been experiencing early contractions. Needless to say, the labor and delivery ward was packed with preterm moms that evening, so I wasn't alone.

I felt guilty about dragging my mother to this 5 hour ordeal when the family needed to eat dinner my sister had swimming and volunteer work she needed rides to, etc. but my mother called me silly and informed that it's better to look stupid and have it checked out than to not go and have something happen. She's right and I know that Mike would have done and said the same thing. Joshua was early and my stats go up about 70% of having another early if not earlier baby the second time around.

Oh, how I missed little Yokosuka Navy hospital at this moment! Despite my bad experience, Sacramento is actually rated high for giving great care to pregnant women and their babies. In fact, all of the labor and delivery staff that I met were great. My first doctor's apt. is on Tuesday but now they'll have me in their system!

The Graduate

2008-07-10T21:31:00.006+09:00

It is hard to believe that a month has gone by since Josh finished up preschool. I guess I lose track of time when I'm away from Yokosuka on business, as I was for most of last week and the week prior. Now that I'm back, and Nicki and Josh are flying somewhere over the Pacific on their way back to the States, I've had some time to catch up on pictures. Check our Gallery for the complete set of his graduation pics, dated 07/10/2008.

Some might say, "it's only preschool", but we're proud of what Joshua has accomplished this past school year. In certain regards, he has always amazed me with his intellect, humor, and insight - especially for his age. But he also entered the school year behind his age group in other aspects. Being around his fellow classmates and the wonderful teachers at Yokosuka Co-op Preschool really helped shape him into a well rounded four year old. He's much more outgoing, adventuresome, and outspoken than he was a year ago. And I know, without a doubt, that he is more ready for kindergarten than he would have been if he didn't go to preschool there.

Congratulations, Joshua!!! You've completed your first step on the long and winding road of education.

Travel with Baby Showers

2008-07-09T06:49:00.003+09:00

OK, I thought I would blend the title together. I woke up at 5:00AM this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Either this has to do with my pregnancy or I'm super anxious about my flight tomorrow. Probably a little bit of both.

Last night some close friends of mine held a baby shower for me. The decorations were so cute (surfboards, lanterns, and swim trunks) and the food was great (Make you own ice cream sandwiches). There were some great ladies there, a mix of on and off basers , which made for fun conversation. We played a game of hanging clothes on the line while holding a baby doll and talking on the phone. (All the while creating a fake conversation on the phone). Then I opened all the gifts. So many baby clothes and fun things! Which I really needed. I've been able to get most of the gear, it's just the clothes and little things that I was needing.

I will post pictures when I can. Mike and I went to together and bought me a camera that I could have during my travels. It's a little Canon Power Shot SD1100 IS Digital Elph. I wanted something that was made in Japan and not China, which the Japanese Salesman at the NEX was very happy about. The Canon Rebel is just too big for me to take and Mike wouldn't give that up for 2 whole months! I am now under obligation to take a lot of pictures and post them, something that has been Mike's domain in the past (no pressure!). I'm super anxious about leaving for such a long time. I will really miss my friends here. I've made so many close ones. I'm looking forward to seeing my family and I hope they are happy about seeing me but it's a long time to be away from my husband and friends and house and life! Stay tuned. This summer should be interesting as I deal with pregnancy, childbirth, reverse culture shock, and family drama!

Just recently, I made a new dessert called Chocolate Sludge a dessert fit for 2 - soon to be 3 - boys in the house.

You Look Like a Fine Upstanding Young Man

2008-07-07T20:25:00.005+09:00

I returned home from a business trip that took me through Singapore and Diego Garcia, only to come home and find this unfamiliar face staring back at me:

For as long as I can remember, Nicki and I have kept Josh's hair a little long. But we recently reached a point where we thought it best to ask him how he wanted it. As it turns out, he wanted it cut short. So why deprive a kid of his own fashion sense?

This new look is the shortest his hair has been since... well... since hair first started growing on his head. And here's what's been running through my head ever since:

"Darlin' don't you go and cut your hair,
Do you think its gonna make him change?
I'm just a boy with a new haircut,
And that's a pretty nice haircut"
Cut Your Hair by Pavement

Mr. Slim

2008-07-01T06:31:00.004+09:00

On the hunt for a new AC unit? Don't have central AC? I just saw a commercial last night for Mr. Slim from Mitsubishi. It looks like the Japanese have decided to market their ductless air-conditioning systems to the US. These are very similar to what we use here. Our Daikin brand works by remote, has a heat, dry and cool option and is extremely quite and efficient. I suppose it would be good for someone with allergies as the screen is removable and can be vacuumed out from time to time. Much more quite than the US wall units. The dry option is really helpful in humid climates.

Also, I had a chance to get a prenatal massage at the EnoSpa on Enoshima Island. Fantastic......highly recommended.

Saying Good Bye

2008-06-20T20:01:00.003+09:00

Summer time in Yokosuka is full of fun and festivities. Obons, fireworks, warm weather, public pools, and Summer BBQs. However, Summer also marks off a fairly sad event as well. PCS season. I suppose some of the sadness may depend on whether a person is an optimist or a pessimist, used to the military lifestyle or has been here for a little or a lot of time.

This Summer was definitely my hardest yet. PCS season is basically rotation season where military folks move in and out of housing. When we say goodbye to good friends and say hello to new ones. Last PCS season, I said good bye to my good friends Julie and Patrice. I always tend to pick friends based on trait's that I'd like to emulate. Julie reminded me of myself in a lot of ways but I also admired her good attitude when her husband was ALWAYS gone. Patrice I admired because she was so physically active and in tip top shape. An avid runner, she would run about a 10K every other day if not more with a double jogger.

Last month I said goodbye to my good friend Nicole who is and was always such a good mom to here 2 girls. I also said goodbye to Maria who was also a military spouse and during her time here had to overcome some difficult personal obstacles all the while her husband being away. The last of last month was my friend Corrie who with a 2 year old always managed to stay involved in the community and busy. (All the while having a kick butt bod).

Today however, I had to say good bye to a very good friend. Nathalie and I met about 2 years ago in our off base neighborhood. At the time she had 2 girls and it was also the time that we decided to form a small play group of sorts within the neighborhood. (It was Julie who made it a more solid group later on) I have to say that the fact she was French intrigued me. Being an American I already had my ideas about the French and that love hate relationship. It made me want to get to know her even more though. Later on I realized how much I admired her as a mom as well. She always had a spotless house and good food in her refrigerator. Her and I had similar ideas on how we raised our kids and unlike a lot of my friends here she was a civilian like me. After Patrice left, Nathalie and I ultimately became closer and our families as a whole became closer. We started hanging out a lot more and Mike started hanging out with her husband Thomas. She found out she was pregnant again. This time with a little boy. After she had Luc it was the motivation for us to have another baby. Our children for the most part always got along. With the typical tiff every now and then but our friendship just seemed to be comfortable. When Mike and I finally got on base housing we drifted apart a bit. Then, when we found out that they where moving to Korea we drifted a little more. I think mentally I was preparing myself for them to leave. Like maybe separating myself from our friendship would make saying goodbye easier. Although Korea is a 2 hour flight away, saying goodbye doesn't become any easier. No more will she come to my house grab a snack out and have a moment to sit and talk about her latest find at the second hand store or vent about her busy day before having to run off to her next errand. No more will I be able to let little Luc nap on the bed and watch him crawl around our house and play with the drawers. He will be running around probably when we go to visit. We won't sit together at the playground anymore after school to watch Charlotte triumphantly swinging on the monkey bars while Nathalie sews another star onto her gymnastics belt or laugh as Sophie and Joshua play house being sure to take off their shoes at the play structure. No more trips to Spasso sitting in the outdoor pool chit chatting about women stuff and looking up at the stars.

Yes, there are so many good memories that I have with them and I will miss that. I definitely thought of that today as they boarded the bus to Narita with their 9 suitcases! I just didn't know what to say. It's amazing how a person can have such strong feelings for a friend and have such sadness in their heart that they find themselves tongue tied at the moment that is most important. Even now it's hard to put into words how special her and her family are to our family. All I could muster up was a good hug and a teary good bye.

Now, I have one more good bye to say to a friendship that seemed to have been too short. My friend Bridgett will be leaving later this Summer. Because I will be leaving to have the baby before they move it might be a little easier to say goodbye however, I still believe that we discovered each other too late in the game. She will me missed.

PCS season has been difficult for me this time around. I suppose as many would tell me, I need to just start to make new friends now. After all, with all of the old people moving out there will be a ton moving in. Such is the military lifestyle.

Guys' Weekend in Tokyo

2008-06-10T19:37:00.003+09:00

I finished the last post about Tom and Adam's weekend with our surfing trip to Chiba, which was on a Thursday. The next day, we went up to Tokyo for the weekend. We started Friday evening at the Tokyo Dome, to watch the home team, Yomiuri Giants, take on the Toyo Carp, out of Hiroshima. It was my first Japanese major league baseball game and I was impressed. The game is played like in America, but everything surrounding the game is completely different. The fans are crazy, doing cheers and banging just about anything they can to make noise. The walk-around beer vendors are 100% female and they have to carry around kegs on their backs. The concession stands are filled with all kinds of food, from traditional hot dogs and burgers to sushi and yakitori. What a great experience!

A Lone Carp Player in a Hostile Centerfield Fan Section

After the game, I took the guys to Shibuya to get their picture taken at the famous Hachiko dog statue and to show them the busy Shibuya intersection. We also walked around the area, people watching and window shopping. Eventually, we grabbed some grub and found the local Gas Panic club. After a bit of hanging out at the club, I got a feeling that the guys would get a kick out of Roppongi, a popular club area in Tokyo generally populated by foreigners. So we left Shibuya and headed for Roppongi. Several hours later, we left a club and found that the sun had risen. It was Saturday morning!

From there, we headed back to the hotel for some shut-eye. Waking up around noon, we headed over to Asakusa to see the annual Sanja Matsuri, one of the biggest festivals in Japan. We were fortunate that the guys were there that weekend to witness it, as over the weekend the matsuri festival generally is viewed by over 100,000 people each year. This year was no different - it was crowded. We spent a few hours at the festival and the guys were able to get some souvenirs at the local shops there.

Sanja Matsuri, Asakusa

Saturday night, I took the guys to Shinjuku. I walked them through Kabukicho, a ward in Shinjuku that's generally run by the yakuza (mafia)... where anything goes. But we didn't make it more than a few steps before the on-the-street salesmen started harassing us trying to get us to check out their clubs. We opted out, and instead ended up drinking at a British style pub down the road. From there, we ventured over to the Park Hyatt, which was made famous in the film, Lost in Translation. We had a drink at the lounge in the Hyatt and took in the excellent view of downtown Tokyo. By the time we finished our drinks, it was around midnight and we were all exhausted... mostly from the activities of the night before. So we called it an early night and headed back to the hotel.

On Sunday, we went over to Harajuku to see the artistically dressed "Harajuku Girls" and to do some more shopping. Tom went on a crazy sock shopping mission and the guys picked up a few things for themselves and the people they care about back in the States. After a few hours in Harajuku, we were ready to hit the rails back to Yokosuka.

Adam and Tom with the "Free Hug" girls in Harajuku

All in all, it was a fun weekend. The guys seemed pretty jazzed about the trip as a whole, and I definitely enjoyed seeing them again. It was a much needed vacation for me as well. All of the pictures are up in our Gallery, dated 06/10/2008.

Nicki 's Post

2008-06-05T09:31:00.002+09:00

Our blog after getting a slew of new entries is slowing down a bit but not because we aren't busy. I've added a couple of new ones to my side blogs: http://nickiskitchen.blogspot.com/ and http://preggonicki.blogspot.com/

Stop on by when you have a moment. I'll be leaving soon for home (home being California). I'm getting pressure to keep on putting pictures up and blogging during that time.....we shall see. I have to somehow get a cheapy camera to bring because well, since I'm taking the original baby with me (AKA Joshua) I doubt that Mike will let me take the second baby out of the house (AKA his camera) plus, I'm technologically challenged when it comes to the whole downloading photos thing. However, I'll definitely try to keep typing.

The Mother Ship

2008-06-04T17:18:00.001+09:00

Ok, it's not really like a "ship" closer to a farm. Last week, Mike, Joshua and I took a trip to the Chiba Mother Farm. Ever since his buddies came to visit, Mike has been itching to take us to Chiba via the ferry. From here, there are 3 ways to get to Chiba. Driving around the peninsula through Tokyo taking the toll roads, using the Aqua line, or taking the ferry across the bay. I think the Aqua line toll is about 3000-4000 (one way) yen along with toll road tolls taking the peninsula can be pretty pricey as well and the drive ends up being about 2 hours. The ferry is pretty pricey as well but well worth the trip. For 2 adults, 1 child and a car, it cost about 8000 yen round trip. This is a fantastic way to go if there are children in tow. From Yokosuka base, the Kurihama ferry port is about a 15 minute or less drive away. After driving our car on the ferry, we parked and walked up for a fantastic bay view with an array of snacks and vending machines. The Chiba Mother Farm was about a 20 minute drive from the Chiba ferry port. It broke up the trip so for Joshua he was sitting in a car for 2 hours. Instead the journey there became part of the days adventure. There are special package tickets that can be purchased for the farm that include ferry tickets. We found this out later of course but next time we may take advantage because we could save a little money.
Once in Chiba there are many many things to do. Mike did a little drive on the more rural side with his buddies. This is a great place to see visions of "old Japan" the coastal route was freckled with older farm house and rice patties. The busier side of Chiba is just as fun. The two large attractions are Chiba Mother Farm and Kamogawa Sea World. We haven't been to the sea park yet but it looks like it would be similar to an American sea park with bottle nose dolphins and orcas as some of their main attractions.
This trip we decided to do Chiba Mother Farm. We had a late start and didn't end up making it to the farm until about 12:00. Even though it was a weekend, the farm wasn't too crowded. For adults and children a like this place is a lot of fun. Attractions include a sheep herding show, pig racing (children are picked out of the crowd to chase and spank their pigs way to the finish line), being able to milk a cow, and sheep shearing as well. The first stop that we made was food (Hello....I'm pregnant and it was lunch time!). There are many many places to eat there. We stopped first at the Mother Factory Restaurant. We were served up cafeteria style. I had the "mix grill" plate consisting of potato salad, hand made sausage and lamb hamburger steak. I also got what I thought was fresh yogurt but I think turned out to be top cream with sweet blueberries on top. Really good. Mike got a Ribeye steak served up Pepper Lunch style. Joshua got the children's plate which consisted of french fries, rice, small lamb burger, handmade sausage, flan, and a cow lollipop. Everything was fresh from the farm and delicious. If we had bigger bellies and bigger wallets we may have wanted to try more however, we were pretty full and ready to check out some of the attractions. Joshua fed some lambs, rode the rides, watched the pig race, and did the walking maze with Daddy. Then in typical America fashion we could resist sampling the fresh ice cream. We tried the typical sweet cream and later the seasonal flavor which just happened to be blueberry. The farm area of the park is themed a little bit after New Zealand with the New Zealand flag flying in the livestock area. They also have fruit and vegetable picking including tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, strawberries, kiwis, & blue berries. Along with fruit and veggies they have seasonal flower displays as well. Other attractions include and Auto Camp Site and cottages to rents, craft shop, and jam & butter making. On the right season, one could definitely spend all day here. A side note the the canine member of the family can join as well. Dogs are admitted into the park and there is a large dog run area in the farm area. As souvenirs we bought some sausage to take home but there is a wide assortment of fresh foods that can be bought like fresh milk, home-made ham, ice cream, sausages, lamb, jam, butter, lamb jerky, cheese cake, mousse, truffles, and fresh cheese. We stayed until closing (about 5:00PM) then took the ferry home. We were pooped but we may end up going back again because of all the great attractions. What a great adventure!

Goodbye Kitty

2008-05-28T21:29:00.003+09:00

Today's a historic day in Yokosuka, Japan, because we had to say goodbye to a trusted old friend. The USS Kitty Hawk, the US Navy's only permanent forward-deployed carrier, left Yokosuka this morning for the final time. We were hoping to make it out for the send off, but when Nicki did a drive-by this morning she found the pier empty. When she got home, she called me to let me know that the ship was still visible in Tokyo Bay. So I headed home, grabbed my camera (from Nicki, who was already taking pictures), and did some shooting. As luck would have it, Nicki's pictures turned out better than mine - and I'm not ashamed to admit it... though it does sting a little. First pic is her's... second is mine.

For those that are wondering, the Kitty Hawk is on her way back to the States, where she'll be decommissioned sometime in 2009. The USS George Washington (CVN-73) will be replacing her in Yokosuka soon. But I'm not at liberty to say when.

Surf Wax Japan

2008-05-27T22:53:00.007+09:00

"The sea is foaming like a bottle of beer.
The wave is coming but I ain't got no fear.
I'm waxing down so that I'll go real fast.
I'm waxing down because it's really a blast.
I'm going surfing cuz I don't like your face.
I'm bailing out because I hate the race
Of rats that run, round and round, in a maze.
I'm going surfing, I'm going surfing."
- Surf Wax America by Weezer

Nothing like having your buddies come from 8,000 miles away to remind a guy to take a vacation every once in a while. I've posted pictures of basically the first half of Adam and Tom's trip to Japan. Everything you'll see in the Gallery, dated 05/27/2008, covers May 10 through 15. During that period, we visited Kamakura, Hakone, and Yokohama; and had a great time at each stop along the way. However, I decided to focus this post on my favorite day of their trip... the surfing trip to Chiba.

Adam's Group Portrait

I don't want to downplay any of those other places, but they are familiar spots for many of our regular blog readers. But the Chiba trip is brand new. And it was a perfect chance to test out the capabilities of our family's new (used) Honda Stepwagon, the perfect surf wagon. Chiba is the Prefecture directly east of Tokyo. It's gigantic. Closer to Tokyo, in the northwestern part of Chiba, are Narita Airport and Tokyo Disneyland. But Chiba extends south on a peninsula much like the State of Florida in the USA. And along the southeast shore of Chiba is rumored to be some good surf.

On the road from Yokosuka, the southeast shore of Chiba is a long journey. It'd likely take four hours or more to get there on the streets, because Tokyo Bay is in the way and you'd basically have to drive all the way around the bay and across the Chiba peninsula to get there. Fortunately, the wise people in Kurihama (on Miura peninsula, south of Yokosuka Base) set up a ferry port that can commute people and vehicles over to Chiba in about 45 minutes.

So at around 10:00am, Adam, Tom, and I packed up our gear, rented boards from the base Outdoor Rec water sports equipment rental place (I wish I knew a better name to call it), and hit the road to Kurihama. It was surprisingly easy to get a round trip ticket to Chiba and back. Between my bad Japanese language and the ticket agent's reasonably low level English skills, we sign languaged our information back and forth. Within 10 minutes, we were boarding the ferry to Chiba.

I used Google Maps ahead of time to give me an idea of what to do when we got to the Chiba side of the bay. Once off the ferry, we headed south, then east, across the central part of the peninsula. Man, that central area was awesome. It looked straight out of "The Last Samurai", with ancient looking Japanese style farm buildings and terraced rice fields. One of these days, I need to head that way on my own for a photo shooting expedition.

When we got to the east coast, we headed north to a spot known as "Malibu", because it's supposed to be pretty big and have a good break. The spot didn't disappoint. Actually, a tropical cyclone had passed the coast the day before, so quite a few of the breaks were shoulder high to overhead. One problem... none of us had paddled out in quite a while... and one of us was a virgin surfer. No way we were going to send Tom out in that for his first round of surfing, especially with only one working eyeball.

We also figured out at that point that we forgot to load up on surf wax. Wax gives the feet some surface grip on the board; without it we'd be hosed out there. So we asked a local about the whereabouts of the nearest surf shop. He said, "Three minutes north". So we went north. Twenty minutes later, we found exactly zero surf shops. But we did find ourselves in a knee to waist high surf spot with rolling, glassy conditions. Much better for our mostly unwaxed boards.

So we hit it...

Surfer at Our Gaijin Friendly Spot (not us)

And what can I say, other than it was the time of our lives. Great conditions, great weather, a view of a torii gate in the water several hundred yards out... the perfect surfing trip.

Another Surfer (once again not us)

We spent a few hours on the water, then called it a day. Wanted to make sure that we got some scenic pictures on the way out... and didn't want to risk missing the last ferry back to Kurihama.

Adam and Tom Relaxing with the Honda Stepwagon
(aka: The Redheaded Stepwagon)

As I mentioned at the top of the post, all of our pictures of the Chiba trip (and the preceding 4 days) are in the Gallery dated 05/27/2008.

Another Short One

2008-05-27T19:24:00.003+09:00

Just a side note. In my pregnancy blog I mentioned the PBS 10 part series Carrier. Telling everyone to check it out. For folks in and out of the Navy it gives a great perspective of life on an aircraft carrier. The show has interviews from the new and fresh sailors to the officers to the pilots and everyone in between. Showing what life is like aboard the USS Nimitz and during a WestPac deployment bound for the middle east. The best part of this show is that it's a documentary (not a military promo or bash fest) and there are SO many different opinions and SO many fascinating stories.

The side note is that if your not able to find it on TV anymore, all of the episodes can be viewed for free on their web page.

190 Post

2008-05-17T06:53:00.003+09:00

So, my husband and his buddies are up in Tokyo....what's a lonely pregnant mommy to do? (Yes, I said pregnant.) Why start a pregnancy blog of course! I decided to create a side blog about this because well, Japan years isn't centered around pregnancy and chick stuff. This way if you don't give a hoot about my latest pregnancy joy or woe, you don't have to read it.

However, if you are interested in the thoughts of pregnancy click here. http://preggonicki.blogspot.com/

I hope that it sparks some interests and opinions.

Well, I Love a Rainy Night

2008-05-13T20:36:00.006+09:00

A couple of my old college buddies flew in on Saturday afternoon for a 10-day Japan tour. We're staying fairly local during their visit, but so far have seen Kamakura and Hakone. Tomorrow night, we're going to head up to Yokohama and try to catch the baseball game between the Bay Stars and the Yomiuri Giants, if it doesn't sell out before we can get tickets.

But the real big story of the trip so far belongs to my buddy, Tom. In an effort to fight off jet lag, on Saturday night I took the guys out on the town in downtown Yokosuka. A tropical storm was passing by just off the east coast of Japan, so we'd been experiencing some heavy rain. On our way home for the evening, poor Tom hit a wet spot on the marble sidewalk area in front of a local hotel, slips, and lands head first on the ground. Knocked himself out cold.

Here's a picture of us out on the town:

Here's a picture of Tom the morning after:

Today, he was actually able to open up that left eye of his a little bit.

Date Night at Mike's

2008-05-09T23:41:00.008+09:00

Once a week, Nicki and I like to go out on a date night sans Josh. While we're out cruising the town for a couple of hours, Josh gets to party it up with his favorite babysitter. This week, we went out with some friends, Bridget and Bob, to eat at a new Mexican restaurant in "the Honch" area of Yokosuka - which is right across the street from main gate. If you haven't been to Mike's yet, we highly recommend it. Best Mexican we've had in mainland Japan.

Front Door Logo at Mike's Mexican Restaurant

Hilarious Sign on the Staircase Leading to Mike's
(and eerily similar to our SOFA with Japan)

Josh, before the Sitter Arrives

Josh, when the Sitter Goes Home

Kamiooka Shopping Extravaganza

2008-05-04T15:46:00.004+09:00

Today, we decided to take a train ride up to Kamiooka Station to walk around the big shopping area there right around the station. We bought Joshua some sandals, but after walking around in them for a few minutes, he got a blister. So we took them back and got a refund.

We ate at a Pepper Lunch restaurant for the very first time... very popular beef restaurant chain here and I'm surprised it took us this long to go to one. Sure enough, the plates were as good as everyone had told us they would be.

We were fortunate enough to find a few cool things that we'd never seen before:

The little Mickey Mouse is a guitar pick. Joshua loves playing guitar with his daddy, so when we saw a huge selection of guitar picks at the music store in the shopping center, we let him choose the one he wanted.

We're also all a little addicted to Pringles, but had never seen the pickle flavor chips before. Sure enough, they taste like pickles. So much so, that I find myself eating them while thinking to myself, why on earth didn't I just buy pickles instead?

Little House on the Bay

2008-05-02T07:42:00.007+09:00

Thanks to all the comments I got from readers with suggestions on things to write about. Base living:

I have to say, it has it's pros and cons. We were on the waiting list for about 2.5 years (since we got here). There are three reasons why this was the case:

#1 We wanted a town home on base and not a tower. The towers are nice; don't get me wrong. However, we were already living in a house off base and we liked it. I really don't want to turn anyone off to the idea of tower living in Yokosuka though, or offend anyone currently living in a tower. The 3 bedroom tower homes are very spacious and have a much more open feel than the townhouses. We are just accustomed to having a back yard.

#2 We wanted to be on Yokosuka main base. There are two other housing bases close to here to provide housing for people. Again, nothing against the other housing installations but our off-base house was just a 10-20 minute commute on local roads so we didn't necessarily want to take anything other than main base.

#3 My husband is a civil servant and not military, so we are low priority for housing on this base.

However, other overseas civilians, don't be discouraged (if you are really wanting base housing). Yokosuka just happens to have A LOT of people utilizing it, causing a housing shortage of sorts. Many other readers might be interested in the other two housing bases close to Yokosuka, called Negishi and Ikego. Check out the Yokosuka Base web page for housing information.

All and all, we were more than ready to leave our crusty Japanese house and move into a place where we had many of the luxuries of "home". When we moved in, I didn't realize all the little things that I had missed. Remember, this is from a stay at home mom's perspective. I think my number one thrill was the dishwasher. Japan does have dishwashers and in some cases in the very new homes, they have a built in drawer dishwasher; but it's nothing like the monster of an American dishwasher we can get on base. The majority of Japanese dishwashers are still bought as though they were appliances, so they will take up half of the counter space and still need to be hooked up to the kitchen sink faucet when running. Another thing in the kitchen I have been enjoying is the garbage disposal in the sink. No more digging into the drain, pulling out the screen and dumping all the food mush in the garbage. I have to say that my second favorite was the clothes washer and dryer. Two loads of laundry out in town used to take me all day. Now it only takes 2-4 hours. On rainy days, it's so nice to have a dryer that actually works and doesn't short out my whole kitchen if I have the microwave and dryer on at the same time. The storage space is also a real plus. Mainly because we now have a covered shed where we can put our bikes, BBQs and anything else that might rust. Our home out in town didn't have a shed, but many do, so if you will be in the Yokosuka renter's market soon, and you like to ride a bike it might be something worth looking for in your future rental. I probably won't post a lot of pictures of the house and of base because in regards to OPSEC, I'm not quite sure what I can post and what I can't.

I have to say that the convenience can't be beat. Although we are on the far side of base, I can still get Joshua to school on the back of my bike in 5 minutes. Walking would take us about 15 minutes. We were a short drive before but the minutes really piled on. Now when I go to the gym I don't have to pack all of my shower equipment and change of clothes and lunch. I can just drive home. Before, many times I would have an hour lull in my time. I couldn't very well drive home and do chores (by the time I got home I would have about 10 minutes before having to drive back) so many times I would hang out in the store and buy things that I really don't need or waste time in general. Our spending has gone down dramatically.

As a mother, I don't miss the everyday challenges of living off base. I think if I didn't have any children, I wouldn't mind spending 20 minutes figuring out through pantomime why I'm not getting a discount even though my point card is filled up or googling a bunch of things to find out where certain organic foods / restaurants are up in Tokyo for a weekend trip. However, I got tired of trying to explain that my son doesn't want a booster seat and then they replace it anyway only for my son get pissy with me because he's a big boy now.

Because we spent so much time out in town, we really were ready for the move on base (or, I like to say, joining the Borg). We definitely enjoyed our experience off base and there a couple small things that I miss. I have to say that if we spent a little more shopping time for our rental and got something a little nicer we may have stayed off base. The one thing I really miss is being able to walk to the Seiyu and just pick up something for dinner. Now it takes me about 15 minutes to drive up to the front of base, park, walk out into town and get my Japanese groceries or, 45 minutes to walk out in town and get my groceries vs. the 5 minute walk I used to have. It's a little bit of a hassle but worth it for my yummy fruit, yogurt, and French bread. I'm also happy I had the experience of living out in town because it gave me the push I needed to be brave and learn how to get around in a foreign country. Had I been under the comfortable umbrella of "little America", I may have found myself in the same boat as a lot of other folks and not really gone out of the gates. When that happens, I find that the fear of going out escalates and just becomes bigger, which can be discouraging. I think the number one reason why I still go out in town is because I have a much higher selection of fruit (yes, even cheaper than on base sometimes), the yogurt is much fresher and creamier, cheeses, and the French bread and pastries cannot be beat.

Reiterating what many would say, I appreciated the experience of living off base. I highly encourage it to anyone who's on the fence as to whether or not to take a place out in town or settle for something on base. Especially if you've never been to Japan. It's much easier to take on many English students or make Japanese friends. Experiencing the neighborhood summer festivals is always fun, along with the many other cultural experiences (big and small) that a townie usually just stumbles upon on any given day.

Earlier I referred to our "crusty old house". I drove by it the other day, only to find that it had been completely renovated. I'd like to think partly due to some of the suggestions that we left when we moved out. The front gate and yard looks completely different. Now, the gate is outfitted with a double door entry and camera intercom doorbell. I know that they re-wallpapered the inside as the wallpaper was coming off. Hopefully they put in new tatami, as we could hear it cracking as we walked on it. Also, hoping that they redid the floors. However, after walking by it the other day I did get a twinge of, "man, why wasn't like that when we were there!" Oh, well......a little "grass is always greener" syndrome never hurt anyone.

Lately, I haven't done too many side trips that have been new or different. I really enjoy going to the Toys R Us shopping center in Yokohama. It's a quick train ride up and they have a Toys R Us, McDonald's, and Kid's Fun Island indoor amusement playground all lumped together. It's very close to the Anpanman museum. Also Kannonzaki Park is one of my favorite places (we had a video on our blog about it). The roller slide there is the biggest that I've seen here so far and the small hike up the hill is beautiful this time of year. I'm also looking forward to checking out Flower World soon, as the poppies should be out in full force and they have a very cool play area and a Godzilla roller slide.

Again, thanks for all the suggestions and questions. I hope this helps those who are planning on moving here and those who just miss Japan.

Flat Soda

2008-05-01T19:22:00.003+09:00

The weather is finally starting to warm up so we've been spending most of our time outside. Joshua will spend an average of 2 hours a day playing at the playground and maybe more if he can. Tonight Mike gave him a great scrub down in the tub. After all his labor what was left were some scuffs, bruises, freckles, mosquito bites, and the reassuring feeling that under all that dirt, we had brought home the right kid from the playground.

Things in our life have been going well but, for some reason our blog has gone flat like a bottle of soda pop that been shaken up. In the beginning we were full of fizz just bubbling over about our experiences. However, lately our fizz has run out. Any ideas readers?

Nagasaki Sunday

2008-04-20T16:19:00.005+09:00

On March 9, during a trip down to Sasebo for work, I took a weekend side trip to Nagasaki. My original plans were to go on Saturday the 8th, but my plans for Friday night with some of the guys from work carried over until early Saturday morning, so I thought it better to postpone until Sunday.

Unfortunately for me, Saturday turned out to be the better weathered day, sunny and moderately warm. Sunday, on the other hand, was just downright gray and wet. But I made the most of the day, catching an early train from Sasebo Station and exiting a little over an hour later in the northern part of Nagasaki.

Up north is where most of the atomic bomb historical sites are located, since the epicenter was in that general vicinity. I hit those areas first, since I knew that they would be educational, but not necessary uplifting for my spirits. It was also raining heavily in the morning and I figured that I'd be safe from the wet weather inside the museums.

Around lunch time, I headed down to Chinatown, but was too hungry to wait until I got there to eat. Instead, I headed to a conbini (convenience store) near the peace memorial areas and grabbed a quick bite. Once I got to Chinatown, I basically just walked the streets looking at the interesting architecture, colors, stores, and restaurants. I was also able to visit a Chinese influenced temple there, which I rather enjoyed.

Afterwards, I visited a couple of the local churches. Churches are fairly uncommon in this Buddhist / Shinto country, as one might expect. But Nagasaki's history is interwoven with Dutch and other European influences, so churches and cathedrals tend to dot the skyline.

All in all, Nagasaki was an interesting place to visit, despite the rain. I'd love the chance to head back there again sometime, if the opportunity presents itself. Nearly forgot to mention that all the pics are in the Gallery dated 4/20/2008.

Our New Home

2008-04-02T20:32:00.005+09:00

With interest rates at nearly all-time lows and home prices dropping at historic rates, we decided to make a low bid offer on a small but cozy foreclosed property. Our offer was accepted last week and we just completed the escrow process and signed all the necessary paperwork. I know it's a fixer upper, but we just love the place. Here are some pictures:

Josh at our "Guard Shack"

Our Scary Front Entrance Statues

Nicki and Josh at our "Southeast Asian-Themed Patio"

The Lake House

Our Main House and Lookout Tower

Since this property was in such a deserted condition,
they threw it in at no extra charge!!!

Okay, okay... April Fools!!! I know April Fools Day was yesterday, but you were probably expecting a prank then. Anyway, if you haven't figured it out already, the pics are the remaining shots from our December Thailand trip... this time taken in and around Bangkok. The entire set is in the Gallery, dated 04/02/2008, or you can click here for quick access.

It's Been a While

2008-03-30T07:48:00.003+09:00

It's been a while since we've blogged recently. I have to say that since our move on base, things have slowed down considerably which I have to admit is actually really nice. I think in a lot of ways I was ready for the suburb type life. Right now our family weekends have been about having family time, BBQ in the back yard, playgrounds, and getting organized still from the move.

Out in town, things have not been as rosy as we'd like them to be as well. A taxi driver was found murdered and immediate evidence pointed to a sailor. However, right now it's proving to be a little bunk. I'm not quite sure how much has been stated in the general media, or what I'm allowed to talk about but let's just say our Japanese neighbors are not too friendly with us right now. It's typical when things like this happen. Nothing too crazy will happen. Maybe a house will get egged, tires slashed, or something will be said to us by a passerby on the street and we know that it wasn't something kind.

With the dollar falling in value it's also much more cost effective to stay on base. We've been able to save a lot more money these days which has put us much more on par with our goal. After all, this move to Japan wasn't just an adventure but also a way for us to save our pennies and buy "The American Dream", a nice house somewhere.

We haven't decided where in the USA we'll go, but we do know that we'll be going back... just not yet. We've found that although we appreciate other cultures, America is our home. This started out as a way to save and ended up to be so much more. It's encouraged us to not be so apprehensive about trying something else overseas one day. Maybe it's turned us into a family of nomads... I'm not quite sure yet. I think we'll walk away from this knowing that there are good and bad elements about Japan just like there are good and bad elements of America, and probably the same would go for just about any place in the world. There's a certain amount of pride that goes with knowing that our family can "hack it" just about anywhere. Above all we know that we will miss this place when we are gone. Mike just signed on for an extension, so we'll be here for at least 2 more years. Until then we've got to soak it all in.

Sunset Over Kujuku Shima

2008-03-20T20:51:00.003+09:00

Kujuku Shima (translated 99 Islands) actually consists of over 200 islands located near Sasebo, Japan, in Nagasaki Prefecture. On a clear day, the sunsets are spectacular, or so I've been told. I didn't have the greatest weather during my trip, but I was able to capture a few pretty nice ones.

Yokohama Memories

2008-03-02T20:17:00.004+09:00

This is an oldie, but a goodie. My friend, Thomas, and I took our kids out one Sunday in November to visit Yamashita Park in Yokohama. We ended up taking a boat tour around Tokyo Bay, underneath Rainbow Bridge, and along the shores of Yokohama. Afterwards, we ended up over near Landmark Tower and the huge ferris wheel that's there. We took the kids on the ferris wheel and got some great shots.

Check out the pictures in the Gallery, dated 03/02/2008. The kids got ahold of the camera for a few pics, which explains some of the more unique shots.

Kannonzaki Slide

2008-02-23T21:24:00.003+09:00

One of our favorite local spots on a clear day is Kannonzaki Koen (Park). The park is located down the coastal route, Route 16, from base, probably about 10km away or so. The park itself is mostly a large hill covered in walking trails, children play areas, flower fields, and panoramic view points. One of our favorite areas in the park is a playground with a long roller-slide. Since we recently purchased a Sony Handycam DVD video recorder, we thought we'd give it a test shot today.

Check out the video below or click through to the Google Video direct link. Warning, it's about 6 minutes long so after you hit play it might take a bit of time for it to load up. Enjoy!

Pattaya in Pictures

2008-02-20T19:25:00.002+09:00

Pictures of our trip to Pattaya Beach, Thailand, and the surrounding areas are now in our Gallery, dated 02/20/2008. Here's a few to get you started:

View from Pattaya Beach, Thailand

Pond and Pools at Dusit Resort Pattaya

Elephant Ride at a Local Elephant Village

Koh Larn, a Relatively Uninhabited Beach Accessible only by Boat

Josh Enjoying the Water at Koh Lard

Daddy & Son Day

2008-02-18T21:10:00.003+09:00

I came home from Okinawa on Friday in the late afternoon after a 9-day business trip. Before you get jealous with thoughts of mid-winter business trips to semi-tropical destinations in the Pacific, I should let you know that I saw the sun twice while I was there and both times were for just a few hours at a time. The rest of the trip was spent in cloudy weather mixed with scattered showers. And man was it cold... I mean, not mainland Japan cold, but too cold to be Okinawa.

One thing I really appreciate about Japan is the public transportation. It's such an obvious, but often overlooked, advantage of being over here. In the States, if you don't get a ride to the airport for a long trip, you'd likely park in "long term" parking and at the end of the trip you'd face a rather expense parking bill for the daily parking rate at the airport. For my trip to Okinawa, I simply hopped on a train nearby base, took it directly to Haneda Airport, where I exited in the basement of my correct terminal. On the way back from Okinawa, I took the same path in reverse. No need to drive... no need to park.

Since I was gone for longer than Josh is used to, he got a little bit of daddy fever while I was away. So Nicki and he came up with an idea to have a daddy and son day on Saturday. So after waking up Saturday morning (after sleeping in) and going through the morning eat, drink, and brush routine, Josh and I headed out the door. We started at a terrific kaitan-zushi (sushi served in mass quantities on a conveyor belt) restaurant, which is located south of base at the corner of Route 16 and Route 134. It was a regular spot for us when we were living in Maborikaigan and Josh loves the "fishies and rice" there. After several plates of sashimi each, we headed down to Spasso.

Nicki has mentioned Spasso several times in previous posts, but in short it's a local Japanese bath house along the coast about 10 kilometers from base. It's probably something I would have never tried in the States, but I have to admit that after getting past the initial cultural hurdle of being comfortable in a hot bath filled with a bunch of other naked dudes, I've really taken to the idea of bath houses. It can be really relaxing to just sit in a hot tub and let a tired or aching body soak.

Josh got a kick out of the different tubs at Spasso. He kept wanting to move from the indoor pools to the outdoor pools. I tried to take him into the cooling sauna, a small room that is set to below freezing to help people cool off after soaking in the tubs, but I couldn't warm him up to the idea (pun intended). We spent about two hours at the spa and then met back up with Nicki later in the afternoon.

Yesterday (Sunday), we did some shopping at D-2 to help us get ready for gardening season. Now that we're on base, we have a wonderfully large back yard and plan to fill it up with an assortment of herbs and vegetable plants. More on that when we actually get things rolling. We may even try our hands at composting, a good way to reduce residential waste from entering the traditional solid waste stream. The EPA has a great little website dedicated to composting and the do's and don'ts of how to get going with it and to keep it from stinking up the neighborhood.

Today, we spent most of our day at Ikea. It's been quite a while since my last trip up there and I impressed myself with my driving skills, since the last time we drove up there I was a nervous wreck. We got quite a few new things to add to our furniture collection in the house, though most of it was bought for functionality over aesthetics, but I think we came away with quite a lot of cool stuff.

I've been pretty busy at work and home since the holidays... some of y'all have been asking about Thailand pictures... they're still in progress. Also, we're planning to post some pics of the new house but it's still in progress too. In the meantime, Happy Presidents' Day!

Going Underground

2008-02-10T14:42:00.000+09:00

Descending the damp concrete steps, I slowly traveled over 60 years back in time, to a dark, cold, and windy corridor of death. You see, my footprints were etching the same dusty ground that was traversed by officers of the Japanese navy during the Battle of Okinawa. As I moved deeper through the maze, my mind constantly recalled the over 200,000 people that perished during the three month long battle, from April to June 1945. Then my mind moved to the hundreds who had died within the same walled corridors that I was currently walking. How could I not think these thoughs? Many a Japanese sailor took his own life within the caves of the Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters. In one room, a small sign on the wall explained the extensive series of small holes along the walls and low ceiling, which were created by a suicidal sailor's hand grenade. In another room dangled a sign indicating the location where Vice Admiral Minoru Ota transcribed a final telegram to the Japanese 32nd Army Headquarters, a day before taking his own life within the underground maze.

After exiting the cavernous tunnels, I visisted the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Park, which is a beautiful and somber tribute to all who died during the 3-month battle, including the Japanese and American troops and the local Okinawan civilians. In the Peace Park museum is a cronological listing of the events the lead up to the Battle of Okinawa, the battle itself, and then the post-war reconstruction on the island. It's an interesting story, considering the controversy that continues (even today) regarding the details of the war.

What an opportunity for me, as an American currently living in Japan, to be able to see such things. By numbers comparison, the Americans definitely won the battle, as only 12,000 or so US troops died during the battle. The Japanese military lost around 66,000. But the ultimate victims were the Okinawan civilians, whose casualties amounted into six figures. It's estimated that nearly 140,000 Okinawans were killed during the battle, which is estimated to be between a quarter and a third of the population on the island at that time. There's an old saying about history being written by the winners. The Peace Museum on Okinawa, however, appears to be a case where history was written by the victims, as a reminder to all about the impact of war and the people that it can affect.

The Gated Community

2008-01-24T20:28:00.000+09:00

It's been an interesting couple of weeks. As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been feeling under the weather for about a month now. I've been a familiar face at the US Naval Hospital here on base; and I'd like to give kudos to the kind folks there who have taken care of me. As it turns out, when we left Thailand, I brought home an unexpected souvenir concealed in my gut... Salmonella. My advice to all of you, don't ever get Salmonella. It's not fun. The good news is that I'm feeling much better than I was three weeks ago, but the battle still rages.

In other news, we received a telephone call on Tuesday, January 8, 2008, from our friends at the Yokosuka Housing Office. The voice on the other end told us that our name was moved to the top of the waiting list for on base housing and asked if we were interested in moving aboard. By Wednesday, we had signed the paperwork and we were told to be at the house on Thursday, January 17, to collect our keys and start moving. Lucky for us, the following weekend was a 3-day holiday weekend. Even luckier for us, we have some great friends who offered to help. This was a huge plus, because the move was at our own expense, and we were quoted a steep $1800 - $2100 estimate for having professionals do it. Not on my life.

Once we got the keys, we started moving. Thursday and Friday were the box moving days. I rented a moving truck on Saturday from Nippon Auto Rentals, right outside of Yokosuka's main gate, for a mere 16000 yen (approx $150). For the majority of sunlit hours on Saturday, the boys and I did all we could to move the big and heavy stuff to the new place. I finished up the small stuff on Sunday then on Monday we turned in the keys to the old place. All in all, everything went fairly smoothly. Our total out of pocket costs for the move... under $400.

Ultimately, the decision to move on base wasn't that difficult. Being off base has its advantages, such as easy access to public transportation, a higher rate of immersion into our host nation's language and culture, and the opportunity to be able to leave work behind and get away from it all. On base, however, both Nicki and I have reduced our commuting times from about 2 hours per day to less than 10 minutes. Additionally, our new home has effective heat and insulation, better storage capabilities, closer parking options, a larger and more versatile yard for us to play in and use, and an equally beautiful view of the bay. In all honesty, they had me at "shorter commuting time".

If you're wondering, this post's title is in honor of our friend, Pete, an American who lives over here but is not associated with the base whatsoever. When he heard that we had accepted on base housing, he poetically said, "when you move into the gated community, don't forget about all of us still on the outside."

Falling Apart

2008-01-14T20:46:00.000+09:00

Hey Everyone and Happy New Year. Nicki did a great job posting about the first half of our Thailand trip and I've been excited about posting the recap of our second half... especially after going through a lot of the pictures that we took while we were down there. Unfortunately, since we've been back, I've been hit with several different ailments that have kept me mostly lethargic, congested, and otherwise not so genki.

In lieu of telling my story, I thought I'd instead show you Thailand from Josh's perspective. His photos were sent directly from his camera to the computer, without any fancy editing. You can view them by clicking on "Josh's Pics" on the left column and then the date 01/05/2008. Or just click here.

Things have been busy since we got back and we've got quite a few stories to tell. So bear with us over the next few days and weeks and we'll try to get back to a regular posting schedule soon.

Sawadee!!

2008-01-05T16:30:00.000+09:00

Since our return from the winter break, everyone keeps asking, "So, how was Thailand?" It was AWESOME. We really had a fun time and the weather couldn't have been better.

For our first trip to Thailand, we decided to do a group tour through Camp Zama. Because we had never been anywhere in mainland Asia on our own, it gave us a sense of security along with being able to see all of the sites easily. Camp Zama did an excellent job getting us booked. Any of our readers stationed here who want to go on vacation, I highly recommend calling them first! Both resorts that we stayed at were 5 star resorts and they were some of the most amazing resorts we have ever had the pleasure of seeing, much less staying at. Our first stop was in Pattaya a bustling beach getaway town located about 2 hours from Bangkok. This first resort that we stayed at was the Dusit. Located right next to the ocean with a semi private beach and many many pools. As our bus drove up the gate, the gaurds greeted us with a salute and our first of many exuberant "Sawadee!"s. It was evening and the front garden of our hotel was lit up with thousands of Christmas lights and snowmen (Fake of course. With 90 degree weather, I don't think the real Frosty would have stood a chance!). We were very tired from the 7 hour plane ride and 2 hour bus ride but were still very amazed at the beautiful facility. When we entered the lobby we were again greeted with a bow and a "Sawadee!". The lobby itself was filled with the smell of lemon grass. Our tour guide, Mr. James took care of getting our room keys and luggage sent up. (We didn't even have to take our luggage up to our room!!) Our first evening was uneventful. We ordered deli sandwiches for dinner and plopped down on our beds for a well deserved night's rest.

The next day, bright and early, we started off on our tour. Our buffet breakfast was out of this world. One type of fruit I really enjoyed while in Thailand was the Dragon Fruit. We met our tour after breakfast. Even though it was a long plane ride, the time difference was only 2 hours behind so it wasn't too tough to get adjusted. Although Josh enjoyed the Aquarium, I'd have to say this is something that can be skipped if one doesn't have children. We also stopped at a market strip that we sped-walked through because the place smelled of hot spoiled fish. I'd have to say though, my favorite part of the first day was feeding the monkeys. For only about 100 baht, we bought a small basket of food and fed the monkeys. For the most part they stuck their noses up at all of the bananas and cucumbers. What they really were holding out for were the raw eggs. The monkeys would gently roll them on the ground to crack them then wait for the yolks to come out and lick the goo off of the cement. After visiting the monkeys, we went on to eat a seafood lunch of fried rice and steamed shrimp. Tummies full, we then took a ride to the Chinese Temple which was beautiful and such a contrast from most of the Shinto and Buddhist temples of Japan. We were lucky enough to make it back to the hotel for some much needed pool time for all of the children on the tour. We had dinner at a small place right outside of our hotel called Kiss. For 90 baht (about $3.00), Mike got his favorite Thai dish, Panang Chicken Curry. It's served in a bowl with small slices of chicken and spicy mix of coconut milk, lemon grass and lots of chili spice. YUM!

The next day we were able to go to an Elephant sanctuary. Many of the couples without kids skipped out on this day tour. While at the sanctuary, we enjoyed a presentation and talk about elephants and what they are used for in Asia. Some people on our tour took a bath with an elephant and all of us had the opportunity to ride elephants bare back and saddle! We were all also able to feed them bananas.

The 3rd day of our tour, Christmas Day, started off pretty rough. Josh hadn't been sleeping well and we were all a little cranky. After breakfast, we walked down to the beach and got a private boat ride to an island beach. The water was absolutely crystal clear and aquamarine in color. The island was fairly quiet and relaxing. The kids played in the sand and water. This was an all day beach day so for lunch we ate on the island as well. We were served with deep fried fish, curry, rice and fried veggies. So much food! Josh ate just about a whole fish all by himself. Of course while I was lounging, I drank my token coconut milk. In my mind this is the staple of vacation lifestyle! That night the resort had a dinner celebration with an elaborate buffet and free gifts. Unfortunately, we were all so worn out that we couldn't stay for too long. Fortunately, some of our tour mates snagged some of the free gifts for us.

Because of the previous late night, we were all very happy to have a "free day" for our 4th day. We ate again at our new local haunt, Kiss. Then walked the strip and got some shopping done. Thailand is famous for its jewels and silk. Mike was nice enough to let us stop into the trusted and recommended World Gems shop and purchase several things for me. What a lucky wife I am! We also stopped by the Hard Rock Cafe and got Mike's father (an avid collector of Hard Rock pins) 2 pins.

By the 5th day, our tour was moving on to our second Hotel in Bangkok. The brand new Pullman Hotel. This is where I leave my blogging to an end and ask that Mike continue on about Bangkok and all the amazing sites were saw! Pictures are soon to come! For now, click on the links.

Hida Takayama

2007-12-12T17:53:00.000+09:00

This past weekend, we had a great opportunity to visit the town of Hida Takayama. Mike, Josh and I participated in a monitor group for the city. Hida Takayama prides itself on being "barrier free", meaning that the town is stroller and wheelchair friendly. We also had a chance to invite our good friends Nathalie & Thomas with us, since they have 3 young children and make the perfect test subjects for traveling with strollers. The journey was long - about 5 hours to Takayama station. From Yokosuka, we took an express up to Yokohama station then transferred to Shin-Yokohama station to board the Shinkansen to Nagoya. From Nagoya we took a 2 hour "wide view" train ride to Hida Takayama. The ride from Nagoya to Takayama was beautiful and the "wide view" train provided extra large windows, enabling us to see the spectacular mountains and streams along the way.

When we arrived in Takayama, we were left to our own devises. Our tour "leader", Pete, wanted us monitors to do all the legwork on our own, so we could feel like "first timers" in Japan. Our first test was to find our ryokan (Japanese style hotel) and the tourist information booth at Takayama station provided excellent information - in English, I should add - to help us get there without a hitch. From the ryokan, we had lunch at a great recommended soba restaurant. Because of the cold weather, the hot soup tasted just "that much better"... the perfect fuel to start our trip.

But more about the ryokan... This was our first experience staying in a ryokan. The reason being that many ryokan aren't welcoming towards young children. It's sort of an unwritten rule that if traveling with children in Japan, you should stay in a hotel. Understandingly, because children have a tendency to be louder than the Average Joe and they are more inclinend to make Swiss Cheese out of shoji screens. However, Akiko Tanabe at the Tanabe Ryokan was very welcoming towards us and Josh and she really seemed to enjoy speaking to us in English, which she did quite well. We arrived too early to check in, but were able to leave our luggage there while we spent more time checking out the town.

We didn't realize it until we arrived, but we were soon to become celebrities. Part of the city's plan was for us to enjoy the town and then provide feedback. However, they also decided that it'd be the perfect opportunity for a local television crew to film us enjoying the town, to show other gaijin how easy it is to get around in Hida Takayama. Apparently, they are planning to use the footage in a nationwide commercial, so we're really hoping to get a copy of that tape!

The film crew took us to our first destination, Hida no Sato (Hida Folk Village), a very popular stop on the tourist trail. Here, we could step back in time and visit an old farming community, to see how many Japanese folks were living at the time. There are about 30 buildings in the village, and inside each one is an explanation of what type of home or building it was and why it was important to the people of the time. Also, in many of the buildings were people working hard on an "old folk craft" like Hida lacquer work, weaving and dyeing. After exploring the old folk village, we took a detour to a spot where we were able to cook traditional rice crackers in a kiln, inside a small craft shop in town. YUM!

That evening, Mike and Thomas met with the monitor group to give their opinions about the town. Nathalie and I decided to stay behind as 4 young children in a two hour meeting might get a little crazy. It was then that I had a chance to see the room where Nathalie and Thomas were staying. They stayed a the Hida Hotel Plaza, in one of the Japanese style rooms. It was beautiful, with tatami mat throughout. The hotel also had a swimming pool, shops and an onsen.

After the meeting, we were all treated to dinner at a yakiniku restaurant in downtown. This was also our first experience with yakiniku. Yakiniku is a do-it-yourself type of dinner. Guests are seated at a table with a hot pot/grill in the middle. A server will then present guests with a large platter of beef, noodles, and vegetables. It's customary to oil the pot with a cube of fat. Then the diners throw the meat in and pour their desired amount of sauce throughout. Guests are also given a raw egg which should be cracked open in a bowl and beat with chopsticks. Once meat is at desired doneness, it should be pulled out, dipped in egg and slurped down. Diners can add vegetables to the pot whenever and the noodles are suggested to be eaten last.

Hida Takayama is well known for it's high quality beef. The quality is thought to be second only to Kobe beef. It was delicious. I can't remember a time when we had such a great meal! The night kept going until Josh was basically falling asleep at the table. I excused myself and made it back to our ryokan. In our room was hot tea waiting and 3 large fluffy futons place out just ready for me to plop down on them. Before bed though, Josh and I made it to the bath downstairs, cleaned up and relaxed. We were supplied with a Yukata (Japanese PJs) and even Josh had his own. After soaking in the onsen we went back up to our room. I informed Josh that I was going to dry my hair and that he should lie down and wait for me. Upon my return I found him snoring, all snuggled under the covers. I slid in beside him and fell quickly asleep myself. Mike stayed out a little late that night, but returned around 11:30pm and then took a dip in the onsen before going to bed, too.

In typical ryokan fashion, we received breakfast delivered to our room. We had hot miso (fermented soybean paste VERY good for seasoning) sizzling on top of a magnolia leaf on a small stove, broiled salmon, rice, miso soup, nori (dried seaweed), hot tea, water, pickled vegetables, and a small yogurt drink. It was such a large breakfast, but shamefully we had no problem getting it all down. After our very filling breakfast it was time to get dressed and ready for a new day.

On the second day, it snowed some, but it was the slushy kind of snow that didn't stick to the ground but still made things wet. Our first stop was the morning market, where we were again videotaped while we went around asking questions of the vendors. Josh and I walked around and tried samples of the local produce, home pickled veggies, and Japanese sweet treats; including one that I had never had before - a sweet grilled egg white, which sounds really weird but turned out to be really good. Mike got an interesting tour of a sake brewery - ironically, the brewery was run by the same family that owned the ryokan where we were staying, the Tanabe family. We also had some more famous Hida beef served up Yakitori style. I guess you could say it was Yakiniku but instead of thin slices of beef like we had the night prior this was bite size chunks of beef served on a stick.

We viewed both marketplaces while the TV station crew taped us, then Nathalie, Mike and I took the children to Takayama Jinya, or historical government house. This was one of the properties of Lord Kanamori of Takayama Castle. Way back when, it came under the control of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and prefectural and district governors used it as an office through which to govern Hida; sending out official proclamations and collecting taxes. When the Meiji era began, it came to be used as area offices for the prefecture, county and local branches. Takayama Jinya is the only remaining building of this kind in the country. Takayama Jinya had a small lobby where we warmed up and enjoyed some hot drinks.

We spent the remainder of our time visiting the shops along the "old houses" portion of Hida Takayama, where we got an education in (and a sample of) the different types of sake brewed in town. We came away with three bottles of sake, each with distinct flavors and attributes. We also window shopped, tasted some local snacks, and froze our buns off until we were able to board our train home.

The train ride home was a lot more relaxing and instead of getting off at Yokohama station we took the Shinkansen all the way to Shinagawa. This gave us an opportunity to have a more straight shot home (Which I would recommend to anyone in our area planning on taking a Shinkansen trip).

We had a great weekend in Hida Takayama and would recommend the town to anyone looking for a change of scenery from the busy life of urban Japan megacities. It was fun to visit a new place, do new things, and to act like movie stars with video cameras following us everywhere. By the way, if you are reading this from Japan, be sure to check your television for our big international commercial debut sometime soon.

Veteran's Day: An Adventure in Kamakura

2007-11-12T18:47:00.000+09:00

Let's just start by saying Josh is the angel of all angels when it comes to putting up with his parents. He's so patient but especially if we make a game of things.

Today was Veteran's Day and coincidentally the only sunny day that we had this holiday weekend so we decided to savor the day and take in the Autumn sites in Kamakura.

The night prior, Mike and I were taunted by a mosquito buzzing in our ears. The end result was me going downstairs and sleeping on the couch and Mike not being able to sleep the rest of the night. We have named the mosquitoes here "Ninja" mosquitoes because every time they are caught buzzing in our ear, we turn on the light only to find absolutely no sign of them. We've tried leaving the light on and a number of other tactics, all of which have proven in vain. The Ninja endures.

Today got off to a fairly late start due to Mike having to try and catch up on some of the sleep he had missed. We ended up getting to Kamakura station at around 1:00PM. I had done some research trying to find restaurants in the area. Not only is the Kamakura area known for it's numerous temples and shrines but also for its plentiful local organic grocers and delicious cuisine. Unfortunately, I have yet to find an English guide leaving us to our own devices.

Our plan was to go to Zuisenji Shrine located a few miles away from Kamakura station. We had never been there and the brief information we found on it was intriguing. It was founded by Zen priest Muso Kokushi, one of Japan's most famous garden designers. The temple is known for its pure Zen rock garden which was designed by Muso himself, but also for the many flowers and blooming trees found in the other parts of the temple grounds.

When we got off at Kamakura station we found a coffee shop called Rondino just outside of the Enoden Line exit. I had read online that there was an English menu and that their coffee was made the "old style" way. After really googling this for a while, it seems as though this is called the Coffee Siphon Brewing method. The taste of coffee brewed in this fashion is in my opinion the absolute best. The bitterness is gone and as one writer put it, 'the purity of flavor stands". My first time tasting coffee brewed in this fashion was at a UCC Cafe in Hiroshima and today I finally found the same taste much closer to home. Each cup is individually brewed, so if you are into drinking A LOT of coffee I recommend ordering your second cup when you receive your first cup. Boy, is it worth the wait. Rondino, in addition to serving several different brews, also serves tea, snacks and meals. There is no English ads on the outside of the shop, so just be brave enough to walk in and have a seat in the small little cafe. Westerners will be offered an English menu. The waiters are courteous and most patrons are extremely considerate. While we were there we were offered to switch with a customer for a bigger spot (to accommodate Josh) and several customers waved and "KAWAII'D" Josh.

After our detour we hiked along to the Shrine only to find no clearly marked signs pointing the way. Armed only with a poorly marked map, we realized only too late that we had made a wrong turn (Thank goodness Mike can reach hiragana!) so we turned around and headed back. Not all was lost though. Along the way we were able to take in the sites and just enjoy the weather and scenery. We hung out at Hachimangu for a while, snacked on a candied grape, took pictures and watched all the very cute boys and girls posing for their Shichi-Go-San holiday pictures. Mike even got some good sneak pics in!

Josh took some pictures of us at the train station and some koi at one of the shrines. You can check out how much better he's been progressing with his pictures under the Josh Pics section. Mike's pictures from the trip are up in the Gallery, too.

To end our day in Kamakura, we had to choose between two restaurants that I had found during my online research. A sushi-go-round and Tipitina's Mexican restaurant. I was really feeling Mexican food but as soon as we walked past the sushi joint, Josh pulled us in. Lucky for us he had. The Mexican place was closed and by the time we would have found it, we would have been completely cranky with hunger pains. This looks like it will definitely be a place to go back to in the future though. The sushi-go-round was a typical experience but because it was on the main strip it had touristy prices. The chef was a little smitten watching Josh slurp down salmon and kept on slipping him more slices on the sly and on our way out, the waitress gave him a lollipop shaped like tomago.

Today was a great Veteran's Day. Laid back and fun. I can very much relate to a comment I had several years ago from one of my posts, "Getting lost in Japan is the fun part". Today that really rung true.

Rockin' On

2007-11-05T09:19:00.002+09:00

There are few things that get me going as good as when I'm listening to a good punk song on my iPod Nano. Particularly, Rise Against. Last night, Mike and I had a chance to see them live in concert at JPN Studio Coast in Tokyo. Our good friends Doug and Darlene watched Josh overnight (really a sleep over with his buddy Zelig) and we took the 2 hour train ride up to Odaiba to rock out to the Taste of Chaos 2007 tour.

This was my first concert in Japan. Mike has gone to several concerts since we've been here but nothing really interested me until I found out that Rise Against would be playing along with several other great punk bands. If anyone reading lives in Japan and is into punk, they should definitely save up their yen and experience a concert here. Never have I seen more considerate moshers in the pit. Having the mommy instinct, I am now too responsible to risk getting hurt and participating in the circle but it was really fun to live vicariously through all the youngin's. A great band from the UK called The Gallows was one of the opening bands and stopped their song because they thought someone might have been hurt. Come to find out, the guy had lost a contact lens. The lead singer then exclaimed,

"You've got to be f***ing kidding me! We stopped our song because of a f***ing lens?! Alright well, did you find it man? ...No? Well everyone look around and if you find them, smash 'em! Man, quit being a f***ing p***y!"

Hilarious. At one point, someone in the mosh pit lost a shoe. Folks in the pit were holding it up until the owner could be reconnected with it. Quite Japanese.

The whole night, Mike kept on looking over at me to see a smile plastered across my face. I was way too psyched to put on the punk/super cool image. We took a break outside and had some time to get drinks and buy t-shirts before going in to see the guys we were waiting for, Rise Against. They were awesome... as to be expected. I danced the whole time, and by danced, I mean jumped up and down and screamed like the white girl I am!

Now, I interlude with a proposal story. When Mike proposed to me years ago he had all of these wonderful things in his head of what he was going to say, but when it came out it went like this, "urrr, yurr really pretty" followed by "will you marry me?" on one knee and presentation of the ring. I never understood this. Now, for the most part, I'm not one to show my excitement much about things. I can usually pull of the "cool as a cucumber" image. I never quite understood the whole deer in headlights tongue tied feeling until last night.

After Rise Against's set, we stood in line to meet the band. I was so freaking nervous but Mike (with alcohol induced courage) convinced me to be the true groupie that I am and get a poster signed. I filed on down the assembly line of band members with the same wide eyed grin across my face while they signed their names on the poster. When finally I got to the lead singer and he looked at me with brief intent and said "So, what are you doing out here" I stood there absolutely stupefied. He talked to me... HE ACTUALLY TALKED TO ME! All I could do was stand there with my eyes wide open and nothing to say. Finally Mike saved me and said what he does and I was his wife and how we have a 4 year old son. He then said he had a 3 year old at home and I then said, "Wow, congratulations". WTF?! 'stupid stupid stupid!' I was ridiculously star struck. There were all these things I wanted to say to them. I wanted to ask him if his child inspires him the way that Josh inspires me everyday. I wanted to say how before I discovered their music I was unmotivated to run and work out and that they've changed my life in a big way from how I function to how I think about issues. I wanted to say how while listening to them live the drummer had reprogrammed my heartbeat, how the lyrics and raw voice of the lead singer reached into the very bottom of soul and pulled out all of what made me mad, sad and happy in the world and just displayed it out in the room and how the guitarists just brought everything together into one neat package and how every once in a while would break out with their own expressions.

The show and the night was just incredibly awesome. We met some very cool Americans from surrounding military installations in and around Tokyo and it was a fun time to just feel this bond between fans.

The whole ride up there, I kept on fretting about how I just didn't look "punk" enough but when I got there it just didn't seem to matter. I'm happy in my own skin and no longer worried about what some 19 year old kid thinks of me because I have a husband (who just happens to be my rock star) and a 4 year old that think the world of me. I was just there to rock out and have a good time. (In closing, to throw a little humor in there) The 2 gin and tonics helped loosen me up too.

US Navy Birthday Ball

2007-10-24T20:57:00.000+09:00

One of the great honors of being able to work for a military base overseas is that civilians like myself sometimes get the opportunity to drop in on the formal events that our military counterparts enjoy. This year, the US Navy celebrated its 232nd birthday on October 13, 2007. Conveniently, it was also the same day that I ran 13.1 miles in the World Wide Half, but you can read about that part of my day here. We made plans to attend the Navy Ball that evening and had a blast, though I wish I had the strength at the time to dance with Nicki... I owe her one. Thanks to Thomas and Nathalie for sharing pictures from the evening:

The Mabori Crew

Not bad for a guy with sore feet, knees and quads. Of course it helps to be seated with such a beautiful woman.

13.1... all done

2007-10-14T10:00:00.000+09:00

Yesterday, I ran my 13.1 mile Phedippidations Worldwide Half Marathon Challenge. Thanks to everyone for the encouragement and kind words along the way; and for those that donated to the Hole In The Wall Gang Camps charity. Many thanks to Nicki, who threw an impromptu breakfast burrito party for some people to help spread some love once I got home from the run, to Thomas, who met me at various points along the journey to take photos and to deliver sports drink hydration, and to everyone who showed up at the finish for the company, the high-5s and the pats on the back.

All in all, we raised over $300 for the charity, which I plan to send out within the week once the remaining donations come in. As I mentioned before, they will be sent in memory of Nicki's grandma, Marcia, who passed away earlier this year.

And for those who are wondering, I feel great about my finish time. My goal time was 2:15, but I told myself that I'd be happy with anything under 2:30, considering that I only trained for about 8 weeks prior. Now, my knees are sore, my Achilles are a bit tight on both legs, and my calves have seen better days. But in a few days, I'll be back at 100% and ready for my next road challenge.

Island Fever

2007-10-10T20:14:00.001+09:00

Mike rescheduled with his student this week and is teaching him tonight rather than Thursday, so after running around the house making our home presentable and cooking up my weekly "treat" (tonight it was Apple Crisp) for his student, I now have time to relax and type down my thoughts.

Island Fever. The term is affectionately used in America where most of the time it affects Hawaiians. Obviously and maybe a little unfortunately, I'm not Hawaiian, so in the past I couldn't ever understand how someone could get tired of living on an island. I can safely say however after spending almost 2 years in Japan and only really visiting "home", I've caught onto the idea. I'm ready for a change!

We are in the beginning stages of planning a vacation in Thailand - WOOHOO! I'm ready for sun, sand, beaches, swimming pools, massages, elephant rides, hotels and shopping. I'm especially looking forward to no cooking or cleaning for a while. I really don't mind that it's a series of different islands as well. One can't really ask for much when one lives amongst thousands of islands in the Pacific. The important part is that it's going to be a different cultural experience.

In other news, Mike's half marathon is this weekend so type in a message to wish him luck. He's been working hard and even has been showing off his blisters and blackened toenails to me. Boy, I must love him a lot to indulge him the way that I am! Actually, I take that back. Although I have rubbed his legs and dutifully retrieved aspirin for him as he lays down on the couch in a sweaty lump, several times I've grimaced and shoved his nasty feet away. All the more reason he needs encouragement from our readers out there. It seems as though he might not be getting enough at home. That Saturday morning I'm planning to have breakfast burritos and some close friends over to give him a pat on the back to congratulate him. Although I wish I could invite all of our cyberspace friends, I'm afraid I just don't have enough chorizo!

Budding Artist?

2007-10-04T19:34:00.000+09:00

For the past couple of months, Mike has taken on teaching English privately every Thursday night. His student comes over right after we put Josh down for bed, so during the session I'm banished upstairs. In all honesty, I really appreciate this time. It gives me one nice quiet uninterrupted hour to sit, contemplate, and blog.

Since our return home, I haven't gotten out much. I mean "gotten out" in terms of being amongst the people or, "in Japan". Many of our readers are familiar with the US Military life overseas. However for those readers who are not, suffice to say that it's quite possible to spend one's whole time here in Japan with virtually zero interaction with Japan. Most bases have just about any amenity needed to live. I do most of my shopping there for groceries and other small items. It's also where I do all of my other things, like dry cleaning or tailoring. For many who live on base, going "into Japan" takes a concerted effort sometimes, especially if one has children. Josh has started preschool on base 3 days a week leaving me time to drive him to school, go to the gym, run errands, drive home, eat lunch, clean, and drive back to pick him up at school. This leaves me little time to see what the latest and greatest thing is out in downtown Yokosuka. On Josh's days off though, I try to do something fun. This week was a little difficult and because I've been busy running around, I also feel like I really haven't had time to reach into my writer's hat and do a really good entry (This is my latest attempt).

Last night, I made plans to go to SPASSO with some of my friends. There were two newbies in our group that evening. Nathalie has been with our group of friends for sometime but was unable to attend our previous SPASSO outings due to her pregnancy and then new baby. Kerri has just arrived in Yokosuka and was able to have her first onsen experience. There is truly (and I think I've said this in previous posts) nothing like sitting in a hot salt/mineral water bath looking out into the dark ocean underneath the stars. The autumn weather was perfectly cool across our faces as we chatted and watched swirls of steam rise up into the sky. Time always flies but I can honestly say that nothing frees my mind more than just having that time with adults. I come away nice and warm. Usually upon my return home, I crawl into bed and sleep like a log.

This morning we woke up to sunshine after about 5 days of light rain. Since I had such a good night's sleep, I was finally ready to take Josh to the Nogeyama Zoo up in Yokohama to see the animals. I really enjoy this zoo. There's no fee to enter, but there are no concessions except for snack and drink vending machines. Although the exhibits are compact (Animal rights activist in the States would have this place shut down in a heartbeat) it makes it very easy for Josh to see all of the animals. They also have a small petting zoo with chicks, guinea pigs, and mice. Small children absolutely adore this part. They also are nice enough to supply an English map upon request.

While we were home in California, my younger sister Kimberlee gave Josh her old digital camera (can you believe it..."old" digital camera) and this was the perfect opportunity for him to use it. We all might be able to take an educated guess as to why he might be so fascinated with taking pictures? Well, at any rate this was his first real photography session. That's right, Josh at 4 years old went out into the field to express himself artistically through photography. In his honor, because he is a member of this family, and because we are absolutely smitten with him, we will be creating a "Josh's pictures" tab on the side... coming soon! In the meantime, click here to enjoy Josh's pictures and stories!

Wastin' Away Again In Yokosuka-ville

2007-10-03T21:29:00.000+09:00

It's been one of those months... September that is, though it still doesn't feel like October yet to me. Nicki and Josh were gone for 3 weeks, my supervisor at work accepted a job offer elsewhere, the big boss asked me to take over my supervisor's workload until the vacancy is filled, Nicki and Josh returned... and all the while I've been spending most of my free hours training for the half marathon coming up on October 13.

Actually, despite my newfound double-workload and crazy race training schedule, I've been really happy recently. My new workload has enabled me to learn a lot of the financial side of our organization, which, as of October 01, not only entered a new fiscal year, but also transitioned from one organizational structure to an entirely different one. I've been learning by the ol' trial by fire method, thrown into the deep end of the lake with concrete boots and no life preserver. But alas, it's also giving me a chance to show the big boss what I'm capable of, so hopefully what he's seeing and hearing is good.

Also, the half marathon training has really impacted my daily life. It's a stress reliever, a health inducer, and an opportunity to just free my mind and let it deeply explore the random thoughts that somehow creep into one ear, through my cerebral cortex, and out the other ear. I feel tired at the end of most days, but it's accompanied by a strange new energy. I feel my legs getting stronger, my knees getting weaker, and my heart and lungs improving at their individual duties. In short, I'm really excited about October 13th.

In related news, I mentioned way back when that I would set up a page to list my charity's contributors and found a nifty way to do it through the Hole in the Wall Camps website. Too bad that I didn't figure it out sooner, because all those checks that were written to me could have just been submitted straight to the charity. Nonetheless, here's the link to my support page:

Mike's Support Page

Now, my donation collecting is legit. I signed a contract on the site and gave them my contact info; so if I don't pay up, they'll hunt me down.

Thanks to those of you that have contributed with your kind words of encouragement on our blog posts and in emails, your cheers from around the world, and the donations to Hole in the Wall Camps.

Josh Turns 4

2007-09-24T20:16:00.000+09:00

Joshua celebrated a birthday in August, though I've been my typical slow self about posting the pictures from his big birthday week. In lieu of a party, we took Josh to Fuji-Q Highland, which is an amusement park located along the base of Japan's favorite active volcano, Mt. Fuji.

At some time or another, Fuji-Q earned a spot or two in the Guinness Book of World Records for the speed, height, and overall craziness of its roller coasters. But, we went to Fuji-Q for a very different reason. In one corner of the amusement park resides Josh's favorite locomotive friends, Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends from the Island of Sodor.

Josh was absolutely hysterical with his enthusiasm for all the Thomas Land trains and vehicles - and of course everyone's favorite conductor, Sir Topham Hatt. There were toys, rides, and shops all decorated in Sodor Island themes. Josh had an absolutely wonderful fourth birthday.

Pics are up in the Gallery, dated 09/24/2007.

Home Again

2007-09-20T19:40:00.002+09:00

Before I begin....a side note that the spider that Mike saw in the backyard is known as a Huntsman Spider.

Yes, Josh and I are back in Yokosuka. Although I was happy to come home, it was hard to leave home/America this time. Despite the wonderful friendships and experiences I have here in Japan, I really miss the familiarity of home sometimes.

Our return marks the end of the Summer season as well. I've always really looked forward to Autumn although this year it's been difficult because of the short Summer that we've had. Summer in our neighborhood is really the time when people come out to play. However, soon there will be yummy Yaki-imo.

Tomorrow will be Josh's first day at school. I was planning on taking him on Wednesday but I think the jet lag would have just been too much for him to get over in one night. This way, we had a couple days to rest up and then meet the teacher and come into the classroom and look around before I just dropped him off. The preschool will be much more organized than the hourly program I sometimes take him to. In the morning, they will line up outside of the school with their class and walk in with the teacher. Each classroom is designated a theme & color (Red Teddy Bears for Josh's class). Josh is assigned a specific table and chair along with a cubby to put his backpack and lunch. I am required to pack a lunch for him. No peanut butter or other nuts allowed as some children have allergies. Apparently, nut allergies have gone up drastically since we were young children (who would have known??). The preschool is a Co-op organization which means the Mike and I have to put in a lot of volunteer hours during the school year. It excites me though. This way we'll really be "in the know" when it comes to his curriculum. All and all, the teachers in his classroom and his school in general seems great. Mike and I are both planning on being there tomorrow to take pictures, so stay tuned on that one. This has definitely been a time in my motherhood where I've become a weepy woman. After all, "My little boy is starting to grow up!"

One thing I didn't expect to come home to was more visitors in our backyard! I looked out the window at one of our backyard trees to see 200-400 fuzzy caterpillars just munching away. In the meantime, I glare at several of our orb weaving friends in the branches thinking 'Hello do your job!' If our eight legged friends only realized that there was an all you can eat buffet just inches away. The small homemade birdbath wasn't attracting any predators either. I only recently found out, however, that some caterpillars don't taste so good to the birds. I decided it was time to take action before our tree bit the dust. I had no idea what kind of spray to buy in the store nor did I know what was legal to spray in our area so I ended up going the natural route... Chili spray. It consists of water, lots of chili powder and a few drops of liquid soap. It worked beautifully. Several of the furry vermin fell in to the webs on their way down and were quickly wrapped up and devoured by the joro-gumo. I was able to get rid of most of them. Some of them (about 100 more) survived the caterpillar genocide and I'm sure are laying more eggs as I type this. Click on the pictures to see some shots Mike took of the little hedge trimmers.

One of the purchases that I made in the states was Josh's Halloween costume. He's going to be Peter Pan this year, complete with a sword for fighting Captain Hook. He thinks I should be the crocodile and Daddy should be Hook. A tip for newbies living on base... stock up on your candy! Halloween is very popular with Japanese children as well and many of them come in large groups to trick or treat on base. Many residence on base flew through 7 bags of candy before 6:30PM last year. Again, stock up and be stingy! Especially if you're in a townhouse.

Still Running...

2007-09-18T21:46:00.000+09:00

Quick note to let everyone know that Nicki and Josh made it back to Japan safely. Also, I am shamelessly plugging my new side-blog, which is more of a running journal for me and my adventure of training for the half marathon. I tried to keep the blog title easy for me to remember. Check it out if you're interested or if you're currently watching paint dry and you want an alternative source of entertainment:

http://japanyearsrunning.blogspot.com

Thanks everyone for the kind words of encouragement and support.

It's Back!!!

2007-09-15T19:45:00.000+09:00

Last year, Nicki and I saw perhaps the biggest spider in the history of the world. Okay, not really, but the thing did have it's own license plate and a racing stripe. Anyway, I can't remember if we posted about that spider sighting or not, but I'll try to summarize here:

Nicki picked me up from work one time and told me that she left the door to the house unlocked because there was a huge spider standing outside the house and she was too scared to take the time to lock the door. I didn't believe that a spider could be big enough to scare someone away from their own house, so I made fun of her - until we got home again. Sure enough, it was still there, and I'm man enough to say that it scared the willies outta me. It had to have been about 8-9 inches across and was faster than lightning. I tried to throw a rubber ball at it to scare it off... it caught the ball and threw it back at me. No kidding; it was huge and scary.

Fast forward to tonight. I went outside just after sunset to play guitar on our back porch and enjoy the coolness of the evening. In the shadows near our eggplant garden box, I unmistakably saw the same type of spider that gave us the fright last year. Tonight's was a little smaller, but only by a little bit. Needless to say, I jumped back into the house, put down my guitar, and ran up to get my camera. Now, it was nighttime, my aim wasn't good, and my focus was even worse, but here's the clearest shot I took of the thing.

Anyone looking to adopt a pet?

The Long Ride from Tokyo... Day 4

2007-09-13T22:08:00.000+09:00

This post is the grand finale in our David Does Japan series. Our final morning in Tokyo, we woke up early because we were scheduled to catch an early Shinkansen (bullet train) ride from Shinagawa Station in Tokyo to Odawara Station in the western part of Kanagawa Prefecture. And let me just tell you, sometimes the clueless gaijin in Japan get very lucky.

It's not very often that I get to travel by bullet train. Since it was Obon week, we booked the tickets several weeks in advance to insure we'd get tickets before they sold out. Because of that, I kinda forgot what time we were supposed to leave Shinagawa. So I quickly glanced at the ticket at the hotel and it said 9:40am... great, we had plenty of time. Long story short, we got to Shinagawa Station around 9:00am and made our way to the bullet train platform. There we read the sign indicating upcoming trains and their departure times, and low and behold, our train was at the platform and getting ready to leave. As it turns out, our train wasn't departing Shinagawa at 9:40am like we thought... it was arriving in Odawara at 9:40am. Lucky us for getting there early... though it didn't stop Nicki and David from teasing me about reading the ticket wrong.

When we got to Odawara, it took us a bit to figure out which train would get us to Hakone, our ultimate destination. Hakone is a resort area that is a familiar long-weekend vacation spot for Tokyoites, which was expected to be crowded during Obon week, but we wanted David to get the bullet train experience so we figured we could deal with the crowds once we got there.

What we didn't expect was the tremendous crowds being paired with tremendous heat. Don't get me wrong, Hakone is beautiful and I definitely want to go back soon, perhaps later in the fall when the hazy days of summer are over and we might have a great view of Mt Fuji. But on this trip, we took the scenic loop around Hakone and then got the heck out of there. In fact, we did our tour so quickly that we had to request an earlier Shinkansen ride back to Tokyo.

On our scenic loop, however, we got to ride a cable car, an overhanging ropeway line, an old wooden ship, and a Japanese bus. So we covered quite a few forms of public transportation along the way!

Anyway, in summary, if you have the chance to visit Hakone, it's well worth a day trip from Tokyo provided you've done all you wanted to do up that way first. Just don't travel during Japanese holidays or during a major heatwave.

Pics are up in our Gallery, dated 09/13/2007.

Tokyo, Day 2 and 3

2007-09-03T21:04:00.000+09:00

It's been a while since we shared info from during the trip Nicki's brother, David, was here. So I'll continue where we left off. Basically, he was here for about 10 days and we spent three nights for his trip at a hotel up in Tokyo, so that we would be near all of the action. On the second day of his Tokyo excursion, we took him east of Tokyo to Chiba to see Tokyo Disneyland.

It was the perfect day to see Disneyland, too, smack dab in the middle of Obon Week - which is a holiday week here in Japan also known as "everyone go to all the nearby tourist attractions" week. It also happened to be "How hot can Mother Nature let today get" day. Let's just say that we didn't get to ride many rides because of the crowds and it was rather unenjoyable, if that's even a word. But we made the best of it and Josh seemed to have an incredible time. We made it in Disneyland until the early afternoon and then hit the road.

That night, we went back to Shibuya to show David what downtown Tokyo looks like in the dark. Even though it wasn't very dark. David quickly decided that Shibuya must be where all the attractive girls go at night because the streets were crowded and well, David had a good point. Anyway, Nicki was kind enough to put up with our testosterone-based conversation and we had a pretty fun time just walking around acting goofy.

On Day 3 in Tokyo, we took David to Odaiba to see the cool science stuff at the Panasonic building. If you have never been there and get the chance (and are a closet science geek), that place is a lot of fun. They have a great exhibition on the third floor that they call "RiSuPia", for reasons that I can neither explain nor understand. Regardless, we did the science stuff for a while and then took David to Akihabara, the electronics capital of Japan. We showed him around the area and ended up at Yodobashi Camera, where we managed to spend about 3.5 hours before getting tired of looking at cool gadgets.

I didn't take my camera with us on Day 3, but I got some fun shots on Day 2 in Tokyo. Also, we sat in a family-friendly photo booth at RiSuPia, so we did get two pictures from there on Day 3. They're all in our Gallery, dated 09/03/2007.

World Wide Half Marathon

2007-08-29T14:27:00.000+09:00

A man's wife and young child just left Yokosuka to visit family in the States for a few weeks, so what does the guy do? He signs up for a half marathon.

Yup. I just registered for the 2nd Annual Phedippidations World Wide Half Marathon, to be held on or around the weekend of 13-14 October 2007. As Nicki mentioned in the last post, we've really taken a likin' to Steve Runner's weekly podcast called Phedippidations. I've enjoyed listening during my workouts so much that I've found myself just jogging for ridiculous numbers of miles without even knowing it. With Nicki and Josh away, I figured that I needed something to do to occupy my time and keep me out of trouble, so I'll be training for a 13.1 mile (or 21.1 kilometer, as they measure here in Japan) run around the Miura Peninsula.

This race is fairly unusual, since it's being undertaken by folks from all over the world at various times in all kinds of different locations. It's completely free to register (at http://www.worldwidehalf.com/), you can choose your own path, and you can choose to raise money for whatever charity strikes your fancy.

Most of you don't know, but the reason Nicki and Josh are heading back to the States is to be with family following a death in the family. Nicki's grandmother, Marcia, passed away last month. Nicki's pretty private about such things and to be honest, I'm not sure how much (if anything) she wants me to say about it, but I've decided to dedicate the run to Marcia's memory. As such, I've found a charity that I think she would have been proud to support. In the little time that I had the privilege of knowing her, I learned that Marcia had a big heart and cared deeply for children. As such, I've decided to start a donation campaign for the Hole In The Wall Camps, which you can read about by clicking through the link in the organization's name. I'm going to start the campaigning by pledging $50 from our own bank account.

If you're interested in contributing, please consider doing so. You have my word that 100% of all donations will go to the Hole In The Wall Camps and I'll try to get a receipt from them to post online as a thanks to all contributors. I'm planning to keep a running total of contributions and a list of supporter's names (unless you'd prefer to remain anonymous). Thanks in advance for everyone's support, be it financially or by cheering me on.

Wish me luck!

Update: I set up a separate blog to track my experiences and stories from training and to keep a running total of contributions for the Hole In The Wall Camps charity. Check it out at: http://japanyearsrunning.blogspot.com.

Getting the Positive Back

2007-08-26T19:19:00.001+09:00

This blog is a little bit of a hodge podge of many things. In the end it all tends to have the same theme though.

This weekend we tried to cram in as much fun as we could. Friday night some neighborhood friends invited us to a local beach bar that really reminded me of home. Totally relaxed fun place.

Saturday, we invited a friend over with her children. She had been gone all Summer and just got home. I wanted to make sure I had a chance to see them before I took off.

Sunday was the "creme de la creme". Pete, a friend of ours who we met through SushiJeff, was generous enough to give us tickets to a fantastic show in Tokyo. The show condensed many of the matsuri dances and entertainment throughout Japan and parts of Asia. Mike will give a more thorough blog post later on about this fabulous experience. It was the perfect show to end Summer.

The Japanese culture never ceases to amaze me at times. There is a stoplight just outside of our house. This morning we heard several honks outside and decided to peak out our window. We noticed there was a car stopped at the traffic light. The light was green and the car had it's turning signal on but wasn't going anywhere. The car ended up staying there over a cycle of 3 light changes. Drivers would honk and then drive past glaring at whoever was inside. Finally, someone got out of the car and knocked on the window. Apparently the driver had fallen asleep at the light! Mind you there were probably ten to twenty pedestrians passing the car while the action was taking place and doing nothing. Just went on pretending not to notice. The only reason why we didn't run down there was because it would have been over by the time we made it to the corner stoplight.

Today on the train, Mike got up from his seat to allow a grandmother and her grandson to sit in his place. Instead, the father ended up taking the seat with the child while the grandmother continued to stand. To Mike, this is just unheard of. Elderly, women, and/or children should always get the seat before a healthy young adult male does, in his (and my) opinion. I just recently heard a story from a friend of ours here in Japan. She was 7 months pregnant carrying a pre-schooler and stroller around in Tokyo on her way home on a crowded train. She was so exhausted she finally just plopped down on the floor. Still not one person got up to give her a seat. They just all gawked at the "crazy foreigner" sitting on the dirty floor.

Another experience recently occurred while we were at Disneyland during Obon week. Yes, we were stupid enough to go during Obon week and record-breaking temperatures. It was fun and my brother was able to see Tokyo Disney. However, we've learned our lesson and will never go during a holiday week! While we were at the park, there was a little girl about 6-7 years old screaming and crying. She was obviously lost. Again, not one person was doing a thing to help this poor girl. Mike flagged down a park employee to help the girl. He knew that if he went up to her himself, he'd scare her even more. But once the park attendant figured out what Mike was trying to say, she was more than happy to help the child.

Many may read this and think negatively about my interpretation of our current experiences here. Maybe readers can sense a little irritation in my writing style lately...Just recently, I've been getting a little tired of being looked at like a zoo animal at times and people moving away from us on trains and children jumping away from my son like he has the plague (and watching as he gets taunted in Japanese by the children at the playground). It does get old at times. I suppose I just have to keep on telling myself, "it's just a different culture". Some days, I can just be too sensitive.

I will say though, the day couldn't have ended better. We got back to Yokosuka from Tokyo just in time to eat at our favorite sushi joint for dinner.

In other news, I will be headed to the States come Wednesday to visit family for 3 weeks. I think this visit will help me recharge a bit as well. I am feeling a little homesick. Mike will be staying here all alone... plenty of time for him to get into some trouble while I'm away! When I return it will be October in Japan and I should be back just in time to flag down the Yaki-imo vendor.

With the Summer months in full swing, I've been slacking with my jogs. If there is a new excuse, I've got one. The Summer was slow to start here after a late rainy season. I was running to base (between 4-6 kilometers) every other day. The heat kicked in and my feet starting getting a bunch of blisters. So for a while, I was a gym rat. Being in the "rat race" for a while slowed me down and dried up my motivation. With my brother in town, I didn't go because well, honestly, I was worn out from taking trips everywhere. All of this slacking caused me to get into a sluggish mood as well. I decided I need a new game plan to get me motivated. I picked up Runner's magazine. Although most of the articles in Runner's magazine target more hard core runners, the magazine always seems to motivate me to push just a little harder.

Near the beginning of the publication, there was a small blurb about a podcaster who broadcasts a show for free exclusively for runners. It was such a positive editorial that it sparked my curiosity. After giving Phedippidations a listen, I have to say many of his experiences and stories from his listeners has inspired me to push myself just a little bit further on my runs. I highly recommend him to anyone out there who wants to start running but just hasn't been able to get up and start. He's free to download onto your iPod.

Mike's note: If you have iTunes downloaded to your computer, and you should, do a power search in the iTunes Store for the podcast "Phedippidations", or you can get to his podcasts like we initially did by starting out at his website by clicking the link above in Nicki's post. He's great to listen to on a short or long run to keep you motivated, informed, and educated. I just got back from a evening 10k jog and listened to him through the entire route.

Tokyo, Day 1

2007-08-17T06:40:00.000+09:00

We wanted to provide Nicki's brother, David, some cool only-in-Japan experience during his limited tour over here, so we booked some rooms up in Tokyo and had a mini-vacation. And over the past few days, we tore through Tokyo like Godzilla on a rampage.

We arrived on Sunday morning and had a few hours to kill before our rooms would be ready, so we stowed our luggage at the check-in counter and hopped the train for Harajuku. Perfect timing. Sunday is the day when the colorful "Harajuku girls" are generally decked out in their unique outfits and decorations. I was actually really surprised to see so many of the kids out at play. Although it was a sunny day, the heat was excruciating and some of those costumes look uncomfortable even in normal weather. We did the tourist thing of standing around a looking, got a few pictures, and then hit the tracks down to Shibuya.

In Shibuya, we got the standard gratuitous picture of David with the statue of Hachiko, the legendary loyal dog of ancient lore. Afterwards, we crossed the busiest intersection in the world a couple times. The great thing about this week is that it's Obon week, so many Tokyoites were away from Tokyo, which made the intersection a little less crowded.

We finally got to a point where we couldn't stand the heat anymore, so we headed back to the hotel, checked in, threw on our swimsuits and hit the pool to cool off. That's Day 1 in a nutshell. Day 2-4 will be up soon. In the meantime, our pictures from Day 1 are up in the Gallery and dated 08/17/2007.

Big Sis, Little Bro, Great Buddha

2007-08-11T21:44:00.000+09:00

There's not too many things that I can claim dominance at over Nicki, but one thing that I generally hold as truth is that I'm a better photographer. Then she goes to Kamakura and has a day like today.

Nicki's brother, David, is in town visiting. I had separate plans today with Josh to visit Sarushima ("Monkey Island") with a few other guys, so Nicki took the opportunity to have a sister/brother day and they hit the tracks to Kamakura to visit the beautiful Hase area. During their early morning adventure, they were able to catch both the Great Buddha (Daibutsu) and Hase-Dera, which to me is one of the quintessential temples of Japan - though I'm admittedly no expert on such matters.

Nicki took the camera with her today, so I'll have to rely on other guys in my group for pictures from Monkey Island, but Nicki was able to take some really great shots of David during their adventure in Japan's former capital. There's a few up now on the Gallery page dated 08/11/2007.

Next on the David Does Japan tour, a visit to Japan's current capital, Tokyo. Stay tuned...

Bon Odori Season 2007

2007-08-06T20:16:00.000+09:00

Last year, we had a blast at the neighborhood's annual Bon Odori (basically, "street festival"). This year, we found out about the festivals far enough in advance to see two of the three festivals, at 1-chome ("block") and 2-chome, both within easy walking distance from our house.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so below are a few thousand things we saw during the festivities. Our Gallery dated 08/06/2007 shows the rest.

Josh Tearin' Up The Duck

Girl In Yukata Eating Yakitori

Hula Girls

The Band

Making New Friends

Girls Being Girls

Boys Being Boys

Hanging the Clothes Out

2007-07-28T11:19:00.000+09:00

When I first arrived in Japan, I remember distinctly thinking that everywhere in the city looked a little well......slummy. Many readers know that downtown Yokosuka is not the prettiest of cities in Japan. Well, compare it to the likes of Kyoto and it's really no match for that type of competition. However, there was a real distinct reason for my snooty opinion. Everywhere, I saw clothes hanging out to dry. In America for the most part, I never saw clothes being hung out to dry. I blushed at the embarrassing idea of someone grabbing my skivvies off the line.

However, after staying here for almost 2 years now, I succumbed to hanging out my clothes as well. I mean, maybe just maybe people who have lived in Japan their whole lives are on to something. We do have a dryer. It's about a third of the size of an American sized model. It takes about 3-4 hours to dry a load (Japanese washer sized load) of laundry. The clothes come out wrinkled and the house rises in temperature about 10 degrees. In the Summertime, it pretty much makes our home uncomfortably hot and humid. Japanese dryers are extremely inefficient. After spending about 2000 yen (give or take about $20.00) on 2 metal clothing rods, clips and a little clippy hangy thing to clip up unmentionables, I had all I needed to hang up my wet clothes.

Now, anyone who has spent time in and around Tokyo and Yokohama area during the middle of Summertime can tell you it gets hot. So hot in fact that the first load of laundry that I washed (including a pair of jeans) dried in less than an hour. Not to mention there was no "shrinkage" or wrinkling. The Japanese rods for hanging clothes seem to be efficient in the sense that they don't leave a "dent" or "fold" in the clothes compared to if they were hung on a conventional line. Plus since I am the queen of laziness, I took my girlfriend's advice. When I hang my clothes out to dry, I hang all of the shirts on plastic hangers. When they're dry, I just hang them up on the rod in my closet. They also have all kinds of nifty gadgets to help clothes dry faster and with less wrinkles. I'm so bulking up on those items (along with the very cool toilet seats) before we leave.

This reminds me of a past show that Oprah had on with some ideas on staying "green", or more environmentally friendly. The show interviewed a couple who were trying little things around their home to be more economically and environmentally friendly. I almost fell down on the floor laughing when the Southern California couple mentioned that, to save money and energy, they cleaned out the lint trap of their dryer every time they finished a load of laundry. OK, two things wrong with this picture. #1 Weren't they ever taught as children to clean out the lint trap every time?? Not only to save energy but, to prevent fires?! #2 They're still drying their clothes in the dryer in Southern California. Where it hardly ever rains and temps climb to the 80's and up during the Summer.

The clothes dryer literally sucks up so much energy and money. I'm probably saving about $25 per electricity bill by hanging up my clothes to dry. Plus, the colors on my clothing are staying brighter and as I mentioned before there's no shrinkage or wrinkling. The sheets for my bed dry in about 20 minutes. (When I'm potty training, that makes all the difference) By the end of the day, I've completed 2 times the amount of laundry I could have completed had I used the dryer. I can only imagine how quickly clothes would dry out somewhere in Arizona or Southwest Texas? Many homes have covered patios where clothes don't even have to be in the sun to dry (saving some clothes from fading from the sun).

I know, I know. This sounds preachy and I've probably spent to much time here and have lost touch with reality of things back home. (Some Home Owners Associations don't even let people hang their clothes out to dry on account it makes the neighborhood look trashy, low income, or have an unsightly nature) I'm just putting the idea out there though. Give it a try. There could be savings of a few hundred dollars a year. Who cares if the back yard looks a little trashy when you've got a clear conscious and a heavier wallet?

Eight Random Things

2007-07-25T12:07:00.000+09:00

Internet peer pressure strikes by way of a tag from Claus over at Grand Stream Dreams, who requested for The Japan Years crew to think up eight random things about me us. Since Nicki isn't here to defend herself, this list may be skewed a little to the Mike side of things... I'll try to remain neutral though.

1. Nicki and I were originally set up on a blind date by our friends at Gingers Mom. Funny thing is, six months before we met we were both at the Gingers Mom/Gingers Dad wedding and neither of us even remember seeing the other one there.

2. I've been playing the guitar off and on for more than fifteen years. During high school, I was in a garage band that we named "Dementia" because it was a cool word that came from Metallica's song, The Frayed Ends of Sanity.

3. Nicki has seven brothers and sisters (if I got that count right), not to mention all the cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. There's almost always interesting news coming out of her family.

4. In Josh's nearly four years of life, he's already established himself as a traveller. He's already flown the voyage from the US to Japan (or vice versa) three times now. In addition, he's traveled the length of California, from San Diego up to about Trinidad (north of Eureka on the coast). He's also road-tripped from coast-to-coast in the USA; travelling through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. One day, he'll ask us why he never gets to go anywhere and we'll tell him it's because he's already seen and done it all.

5. Nicki's first job growing up was working as a server at a Japanese restaurant in Sacramento. Mine was as a bagger and cashier at a Food Lion grocery store in Richmond, VA.

6. I have an unnatural dislike of vacuum cleaners. It's not that I don't like using them, I have just never liked that sound. I have to leave the room unless I'm in control of the thing.

7. Nicki loves Abyssinian cats. One day, if we ever get a pet, it'll more than likely be an Abyssinian.

8. Before our Japan Years are over, our goal is to visit China, Thailand, and possibly Australia and New Zealand. Singapore's on our list too, but not as high up as the rest of those places. Stay tuned to see if we can do it all.

Oldies But Goodies

2007-07-23T20:58:00.000+09:00

If Josh looks a little bit younger in the new pictures I posted to the Gallery (dated 07/23/2007), it's because most of them were taken in 2006. Rainy seasons aren't good for much, but this current one provided me with some much needed time to catch up on some old photos that have been patiently awaiting digital processing.

Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise

Sea Paradise is an amusement park and aquarium located on an island up in Yokohama. I've only been there once, but Nicki and Josh have been up there a few times. It's a fun place to visit whether you like roller coasters, slow rides, or water-based animals.

Yokohama International Food Festival

The food at this festival was wonderful. Vendors representing countries and cultures from around the world were there. Spanish food, Belgian beer, and Japanese hospitality... what more can you ask for?

Enoshima Aquarium

Probably our favorite aquarium in Japan (so far). Enoshima is accessible by the Enoden line... a great little old train line that meanders slowly through the beautiful coastal route between Kamakura and Enoshima. The aquarium puts on a great dolphin show, the exhibits are well lit and well kept, and Josh loves that he can touch little sharks in the "hands on" area. Sushi, anyone?

Soleil no Oka

This park has a lot of summertime potential. Unfortunately, we were there in February. It's located near Miura Beach across the peninsula from us and on our particular visit the wind was blowing us like a tornado in a meat locker. I'd love to see this place on a warm day, though. Paddle boats, playgrounds, and petting zoos. And my favorite perk... after you pay your 1000-yen parking fee, the entrance to the park is absolutely free. So load up your car with some energetic kids and head on over!

I mentioned it before and I'll say it one more time... our pics are in the Gallery dated 07/23/2007, or just click here.

Children's Hall

2007-07-20T18:52:00.000+09:00

It has been raining now for about 3 weeks and I've (and Josh) gone a little bonkers in the house. Not to mention packing on the pounds with all of my cooking recently. Today I had "Had it" and was up for an adventure. Something to do on a rainy day? The options in the neighborhood can be pretty sparse and they do get old after a while. I decided to take a train trip to Tokyo to visit The Tokyo Metropolitan Children's Hall (Tokyo-to Jido Kaikan). This place was established in 1964 with the goal of improving children's health and imagination. This 5-floor building smack dab in the middle of Shibuya is a fantastic place to take the kids and fairly easy to find. Josh and I spent 2-3 hours in there and were really only able to experience 1.5 of the floors. Some activities include a wood shop room, clay and ceramics, origami land, recycled materials and ideas for fun crafts, computer corner, two indoor play areas, science area, music studio, mini theater, infant play area, library, and a playground on the roof when the weather is good. Oh yes, and here's the best part, it's absolutely free! There's no charge for any of it. This must be one of the hottest spots in Tokyo for all Moms. In the lobby there is a map and Event calendar available in English.

I have to say it was pretty fun. We don't go to Tokyo too often. When I do, I always get a little excited and make sure I look pretty good. After all, as Tokyoites might say, "I don't want to look like country folk!"

If there's any Mommies interested, check out the link to the site. The only thing that the webpage left out on the directions from Shibuya station was to leave out of the East Exit of the station. Head North down Meiji-dori about two blocks and turn right on Jido Kaikan-dori. There will be a street sign on the corner in English marking the street (Labeled Children's Hall with an arrow).