Exploring Hayama

After most of my jet lag had subsided, I put Quinn in the stroller and decided to take a walk in the area around our house. A few things I hadn't expected but, of course make total sense.

1. It's hot and humid! - When we arrived the temps were near 90 and the humidity would sometimes reach 90%. So, even a brief walk pushing a stroller could get very sweaty, very quickly. There are vending machines everywhere just in case you need a cold beverage to cool you down.

2. It is mountainous. - If I keep along the coast, it is fairly flat. But there is a very busy road between us and the coast so I tried to walk east to go further inland and I soon found myself trekking up a very steep hill. This is the hill that leads up to Reese's school. (More about that later.)

 3. Space is used very efficiently. - I learned in AOB class that Japan is about the size of California but with 127 million people. That's almost 4x the pop. of CA. Before you buy a car here you have to prove that there is space where you live to park it. Houses are right next to each other with very little room between and no yards.

4. There is a lot of traffic. - Not traffic jams per se but lots of cars on the roads at all times...cars and bikes and motorcycles and scooters. Because of this I am reluctant to ever put Quinn down on the sidewalk. The sidewalks are narrow, even having Reese walk in front of me makes me nervous because cars are constantly whizzing by.

There are a few restaurants that we can walk to but not much else. Not even a mini-mart. To get around most people take public transit. Their buses are clean and reliable. They post the schedule and usually a bus will come within 1-2 minutes of the posted time. 

On our 2nd night in town we all piled on the bus and went out in search of sushi...of course! It didn't take us long to find a place. But being able to order would be another challenge. Luckily lots of restaurants here have picture menus to help the tourists figure out what they want to eat. Which brings me to item #5. 

5. Sushi in Japan is raw fish on top of sticky rice. - No crunchy rolls, no caterpillar or dragon rolls with avocado and special sauces. Just bare bones. It's good. But you have to really like raw fish. Reese doesn't we discovered. But thanks to our friends Eric and Suyong we knew that 7 Elevens here have lots of pre-packaged convenience foods.

Every time we walk outside the door, a new impression forms. Just small things but it's enough to remind us we're not in Kansas...er Chicago...anymore. 

Exploring the Base

As I said in an earlier post we are about 25 minutes away from base by car. Many of you may be wondering why we don't live on base. It was not an option for us. Mike is a contractor and therefore not eligible for military housing but we do have access to the Commissary and most of the facilities like the library, fitness center and parks.

This was my first time on a base of any sort and it is a great resource but also very limited at the same time. The Commissary is the grocery store (sometimes called the PX). They do have much of the stuff we have in the states but I was struck by how limited the produce is and by the unexpected pricing. $5.99 for a pound of strawberries but $1.50 for an 8oz. block of Tillamook extra sharp cheddar, easily twice that in Chicago! Still, I have been able to get most everything we need.

The restaurants on base are all fast food and all disappointing: Taco Bell, Chili's, A&W, Manchu Wok, Sbarro Pizza, Popeye's, McDonald's, Baskin Robbins and of course Starbuck's

The playgrounds, however, are plentiful and very impressive. Like this one that is attached to the elementary school.

  This one alone kind of makes me wish we lived on base.

 ...and I know Reese wishes she could come here every day!

There is also the NEX (Naval Exchange) which is any of several stores that sell home furnishings, kid and baby clothing and gear, sporting goods and electronics. They are separate buildings but together you can find anything you might get at a Target or Walmart. 

The biggest problem with base, other than the distance is that until my paperwork was processed, I could not access base without Mike. This did not happen for a full 2 weeks after we had arrived. Plus I couldn't drive until I took the mandated, week-long Area Orientation Brief (AOB) so I felt very dependent on Mike for several weeks. Very difficult when all I wanted to do was feel normal again.

Hayama House

Mike had arrived in Japan a month before us and he had been very busy. In addition to starting his new job, he rented us a house, gott his drivers license, bought a car (a Honda Stream) and started acquiring things that would make our house inhabitable. Our furniture would not arrive until Sept. 20th so we would have to make do for 30 days without much stuff.

The house is lovely. It's about 1500 sq. ft., 4 bed 1 1/2 bath, which is  HUGE for Japan. So, we have plenty of room for any of you thinking about visiting.

We are right on the coast in a beach town called Hayama. On a clear day you can look across the water and see Mt. Fuji.The Naval base is about a 25 minute drive away in Yokosuka and the next biggest city is Yokohama (45 minutes). Tokyo is about twice that distance.

When we arrived Mike had purchased a crib for Quinn and had one air mattress for us and one for Reese (Hello Kitty, naturally!) He also scored a coffee table and a few pots and pans on Craigslist and some plastic dishes from the 100 Yen store. That's the Japanese version of a Dollar Store but with much better selection than in America.

I had brought what small amount of toys and books we could fit in our suitcase which wasn't much. So, to cheer the place up a bit and give the kids something to play with, Mike blew up 70 balloons and filled Reese's room with them!

Those balloons amazingly lasted almost until our household goods arrived! But, the most fun toy of all is, and always will be, Daddy!

Japan! ...JAPAN?!?!?!?!?!

I'm going to pretend it's August 20 and we've just left Chicago for Tokyo's Haneda Airport. In reality we've been here for over a month but our computer just arrived 5 days ago and I was not about to update my blog via the iPhone. I want to keep all of you aprised of our new life but I also want this blog to be a journal for us to look back on to remember our time in this wonderful, unusual country.

So...here we go!

The flight was 13 hours and, all things considered, it wasn't bad. I was drained from packing up our lives, selling our car and other things and basically being a single mom for a month. For 3 nights prior to the flight I was up until 1:00AM so I was exhausted to begin with. The stress was taking it's toll. My skin was breaking out...it wasn't pretty. But, enough about that.

Reese did pretty well. She enjoyed watching movies on the plane (her first time seeing Frozen), and she loved the flight attendants who in turn loved her and kept bringing snacks. Reese was especially happy to see that they served mini cups of ice cream after lunch. However, Reese did not sleep. She came pretty close to throwing a tantrum when I insisted she turn off the entertainment and try to settle down and take a nap. Just when I had her calmed down, more than half way through the flight, what would have been almost 10:00PM CST, they turned the lights on and offered everyone coffee and a breakfast pastry. No sleep for Reese = no sleep for mommy.

Quinn, poor baby, was sick the entire flight. He had gotten the chicken pox vaccine a week earlier and they warned that he might get a fever in 7-10 days, So, of course, like clock work, his temp spiked at 100.9 right before we boarded the plane. He slept initially in a little bassinet that Japan Air provides for infants but for the majority of the flight he just wanted to be held and did not sleep. FOR 10 HOURS!!!

But, we made it, on time and in one piece and that's good enough. It was SO great to see Mike. The kids fell asleep immediately after we climbed in the car (typical!) and I drifted off soon after as Mike drove us toward our new home...