Well, once Monday rolled around, I was finally able to get checked into the squadron (for real, this time). Of course, that meant a sim on Tuesday, but that's fine. We had Wednesday-Monday off, so we were able to take some time to rest and enjoy the holidays as best as we can. Another Diamondback and his wife (Both Auburn fans, strangely enough) invited us to their place for some Christmas dinner (it was very delicious and relaxing). Now we are waiting to move out in town and to get a car. Next week will be another short week of work on Monday and Tuesday and having the rest off for New Years. Hope everyone is doing well back in the states.
P.S. Our Vonage phone still isn't hooked up yet, so if you call, you can only leave a voicemail.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Kamkura and the Giant Buddha
Our first weekend, we decided to head to Kamakura to see the Giant Buddha (of Christmas card lore). The train was a bit slower, but I believe it was one of the earliest railways in Japan, so it's understandable for it to be slow. It was weird having the train literally go down the middle of the street. Anyway, once we got off the train, we had a short walk to see the Buddha. On the way, we found an awesome store that sells all sorts of replica weapons and straw hats but, alas, no one left dressed looking like Raiden from Mortal Kombat.
The view as you are approaching the Buddha.
It's Buddha. He is big.
Elaine caught an amazing shot with the sun.
Big Buddha has big shoes.
You can go inside Buddha for about a quarter a piece.
After we left the Buddha, we ate and went to another temple that was nearby.
Not sure what this sign is, but it was at the temple.
Elaine thinks we caught a ghost. You can see the difference with the above picture.
Tommy Lee Jones sells coffee over here. The commercials for this make absolutely NO sense, but are hilarious.
We didn't do too much after we saw the Buddha other than head back to base.
The view as you are approaching the Buddha.
It's Buddha. He is big.
Elaine caught an amazing shot with the sun.
Big Buddha has big shoes.
You can go inside Buddha for about a quarter a piece.
After we left the Buddha, we ate and went to another temple that was nearby.
Not sure what this sign is, but it was at the temple.
Elaine thinks we caught a ghost. You can see the difference with the above picture.
Tommy Lee Jones sells coffee over here. The commercials for this make absolutely NO sense, but are hilarious.We didn't do too much after we saw the Buddha other than head back to base.
Harajuku and Shibuya
Ok, so for our first week we were scheduled for AOB/ICR (Area Orientation Brief/Inter-Cultural Relations) class. This was pretty much a class telling us where everything is and that no matter what we do, we will stand out as Americans. They did tell us what we need to know to survive during our time here, so that was very, very helpful. As part of this class, we had to take an "unguided field trip" (i.e. we take the train somewhere and explore). We decided to go to Harajuku and Shibuya in Tokyo. After a quick lunch at Italian Tomato Cafe Jr. (similar to a bistro-but a Japanese version), we went to the Meiji Shrine, which was right next to the station where we got off the train. This was an incredibly serene and peaceful place right across the street from a massively busy street.
This is the largest Torii Gate in all of Japan.
Large barrels of Sake exchanges as gifts when Japan was Westernized.
A building at the Shrine.
The view of the Shrine as you enter
The Shrine up close
A place where you can write a prayer and have it offered by the priests.
Matt posing at the shrine
The Audi building in Harajuku
After we visited the shrine, we walked down the streets of Harajuku and went into many, many shops. Harajuku is known for having and eccentric/cosplay style of fashion (Note: this is Matt writing, so I may be totally wrong in the description). I personally saw a woman walk by dressed as Little Bo Peep (complete with a bonnet). We managed to catch the train back right before rush hour. Luckily, an incredibly helpful Japanese woman (who spoke excellent english) was able to help us to find the right train to head back towards Atsugi. After a good Mexican dinner, we were ready to head to bed and get some sleep.
This is the largest Torii Gate in all of Japan.
Large barrels of Sake exchanges as gifts when Japan was Westernized.
A building at the Shrine.
The view of the Shrine as you enter
The Shrine up close
A place where you can write a prayer and have it offered by the priests.
Matt posing at the shrine
The Audi building in HarajukuAfter we visited the shrine, we walked down the streets of Harajuku and went into many, many shops. Harajuku is known for having and eccentric/cosplay style of fashion (Note: this is Matt writing, so I may be totally wrong in the description). I personally saw a woman walk by dressed as Little Bo Peep (complete with a bonnet). We managed to catch the train back right before rush hour. Luckily, an incredibly helpful Japanese woman (who spoke excellent english) was able to help us to find the right train to head back towards Atsugi. After a good Mexican dinner, we were ready to head to bed and get some sleep.
Massive update!
Ok, so we have been a bit lax in updating (it's really hard to post when you forget the password and the password reminder link is in Japanese- yeesh, what a headache.) Anyway, I'll start this with a tale of our flight out of Fresno. After getting our flight info (which was difficult enough), we finally got on a late flight from Fresno to Seattle (we got a hotel room for about 8 hours since our flight from Seattle to Japan needed us to be there at 6:30 am). By some mystical means, our seats were in World Business Class (i.e. 1st class seats). Now, I had only flown Southwest up to this point and this was a huge (and grateful) surprise. We not only had loads of leg space, but our seats reclined, had a place for headphones, a personal movie/entertainment screen, and a remote for each chair.
But I digress......
Our flight was going pretty well for about 4 hours when the Pilot came over the loudspeaker and mentioned that due to wind and the weight balance, we were heading to Anchorage to refuel. Of course, after landing and sitting for 3 hours in the jet, they let us know that the plane was not taking fuel and they were going to put us up for the night. Wonderful. Elaine was smart and packed some clothing in her carry-on (I did not and had to purchase some). Anyway, since we had never been to Alaska before, we tried to make the best of it.
Some Eskimo Ornaments
These stuffed bears were in the hotel lobby.
My head was cold.
This is the sunset view as we were flying out of Anchorage.
After we got in the new jet(pictured) they flew up, we were in for a long and (thankfully) uneventful flight to Yokota Air Base. Thankfully, the VFA-102 SDO was there to give us a ride back to base. It was good to be off the plane and finally in a room. Updates of our first week to follow.
But I digress......
Our flight was going pretty well for about 4 hours when the Pilot came over the loudspeaker and mentioned that due to wind and the weight balance, we were heading to Anchorage to refuel. Of course, after landing and sitting for 3 hours in the jet, they let us know that the plane was not taking fuel and they were going to put us up for the night. Wonderful. Elaine was smart and packed some clothing in her carry-on (I did not and had to purchase some). Anyway, since we had never been to Alaska before, we tried to make the best of it.
Some Eskimo Ornaments
These stuffed bears were in the hotel lobby.
My head was cold.
This is the sunset view as we were flying out of Anchorage.
After we got in the new jet(pictured) they flew up, we were in for a long and (thankfully) uneventful flight to Yokota Air Base. Thankfully, the VFA-102 SDO was there to give us a ride back to base. It was good to be off the plane and finally in a room. Updates of our first week to follow.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Photos from the wedding!
Thanks to awesome family members and friends we have a few photos compiled of the wedding festivities!
to view the site we may have to send you an email inviting you to view so just email me!
still no professional photos yet, but these come close!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
the eve of departing lemoore
So we gave in and figured that this would be the easiest way to keep everyone updated on the move and life in Japan!
So far the great paper chase of moving with the Navy was all we anticipated and more. Glorious and heartwarming... not! Nevertheless, we are happy to say goodbye to Lemoore and cruise to Los Angeles tomorrow morning. The car gets to stay in LA and we are off to Seattle then Yokota Air Base on a "charter" or MAC flight.
Before anyone else asks : We are still looking for our wedding photos! We want to see them TOO! don't worry:)
Hopefully when we arrive we can get our P.O. Box up and running!
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