the house

we have a date!

Moving in on the 27th! we get appliances, our express shipment of stuff and some temporary furniture ( couch, end tables, bed, kitchen table and chairs). it will be another two weeks before our household goods arrive.
Pictures SOON!

Tokyo Disneyland! LIGHTSPEEDU!!

Elaine and I decided to go to Tokyo Disney on Monday, 19 January. Luckily for us, it was a national holiday for Americans, but not Japanese (this means the longest we had to wait was 20 minutes). We were joined by Mike (a friend who went through VFA-122 with me in Lemoore and just arrived in Japan on Friday). Since he was new, we introduced him to the train system in Japan. After about 90 minutes on three different trains and two of the busiest train stations, we arrived. Now, it was only about $90 a person for the trip (both ways) and for the one day pass.

Unfortunately, the two main rides we wanted to do, Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain, were closed but we managed to have a blast anyway. We were able to ride Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Tours, Enchanted Tiki Room, etc. Typical Disney stuff, but the only thing that was in english was Pirates of the Caribbean, so you can imagine the laughs we shared with everything else in Japanese (the singing was the best, in my opinion). Another good thing was that the food isn't ridiculously overpriced like other amusement parks. We were able to shop around and found some good things that we can send home. By the time we were ready to head home, we found ourselves right in the middle of rush hour in one of the busiest train stations I have ever seen.

We took pictures and video throughout the day that Elaine edited together in above clip. It is a pretty good summary of the day.

Shakes off the dust...

So it's been a while since we've posted, but it's ok since Elaine and I have been taking turns getting sick. Regardless of what we had specifically (mostly feverish and a hacking cough), I just chose to call it Hirohito's Revenge. Anyway, we are both better and able to be normal people again. Now, on to the updates. In terms of the house, we are currently waiting for the realty company to fix some things (the previous tenant was there for 5+ years, so it needed some minor fixes) and for the housing office to inspect it and to make sure it's worth the rent listed. Once that is completed, we will get a move-in date. All for the total move in fees of ~$8700 (good think I sold my car, huh). The Japanese do things a bit different, but what those fees include are: 1st month rent, 1 month rent for security deposit, 1 month rent for the landlord as a "gift" for letting us stay in his place and 1 month rent for the realtor who found is as her commission. The good thing is that it is nearly all reimbursed (well, outside of the rent and security deposit).

There hasn't been too much else going on here. Just working during the week and exploring when we can. We might try to go to TokyoDisney on Monday (if we get up early enough).

Fridays are Awesome!

We got our car and house today!

Heading out to the Change of Command Party tonight.

Pictures and more info later!

Slow week

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.

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.