Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Quake
Today we felt our first earthquake in Japan!! We were sitting in a housing office and all of sudden the couch Matt and I were sitting on rocked back and forth a little bit. It was so small I thought it was just Matt pushing the couch back and forth with his feet, but then we noticed the floor plant swaying a bit and another person in the office confirmed it. It lasted less than 15 seconds, but was eventful for us nonetheless!
Home-Sweet-Home
On Monday, we went out again to look at potential houses and found a new favorite. We are set to sign the lease on Thursday, and plan to move in within the next couple of weeks! We'll most likely have some loaner furniture until our shipment of household goods arrive at the beginning of September. Here are a few stats and photos (FYI- I forgot to take a picture of the living room, but rest assured we do have one)...
Located in an "American" neighborhood with wides streets for walking...this is an added perk since sidewalks do not appear to be the norm here
Choosing a house marks the last big decision we had to check off the list which is a huge relief. We hope we're going to like our new house (or ie, pronounced ee-eh) in Japan!
2 car garage with shelving/storage space
3 Bedrooms
- all with A/C units (central air/heating is rare here)
- Master bedroom has a walk-in closet and the two smaller bedrooms have smaller closets
The two smaller bedrooms are identical...
2 Bathrooms
- master bath with a walk-in shower, toilet, and vanity
- kid/guest bathroom with shower/bathtub, toilet and vanity
Kitchen
- Stainless steel countertops
- Potential for a dishwasher (not the norm here)
- Overlooks the dining room
Laundry room
Sliding glass/screen doors that open to a small, covered patio and a nice big yard
Located in an "American" neighborhood with wides streets for walking...this is an added perk since sidewalks do not appear to be the norm here
Other random feature:
3 miniature ponies in the lot behind our house
Choosing a house marks the last big decision we had to check off the list which is a huge relief. We hope we're going to like our new house (or ie, pronounced ee-eh) in Japan!
Friday, August 6, 2010
First Days in Misawa
We arrived in Misawa on Thursday, August 5, and have been welcomed with 3 days of record setting heat. On Friday, temperatures were over 100 degrees and we have no AC in the hotel! Despite the heat, we spent the entire day on Friday outside taking care of all sorts of tasks, such as (a) getting registered at the hospital where the baby will be born, (b) getting cell phones, (c) picking up all of our forwarded mail at the post office, (d) visiting two Japanese car dealerships that cater to Americans, and (e) touring about seven houses with two different rental agencies in the hopes of finding our future home. We were able to narrow all of the houses down to one favorite with three bedrooms, two bathrooms (two showers, one bath, and two toilets), a large kitchen, one car garage, and a patio all on one level. This house would be close to a couple of produce markets that only sell local/seasonal fruits and veggies. We will continue to look this week, but in the meantime here are a few pictures of our favorite house so far to give you an idea of what the homes built for Americans look like over here...
Halfway through the day, we ate lunch at a Japanese noodle/rice restaurant where it was so hot that sweat was literally dripping off of our faces. That night, we had dinner at a French restaurant called Marche with a couple that has been showing us around this week. We had grilled scallops, salmon, and a really delicious pureed corn soup.
On Saturday, we were out on the town again with a different co-worker. Although we arrived with the intention of sharing one car like we did in Germany, the drive to Matt's work is going to be long enough that we decided it would be beneficial to have two cars. So, here are our future cars: a 1999 Subaru Forrester and a 1997 Nissan Terrano (equivalent to a Pathfinder in the states), both 4x4 because we are in snow country...
In addition to checking car purchases off the list, we explored Homac, a home amenities store (think small Home Depot)...
...and Universe, a large supermarket with a great selection of seafood (see package of squid pictured below).
As it was explained to us, the Japanese value uniformity not only among their people, but also among their produce. Just look at the perfectly shaped carrots and imagine how many must not have made the cut…
We also explored Aeon Shopping Center in Shimoda. It was really large and felt surprisingly like a mall you would find in the states, with 2 food courts, a movie theatre (about $17 for regular adult admission and $10 after 8 p.m.), and a kids play center/arcade called You's Land.
Earlier in the day, we decided to try a drink out of a vending machine and were surprised that the Aloe and White Grape juice literally had chunks of aloe floating inside. This sensation really goes against the instinct that chunks in drink = rancidity.
We ate lunch at a pretty good sushi restaurant where we shared a sushi/tempura platter...
Finally, here is a picture of our first rice paddy field sighting...
It's been a busy couple of days, and things really do feel more foreign than they did in Germany, but so far we think we're really going to like it here!
Living room
Master Bedroom/Bath
Halfway through the day, we ate lunch at a Japanese noodle/rice restaurant where it was so hot that sweat was literally dripping off of our faces. That night, we had dinner at a French restaurant called Marche with a couple that has been showing us around this week. We had grilled scallops, salmon, and a really delicious pureed corn soup.
On Saturday, we were out on the town again with a different co-worker. Although we arrived with the intention of sharing one car like we did in Germany, the drive to Matt's work is going to be long enough that we decided it would be beneficial to have two cars. So, here are our future cars: a 1999 Subaru Forrester and a 1997 Nissan Terrano (equivalent to a Pathfinder in the states), both 4x4 because we are in snow country...
In addition to checking car purchases off the list, we explored Homac, a home amenities store (think small Home Depot)...
...and Universe, a large supermarket with a great selection of seafood (see package of squid pictured below).
As it was explained to us, the Japanese value uniformity not only among their people, but also among their produce. Just look at the perfectly shaped carrots and imagine how many must not have made the cut…
We also explored Aeon Shopping Center in Shimoda. It was really large and felt surprisingly like a mall you would find in the states, with 2 food courts, a movie theatre (about $17 for regular adult admission and $10 after 8 p.m.), and a kids play center/arcade called You's Land.
We noticed that many of the stores have really funny names, our favorites being Alphabet’s Alphabet, Boy’s Room (exclusively selling trendy clothes for teenage girls), and Bee Boo ____(insert random word that we can’t remember here). Next time we go there I'm bringing a pen and pad of paper to write some of the real doozies down.
Earlier in the day, we decided to try a drink out of a vending machine and were surprised that the Aloe and White Grape juice literally had chunks of aloe floating inside. This sensation really goes against the instinct that chunks in drink = rancidity.
We ate lunch at a pretty good sushi restaurant where we shared a sushi/tempura platter...
Finally, here is a picture of our first rice paddy field sighting...
It's been a busy couple of days, and things really do feel more foreign than they did in Germany, but so far we think we're really going to like it here!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Initial Impressions
Here are some initial impressions from our first few hours in Japan...
- Before arriving, we had read about and were told to expect Japanese toilets designed to mask the sound of bodily noises that inevitably occur when one enters a bathroom stall, and those warnings were dead on. Toto brand toilets seem to have monopolized the toilet market here in Japan, which means that every single public Japanese toilet we've encountered so far makes a running water sound when you sit down to do your business. One toilet actually had the option of waving your hand in front of a sensor to add an additional running water noise on top of what the toilet was already doing. If you click on the picture below, you can see that you also have the option of pressing a button for a bidet or spray feature, but neither of us have been brave enough to try that out yet. Another toilet tidbit, a graphic on the bathroom stall doors indicate if there is a Japanese style toilet in the stall, which is basically a porcelain basin in the floor that would seem to involve some form of squatting. Thankfully, there seems to be one Japanese toilet for every four or five Western-style toilets, so we probably won't have to use those in the foreseeable future.
- Both airports were filled with stands selling various cakes and other food items packaged in little boxes.
- The Japanese work ethic and customer service orientation was immediately apparent, as everyone at both airports were very friendly and helpful. Here are a few examples: First, we witnessed a male Customs employee literally run to his booth to help the next customer presumably coming off of a break. I can't even imagine seeing a U.S. Customs employee doing the same. Second, a woman working for the airport must have seen us schlepping our four suitcases off of the airport bus, and proceeded to rush a cart over to us with a bow and a smile. Third, about three male employees of the "Friendly Airport Limousine" service scurried to unload bags from the undercarriage of the bus and all three bowed in unison as the bus pulled away. This will probably be a valued aspect of our experience here.
- We can already tell that it is going to be very interesting to compare and contrast our experiences of living in America, Germany, and now Japan. For example, it seems that the Japanese are a bit more customer service oriented than the Germans; however, from our perspective, what the Germans lacked in friendliness and warmth was made up in their mastery of the English language. Although employees at information counters in both airports spoke great English and can give you all the info you need, not surprisingly, other individuals don't seem to speak English nearly as well as we were used to in Europe.
- There were some crazy fashion statements being made at the airports, including school girl uniforms (I'm pretty sure girls don't have to catch a plane to school each day), knee high socks on young and middle-aged girls and women, lots of Western-style clothing, high heels ranging from one to four inches on many female travelers, scrunchies, and hats being worn indoors.
- We saw three Starbucks being frequented by a lot of Japanese customers in the two airports, but also noticed that nearly everyone ordered the Tall (i.e. small) size drinks. Portion control?
- The Japanese word for "yes" is pronounced hi. This word sounded a bit stern to our Japanese language virgin ears. This is because when put into our Latin characters, the word would actually be Hai with an emphasis placed on two syllables instead of one.
- We noticed priority seating on the airport bus and priority boarding on the Japan airlines flight for pregnant women.
Tokyo Travel Day
We arrived at the Tokyo Narita airport on August 4 to a hot, hazy, 88+ degree day. As expected, most if not all signs in the airport were printed in Japanese and English which made for easy navigation. Additionally, airport employees stationed at information stands throughout the airport spoke English well, which should be an asset to anyone who decides to make the trek to visit us over the next three years!
After snapping a few pictures for posterity and to assist any visitors in navigating this airport in the future, we purchased tickets for the "Friendly Airport Limosine" bus that would transport us from the Tokyo Narita (International) airport to the Tokyo Haneda (Domestic) Airport. The trip took less than 1.5 hours and was a good opportunity to see some of the landscape, including green, patchwork fields as well as trees and other green vegetation that covered any land that was not paved. We saw what appeared to be a few residential areas with tightly packed rooftops as well as industrial areas as we neared the Haneda airport. There were also two ferris wheels and some sort of Tokyo Disney resort along our route. With respect to the actual drive, speed limits were slow, traffic appeared to be orderly, and toll roads were abundant (we passed through at least three or four toll booths during our journey). Taxi cabs are black, and interestingly, most of the taxi drivers appeared to be wearing white gloves.
We were dropped off in Terminal 1 and took a free shuttle to Terminal 2 where our hotel for the night was located. Our double room consisted of two twin beds, which was actually fine considering all of the tossing and turning we each did throughout the night!
We had Western-style dinner and breakfast in Terminal 2 of the airport (they had imported Martinelli's apple juice from the US!) before heading back to Terminal 1 for our flight to Misawa.
More details to come...
After snapping a few pictures for posterity and to assist any visitors in navigating this airport in the future, we purchased tickets for the "Friendly Airport Limosine" bus that would transport us from the Tokyo Narita (International) airport to the Tokyo Haneda (Domestic) Airport. The trip took less than 1.5 hours and was a good opportunity to see some of the landscape, including green, patchwork fields as well as trees and other green vegetation that covered any land that was not paved. We saw what appeared to be a few residential areas with tightly packed rooftops as well as industrial areas as we neared the Haneda airport. There were also two ferris wheels and some sort of Tokyo Disney resort along our route. With respect to the actual drive, speed limits were slow, traffic appeared to be orderly, and toll roads were abundant (we passed through at least three or four toll booths during our journey). Taxi cabs are black, and interestingly, most of the taxi drivers appeared to be wearing white gloves.
We were dropped off in Terminal 1 and took a free shuttle to Terminal 2 where our hotel for the night was located. Our double room consisted of two twin beds, which was actually fine considering all of the tossing and turning we each did throughout the night!
We had Western-style dinner and breakfast in Terminal 2 of the airport (they had imported Martinelli's apple juice from the US!) before heading back to Terminal 1 for our flight to Misawa.
More details to come...
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Konnichi wa!
We're here! Here is a quick run down of our journey from the USA to Japan so far...
Tuesday, August 3, 7:10 am: Learned that our flight from Des Moines to Chicago was canceled, internally panicked for 5 seconds, but soon learned that we were already re-booked on a flight that left only 20 minutes after the original one. Old itinerary: Des Moines to Chicago to Tokyo to Misawa. New itinerary: Des Moines to Denver to LA to Tokyo to Misawa. At first glance, this may seem like an inconvenience, but it actually shortened our longest flight (US to Tokyo) by about 2-3 hours, which is good news for anyone, but especially a pregnant passenger.Additionally, we were now on United flights the entire way which we thought could bolster our case for getting bumped from Coach to Business or First.
Made it through security with minimal delays (a lady had to pass through the metal detector about 4 times before remembering that she had purchased something composed of metal in the gift shop...really?). When we got to the gate counter, we asked if there were any available seats in Business Class...nope. Literally as we were walking away from the counter, we decided to ask if there were any available seats in First Class (you would think that the desk agent would have volunteered this information since it was pretty clear why we were asking, but no). Regardless, we asked and were bumped to First Class for the Des Moines to Denver flight at no cost! There were no available Business or First Class seats from Denver to LA, but while in LA, Matt was able to secure Business Class seats for our LA to Tokyo flight using minimal amounts of our mileage points. Our fully reclining seats, individual movie screens, down comforters and pillows, and high quality food made all the difference in the world. We were able to sleep between 3 and 5 hours of the 10 hour flight and most of our remaining time was filled with many courses of drinks, hot nuts, appetizers, dinner, and dessert. We were one of about 10 passengers in this second floor seating area, sharing 2 bathrooms and 2 flight attendants.
Photo documentation from what will likely be our finest flight to Japan...
Matt had salad, grilled sirloin steak, steamed vegetables, and cheesecake, while I opted for the "Washoku Zen Selection" (pictured below) of layered egg, grilled scallop, beef tenderloin, shrimp, poached tuna, steemed leeks, and buckwheat soba noodles, served with green tea....and that was just the appetizer! My main course was barbeque eel with teriyaki sauce, steamed rice, and pickled vegetables with a selection of international cheeses and grapes for dessert. Breakfast consisted of a warm croissant, fresh fruit, and yogurt...sure beats the apple sauce I was given for breakfast in Coach on one of our last flights to Germany!
Tuesday, August 3, 7:10 am: Learned that our flight from Des Moines to Chicago was canceled, internally panicked for 5 seconds, but soon learned that we were already re-booked on a flight that left only 20 minutes after the original one. Old itinerary: Des Moines to Chicago to Tokyo to Misawa. New itinerary: Des Moines to Denver to LA to Tokyo to Misawa. At first glance, this may seem like an inconvenience, but it actually shortened our longest flight (US to Tokyo) by about 2-3 hours, which is good news for anyone, but especially a pregnant passenger.Additionally, we were now on United flights the entire way which we thought could bolster our case for getting bumped from Coach to Business or First.
Made it through security with minimal delays (a lady had to pass through the metal detector about 4 times before remembering that she had purchased something composed of metal in the gift shop...really?). When we got to the gate counter, we asked if there were any available seats in Business Class...nope. Literally as we were walking away from the counter, we decided to ask if there were any available seats in First Class (you would think that the desk agent would have volunteered this information since it was pretty clear why we were asking, but no). Regardless, we asked and were bumped to First Class for the Des Moines to Denver flight at no cost! There were no available Business or First Class seats from Denver to LA, but while in LA, Matt was able to secure Business Class seats for our LA to Tokyo flight using minimal amounts of our mileage points. Our fully reclining seats, individual movie screens, down comforters and pillows, and high quality food made all the difference in the world. We were able to sleep between 3 and 5 hours of the 10 hour flight and most of our remaining time was filled with many courses of drinks, hot nuts, appetizers, dinner, and dessert. We were one of about 10 passengers in this second floor seating area, sharing 2 bathrooms and 2 flight attendants.
Photo documentation from what will likely be our finest flight to Japan...
Matt had salad, grilled sirloin steak, steamed vegetables, and cheesecake, while I opted for the "Washoku Zen Selection" (pictured below) of layered egg, grilled scallop, beef tenderloin, shrimp, poached tuna, steemed leeks, and buckwheat soba noodles, served with green tea....and that was just the appetizer! My main course was barbeque eel with teriyaki sauce, steamed rice, and pickled vegetables with a selection of international cheeses and grapes for dessert. Breakfast consisted of a warm croissant, fresh fruit, and yogurt...sure beats the apple sauce I was given for breakfast in Coach on one of our last flights to Germany!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Oklahoma
In mid-July, Mo flew into Des Moines to hang out with me before we left for Japan. After a few days, we took off for Oklahoma to visit Chris and Jason, friends from elementary school. If you recall, Chris visited us in Germany, where we all went to Paris. Chris did some abstract impressions of Sasquatch and a teapot while we were there (about 2/3 the way down that post).
From left to right - Chris, Mo, Jason. Chris and Jason are brothers. Chris's twin, Brian, was in Maryland at the time. Mo lives in Indianapolis with his wife Sonia.
We drove to the Wichita Mountains to spend a day hiking. It was a good choice considering it was 105 degrees and there were no clouds to save us from the sun. Also, the sun in Oklahoma is angrier than the sun in Iowa or Germany.
It was about an hour and a half hike to the summit, not far, but tiring.
We also found some wildlife on our way. Check out the size of that buffalo's head.
From left to right - Chris, Mo, Jason. Chris and Jason are brothers. Chris's twin, Brian, was in Maryland at the time. Mo lives in Indianapolis with his wife Sonia.
We drove to the Wichita Mountains to spend a day hiking. It was a good choice considering it was 105 degrees and there were no clouds to save us from the sun. Also, the sun in Oklahoma is angrier than the sun in Iowa or Germany.
It was about an hour and a half hike to the summit, not far, but tiring.
We also found some wildlife on our way. Check out the size of that buffalo's head.
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