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. 

It will be interesting to see how these and other first impressions may evolve over the next three years!

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...

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!

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. 

I-O-W-A

After departing Germany but before leaving for Japan, we returned home to Iowa for about a month to spend time with family and friends. As usual, it was a great trip. We ate at many of our favorite restaurants on our trip home; however, our most frequented restaurant on this trip was actually a new place to us called Fong's Pizza, a creative infusion of Chinese food and pizza. Our favorite new discovery was Crab Rangoon Pizza...

We also spent some time at the Farmers Market in downtown Des Moines. In addition to selling produce and craft items, there are a lot of food vendors. Sometimes it can be a challenge to decide if you want breakfast or lunch or both, but I checked a few of my favorites off the list- dutch letters, kettle corn, and an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. Since Matt and I moved from Iowa 5 and 4 years ago, respectively, there has been a lot of work down to revitalize the downtown area, and it was great to be home during the summer months to explore some of those changes.

We celebrated the fourth of July in the U.S. for the first time in several years, and attended what has become an annual rib cook-off and pie competition at my aunt Pam and Andy's house. It was a rainy day and night (fireworks were postponed throughout the city), but it was still fun to take part in the Independence Day festivities. I was even lucky enough to be selected as a pie competition judge- 14 bite-sized samples of different pies only equates to a couple pieces of pie, right?

Cousins Elie, Ben, Hannah, and Katy

The following week, Matt had Lasik-like eye surgery (PRK or ASA) to correct his vision. The procedure went really well and after wearing glass or contacts since 5th grade,  it appears to have been worth the discomfort and 6-month regime of drops. This picture of Matt and Lena is one of the last with glasses! To be honest, I'm kind of going to miss those glasses, but I am so happy that my hubby can finally see clearly!

The next weekend, we traveled to Jefferson, Iowa for a cousins reunion on Matt's side of the family. It was a really nice opportunity for me to review how everyone fits together in the family tree, and was the first reunion that Matt and I have ever been in town for- another perk of visiting in the summer!  Here are the cousins and their spouses in attendance...

First Row: Mike and Teresa, John and Alice Mae, Shirley, Arlie, Liz and Jerry

Second Row: Harold and Diane, Jay,Vicki and Lyle

Front Row: David and Garrett

Back Rows: Brandy, Isaac, Ben, Jessica, Matt, Ashley, Valerie, Mackenzie, Cindy, Spencer, Nate, and Maggie

Fully realizing that this would be our last stateside trip home without a baby, we both took advantage of the opportunity to do a little bit of traveling. I spent a day in Iowa City with my mom and Liz while Kiley took her step 1 med school board exams and Matt took a road trip to Oklahoma with Mo to visit friends Chris and Jason.

We had a lot of fun playing, reading, and just spending time with our nephew and niece Magnus and Lena. They are growing up so incredibly fast. One morning, I stayed home with Lena while Matt went to swimming lessons with Jessica and Magnus. When Magnus is not channeling his best spider man impression, he is really into dressing up like a cowboy (think Woody from Toy Story). So, naturally, a cowboy hat and boots were mandatory attire for the pool. Matt captured some great moments from their morning...

Our final days in the states are always jam packed with quality time spent with family and friends and this trip was no exception. I had dinner with Kate, Sam, and Cassie at Alba's and Matt and I met Mo and Sonia for an impromptu lunch.

Before we moved to Germany, we had a German-themed farewell party complete with costumes and a serenading accordionist. This time around, we had a Japanese-themed farewell party without the costumes, but with all of the flare. We had all sorts of Japanese/Asian food (sushi, shrimp, pot stickers, bacon wrapped water chestnuts, udon noodles, soba noodles, "Kobe" burgers, salmon patties, fried rice, etc.) and a perfectly American ice cream sundae bar for dessert. The one exception to no costumes- a very special gift from my grandma- a kimono robe that my grandma brought back for her from his time in Asia during the Vietnam War.

We also said goodbye to our 13+ year old dog, Brandy, on this trip.

The next day, we enjoyed lunch with Matt's side of the family...

Aunt Cindy

 Carrie and Wayne

Aunt Sherry

Dean, Missy and Griffin

On our final night in town, we had dinner with our combined families- Fong's pizza for a third time!

 Great-grandpa-to be

And finally, a sweet video of Uncle Matt and Lena...

 

 We had a great trip home and are already looking forward to our next trip back to introduce everyone to our daughter!

Week in Wiesbaden

Although we loved our three years of village life here in Germany, we really enjoyed spending our final week in Wiesbaden, a spa town located about 45 minutes from our house. Our hotel had a fitness room and spa and was located within walking distance of downtown. Our friends Elizabeth and Alan live about two blocks from our hotel and graciously opened their home to us for internet, laundry, and FIFA World Cup viewing. They've also been taking us to some of their favorite restaurants in town. We especially enjoyed Sherry & Port, a quaint tapas restaurant in a quiet neighborhood park with outdoor seating around a fountain; and Mykonos, a greek restaurant where Liz and Alan are regulars, which meant that we were treated to complimentary ouzo, yogurt and honey, and freshly made Baklava. 

Sherry & Port

As mentioned previously, the FIFA World Cup tournament was going on during our final week. This was a great opportunity to witness everyone gather outdoors to watch the games as a community.

On Sunday, we had a picnic in the park with friends in Wiesbaden. The picnic was held in Kurpark, filled with mature trees, wide pathways, ponds, and fountains right in the middle of the city. People brought cheese, crackers, veggies, fruit, salads, and desserts to share as well as blankets and lawn games for entertainment. It was a beautiful day- warm in the sun, but pleasantly breezy in the shade- and we were able to say goodbye to many of the friends we've made over the past few years in Germany.

 












That night, we returned to Sherry & Port for a light dinner and on the way back to our hotel, snagged a distant photo of the Wiesbaden train station where I passed through on my commute during this past year.

We had a great time with everyone during our last days in Germany and will miss you all! Tschuss!

The Move

After two weeks of throwing away, selling, cleaning, and organizing our belongings, the movers have come and gone and our home-sweet-home in Germany is just as we found it- empty! We are officially moved out of our house and will be staying in a hotel in Wiesbaden for our remaining time in Germany. Here are some pictures from our move:

Waiting for the truck to arrive...

Everything we own is packed in seven of these crates, which will then be loaded into containers and shipped across the ocean to Japan. It could take up to 90 days for everything to arrive...let's hope we have at  least a week to unpack before the baby is born!