Japan Trip - Day 1

Thursday, April 5, 2012-Day 0

Today we arrived late in the afternoon.  Sheila and Kyle arrived in Terminal 1 at Narita about the same time I arrived at Terminal 2.  When I first got off the plane, I realized it never occurred to me that I would need to navigate through customs and immigration and get my bags on my own, not knowing any Japanese.  I never worried about the language barrier because Steve was meeting me - I just forgot that it wasn't going to be the second I got off the plane.  But I just followed the crowd.  The only thing that was hard to figure out was which carousel my bag was going to be on.  But I found someone who spoke English who helped me. 

Steve was right there to meet me and we took the bus to the other terminal and waited for Sheila and Kyle.  It all worked well and Steve had arranged for a van to drive us to the base.  It took a few hours to get to Camp Zama, the base where they live.  We drove through Tokyo - which was an amazing skyline!

Here's the back of Steve & Lydia's house. 
The sliding door and window on the left is theirs.

Here's the view of the back out of Tara's window

Steve and Lydia's house.  Obviously I was really
focused on the tree!

 

 Friday, April 6, 2012-Day 1

Today Steve and Lydia went to work and so we went for a walk and explored the post.  It's a really nice area with lots of cherry trees. 

They are almost at the peak for the blossoms so they are really pretty.  Steve came home by lunchtime and we went to the PX (Post Exchange) to eat.

Later in the afternoon we went to Lydia's school.  She works at another base that is about a ten minute drive from where they live.  She showed us her school and classroom.

From her school we walked off the base to an area where there were a bunch of shops all down the street - much like Chinatown.  We had a yummy custard filled pastry that was in the shape of a fish, which is the closest I hope to get to eating fish!

Tonight we went to a sushi bar near where they live called “sushi-go-round”.  It was a place that had the food on a conveyor belt that went past all the tables and you just take what you want and eat it.  When you find another thing you want you grab that too.  The color of the plate is the price.  When you are done you stack your plates at the end of the table and the server prints a receipt.  Kyle eats sushi all the time and loved it. Sheila and I ate fried chicken and french fries.

We walk past these vending machines all the time.  They contain hot and cold beverages - oddly enough.  Those with a blue labels are cold and those with a red labels are hot.  The Coke makes a "pop" when you open the top! It's a different sound then our soda makes.  Go figure!                                            

Every food establishment has plastic food in the window showing you your options. Yum!

Where we ate dinner was a short walk off of the base.  Each time we re-enter we have to show our passports and a special pass that gives us permission to come and go until the 15th.  These entrances are actually staffed by the Japanese who work for our government.

So the first day is complete!