Homeward Bound

Yep, just like the Simon & Garfunkel song, I am here waiting for the time I leave for the bus which will take me to the airport. My love lies there waiting at home. Thinking back over this trip I am still amazed at how quickly everything went. The last day of work was kind of a normal day with only minor things to take care of, last kind of loose end paperwork and a few good byes. I think the one thing I am going to miss the most is the people here, the Japanese operators who are so gracious and hospitable. I think I have a lot to learn from them in being a host. Oh, and I will miss the curry too. Thank you to everyone for the love and support this time. I am sure the flight is going to go quickly. See everyone stateside.

Last Weekend in Japan

This last weekend marked my last one that I was going to be spending in Japan. Funny how it goes, it also was the weekend that some of the more important shipyard people came to visit also. My division (Nuclear Facilities) head came, along with many of the other facility related people. Saturday involved some informal tours followed by lunch out at the Chili's on base. About half of the group I know fairly well and was able to spend the time talking about more than just work. After the day was finished I rested up for Sunday, the big trip to Tokyo...

I am glad that I got the rest because it ended up being a very full day. Starting out meeting them at one of the local hotels around 0745, we made the treck up to the train station where they picked up rail cards. After hopping on an express train up to Tokyo, we stood and chatted during the hour or so train ride it takes from Yokosuka to get up to Tokyo. I was not leading this little adventure and it was nice to just tag along with some others especially when going to a big city like Tokyo. The first stop was the New Sano Hotel. Sounds strange as a tourist location, but the hotel is probably one of the nicest I have ever seen. Lots of restaurants and cafe's and shops all packed in this very luxurious building. It is almost kind of hidden on the street. The area is not too busy and I had never been to that part of Tokyo. What makes that hotel so special is that the prices are very very low (like $90 a night) and it is only allowed to US government employees. Another perk of the job I have discovered. I am still waiting for someone to tell me that I get to stop paying taxes because I am a government employee but that hasn't happened yet.

After the hotel we made our way to Shibuya crossing, and the up one of the little side streets. We grabbed lunch and after that the main tour was headed to a brewery and then home. I wasn't so interesting the brewery so I went on my own path to Akihabara, the electronics district. My two goals was this huge 9 floor shopping centre full of electronics. The place is bigger than most malls I have been into in the states and has whole floors dedicated to one type of electronics. So one floor is computers only, then video cameras, then audio, and so on. I needed a new camera case and thought that I couldn't get a better selection of options. Also one of the floors is full of toys and I was still on the hunt for some gifts. After wandering around there and grabbing a quick donut from Donut Planet, I wandered into the vendor section near the shopping centre where the local street vendors hock cheap electronic stuff, but I knew hidden in there was this little trinket place which sells cool key chains and other figurines. I have a collection set from my last trip to Japan of Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxies on my desk at work and I was missing one out of the set. I guessed if anywhere close to me in Japan would have the missing figure it would be this store. Sure enough hidden in a corner was the last one of this little set. Happy and feeling successful I made the trip back down. Knowing I wanted to change trains in Yokohama, I took the opportunity to get out of the station and wander.

By the time I was home I was very tired and thankful that the day was done. You can see my Tokyo photos and added Yokohama photos on the links. Friday I fly home, and after this trip and being gone for so long I am happy to be flying soon.

Time Coming to a Close

Well it seems like it is almost that time again to be preparing to head home. I went to the pack and wrap today and sent out some of the things I didn't want to carry home. Priority shipping didn't cost too much and with them packaging it the total price under $20 is not anything I would complain about. This weekend should be kind of busy with some important shipyard people coming in. Their arrival means a lot of meetings this next week and a lot of people at work are kind of tense because of their arrival. As for me I am just trying to stay focused on what work I am supposed to be doing. Besides the tours and extra meetings I am trying to keep it from distracting me.

For tonight though, the weather is kind of hot and muggy so I am keeping cool and relaxing in my room. I went by the NEX today after the pack and wrap and picked up some chocolate milk and a kung fu movie. I thought that would be a nice treat for tonight.

Oh and as for the random cola, no Japanese are not confused on their colors, the cola is black, it is just an 'all natural' cola, a.k.a. 'green'.

Stopping to Smell the Roses

Today is Sunday, and usually my day that I use to relax and catch up from last week and get ready for the week to come. The weather is nice and warm, not too humid and after talking with a couple in church about local flowers I decided to grab a lunch to go and enjoy the rose park down a couple blocks from my hotel room.

The park wasn't too crowded, but I also wasn't the only one with the idea to have lunch in the park. It was filled with painters, photographers, couples young and old, some kids, and people like myself just enjoying the landscape. It is nice that most of the boxed lunch places give you everything you need, chopsticks, sauce, toothpick, etc. But most areas lack public garbage, so I had to do it hiking style, pack it in and pack it out. After I was done eating I took some time to take a few pictures. Nice roses, though I am catching them on the end of their cycle it looks like.

On my way back from lunch I stopped into a patch store I noticed a few weeks ago. Mostly military patches but they had a few state ones there too. No Washington, but I was able to grab an Idaho State flag patch. Yay for Idaho. Who would have thought I could have found an Idaho flag in Yokosuka Japan?

Long Time Post

Sorry for the long time between posts. I will try to make this as informative as possible without making it a running novel....

Work has been going well. Nothing really major to add about it. With Dave gone and most people out of the office things are fairly quiet around my area. Most days are spent on paperwork and in meetings. I like these types of seasons mostly because I can get a lot of work done with only minor distractions. I am into routine for most days and even the ladies at the place where I buy lunch have gotten used to seeing me around. 

Last weekend was a three day weekend with the Monday holiday. The nice thing about most US holidays is that they don't overlay on many Japanese holidays. So when US government workers like myself have time of we get to roam around with fewer crowds than the weekend trips. So with that in mind I decided to spend most of the time locally on Saturday and Sunday with a trip back up to Yokohama on Monday. Around town was mostly groceries and other little errands. Having saved up a little bit of energy for my Monday off I made it to the train station just after rush hour was finishing up. To this day I haven't been on a train so tight that I needed to be pushed on, and wasn't planning on making a vacation day my first.

It was around 10 am when I made it up to the area where I had planned to go in Yokohama. The mission was the the Mitsubishi Industrial Museum. It was in a newer area where I had never been before, but I was not too worried. So camera ready and kind of geared up for a day at the museum I made it to the front doors.... to find that that the place is closed only on Mondays! Yep my whole big trip busted by their normal schedule. I guess in the future I am going to have to check online next time I want to make a trip like that. I was not totally lost. I did take some time to wander around that area. Found a birthday gift for my nephew in July and enjoyed the nice weather while reading a book at one of the coffee shops in the area. I added a few photos of my wanderings to this gallery.

Through the week my normal routine is into work usually between 6 am and 6:30 am, days filled with mostly phone meetings/updates, paperwork and some scheduling for work to be done. I am home some time around 4 pm and recently have been enjoying cooking in my room. I actually have been finding that I save a lot more money cooking in my room and it lets me relax after the work day in the comfy chair in my room.  Wednesday I get to go to a men's group, kind of like a Bible Study but recently there has been a lot of talk about sharing our faith and some practical skills for doing so. Really encouraging times. 

So that kind of catches up to this weekend. I will do my best to give another update soon. Thanks to everyone for the warm support.