Adventuring is really great in Japan. There is so much that is new for us to see and do and experience, and we should. But, we also live here, and sometimes that means we have to spend some time doing the business of life.
Our household goods shipment should be coming next week, so we decided that today was the day we'd finally bite the bullet on some rugs we had been eyeing on base. After a morning spent at home, sweeping, putting things away, cleaning the kitchen, FaceTime with my brother, his wife, and their menagerie (a dog and two bearded dragons), we set off to main base for an afternoon of errands.
We did stop for sushi first at a kaiten zushi, literally "rotation sushi", which is a sushi go round or conveyor belt sushi. As mentioned in my food post, this is where sushi comes around on a conveyor belt and you pick what you want as it goes by and then pay by the plate. Certain colors of plates cost different amounts, and we had a guide at our counter of both price and types of sushi. I also was able to ask for water in Japanese. "Sumimasen! Mizu kudasai."
I felt pretty good about that, and really enjoyed the cold water since the texture of the sushi I'd just tried (the squid above) and I didn't get along for a moment. Ultimately, we like the other kaiten zushi place we went to more, because price and variety of non-sushi foods are better, but this was pretty good.
Then it was on to base! We have been told that we have one of the better, more comprehensive bases, with so much to do on base, lots of different Navy Exchange stores all over to cover a wide variety of needs, and so many other services to support the military and their families. You can actually spend all of your time on base with how much there is there, but why?
Still, today was a day we needed to. For fun, we did go look at the USS Reagan, the aircraft carrier stationed here, since it returned just before Thanksgiving. We also stopped by the USO, to ask about a particular service they provide. Then it was shopping time! With the traditional post-Thanksgiving sales, it went better than we thought it might, but we probably also picked up a few things we weren't expecting. We managed to find new shoes (two pair for me, one for Blake, since I needed new walking shoes and Chuck Taylors were on sale), new socks (didn't need them but I guess a three pack came free with women's shoes, and it felt like she just kept tossing some in our bag, so okay), gym shorts, Christmas lights, personal care products (body wash and the like), groceries, the aforementioned rugs (four of them!), and a dresser. It was busy day. The rugs and dresser will get delivered, but everything else we carried on the train home.
We'd worked up an appetite, so we stopped at the Taco Bell for burritos. We also have a McDonald's, Chili's, Popeye's, Manchu Wok, Sbarro, A&W, Starbucks, and a few galleys and other eateries. We'll try not to eat at these places often, but they're convenient and today it was close. We were planning to go see a movie, but the line to get in was long and we were tired, so we checked our mail and headed home.
So even though we live in Japan and have lots of Japanese fun, today had a distinctly more American flavor to it. And that's okay too! Not everyone living abroad with the military or foreign service or any other reason has these amenities, but we do and we're grateful for them.
Our household goods shipment should be coming next week, so we decided that today was the day we'd finally bite the bullet on some rugs we had been eyeing on base. After a morning spent at home, sweeping, putting things away, cleaning the kitchen, FaceTime with my brother, his wife, and their menagerie (a dog and two bearded dragons), we set off to main base for an afternoon of errands.
We did stop for sushi first at a kaiten zushi, literally "rotation sushi", which is a sushi go round or conveyor belt sushi. As mentioned in my food post, this is where sushi comes around on a conveyor belt and you pick what you want as it goes by and then pay by the plate. Certain colors of plates cost different amounts, and we had a guide at our counter of both price and types of sushi. I also was able to ask for water in Japanese. "Sumimasen! Mizu kudasai."
Then it was on to base! We have been told that we have one of the better, more comprehensive bases, with so much to do on base, lots of different Navy Exchange stores all over to cover a wide variety of needs, and so many other services to support the military and their families. You can actually spend all of your time on base with how much there is there, but why?
Still, today was a day we needed to. For fun, we did go look at the USS Reagan, the aircraft carrier stationed here, since it returned just before Thanksgiving. We also stopped by the USO, to ask about a particular service they provide. Then it was shopping time! With the traditional post-Thanksgiving sales, it went better than we thought it might, but we probably also picked up a few things we weren't expecting. We managed to find new shoes (two pair for me, one for Blake, since I needed new walking shoes and Chuck Taylors were on sale), new socks (didn't need them but I guess a three pack came free with women's shoes, and it felt like she just kept tossing some in our bag, so okay), gym shorts, Christmas lights, personal care products (body wash and the like), groceries, the aforementioned rugs (four of them!), and a dresser. It was busy day. The rugs and dresser will get delivered, but everything else we carried on the train home.
We'd worked up an appetite, so we stopped at the Taco Bell for burritos. We also have a McDonald's, Chili's, Popeye's, Manchu Wok, Sbarro, A&W, Starbucks, and a few galleys and other eateries. We'll try not to eat at these places often, but they're convenient and today it was close. We were planning to go see a movie, but the line to get in was long and we were tired, so we checked our mail and headed home.
So even though we live in Japan and have lots of Japanese fun, today had a distinctly more American flavor to it. And that's okay too! Not everyone living abroad with the military or foreign service or any other reason has these amenities, but we do and we're grateful for them.
1 comment:
I would probably have an issue with the texture of squid as well. But good for you for being brave.
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