Japan: Our First Impressions
We’ve survived our first two weeks in Japan! Even though I’ve been absent from the blog, I’ve been so grateful to receive emails from many of you asking about the move. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…quilters are the best people! Thank you for your kindness!
To say our first few weeks have been great would be an understatement. Of course moving has its difficulties, but we’ve been overwhelmed with the kindness of both the military community here and the people of Misawa.
Getting out of Arizona meant we had hundreds of offices to visit, papers to sign and hoops to jump through. Even though we hit one snag after the other, we eventually got official orders to make the trip. This was the first time having movers pack us up – what a treat!
The dogs anxiously watched the movers pack up the truck from their empty house. Those short little legs get me every time!
I won’t bore you with all the details but I thought I’d share about traveling overseas with the dogs since I’ve had a lot of questions!
As soon as we found out about our next assignment, we started on their paperwork. They needed lots of shots, a new international microchip and a FAVN test for rabies antibodies from the vaccine. Once they were cleared for that, the Japanese require a 6 month quarantine for dogs traveling to their country. Thankfully, if you’re living on base, as we are, the quarantine can take place at home. They’ll actually be done tomorrow – yay! We also had to special order traveling crates for the trip, and it didn’t take long for them to like their new traveling homes.
Then the real difficulties began. The pets are required to get a get a health certificate, signed by a USDA representative within 10 days of arriving in Japan. Knowing all of this ahead of time, we scheduled an appointment with the vet on base, only to find out that they no longer had anyone certified to fill out the form. That made things a bit more challenging as we had a several day drive from Phoenix to Seattle to catch our flight and were limited on time (due to movers coming, weekends, and the drive). Thankfully, we found a vet at Nellis AFB in Vegas (4 hours away) who was willing to meet with us as we were making the drive up north. These dogs had more paperwork than I did for the trip!
The trip was a long one for them including 7 hours at the airport prior to the flight (military requirement), a 9.5 hour flight and the time it took to deboard and get through customs. Even though there was a lot of barking, they made it safely and are happy to be in their new home!
The first few days here were a bit of a whirlwind and we didn’t even make it off base. The jet lag also made leisure time a bit more challenging since we were up at odd hours! We left the states on Sunday morning but with the time change, we didn’t land until Monday morning Misawa time. We were given a quick tour of base, had to get our doggies to the kennel (no pet friendly hotels), and crashed that first day. On Tuesday, we spent the morning in a driving class, learning how to drive on the opposite side of the road, recognizing signs and taking a test to earn our new license.
Wednesday and Thursday was full of paperwork. Most of it was for Mike, but we were grateful to sign a lease and move into our new house by Thursday! We don’t have any of our furniture or belongings, but we were given loaner furniture and a few kitchen items until our stuff comes. (Before you ask….we’ve only been told it will be by April 15th.)
On Friday, the base provided us with a free tour of Misawa and some of the surrounding areas. It was truly amazing! We were given a briefing on the Japanese culture with everything from eating etiquette to how to use the different toilets!
We learned about the significance of the Shinto faith as a part of the Japanese culture and visited a local shrine.
We went to this amazing fish market with rows and rows of stands with every variety of seafood you could imagine. Misawa is right on the water so everything is very fresh! Not being able to read the food descriptions made me want to learn the language even more. I’m all about experimenting but its nice to know what you’re eating! Speaking of, Mike and I found a ramen stand in the market with a big picture menu (ha!) so I placed an order for two of these delicious bowls. This stuff is amazing! I’m not sure exactly what I ordered but I’d point to it again in a heartbeat.
We were also taken to a supermarket/food court venue where we bought strawberry Oreo bars, seaweed crackers and a bean pastry. Gotta try everything, right? They were all surprisingly good! This tour is made weekly, so the locals are very accommodating and don’t seem to mind our muddled languages. We’re learning!
I guess weekly tours have their downsides too as we spotted this sign by the bus parking spots! Our tour guide told us that in the past, a few scam artists roped some Americans into contracts they couldn’t afford.
That made me a bit wary about the cell phone contract I signed completely in Japanese! I jest… we had a completely fluent associate to help us.
That hasn’t been the only great translation that I’ve seen while here. We spotted this gem last night while having another bowl of delicious ramen!
So clearly we like the ramen, but the sushi is also phenomenal. Yes, we are eating our way through Misawa! A few of the spouses in Mike’s new squadron took me out to conveyor belt sushi this week. What an experience! There’s literally a belt that goes by every table with little servings of various fish. You can take off whatever food you want to try! Theres also a little monitor on your table which you can order specific items to be delivered by a little train. You stack up your color-coded plates, and at the end, someone comes by to count your plates and give you your bill. I had a whole meal for under $4 and can’t wait to go back!
Not only did I get to meet these ladies for this one meal, but I’ve seen them many times throughout the week. They are so fun and so sweet and I’m really looking forward to spending the next few years with them! Next up, they’ve invited me to check out onsens with them, which are beautiful natural hot springs that you can visit for public bathing. I’m a little timid because you are not allowed to wear any clothing…at all. No bathing suit, no nothing. You’re not even allowed to have tattoos! Thank goodness they are gender separated. When in Rome…
I have so many more first impressions to share but I think I’m going to have to save it for another post lest I bore you with this book!
Thanks for sharing in my experiences – hopefully my sewing machine will be delivered soon and I can get back to stitching!