Train/Plane Travelin'

*First, let me apologize for the crazy fonts.  Blogger is NOT cooperating with me tonight.*






So this past week my friend Liz and I traveled to South Japan (Sasebo) to meet our husbands when they pulled in to port. It was killing me not to blog about how excited I was, but being the Queen of OPSEC I resisted the urge to talk!  Shocking since I'm a woman, but I digress.  


We decided to take the trains down there and then we flew back. I am a TERRIBLE flyer, as Liz found out, I prefer the comfiness of the ground and yes, flying is probably the safest form of travel but...well...I don't give a rats ass about that, it's terrifying. 


Before the trip, I was literally sick to my stomach, worried about navigating the train system and thinking about what I'd do if we got lost.  We had good directions so we basically were just hoping for the best.  Prior to this trip, I rarely took a train anywhere.  I find the Japanese train system confusing as all hell if you want the truth, but NOTHING was going to stop me from seeing my husband.  Not to mention we had a cool way to make sure we were doing the right thing.  If you're ever in Japan and are nervous about navigating the trains, use this link if you have a smart phone.  There is also an app for the iPhone, but it's only free for 30 days, so plan accordingly. 


So...I dropped the kids off with my YOKO BFF, Sarah and her husband (YALL SERIOUSLY ROCK...Love ya girl!) and we started our little journey across Japan.  Surprisingly, there were only 5 trains we needed to take to get to Sasebo.  Luckily one of those trains was Shinkansen "Nozomi," better known to American's as the Bullet Train.  Ummm...hell yeah!  Now after our Earthquake adventure, we were able to ride the bullet train for a little under an hour.  It was not Nozomi however, and apparently not as fast.  We made it to Shin-Yokohama where we caught Nozomi with no problems whatsoever.  Every stop we made, the train was either there waiting for us, or we had a 3-5 minute wait before it arrived.  Spectacular!  One thing I will give Japanese trains...they were extremely punctual.  

As you can see from the photo, Nozomi 35, bound for Hakata will depart at 1329, and at 1329 on the dot, the train pulled away from the station. 

Liz and I ON Nozomi.  Nevermind how amazingly awesome we look...we were going to be traveling all day with no one to impress but ourselves. 

 If you'd like some information on the Shinkansen, you should definitely check out the link provided.  We took Nozomi, obviously since I've said it a blue million times, we got on at her second stop in Shin-Yokohama and stayed until her last stop in Hakata.  The trip was made in 5 hours.  Nozomi travels at 300 km/h (186 mph) so it's no wonder we traveled well over 1,000 miles in that time frame.  They come down the aisles with food/beverage carts, as well as a kind of, Duty Free cart.  It was very interesting.  Unfortunately, we did not see Mt. Fuji.  But almost all of the stops the train made are places I want to visit inside Japan.  Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima.  It stopped in Nagoya, but some of you will remember we were forced to land there on 11 March 2011, it was not a place I wanted to see again.  

An extremely cool building in Nagoya. 

I had all I needed for the trip.  Dark Tower VII and wine.  

Once we got off the train in Hakata, we caught the Limited Express "Midori" to Sasebo which took 2 hours and wasn't nearly as cool as the Shinkansen.  But - we didn't care, we were ready to get there for the night at this point.  

We arrived in Sasebo a little after 8PM I'd say, caught a taxi to our hotel and called it a night.  Afterall...we needed our beauty sleep since we were seeing our husbands the next day!!  


FAST FORWARD to a restless night of sleep in an itty bitty Japanese hotel room, with nothing to watch but Japanese television...  

Bathroom

Room...barely room to turn around.

...Told you it was small.  I finally wake up to "SEE MY HUSBAND DAY!!!"  Got up, rushed to get dressed, caught a taxi to the base (which, by the way, is only 500¥ for an off-base taxi...here in Yoko it's 710¥...Sigh) and then we waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Then finally...

MY LOVE!!!! <3  The one I've been missing and needed to see more than anything!

Now...I shall send you on a photo montage of our adventures in Sasebo.  

Our ship moored in Sasebo

A FANTASTIC little number Kendall had made for me in Hong Kong by the ever famous Ying Tai Tailors.  It fits....like a glove! 

The beginning of the "Chu-hi 5K" where the crazy boys walk from Sasebo to the Harley-Davidson shop, all while stopping at every 7-11 or Family Mart they see.  Before going inside, they must finish their current Chu-Hi, then purchase a new one and finish it before reaching the next store.  Sailors.  Am I right?  

And this is me just being me. 

A stream along our walk. 

Sasebo is surrounded by mountains, much different from the hustle and bustle of Yokosuka. 

AAAHHHHHH!!!!  

This was hanging in the Ginza (Mall)

Here we are in one of his favorite bars, Shooters.  We are apparently deep in discussion about something and clearly, I'm winning.  Actually, I can't back that up.  I was visiting my husband without the kids...I drank.  Don't judge me. 

Probably my new favorite photo of us.

And the night before I left, we stayed in and watched Japanese TV.  I'm quite shocked at how engrossed we were in it.

Sasebo is so much nicer than Yokosuka in my honest opinion.  It's small.  It's quiet.  It's surrounded by mountains and gorgeous scenery and I love that. As desperate as we are to get out of Japan, the thought of coming back for our last shore duty is inviting. There are some cons however.  Their commissary is the size of a 7-11.  Their pool isn't open daily like here in Yoko (but it's free).  And there is no housing on base, that I personally saw anyway.  Their Chili's is fantastic, ours sucks.  They have a kickass place to eat and hang out, all hands welcomed.  They have a CoCo's.  You can get Big Mac sauce on a regular old cheeseburger at their McDonald's.  Okay...not a deal breaker but really Yokosuka?  It's a SAUCE, just add it.  

It went by too fast.  We only had 2 days together before I had to leave and he still had to work on top of that, but getting to spend any time with my husband is better than not seeing him at all.  We drank, we ate Kobe Beef at Steak Salon.  (If you're there, you MUST find it and go. It is crazy expensive, over $200 for both of us to eat, but the food is so worth it.) We made Christen Grey look like an amateur.  TMI?  

Fine.  I'm kidding.  Although the room was small, there was still a lot of room for activities.  Kendall would've said some crazy joke too.  Again, don't judge me.  I've been married for the man for almost 7 years, his personality is starting to rub off on me.  Lord help me.  

ANYWAY...back to the point.  We were able to spend time together and I got to see a lot of his friends, who have become my friends over the course of our 2 and a half years here.  I ran in to our old Command Master Chief, CMC Davis and our current CMC. It was wonderful talking Navy with them for a few minutes.  Not to mention it was flattering that CMC Davis remembered me and CMC Haka knew my name.  Since I'm not an FRG board member anymore, that was shocking. People can complain about our chain of command all they want, I personally think we have a fantastic COC and I wouldn't change it for anything.  Unless they wanted to give Kendall time off for free...then I'd welcome them with open arms.  ;)  

Then, before I knew it, it was time for "See you later" again.  Once Kendall left for work and I stopped crying, I was ready to get going back home to my kids.  This time, we took a train to Fukuoka Airport and we flew home after that.  

My apologies, the caption feature is being screwy at the moment.

This was a very cool tile mural at the Fukuoka Airport

Only in Japan will you find a Pokemon plane.  I am not a fan of Pokemon but even I can admit that this is cool.  Maybe one day I'll get to see the Hello Kitty plane.

I usually always get a wing seat by accident, but any time I'm able to chose my seat, I get a wing seat.  As I said earlier, flying is something I do because I HAVE to, so I have certain, shall we say, traditions/superstitions I follow when flying.  I picked my wing seat and this was waiting for me when I sat down.

This was the airline we flew back with.  I highly recommend Skymark Airlines to those flying domestic in Japan.  ANA wanted over $800 for a 2 hour flight to Fukuoka while I paid 10,000¥ ($128) with Skymark.  It was a very comfortable trip with friendly flight attendants.  After speaking in Japanese, they would come over in English, something I admire since moving here.  I will never again complain about Spanish being on everything in the USA.  As a foreigner here, I appreciate English being on signs and such. 

It was a wonderful trip and I had a blast with my husband.  I only hope I'm able to meet his ship in other ports in the future.  Say...Italy or Greece on his next deployment when we're stateside?  Yeah...that'll be nice.

Life in Japan lately

 It's finally "Summer" in Japan.  We tend to get the warmer weather a month or so later than the states do.  We're still in the rainy season, but thankfully it's getting better.  With my husband being gone, it's hard to find things to do to keep busy and when the weather is bad, it's almost unbearable being here.  I will say that you'll either love overseas tours or hate them, and sadly I'm starting to hate it here.  I dislike the constant change in schedule our ship seems to have. That is no one's fault and I know this.  Needs of the Navy and all.  Sometimes, I just need my husband home with me.  That's all.   I dislike that drama and rumors just seem to fester and thrive on base.  And if I'm being honest here, I miss freaking Target.  And Chipotle.

We have 8 more months left here, 7 if we're able to take leave early.  We are up for orders but weren't selected for any this last cycle.  I guess one positive is that we can hope Florida orders are available when the new window opens. We just want to know where we're going from here.  Something we can focus on when the schedule is rough or when we're homesick.  The Navy's motto should really be changed to "Hurry up and wait."  Should we start a petition?  I'll sign it!  It's not that I don't know how these things work, I do.  I know they take time and it's not like the higher ups can just snap their fingers and make things happen.  CO's can't say, "Oh no sir, we won't be going underway next month, I don't feel like it."  It would be amazing if that were the case, but it's not.  There's a lot I could say and get in to here, but it's pointless so I won't.  I'll just say that we're anxious to be DONE with this deployment and be together as a family again.

Okay...now on to happier things!

Our door for the 4th of July.  Kaylee completely made a mess of her footprints, but oh well.
She wants to leave it up until her Daddy gets home from Deployment.

In a recent post  I had talked about my favorite restaurant here in Yokosuka, CoCo's.
It's a curry place and I HIGHLY recommend it to those who have never been.  I was not a fan of Indian curry until my husband forced me to try this one day.  I fell in love and have never looked back.

A kids plate from CoCo's.
I get Chicken Cutlet Curry, 2 kids plates, cheese naan and a Coke, all for ¥1700.  It's a little over $20 and WELL worth it in my honest opinion.
It's easy to get to, right on 16 across from Daiei. Check it out if you are stationed here or here visiting the area. You won't be sorry. 

Indian Delicious Curry
My friend Liz introduced me to this one day.  My Yoko BFF Sarah has also raved about it. I still think I like CoCo's better if the kids are tagging along, but if it's just me and the husband, or my girlfriends, I might go here instead. They have so many different curry flavors but what will get me to go back is the Naan.  It really is....Delicious.
I must remember to drag Kendall, his mom, and my parents here!

I have recently decided to take my kids out to eat off base twice a month.  You guessed it, on paydays. Last night, I just got a wild hair up my butt, as the saying goes, and got me and the kids dressed and we headed out to CoCo's.  It was great spending time with them, just us.  It's a tad-bit stressful at times and with the heat walking is terrible, but our kids are troopers and didn't mind at all.  Plus, when a child leaves CoCo's, they turn in their "Panda Cards" and then they get either candy or a toy.  No wonder they love CoCo's.  Adults love it because of the different spice levels.  I get Level 3, and it goes to Level 10.  However, to get past 5 you have to have eaten 5 and then you'll receive a special card? I have no verification of this, just hearsay but numerous people have told me they will not prepare anything above Level 5 without a card.

I'll just say...WTF America?!  Where are our badass varieties of Kit-Kats?   This doesn't even BEGIN to cover the flavors Japan has.  Green Tea seems to be the most popular at our 7-11.  If they can even CALL themselves a 7-11...they have no Slurpee's, Big Gulps, or even a soda machine.  Tisk tisk.  Although....it may be one of the reasons Japan is probably the healthiest and fittest country in the world. Touche...touche.

What better way to beat the Japanese heat than at the pool? 

Only Southerners understand the expression, "It's too hot to go to the pool."  Our temps have been NOTHING like the heat wave that is hitting the USA right now, but it can take your breath away at times. Still, it helps us pass the time and allows this Momma to get a good tan before Homecoming. Gotta be looking good when my Sailor gets home!

Speaking of...I think I'm doing a FANTASTIC job of it!  Busting butt every day on my workout!
*Insert war cry here!*

Ready to head to CoCo's

And THIS is how I looked while getting us ready to head to CoCo's. 

FINALLY...the weather was good enough to take our summer pictures!
Kaylee said, "This one will be for Daddy when he's on his boat."
This little girl misses her Daddy and loves him, there's no denying it.

I call this, "The Cheerleader Pose"

Oh hi!

 

And last but certainly not least, one of the cutest pictures I've ever taken of my son.
He was supposed to be coloring while I cleaned my room and this is what I found when I was done.
Busted. 

So while my husband is off galavanting around the world doing his Superhero thing, this is what we've been up to.  It's not much but it certainly beats sitting around the house twiddling our thumbs waiting for the time to go by.  I have plans to head to Fuji-Q Highland Park with a friend in a few weekends from now and I'm looking forward to that.  I mainly want to go to Thomas Land with my son, he'll love me forever and a day if we go there.

Check out Fuji-Q Highland <----I even went above and beyond the call of duty and found an English website for you. I believe this should earn me a medal of sorts.

Also over the summer I plan on taking a trip to Fuji Safari Park (sorry, couldn't find an English site but the pictures should be enough), probably with the MWR.

My mother-in-law will be here in September and then my parents are coming in October so I'm trying to come up with awesome things to show them.  Yeah...that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  I also plan on tricking my dad in to eating Octopus flavored ice cream, or maybe Habu Sake.  I've had it and surprisingly, it's not bad.  We'll be leaving Japan early next year and we need to get all the site seeing out of our system before we leave.

Habu Sake...I'm feeling generous, now you don't have to Google it yourself.
Sake that is fermented in the venom of a Habu snake, or Pit Viper. If it is not fermented correctly, drinking it can be fatal, which is why it is such a huge thing in Japan. And it's extremely expensive to buy, sometimes costing as much as 300 US Dollars. 

So that's what we've been up to lately.  As always we are missing the head of our family but my kids are Navy Brats and I'm a Navy wife, so we're doing just fine.  Keeping the home fires burning and all.  It goes without saying that I can't wait to have him home again.  I just need to kidnap either Stewie Griffin or Marty McFly and force them to send me in the future to Homecoming Day.  Words will never be able to express the feeling of my husband stepping off the brow and me being able to wrap my arms around him. It's a feeling of being complete, like he's real again and not just words on a computer screen. True happiness can be found at the end of a Deployment.