Author: wabisabisole Page 53 of 54

It’s humid here. Not like VA Beach humid – no ocean breeze. Not like Memphis humid – doesn’t have the heat. Definitely not Chicago humid – I laugh at Chicago humidity. It’s like being trapped inside someone’s mouth and each time they breathe you get a warm moist blast of air. That’s how the breeze feels here. Like hot breath. Not at all refreshing. Over the past few weeks, rarely has it been above 90 degrees or drop below 75 degrees or drop below 80% humidity. All conditions perfect for excessive humidity. Mugginess makes me a Sweaty-a-saurus Rex. A picture perfect explanation. The reason the high humidity is so bad is because it leads to mold. The Japanese LOATHE mold because it is messy and affects the wa of living closely. We have been told by more than five people to bring/get dehumidifiers. In fact, we heard this before we even left Chicago.  As a precaution, we order two 50L dehumidifiers and had them packed out in our HHG. As we have already discussed, our HHG have not arrived. No worries, since the Japanese despise the meager opportunity that mold will have a chance to spore, housing provides two dehumidifiers per housing unit. Though they are not large, they work well.  They just require a little TLC to empty on a 2-3 hour basis.

Let me back track a minute.  As a novice to this level of humidity, I thought the answer was to lower the air conditioner. That only makes things worse. Duh! Every Science teacher knows when you drop the temperature it causes the moisture in the air to turn to condensation. Despite the scientific truth, condensation is not cool.  When this happens in the house, it makes everything feel damp.

No, my camera isn’t blurry making the controls difficult to read. They are in Japanese!!

This is why the dehumidifiers become so essential. Dehumidifiers draw the moisture out of the air allowing the temperature to drop and prevent condensation from forming.

My biggest fail was yesterday afternoon. I did a load of laundry, remember the laundry room is in the kitchen and I turned off the kitchen AC trying to make the house less cool.  Epic fail. The washer & dryer put more moisture back into the air and the house was steamy downstairs. Realizing my error, when I did laundry today, I moved the dehumidifier into the kitchen. It simultaneously kept the moisture in check and helped dry Dave’s shirts. Notice the tension rod for drying clothes. My brilliant husband had that amazing idea.

On a lighter (less condensing) note, here is one way to have fun incorporating your dehumidifier into your house. Pretend it’s a campfire (it emits hot air) and place your camp chairs around it.  Please also notice my new lamp. The fluorescent kitchen lights are so intense. I bought a new lamp because I’m blinded every time the overheads turn on. Too, much!!

With that soggy note… I’m out.  Stay cool, friends!

There is a HUGE difference between these two words. Google translate is very helpful in telling me the Japanese to English translation. Frequently, some information is lost when trying to interpret the meaning from the translation. Often, I find myself having to use common sense to understand what Google Translate is telling me. I have met one local who has advised me not to use Google Translate because it won’t give me the “correct” meaning. My response included my necessity to understand something because right now, I got nothing. I thought a fun way to illustrate this would be to use something with which we are all familiar. McDonald’s. 

I used Google Translate to help me identify each sandwich. In the picture below, the sandwich on the left is a “winning burger beef and pine.” I’m not sure how clear it is in the picture, the burger does have a pineapple slice on it, not a pine tree. In the same picture, the sandwich on the right is a “winning burger chicken and tomato.” Obviously, it is a chicken sandwich with tomato, no burger.  

The next picture shows the ¥400 menu. The writing at the top translates to first line: “limited 8/3 (water) start.” Second line: “morning of victory competent each ¥400.” Again, that translation is very choppy. I understand the limited hours and only ¥400, but is it telling me it’s a breakfast of champions? Sadly, I disagree. From top to bottom the sandwiches are: Mega Muffin, Filet-o-Fish and Mega McGriddle. Also, I’m confused on why “water” is used. Is that the drink? Clearly it shows a Coca-Cola or is that an iced coffee? Did you notice the extra meat? Just when you thought McDonald’s couldn’t be any grosser, they added extra meat or fish. 

Speaking of excess meat. Is all of this meat really necessary? The Megamakku. Pronounced Mega- Mac – cue. Draw out the “u” sound on the end. 

The last one is definitely my favorite. Dave and Ed were with me when I was taking these pictures. As we left McDonald’s, we saw this man’s picture on the wall. They kindly agreed to pose for me. Regardless of your goal to translate for a general understanding or interpret this picture for comprehension, either way you will chuckle. And as I’ve mentioned before, a smile means the same thing in every language. 

What a day! With tears in our eyes, we checked out of the Navy Lodge. Tears of joy, that is!! Room 1215 has been our home for the past 18 days. We were definitely ready for this goodbye! We drove out to our house in Ikego to prepare for the delivery of our express shipment and loaner furniture. The shipment was scheduled for delivery between 8-12. They were here at 7:59am! They had our 800lbs of stuff off the truck, in the house and partially unpacked by 8:24am. They had four men who worked swiftly and courteously. At 8:36 the cute doorbell chime sounded again and our loaner furniture was delivered. A couch, two chairs, table & four chairs, two bedside tables & a lamp are ours until the remaining HHG arrives in a few weeks. 

By mid-morning we had everything unpacked and a list of stuff we needed. Dave suggested we road trip to Costco. Check it out and perhaps get a membership. With the help of Google Map we headed on our way. 

This trip took us on a toll road. This was our first experience with Japanese tolls. The toll agent was incredibly friendly. He waved to us each time we approached and happily took our ticket & payment. 

I must admit something else. I haven’t had a membership at a wholesale in years. There isn’t much point for just the two of us. Unless, you move to Japan and the only place to buy a BIG bag of Kale is Costco. Yes, we joined Costco for Kale. That is how important Kale is in my life. I just can’t make a smoothie without it. 

We had to take a cart down the escalator to the entrance & get our membership before we could enter the store. Everyone greeted us in Japanese and after I said, “konnichiwa”, they quickly switched to English. (Obviously, my accent is noticeable.)

While signing up for a membership, I read the fine print that stated only cash, American Express or the Costco Card could be used for payment. Crap. We only had 10,000¥ or about $100 between us. And 43,500¥ would be needed for the membership. Grrrrr – we switched focus and decided this would need to be a recon mission. 

We bopped around a bit and did find the desired HUGE bags of Kale. I was grabbing two when Dave reminded me we didn’t have our blender yet. Boo. No Kale for you! 

Instead, we found fizzy water! In bulk! They call it “plain soda.” Google translate told me it was “carbonated water.” Jackpot!! We added a case to our cart. We also purchased eggs & bagels. Japanese eggs are not exciting until you see the yolk. I’ll post that picture soon. 

On our way out, we smelled PIZZA! Of course we couldn’t pass up a pizza! It was delicious. Maybe because we haven’t had a pizza in a while or maybe it was just that good. Yummmmmm. 

I must stress again how polite and orderly everything and everyone is in Japan. Here is a picture of the carts neatly arranged while customers were either in line or eating at the food court area. Keep in mind, everything in the carts has been purchased. No one would dare to take something that isn’t theirs. It’s all about the wa. 

As we were leaving with our purchases, the receipt checker instructed us on how to properly carry the pizza on our cart. Hilarious. The Japanese make things better! 

On a side note, driving is getting easier. I only hit the wipers twice today when intending to use the blinker. And I’m adjusting to the super narrow roads. Tomorrow will be my first real solo driving. Keep left! 

Grocery shopping in Japan is full of choices. Exotic choices, one might say.

One thing Japan has perfected is portion size and packaging. We went into a Japanese Supermarket and were overwhelmed with all the choices and options. In this post, I discuss mainly meat, fish and produce.  I will discuss breads and pastries in a later post. In the picture below, the variety of options are available and the packaging is professional and top notch.

Besides meat, fish and sushi options are always available. The triangles pictured below are one of my new favorites. They are called Onigiri and remind me of a sushi taco/sandwich. The rice is formed into a triangle around the salmon or tuna center. The rice triangle is wrapped in plastic and then seaweed paper and then another layer of plastic. The seaweed is separated from the rice to prevent it from becoming soggy. There are specific steps, 1, 2, 3 the diner is to follow in order to unwrap it. If unwrapped properly, the seaweed will serve as the neat way to eat the yummy goodness without touching the sticky rice. Onigiri can be found at convenience stores and grocery stores.

Sushi is another item that is readily available. Rolls and sashimi can be purchased easily and provide a delicious option for a meal or snack.

The dining choices at standard grocery store are expected and relatively unsurprising. Walking through a convenience store is a different story. Some of the options are high on the gag-o-meter. According to Google Translate the items below are fish sausage.  And no, they were not in the cold aisle. 

Google Translate didn’t help me much to understand what these bags contain. Upon inspection, they look like dehydrated something…

Another shopping option is the Yokosuka Port Market. This store is loaded with fresh seafood and produce. To clarify, many of the seafood options are STILL ALIVE! Not sure fresher than that is possible.

The seafood did have a bit of a gross factor.  Like the squid on a stick.  Already for grilling.

Interested in making Fish Head Soup?  No problem.  You can buy your fish heads at the Yokosuka Port Market.  As well as octopus tentacles. 

Here is a funny story.  See the package for 300 yen in the bottom left.  Dave was looking in this section and I walked up and said, “is that Mac & Cheese?” He bust out laughing and replied, “did you think that was Mac & Cheese?” A girl can hope, right?

Before moving into the produce section at the Yokosuka Port Market we found the eggs.  Some of the eggs were offered by the dozen and others were offered in a bundle.  None of them were refrigerated.

The peaches were HUGE.  They also had very unique packaging.  They were sold in groups of two.  To protect them from bruising, they had a foam padding around them and set inside of a plastic tray. The price is 598 yen – roughly $6.00 for two.

My favorite packaging was the string wrapped watermelon.  The string was tied around the watermelon to make them easier to carry home.

Check out the soy beans!  They were still attached to the plant!

The produce for the most part look very appetizing.  However, if all of this is too much, MREs are available at the Commissary on base.  The assortment is impressive: Beef & Black Beans, Mexican Style Chicken Stew, Elbow Macaroni in Tomato Sauce or if you prefer there is: “Rib Shaped BBQ Pork Patty.” Yummmmm…

Great news! We successfully complete ICR. We have the certificate to prove it!

My advice for survival… Starbucks. The cup is extra cute because they wrote my name in Japanese.

Once we completed ICR, we rolled into the 3 hour safety brief. This brief is required before taking the written and practical portion of the driving test.  I was extra glad I had an extra coffee in the morning.

During lunch, we crammed for the written portion of the test.

We took the test after lunch. And PASSED! Our next step was taking the driving portion of the test. Whew. It was oddly stressful. Number 1 Rule: Keep Left.

As predicted, we both hit the windshield wipers when we were attempting to use our turn signals. They are reversed – the blinker is on the right & wipers on the left. Yokosuka Wave (def): When a driver hits the wipers by accident instead of the intended turn signal.

In preparation for our test, we have been discussing throughout the week how to make turns. We came up with this chant: “Tight left & wide right. Just like Navy football.”  While driving today, I chanted each in my head at every stop sign.  Fortunately, no issues with turns. Backing up, on the other hand, was very odd. The instructor directed me to a parking spot that was not straight back. This caused me to turn as I backed into it. Turning to look over my left shoulder felt wrong and so naturally I looked right. This did absolutely no good. Half way through my backing up, I had a moment of panic. Side note, it doesn’t help that EVERY car beeps when you back up!! Deep breath. Relax. Use your side mirror. Ahhhhh… Find your back-up parking Zen. Next thing I know, I was parked and it was Dave’s turn. Whew. He did just as amazing.

And with that, our Friday commenced. Drive safely! And absolutely NO drinking & driving. I took a picture of the slide from the safety brief. The Japanese do not play with DUI/DWI. The legal limit in Japan is .03 BAC. Pretty much guaranteed jail time for the driver & the passenger!!!