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- Surviving Week One in Japan |
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The buildings are all very close together with every inch of space utilized. We could see clothes drying on all the balconies of the apartment buildings that are mixed right in with the office buildings. Tokyo has no zoning laws so a major office building can go up right next to an eight story apartment complex. The next building could be a one story temple with a grave yard in the back with head stones two and three feet tall sitting right next to each other. In one place we saw a horse stable with horses sticking their heads out of the building nestled in between several sky scrapers. Some of the roads are built above lower streets so you are looking down on neighborhoods of mixed use. On one street 15 to 20 men dressed in yellow work outfits with shovels and other tools were doing their morning exercise before their work day began.
We visited the Ginza section of the city which is similar to Times Square in New York. Big neon signs are high up on the buildings and the store windows had designer fashions with very expensive price tags. Just to the north of the Ginza section is the emperor's palace. The palace grounds takes up several miles and is like an oasis in the middle of concrete buildings and busy street intersections. We walked the grounds outside the palace wall since visitors aren't allowed in the main grounds. Hugh stone walls are all over the grounds with lovely gardens of greenery.
We learned a few of the customs from others who have lived here for a while. When you get wood chopsticks in a restaurant (which most are) you break them apart and rub the eating ends together to wipe off the wood fragments that are produced from breaking the sticks apart. You never blow your nose in public. You can sniffle until your hearts content but do not blow. Slurping your noodles in your soup is most polite. The problem is you get your soup dripping down the front of your clothes. The restaurants do not have napkins but you always get a wet, warm washcloth to wipe your hands before you eat. I used the wash cloth for a napkin since I find it really hard to eat without a napkin. In Okinawa they have a box of tissues at every table that you can use for a napkin.
On Friday, August 11 we left Tokyo for Okinawa. Another couple and three single men who are teaching this year on Okinawa traveled with us. We flew out of Haneda which is another airport outside of Tokyo. The plane ride was very interesting. They play Bingo showing you the number on the movie screens on the plane and giving away tote bags to those who win. We didn't win. When we took off and landed they showed a view out of the front of the plane on the screen. It was fascinating to see what the pilot sees.
We landed in Naha, the capital city of Okinawa and were greeted by other faculty who took us to Kadena Air Force Base. The ride took about 2 hours because of the traffic in Naha but once we got out of the city we made good time. We were booked into billeting (two rooms, motel style with a microwave and coffee maker). Thank God we don't have to go down the hall to use the bathroom. We do have a TV but only get one channel, AFN, Air Force Network. Now and then they will give you some US news. In the New Sanno in Tokyo we got several channels, most of them in Japan. We did watch Monday morning's Today Show on Tuesday night which was a little bazaar.
We were given a sponsor, a current member of the faculty who has been here several years, to show us the ropes. Our sponsor, Jeff, has been most helpful. He picked us up the second day we were here and drove all over to give us a feel for the island. We went north of the sea wall section and were able to get on the beach. We hope we can find some living quarters either on the beach or close to it. I was a little disappointed to find the sea wall on so much of the island. Past the sea wall is volcanic ash before you get to the ocean and no sand. In high tide the sea comes right up to the wall and the ash is covered with water. There are places throughout the island where you can find beaches but most of it is the sea wall and volcanic ash.
We have found the weather hot and humid but not a lot different then summers in D. C. Week two begins.
Map of Japan - provided by the CIA
Note: The pictures were not taken by my mom. Pictures were found on the internet. |
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We arrived at 
The city felt like any other large city in the world. There were tall buildings (sky scrapers like New York City), a lot of cars with major traffic jams, bike riders, and people walking the streets in a hurry to get wherever they were going. The sidewalks are not as wide as the side walks in the States. I wonder if it is because all the people are so slender?
It was very hot on our walking tour and after three hours four of us decided to leave the group and try our hand at getting back to the hotel on the subway. It really wasn't too bad because all the lines are color coded so we could figure out which line we needed to take. The hard part was to figure out what direction we wanted to go on the train. We were very proud of ourselves that we mastered the subway after two days in the country.
The food is quite good. One of the main dishes is noodles in different kinds of broth with wonderful flavorings. The Japanese slurp the noodles shoveling them to their mouth with chop sticks and drink the broth after they have finished the noodles. The 
There is a long sea wall that goes around most of the island near the military bases that was built to protect the island from the 
We spent Sunday the 13th visiting another section of the island. We looked at an apartment with a gorgeous view of the Pacific Ocean and Carrot Island, an island close by that grows carrots, hence the name. Today, Monday, August 14 we go to get our drivers license and hopeful will find a car soon. We are getting a lot of exercise just walking from place to place on the base.