The wheel is where???

We did it!

We bite the bullet.

We got a Japanese car!

He wasn't too keen on the process, but he really likes the result. Well, he likes that his wife likes the result <3

We were not authorized to bring American cars to Japan.

There are several reasons, but the biggest one is money.

It cost a lot to send the cars. The Army is not willing to spend that kind of money at this point.

Next, it costs a lot more to modify the American cars to meet Japanese standards.

They drive in the LEFT side of the road, remember?

We had heard there were plenty of cars available here, but that is where it gets interesting...

Look at handsome guy trying to figure out why the wheel is on THAT side!

The Japanese are required to insure their cars every year, similar to Americans, but the older the car the more expensive the insurance! Huh???

The main reason, from what I understand is, that the government wants to keep the economy going so it 'encouranges' Japanese citizens to 'junk' their cars when the car is 10 years old. This lets the person get the 'most out of the vehchile' and guarantees that every decade the nation will get a new car sold and put some cash into the economy.

This pattern makes those 10 year old cars- literally- junk. The Japanese have to PAY to get rid of them.

That is where we Americans step in.

We buy their 'junked' cars for a few grand and drive them for the few years we are stationed in Japan.

Then, WE have to pay to 'junk' them again.

(Does this sound like a racket to you? Maybe. But, we don't really have a choice.)

We knew we could get a car for a couple thousand dollars.

We just weren't sure what kind of car we could get that would fit our family of 6 and still fit on this crazy, insane, skinny roads!

This is the "Side Blind" mirror that is the left door's outside mirror to help with tight spots. 

We found one at a shady used car lot frequently used by sailors.

The procedure doesn't make me feel warm & fuzzy or anything.

Let me tell you why.

When you want to check out a car, you ask for the keys.

You can sit in the car to see how it feels, which was great since 3 of the 4 we liked were from really heavy smokers!

You can even turn the car on, but you cannot drive it around.

No clue what it is asking us to do?!?!?

Apparently, it is against Japanese law to drive without 'owning' the car???

So you are out of luck if you wanted to test drive.

We never really understood this one.

We found one we liked. ( There isn't much to choice from so you just kinda have to jump in.)



We put down a deposit and the dealer gave us paperwork to take all over town.

You have to go pay the car insurance. Then, you have to go to another office and 'register' the car with the prefecture (state) you are in. Last, if you are military, you have to register the vehicle on your military installation.

After all of that is done, you bring back the rest of the cash and the car is yours! (Did I mention you have to pay in cash?)

Oh, wait you can't actually drive it yet. Silly you!

You have to wait for the dealer to "file the paperwork". Wait 24 more hours... Finally, the dealer will bring the car to you. (Another fascinating thing I do not understand at all.)

Having the gear shifter, the blinkers and windshield
wipers 'wrong' is going to be tough to get used to!

I am not sure how my hubby got it all done, but my new 'van' pulled up in front of the hotel today.

Yeah!

I say 'van' because even though it is more of a crossover on the outside, it sits like a van on the inside. It is lower & skinnier than most vans in the States. Thankfully, because it has to fit on these roads!

It is a 2003 Nissan Presage. (Never heard of it? Me neither. It is a common Japanese model.)

Glass breakers are on the passenger
side of most Japanese cars. 

It only has about 35,000 miles on it. Or 71,000 km depending on where you come from.

It cost about Y350,000 or $3,500.

It was actually kind of high for the cars here, but it has
low miles and was owned by a non-smoker.
It has a 'large' engine so that makes it cost more, too.

It does have a few things we were surprised by: a GPS, a hidden CD player, a required 'glass breaker', a back up camera and even a separate left side camera for all the tight parking and backing in Japan.

We have NO IDEA what the navigation is telling us to do, what most of the buttons mean,  or what is playing on the radio. We also laughed at the 'mini disc' player- that fad never really got off the ground did it?

We are still looking for Matt a 'rollerskate' car. His car just needs to get him, and occasionally a kid or two, from housing on another post to work on this post. His will be much smaller, but also much cheaper.

This green and yellow sticker identifies a "novice" driver,
or someone who has been driving for less than 1 year.
In other words, avoid them!

One more thing that we found intriguing is that there are several "labels" that Japanese cars have on the back side to identify the drivers. There are different ones for 'novice' drivers, senior drivers, handicapped drivers and "babies on board". This way the other people on the road 'know how to interact' with that car. Well, I learned something new today. Did you?


We are off to explore Japan! We can't wait to put a few more kilometers on our new van!

Where shall we go first?

They fit, that's all that matters to me!

I think the commissary because these kiddos are all out of snacks. And, that is never good!

If life is a highway, then the Bible is the map,

~Aggie Amy

Sushi that goes Round and Round!

Yesterday, some of Matt's co-workers took us to our first Sushi resturant.

This one is called the "Sushi Go Round". The kids call it the "Sushi Train". Either way is fine with me, as long as they keep bringing me the sushi!

Neither Matt, not I, are really that into fish. We never really have been. In the past, I have occasionally got a hankering for sushi and head to HEB to grab some. Other than that, I have avoided it.

Well, that will not be the case while we live in Japan.

We believe in being 'tourists' where ever we go. Japanese eat a ton of fish! Maybe because they are surrounded by water, maybe because it is tradition, maybe because it is just so good here. I'm not sure.

Whatever the reason, when in Rome Japan do as the Romans Japanese do.

The plates' cost is in the bottom right corner of the picture. 

When you go into the "Sushi Go Round", like most restaurants in the USA, you have decide what you want to drink. Water is available at a water cart with glasses, ice and water. It is self-serve. There are trays to take the water to your table if you have a large group like we did. Water is free. (We went with water.)

If you want "coke" (You can take the girl out of the South, but you can't take the Southern lingo out of the girl.) you get a different colored glass from the "Coke Bar". The "coke bar", which is fountain drink area similar to the US,  is about Y390 or about $4. It is free refills though, which has been hard to find in most places overseas.

When you sit in the booth you quickly see the "train tracks" going by on one end of the booth. The tracks circle the entire restaurant and every seat or booth have direct access to them.

You quickly see the varieties of sushi start to come around. There is also some more 'kid' friendly items like fries, chicken and ice cream. ( The ice cream is plastic but you can ask for 'fresh' ice cream.)

There is also a menu to order from. It has several salads and even more sushi. If you want a different sushi than you see you simply say, "Sumi ma sen" which is "excuse me" and point to what you would like from the menu. The pictures are just perfect to see exactly what you are getting.

This Sushi restaurant had an "English" translation. (The name is a tad deceiving because they assume we call food the same thing they do, but it was a great effort. There are several restaurants close to American bases that have a picture or "English" menu available for us silly foreigners.)

My adorable guide, Rachel, helped teach the girls table all about sushi and how to eat it properly. She helped us with chopstick too. She also helped us order salads with avocado, shrimp and the greatest dressing. (She knew how to tell them to hold the fish eggs as well. What a great chick to being with us, huh?)

On the table there are:
cups, a hot water faucet (for green tea), ginger (to cleanse your palette between sushi choices), soy sauce, chopsticks and small saucers (to hold the chopsticks and sauce).

Only a few plates for us!

The girls had eaten already, so they weren't that hungry. They did try a few things. Mainly they stuck with the fruit, fries and rice sushi.

The boys had eaten already as well. That did not stop them! Carson tried everything! From octopus to tuna and fish eggs. He ate everything. He liked most of it too! Austin wasn't as adventurous, but tried several types of fish and rice sushi. His favorite was a chicken they make for kids.

The plates that come around on the 'train' and the items you order are all on different colored plates.

At the end of the meal, those plates are organized, stacked up and put at the end of the table.

The waitress comes around and calculates your bill based on the colors and height of your stacks.

She then hands you a wooden piece (about the size of matchbook) for your 'bill' that has a Japanese character on it.

You take that 'bill' to the front and pay there.

Look at ALL those plates!

The boys ate a TON! Their bill was pretty high. About Y3200 or $32.

The girls not nearly as much! The girl's bill was only about Y1400 or $14.

Also, you don't tip in the Japanese culture. Bonus.

Pass the Sushi,

 ~ Aggie Amy

What is SEIYU?

We made our way to Machida. "Little Tokyo" is a very large, active shopping town. It is known for it's pedestrian zones, where the cars are not allowed and the shoppers go from high rise store to high rise store in search of new goodies.

Oh, there IT is!

Now, where shall we shop?

Well, wouldn't you know it?

Guess what we found?

SEIYU!

What is SEIYU?

Well, let's see if you can figure that one out.

Here are a few pictures.
(** I apologize, the program is not letting me control the placement of the pictures. Maybe it's a glitch? Forgive me.)

8 floors of goodness.

Just to let you know, the exchange rate for 

the Yen is currently about 100. 

So, 100 Yen = $1.

The yellow tags in the pictures show how many Yen the item is. 

Divide by 100 and you get the cost in Dollars. 

Ex: 227yen = $2.27

These are like Little Debbie Strawberry Shortcakes.

Dried, and shredded squid. 

Green Tea Oreos anyone? 

Shampoo comes in 'bladder bags' as you nurses call them.
Recycling is huge here.
You can buy the actual bottle,
but it is very expensive compared to the bag.
 ( It's almost 4x more!)

This is how they start teaching their kids English.
They put the English version of words on the cracker.
So smart. We really should do this in America!

Did you figure out what store we found?

We found everything from food and fun items to bikes and backpacks. 

Face masks a plenty and TVs of all sizes. 

Did those famous yellow tags clue you in?

Here's one last photo to let you in our new found treasure.

Yes, Walmart! Gotta love finding stores that give you just enough of "home" to make you feel good.

Thankful for the small things & the Big Stores,

~ Aggie Amy

How about a TRAIN ride? Anyone???

Our 'little' station, Sobudai-mae

Our newest adventure... the train!

In the United States we rely on cars to get us most places, unless we live in large cities where buses and subways are used. 

The 'dot' is the last stop.
The name in blue is where you are.
The arrow is the next stop.

The majority of Japanese commute on trains, every day. It is just simplier. In fact, less than 40% of Japanese own cars. The trains and too good and too cheap to justify the cost of car ownership. 

We wanted to explore  bit and see what the trains were all about. We figured today would be a good day since Matt is off for Memorial Day, but the Japanese are still working. 

(The trains get VERY crowded during rush hours and on weekends. We wanted to learn the system without the stress of crowds.) 

Oh, that's where that goes!

  The only way to really conquer the train is to completely go for it.

  I have to admit it I was nervous the first time. 

  We have to get two adults, and four kids to another town without any    

  English, or any help. Umm, did the blood pressure raise a little?  

  Nah. But, I was nervous a bit. 

  Figuring out how to buy a ticket, where to put it in the turnstile and  

  deciphering which train to take can be overwhelming.  Matt was all 

  about diving into the experience, so I let him lead the way =)

I did learn enought to do it again on my own. (I can always find the shopping.)

Here is the train map. Nervous yet?

The RULES:

 *  No talking on your cell phone. PERIOD. In fact, your phones have to be on "Manners Mode", or silent. 

  *  There is also almost NO talking!  You can talk to your closet neigh in a tiny voice, but anymore than that is considered very rude.

  *  You give up your seat to elders or women with small children. 

The RESULTS:

  *  The trains are basically silent. There is no talking or noise. No music, no loud stories or rude commuters. 

  *  The trains are also spotless. Not one speck of dirt, or trash to be seen. 

  *  A lot of people use the train to nap. (I mean sitting up.) They ride the trains their whole lives, almost everyday. They see it as a time to relax and recharge, quietly. 

The arrows on the ground direct pedestrian traffic. Brilliant.

We had heard that children ride the trains alone. We were pleasantly surprised to find this true. We some a ton of kids. Some in groups, some on their own. All of them using their cards, riding the trains, knowing their ways. It was pretty cool.

Yes, they are being goofy! We found the shopping and were stared at everywhere we went =)
Our family is quite a show, apparently. 

The pricing of a ticket depends on how far you're traveling but the type of train has no affect. 

From our stop, Sobudai-Mae station, to Machida it costs 380 yen round trip. This comes out to be about 4 dollars for one person. Not too bad, even for a family our size. It ended up costing us less than $24 to travel. 

It was certainly worth that amount to gain some confidence in ourselves, and in the train system. 

It was a great adventure!

Conquering the trains came with a prize: ice cream at 7-11!

Living the Dream,

Aggie Amy

We Arrived in Japan!

We are here! 

We have talked about this move for months. Literally, we found out four months ago we would be headed to Zama. Since then, it's our favorite topic of conversation.

We arrived yesterday, but spent the day getting the dog settled and ourselves unpacked. 

Then, we slept. 

We slept a lot.

For about 13 hours we were all in our beds sleeping and reading. 

Honestly, we were recovering from the trip. 

 

This morning, we woke up pretty early due to the 'Land of the Rising Sun' being so bright this time if year. Oh, that's where they got that name ;)

We are staying in "Army Lodging", which is another way of saying an Army hotel. 

We will be here for ... well, we don't know how long. We will be here until housing become available. 

We don't have access to a car yet. Which is a good thing since we do have our Japanese drivers' licenses.

The kids LOVE the vending machines!

We walked around and checked out the small post today. 

We tried out the Japanese drinks. Everyone agreed the drinks tasted different, but good.

Some of our first Japanese drinks.

Our first stop was to get our library cards.

(Yes, we are that nerdy!)

We checked out 27 books and 5 movies. We should be good for a few days :)

We also ate some Japanese Ramen (delicious!) and got a few groceries at the Commissary.

The boys made and a friend and went over to the next little post (where we will actually live) to see a movie tonight. 

We should get more done after the holiday weekend is over. Until then, we are trying to adjust to the schedule and learn all we can. 

We are thrilled for the chance to introduce the kids, and ourselves, to more of the world. 

The best part of the day: 

We were stopped today by someone who noticed C's christian promise ring. 

He asked us about our faith and showed us where the chapel was, just in case we hadn't found it yet. 

Funny, how a small ring can open up a path to conversation about the King. 

It was a good reminder to us all that we are in a land where Christians are an uncommon sight. 

Maybe we can help change that.

Still learning everyday,

~Aggie Amy

Our new address.... somewhere in the Seattle Airport!

Seattle is beautiful!

The Army has always entertained and amazed me in the way they do things.

The travel arrangements to move to Japan were NO exception.

In order to get to Japan, you have to travel to Seattle first. Whether you are in Texas, Carolina or New York, you have to travel to Seattle first.  (We flew up to Seattle via Houston the day before our flight to Japan.)

The military 'contracts' with an airline to take military members from Seattle to Japan. The military does a lot of things well, but they are stretched thin so it is easier to pay a charter plane than deal with it themselves. That sounds good.

Unfortunately for military families, the cheapest airlines usually wins the 'bid'.

As if that wasn't bad interesting enough, the military also 'rents' the counter space at the airport.

The only time they can get the counter super cheap is... in the MIDDLE of the NIGHT.

That is correct folks. If you fly to Japan, you must check in at the counter at 2AM!!! The flight doesn't take off for SIX more hours, but the seats can be given to other travelers if you have not checked in promtly.

My OCD was in full worry mode thinking we would not get seats if we were not there early. So, we got there early.

Poor Puppy is sick of flying!

Yes, we were the first in line.

We were the first in line at  2 PM.

Yes, twelve hours before check-in time we were at the airport in line.

We moved in to the Seattle airport.

We really didn't have a choice. We had to check out of our hotel at noon.

Where else where we going to go with 15 checked bags, 6 carry ons, 4 children, 2 adults and 1 large dog?

Poor airport, never even saw us coming.

Who am I kidding? You would have to be blind and live in a box to NOT see us coming!

We come in with one, no... two, no... three, no... four, no... FIVE luggage carts and every single kid rolling at least one piece of luggage while carrying their backpacks. Then, I came in with our beautiful black dog.

It was such a sight!

We took over a whole section of chairs by the counter that would become the military counter once the clock struck midnight. 

We were thankful to find the USO close to our 'camp out' spot. They provided free meals, candy and a smiling face on the stressful day for us and the other 250 military passengers.

With hours and hours to kill we decided a distraction might be best.

Well, what do we do when we are bored? We travel!

Hubby took the kiddos into Seattle on the train while the pup and I guarded the bags.

Where do you go, if you get to visit Seattle?  The famous Public Market downtown, of course!

First stop:  the Original Starbucks. (No wonder that symbol had to be changed!) Daddy let them get a drink and give their favorite Super Hero as their Name. The baristas laughed as they called up each kid, I mean 'Wonder Woman' or 'Captain America'.

Next: The Gum Wall. Each kid, and Daddy, chewed gum and then found the perfect place to put their piece. Yes, I too am grossed out! This is one of those things that never would have happened with this momma. They were so glad Daddy took them.

The Crew headed back to the airport in time for some more free USO food for dinner. (Side note: if you ever need a good charity to support the USO is totally, sold-out to their mission of supporting the military. They are always there, where the need arrises. Just a little show of love to them, from me. Now back to our regularly scheduled blog.)

After we got to check in for the flight at 2AM, we went back to our little 'camp' and the kids slept. How ever, they could sleep. Where ever they could sleep. Hubby and I stayed awake to watch the luggage, care for the dog and charge the electronics.

Finally, 19 hours after we arrived at the airport we boarded the plane.

The airline was Omni Air for this flight. (I am told that it changes all the time.) They are a charter group out of AZ that started 30 years ago. I think our plane may have been from their original fleet. It was that old. But, the flight was smooth, the food was okay and there was a constant stream of appropriate movies played.

The ten hour flight went quickly by.

We landed, went through customs, learned about Japan curfews and grabbed our pup in a matter of minutes.

Our sponsor picked us up from Yokota Air Force Base in a large shuttle bus. It was such a blessing to have that kind of help! The shuttle brought us to Camp Zama, took us to the Kennels to check in the dog (who is not allowed to stay in the hotel) and then dropped us off at the hotel that will be our home for at least the next month. We will live in the hotel until our housing is available. That can take a matter of weeks or a couple of months. It is all dependent on who moves out when, what repairs need to be made and the needs of our specific family.

As I said, the Army has always entertained and amazed me in the way they do things.

Spread the Love & Kon'nichiwa,

~ Aggie Amy

Rednecks go Mobile

When the idea to rent an RV came to me I thought my husband was going to laugh. Then I imagined the neighbors saying, "Watch out Honey, the Rednecks are on the road!" I felt like someone was going to write an old-style country & western song about our crazy Crew traveling around in the thing!

Here's how it started. We had to pack out, close on the house & get hubby signed out of post. We were going to have a few days of homeless-ness. We decided, since we had to stay in a hotel anyway, we might as well try out RVing.

We rented a Coachman Freelander. It is a 'C' class RV. It sleeps 10, is over 32" long and has a small outside entertainment area. We rented out a "premium" spot at an RV park near Dallas that also has a water park. ( I had no idea what Premium meant, but since Hubby wasn't watching me I decided this Diva needed the "best".) We took board games, a ton of food and a good attitude. We loaded all that and our four constantly-growing kiddos into the RV. (We left the dog at a friend's house.) The drive was only a couple of hours, but it was certainly interesting to be passed on our dear Texas freeways at 80 mph by tractor trailers. They sent the RV about 6 feet off to the right each time they passed. Lesson #1: Use those arm muscles when you are driving a house down the road!

We had a few... let's call them episodes:

   *   The lock on the door broke when we first rented the RV. With the children locked inside and us outside. It is a good thing they are old enough to take care of themselves =)  Super Hubby worked his magic and it was fixed in no time. 

   *   Watch out or you could will accidentally turn on the propane as you walk by the stove.

 *   Black water, Grey water, White water.... oh, Thank you Lord for separate hoses!

   *   It is important to unplug every once in awhile. In the middle of closing on a house, saying goodbye to family & moving overseas... well, that may not be the best time to be unplugged.  We missed a few important phone calls and did not have internet at the park.

Also, we learned quite a bit by renting an RV.
   *  One, we rock at card games. Skip-Bo is still a blast.
   *  Two, our kids are hilarious! They see life... differently!
   *  Three, we started our little family but, all of us have to work to stay that way. We choose to be a family by our actions and our words. It is a daily, sometimes hourly, choice. It is hard at times. It is worth it. Totally worth it.
   *  Most importantly, we learned that we can count on each other. In the middle of the night, when everyone is sleeping it is still ok to wake up your brother to take you to the potty. When you are upset over something silly, it is alright for someone to call you on it. When you are laughing at yourself, everyone laughs with you.

Will we rent an RV again, maybe. Will we always remember this trip, definitely!

Keep the Faith & Try New Things,

~Aggie Amy