My First Week In Japan

On the first morning walk outside my hotel, Betty Boop greeted me. The weather has been very hot and humid. Many Japanese women use rain umbrellas to keep themselves in the shade.

A block from New Yokosuka Hotel is a wide array of shops. This fruit and vegetable store has reasonable prices and delicious produce.

The Red Cross was holding a blood drive on a plaza that was between the shops. The plaza seems to be a good place for local vendors without shops to set up a mini market. 

Americans call this Blue Street because of the blue lines on sidewalk and blue chips in road. Busy place at night, with after work shoppers and diners or those just passing through to catch the train.

This is a Japanese version of a dollar store.  100 Yen shop ($1.28) for us. (+ 5% sales tax).

The Japanese like their water VERY HOT. The water pressure in the shower is fabulous. 

View in my hotel room.

View in my hotel room.

View in my hotel room.

View in my hotel bathroom.

My room at the Hotel New Yokosuka is compact yet comfortable. I can see the Yokosuka Naval Gate from my window. You have to place the room key fob in a port on the wall to activate your electricity.  It’s a very large step into the tub!

Yokosuka Street Fair. Donald Duck!?

Yokosuka Street Fair.  I'm with a friend I met at the hotel.

Yokosuka Street Fair.

Yokosuka Street Fair.

The local fairs are the same as the U.S.  Fun, food, and entertainment!

View from possible new apartment in Nobi. Beautiful view, but the area is not good for swimming. Great for walking and enjoying the sound and smell of the water. Very quiet. The train is about a 10 minute walk. Then a 20 minute train ride. Then a 10 minute walk to main gate. Then the base bus shuttle ride to near school.  It would be an hour commute, but I would get into great shape.  Still going to see if I can get into housing closer to base or on base.  Decisions, Decisions…

Picture of my sweaty self after walking down to see the water

The Japanese people are so warm and will go out of their way to help even if they have very limited English skills.  I was walking back from town and spoke to the doughnut maker (doughnuts made by hand and filled with a sweet bean curd) and he invited me to sit down and immediately poured me a beer and served me some sliced fresh tomatoes.  He then showed me pictures of his family and was so proud of his new grandson.  Another customer joined our conversation and asked if I would be willing to teach him English.  He said he would pay me 1,500 yen an hour.  The Japanese think their English isn’t that good, so they are usually tentative to use it, but when they do, it is amazing how well they can speak.  I only hope I can learn some Japanese from new friends here.

This past week was spent at orientation learning about Japanese customs, history, holidays, sports, transportation, etc.  We had driving instruction and took the written test (I did pass), learned about the train systems and took a field trip.  Also was made aware of the various base support systems and how to deal with various areas that relate to us.

I haven’t spent much time at school.  Looks like I will spend Sunday there trying to get ready for the first week of school.  I will be teaching reading and the language arts teacher has been mentoring me since I arrived to make my transition easier. I am looking forward to working with the nice staff at the school.

I miss everyone and hope you enjoyed this little update. 

Love and hugs to all!!!!!

Nancy

How Nancy Got to Japan

Nancy's flight to Japan took over 12 hours.  She left Chicago at 1:30 in the afternoon on Wednesday, and landed in Japan sometime after 4 in the afternoon on Thursday, August 16th, after having crossed the International Date Line.

One interesting thing about her flight is how, for the entire 12 hours, the plane always flew in daylight.  They were in a race to get to Japan before the night did!  And although they lost about 3 or 4 hours along the way, the dark of night was not able to catch up to them.  On the other hand, although it may have been 4PM when they landed in Tokyo, it was 3AM here in Atlanta, where we were all fast asleep.  Nancy was tired too, but her trip wasn't over yet.  It took her another 5 hours to finally get to her hotel!  Japan is almost on the other side of the world, and their time is 13 hours ahead of ours.  So if it is 12 noon here in Atlanta, it will be 1AM in Japan.

This is a view of the route Nancy took on her way to Japan, where she followed the Red Line from Atlanta to Chicago to Japan.  You can see where her flight first took her over Canada, Alaska and the Bering Sea before heading south along the coast of Russia on the way to Japan.  The Red Line demonstrates the Great Circle Route from Chicago to Japan.  Overall, Tokyo is over 6,900 miles away from Atlanta.

You will also see a light green line representing latitude 35º North.  Both Atlanta and Tokyo are very close to 35º N, which means that Tokyo is almost directly west of Atlanta.  Her plane could have headed directly west from Atlanta to reach Japan, but that route would have been over 800 miles longer than the Great Circle Route.  A path of travel that follows a direct bearing line is called a Loxodrome.  To see the difference between a Great Circle Route and a Loxodrome, you only need to find a globe of the Earth, and connect two different points on the Earth with a string pulled tight to the globe.  Compare that to a string connecting the same two points on a flat map of the world.  Remember that a map is always a distorted view of the Earth, while a globe is a true representation.

This is another view of the Earth showing Nancy's route to Japan.  Where the first view was centered over Hawaii, this one is centered just south of Alaska.  In this view the Great Circle Route and the Loxodrome look to be about the same distance.

This is a map of Japan (日本) relative to Asia.  To the east of Japan is the Pacific Ocean, while to the west is the Sea of Japan.  Japan is surrounded by water.  Nancy's new school, Yokosuka Middle School, is located on an American naval base in Yokosuka, Japan.

This is a closer view of the general area around Yokosuka, Japan.  (Yokosuka is actually pronounced like Yo-Kosh-Ka.  In the Japanese pronunciation, the 'U' is silent and the 'S' is a little slurred.)  You can see that Yokosuka is approximately 30 miles south of Tokyo.  On a clear day, folks in Yokosuka might be able to see Mt. Fuji, 50 miles directly west.  The red square depicts the area shown in the next map.

This is a map of the Miura Peninsula, at the southwest entrance to Tokyo Bay.  The American naval base is officially known as Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka, usually abbreviated as CFAY. This is the home port for the American nuclear aircraft carrier USS George Washington.  Because this is the GW's home port, many of the sailor's families live in or near Yokosuka (横須賀市). Nancy's new school, Yokosuka Middle School, is located directly on base.  She is looking for her new home in some of the surrounding communities, including Zushi (逗子市), Hayama (葉山町) and Nobi (野比).

This is the American aircraft carrier USS George Washington outside of its home port in Yokosuka, Japan.

rwf

Departure

Nancy left Atlanta shortly after 11AM on August 15th, first taking a short flight to Chicago, where she boarded an American Airlines flight direct for Narita Airport in Toyko, Japan.  Her immediate family and some close friends took her to the airport, and this is the last view we had of her.  Given how airport security is working these days, we were only able to stay with her until she entered the security check line.

It was a long, quiet drive home.

rwf

Tomorrow

Tomorrow, I leave for Japan.