Our vacation is over and we'll be on our way home in another 12 hours. By the way, Misawa is home of the 35th fighter wing. I caught this picture of one of the fighters flying low over the trees;)

Saturday, December 17, 2011 -- They had a fun Christmas party at the elementary school for all the younger children on base. We took Helen, Jane, and Alice (in the pouch on Amber's front) and made ornaments, candy cane reindeer, colored, waited patiently in line for a balloon animal, threw snowballs in Santa's mouth, ate pizza and treats, and generally had a good time. The base has all kinds of fun activities for everyone of every age.

Sunday, December 18, 2011 -- We went to church again and though the floor was cold again, the spirit there was very warm. Amber got to play the piano for Relief Society. Jane wasn't feeling very well and we kept her with us the whole meeting.

We also went to a Buddahist temple. They were just ready to close for the evening when we got there. They did let us in, and we promptly took off our shoes and walked around and took some interesting pictures. The smell of incense hung in the air -- lots of prayers went up to heaven that day!



Monday, December 19, 2011 -- The 9th day market -- An outdoor market that is held on the days of the month with a 9 -- 9th, 19th, and 29th. We were told we could find a shop with used kimonos. We found some obi fabric (12 inches wide and yards and yards long) that we can use for some various craft projects -- possibly curtain toppers or Christmas tree skirts? The rest of the market was fruit/vegetable stands, fish stands, flower/garden stands. It was snowing so hard when we were there we couldn't even see across the walkway! This would be a really fun market in the summer with more venders and better weather!

Monday evening we went to a Japanese restaurant - Aburi an. We went in, took our shoes off, put them in lockers, then sat down at our table which was on the floor level, because we are wimpy Americans, we put our feet in a pit where the grill was sitting. It looked like we were eating real Japanese style, but we were just faking it. There were heating coils down on the floor that kept our feet nice and toasty. We ordered lots of different meats, vegetables, rice, salads, onion rings, cheese sticks, and just gobbled it up because it was so good! We cooked our own meats and vegetables on our own little grill.

Yesterday there was much more snow that we've had the whole time we've been here. Michelle says she feels like she lives in a snow globe with it snowing nearly all the time. The kids in the neighborhood all came out to play and sled yesterday afternoon (I suspect that their mothers kicked them out of the house to have a good time). Michelle and Ryan have a great sledding hill in their backyard, so they don't have to go far. Unfortunately, they don't have a sled yet! Helen had fun on the neighbor girl's sled.

We only have a couple of days left on this wild adventure and we're beginning to feel bad about leaving, but excited to come home and party with a new group of party animals.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011 -- We had a catch-up day this day. We got our laundry done, went to the grocery store, and did a bit more Christmas shopping.

Thursday, December 15, 2011 -- Ryan's Birthday! We partied all day! We started with cinnamon rolls that Amber made for breakfast. When Michelle took us to Shimoda Mall to go to the fabric store and the 100 Yen store and the food court for lunch. All were superb experiences. At the food court, we decided to get sizzlers. You put your yen in the slot of the vending machine, then choose the type of food you want and the size, then it gives you a ticket and your change. Then you give the ticket to the nice Japanese lady behind the counter and in a few minutes, voila, you get a sizzler with raw everything on it. The nice lady pointed to the sign for me so I could read/figure out how to deal with my lunch. Then you take it to your table then stir it up so that it can all cook right there. I think she knew we were inexperienced Americans, because she gave us a spoon along with our chopsticks. It was a yummy lunch!

Dad had a bowl of noodles for his lunch. Then he decided he wanted to have a crepe for dessert. They made the crepes, filled them with a choice of fruit/cake, added some chocolate sauce and lots of whipped cream, then rolled the whole thing up and made a cone with the crepe inside.



We got home in time to make Ryan's birthday cake and lasagna for his dinner. It was really tasty! We all enjoyed his birthday! The special sparkler candle was really fun and very exciting!

Friday, December 16, 2011 -- Today was the day I've been waiting for. We had appointments for lomilomi Hawaiian massages! We found the place without any trouble, it was nice and toasty warm inside, the Japanese ladies were very nice, and it was all so relaxing and wonderful.

Doug was taking care of Helen and Jane -- they were going to the Weasel's Den (indoor playground and exercise place). Michelle forgot to leave the front door open for them, so when they got back they were locked out. Dad, ever resourceful, took the girls over to the BX to the food court for lunch. Michelle was nearly panicked at them being out in the cold, lost, frozen by the side of the road, and starved. She went out in the car looking for them, and they were there at the food court eating french fries at the very first place she looked. They were safe, happy, full, and exhausted.

Tuesday was a big day! We had haircuts in the morning, went shopping just outside the gates the the base. We went to a couple of interesting stores -- mostly looking for Japanese gifts. We are finding some very interesting things!

After lunch Ryan took us to a Samari house and museum. The Samari that lived in this house decided he wanted to be a farmer, so he quit the Samari business and started farming. There was lots of farmland around and we saw lots of tractors, but no John Deere tractors :(

We did stop at the egg vending machine on the way home. For 200 yen, you can get 8 eggs right out of the machine. I had visions of the eggs falling to the bottom where you'd have to have scrambled eggs immediately, but Doug just opened the door and pulled out the little bag. There was a choice -- white eggs or brown eggs!

Our big outing of the day was our sushi making class. Ryan signed us up for the class taught here on base. The nice Japanese ladies were very kind to us and had us helping make the sushi right away. She especially liked to have Doug come and roll and cut and be involved. Michelle was taking notes, I was taking pictures, except when we switched roles. Then after making all the sushi, it was time to eat it. I have to say Michelle and Amber and I were a little dubious about eating the raw salmon and other fish. Amber decided to make some veg sushi since she knew she'd have to eat it later. Michelle and Amber were very brave and ate their sushi. Doug just gobbled it down. I was having travelers distress so I decided I'd better not indulge.



We laughed a lot during our class and after, and decided that maybe a Burger King milkshake would help cut the fishy flavor from the mouth. We had to drive thru on the backwards, upside-down, right side driving on the left side of the road kind of drive-thru. We made it though and the milkshakes were really a treat!

We had lots of fun today! We started out at the police station to get our papers officially done so that we could be on base. Then we went to the BX, which is a Wal-Mart type store here on base. There was a mall-type area that had lots of vendors of all things Japanese. We had lots of fun wandering around and looking at all the fun things we might buy.

Our next trip was to the 100 Yen store. We found lots of treasures for just over a dollar each. So many choices, so little time and yen.

After lunch and a nap, we went to the Weasel's Den -- the base exercise area. There's a huge play area for the kids and a running/walking track on the upper level. There was also an indoor soccer field, a batting cage, miniature golf, and an outfitter. We were able to get some running/walking in -- enough to tire us out.

When we got home, Michelle suggested that we go out to dinner for Indian Food. All the smells, pictures, Bollywood music videos with Shah Rukh Kahn, etc., really made it feel like we were back in India.

Dad ordered starters: pappad, breaded and fried paneer with spicy sauce. Dinner was Tandori Chicken, butter chicken, dahl mahani, aloo ghobi, rice and nan. It must have been good because it was all gone. We all have Indian breath!

Family home evening was a movie on the church website called "The Coat," lots of songs, a game with pompom balls, and ice cream.

We had a full day! Time to go to bed and get ready for another great day tomorrow! (I think there may be some sushi involved . . . )

We had lots of fun today! We started out at the police station to get our papers officially done so that we could be on base. Then we went to the BX, which is a Wal-Mart type store here on base. There was a mall-type area that had lots of vendors of all things Japanese. We had lots of fun wandering around and looking at all the fun things we might buy.

Our next trip was to the 100 Yen store. We found lots of treasures for just over a dollar each. So many choices, so little time and yen.

After lunch and a nap, we went to the Weasel's Den -- the base exercise area. There's a huge play area for the kids and a running/walking track on the upper level. There was also an indoor soccer field, a batting cage, miniature golf, and an outfitter. We were able to get some running/walking in -- enough to tire us out.

When we got home, Michelle suggested that we go out to dinner for Indian Food. All the smells, pictures, Bollywood music videos with Shah Rukh Kahn, etc., really made it feel like we were back in India.

Dad ordered starters: pappad, breaded and fried paneer with spicy sauce. Dinner was Tandori Chicken, butter chicken, dahl mahani, aloo ghobi, rice and nan. It must have been good because it was all gone. We all have Indian breath!

Family home evening was a movie on the church website called "The Coat," lots of songs, a game with pompom balls, and ice cream.

We had a full day! Time to go to bed and get ready for another great day tomorrow! (I think there may be some sushi involved . . . )

We are really enjoying our time here in Japan, but first we had to get here. The plane ride reminded us about flying back and forth to India, very long. We went via Minneapolis and Detroit. We picked up Amber in Detroit and she took our picture on the plane.

There is about a one hour train ride to Tokyo where we got on another train to take us north. We were told to call from Tokyo, unfortunately we hadn't had time to exchange any money or buy a phone car. Lucinda was able to use someone's cell phone on the train to call ahead. The airport was deserted but the central Tokyo train station reminded us that were were in Asia again. Lots and lots of people. They were moving much faster and with better organization that we ever saw in India.

Saturday we went to the local market where they sell vegetables, fruits, flowers, and lots of dried fish in packages. Doug picked up a couple of new things to try -- a bag of candy coated peanuts and a bag of fish-flavored sesame seed cookies. Well, 50% isn't so bad!

For dinner we had take-out Yakisoba noodles, cheese sticks, and pot stickers. We ate them here at home with our chopsticks. I'm really out of practice with chopsticks.

Today we went to church. It is a really nice chapel, but it has 2 floors and the floor under the chapel is open to the outside, so it's really cold. The branch is very nice and we were very welcome there.

After lunch and a nap, we went to a Shinto Temple. It was close to the Pacific Ocean, so we saw some tsunami effects -- trees bent clear to the ground. It was snowing nicely and we got some fun pictures with the snow
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