Settling in (sort of)

Hey everyone, it's been a while since we've been able to update the blog - Japan has been keeping us quite busy.

Stephen has been putting in some long hours at the squadron (a normal day is 0700 - 1730 or so, with Mondays and Fridays starting at 0600 for command PT), so Kylee has been tasked with taking care of everything out in town.

Although we've only got one car, it seems to be all that we need.  Stephen runs into work every morning (its only a 10 min jog to the squadron), and Kylee has the car to run errands in.  It's been needed, as Kylee has had to go from place to place, filling out paperwork and getting signatures.  It appears that everything you need to get done for settling into normal life in Japan/Navy takes a long time - you'll go to one location, get a signature, find out that you have a couple more forms to fill out, take those back to the original office, and then bring them back to another location to get another signature!  Doesn't that sound efficient?

Despite all the busy work, we're doing well, and still finding time to have fun and explore. We discovered a little alleyway near the Yamato train station called Ginza (which we think means entertainment/restaurants?) that has tons of restaurants and eateries - Japan definitely tempts you to eat out a lot! 

On Saturday, we took the train into Tokyo and explored the Shibuya/Shinjuku area.  We started at the Meiji Shrine, walked around the beautiful grounds and buildings, and spent some time at a very peaceful pond filled with koi.  It started to rain, so we ran for cover at the nearest noodle shop for lunch.  We walked along the National Stadium, where there was some sort of race going on - they appeared to be running around the concourse of the stadium.  Beyond the Stadium, there was a classic car show going on, with some amazing cars - Ferraris, MGs, even a 1937 Rolls Royce and a DeLorean!
 Moving on from the car show, we walked around the Imperial Gardens at Akasuka (hoping to sneak in, to no avail) and then took the Tokyo Metro into the heart of Tokyo.  We walked around an underground mall/restaurant area, and then up to the street level, where we felt like we were walking through New York City.  Nearby was the Imperial Palace grounds (with another relay race going on), with the beautiful setting sun behind it.




We took the train home, cold and tired, but happy with a day well spent.  Kylee was motivated to get into the Christmas spirit (after all, it was Dec 1), and we made Christmas Wreath cookies together.