Authentic Japanese Cuisine

We enjoyed our first night out on the town. We went to a small restaurant. The tables were as big as your average coffee table but half the height. It was pretty funny seeing 6'3" Steve sitting crossed legged! hahahaha. The cushions on the floor helped a bit, but we were laughing when we had to stand again. We also had to leave our shoes at the door in small little cubbies. The dining area was upstairs and the kitchen was downstairs. We ordered a sesame chicken salad and some dumplings that I can't quite pronouce just yet! It was pretty good. I liked the dumplings the best. The girls really enjoyed it! They especially liked the small colas in glass bottles! The only hitch...if you stayed longer than an hour, you had to pay a table charge...200 YEN extra. No dawdling here. It's down to business, eat and move out! hahahaha

Interesting Menu

This is how the Japanese show you their menu. They are tiny replicas of the dishes they have and it's all made out of plastic! It was too funny and a great visual. Luckily for us, the Japanese use a lot of picture representations to inform. That's great for us!

Some comforts of Home

Some comforts of home. Even if I didn't eat from these places a whole lot in America, it's nice to know I can always get some good ol' American Comfort Junk Food! hahahah

This is Dewey Park. The girls played and made new friends with two precious Japanese girls. The girls were a little shy about trying the language. We'll have to get them some lessons pronto. It was a beautiful park just a mile or so from our hotel room.

The pups have to stay in a kennel until we get housing. They look forward to seeing us. They were no worse for the ware but glad to be out of the crate. They traveled in crates for over 24 hours. Clancy was a little mad at me at first, but he's getting over it. And we are happy to report that Clara has gotten over her stage fright of pottying on a leash! Whew! What a relief!

From the top of the hill on Zama you can see distant mountain ranges. It is a little hazy now, due to the rainy season, but eventually we should be able to spot Mt. Fuji. We are going to go there next week with our sponsor to an amusement park. I've also learned that there is an outlet mall with over 200 stores (American known). I'll have to check into that. Shopping has always been a good cure for what ales me! hahahahaha!

Distant City

This is the view from the top of the hill. In the forefront is the golf course. In the distance is the city of Sagimahara. It is densely populated. I'm itching to get out and explore. I think we are going on a train tonight. I will take more pictures...

Camp Zama Golf course

A beautiful view of the golf course. The golf course takes up about half of Camp Zama. We helped a Japanese golfer retrieve his ball. He was very appreciative. I walk there with the dogs often. I'll have to learn how to say, "Your ball is over here!" in Japanese! hahahah. Dad, I hope you are not jealous. Steve and I are waiting to play. I wonder when our clubs will arrive?

This is where we are staying. We are on the second floor. It is a little small, but hopefully we will be in our own house soon.

Even the Japanese need a little grubbage after hours! This was a funny sight to see! Denny's in Japan. Who knew?

I had to take this picture. This is a traditional Japanese toilet. You squat over it! There was another toilet in a different stall. It looked like it was straight out of the Starship Enterprise. If you pressed one button, it made sounds of a running toilet. There were many buttons, but I was laughing too hard to try them!

Our First view of Japan.

This was our first sight of Japan. It was so beautiful and green. It is the rainy season now and it rains mostly in the morning getting hot and humid in the afternoon.