Home Sweet Home

Sorry for the delayed post but we haven’t had internet access since we moved off of Kadena Air Base. Fiber optic internet service installation will not take place in our house until Nov 12th, so in the interim we’re limited to WiFi capability when on base.

Well, a lot has happened at this end of the planet. Joanne purchased a 1998 Toyota Starlet that I affectionately refer to as the “shrunk limo.” Almost all of the cars in Japan are small in size due to high fuel costs (Japan imports all of its oil) and narrow roads. Since Okinawa only measures 80 miles by 19 miles at its widest point, even older cars are realtively low mileage vehicles. I’m looking around for a larger vehicle, something mini-van in size. I just completed the driver orientation course and passed the test, so now I'm good to go to obtain my drivers license this afternoon. Driving on the left side of the road for the first time should prove interesting.

The "Shrunk Limo"

We moved into our new digs last Friday. The house is located in Yomitan Son (village) on the west side of the island. Depending upon traffic, it’s about a 15-20 minute drive to Kadena Air Base where Joanne works and 10 minutes away from the Army installation at Tori Station. The “Big Bay House” is a small, 3 year old American-style ranch house. It has a large master bedroom with a full bath and walk-in closet, 2 smaller bedrooms, a second full bathroom, a large combination living/dining room area, a kitchen with plenty of counter and cabinet space and a laundry room. Outside there is a narrow patio and a small lawn bordered by tropical plants and a privacy fence. The interior has all modern amenities to include fully tiled bathrooms, ample sized closets & storage space, ceiling fans, recessed lighting, hardwood floors, energy efficient windows, pre-wired cable outlets, etc. Currently, we’re living with military issued furniture and kitchen accessories from the on-base “lending closet.” Although somewhat spartan, it will do until our furniture and household goods arrive in late November.

The Big Bay House & Garden

The clincher for Joanne for selecting this house over others that she looked at was its seaside location. It’s just a short stroll to Togutchi Beach, an idyllic place where we can walk to in the morning with coffee in hand, sit in one of the pavilions, and gaze out over the East China Sea. Since the beach faces directly west, sunsets in the evening are often spectacular. Houses in Okinawa are built very close together, however the neighborhood is quiet and peaceful. Interestingly, there are no street names in Japan, just house numbers. Directions require knowledge of local landmarks as where to turn right or left. There is certainly a learning curve in getting around the island.

Toguchi Beach

Toguchi Beach Sunset

The small enclave where we live is bordered by the beach, small farm plots and family tombs (more on those in a later post). There’s a shopping center a couple of minutes drive away with a modern supermarket that carries anything that you could want. Joanne did well in choosing this place - life is good here!

Spiders & Bats & Snails - Oh My!

Walking around Kadena Air Base the other day, I discovered a number of interesting critters living in Okinawa's lush landscape. This Japanese Wood Spider on its web was at least 6" from end to end and as big as my hand.

A large fruit bat flew past me on its way to its daytime roost. These guys are larger than a crow and are called Ryukyu Flying Foxes.

Escargot anyone? These land snails are acitve in the morning when the grass is wet with dew. The colorfully patterened shells are about 3" in length.

Not quite alive, but ubiquitous none-the-less, are the Shisa. They are a traditional Ryukyuan decoration from Okinawan mythology, often found in pairs, resembling a cross between a lion and a dog. Many people put a pair of shisa on their rooftops or flanking the gates to their houses. Shisa are wards, believed to protect from various evils. When found in pairs, the shisa on the left traditionally has a closed mouth, and the one on the right an open mouth. The open mouth wards off evil spirits and the closed mouth keeps good spirits in.

The Kingbird Has Landed

I arrived in Okinawa safe and sound yesterday evening with no flight delays. Having slept most of the way on both flights, the time went by somewhat quickly. Joanne picked me up at the airport in her new “shrunk” limo, and then navigated the left side drive roads rather adeptly back to Kadena Air Base. We just finished breakfast at the Officers Club located next door to the Shogun Inn where we are staying until Friday. On that day we take possession of our new rental house. Joanne will take me there after work to check out the new digs. The weather outside is clear, warm & sunny. It's green, lush and humid here since we are surrounded by water. I’m in shorts, T-shirt and sandals – my new everyday post-retirement attire. Joanne said there are a lot of periodic rain showers that come and go quickly just like south Florida. At 10:30 AM Joanne will swing by and take me to an appointment for an ID card. Without one, I’m persona non grata on the military installations. More to follow when I get a chance to type another post. - Tom

Dispatch from Okinawa

(click on map to enlarge)

Hi Tom - Sounds like things are winding down at your end! The pictures of the house were sad - lots of memories there. I was happy to see a nice sunny day for the packing - hope it's the same next week. Would be a real shame to put wet stuff in storage for 2 years! Sounds like you and I had the same dinner/lunch the other day - hamburgers. But I had water, no beer. As I told you, everyone is very careful about drinking and driving. I went to the Chapel this morning around 10:30, to see if I could catch a mass. Thought I'd say a few prayers for the people in my life! It was a non-denominational mass (no Communion) and there was lots of singing. Actually, I liked the sermon, but thought there was a little too much singing. As I was leaving, I saw Dori. She invited me out to lunch with her daughter, so we went to the Big Noodle house a few block away from base. Very tasty (Yokisoba), with soup (excellent) seaweed (good), rice (didn't eat it), and a cabbage salad (very good). It cost only 750 Y.

Yakisoba Noodles

The dollar has dropped, so it's pretty much 1 to 1. I hope it goes up soon. Then Dori showed me a short cut to our new house, from base - it took no more than 15 minutes, but then it's about a 5 minute ride on base. I showed them the house and they thought it was great, especially being so close to the beach. The 2 spare bedrooms are small, but it's only going to be the two of us for most of the time. I went to Torii Beach yesterday on Torii Station. A few families were there and they were in the water. I hadn't planned on ending up there, so I didn't

Tori Beach on the East China Sea

have my suit with me. I stayed there for about an hour, just sitting, walking, AND picking up sea glass!!! I called Dave & Lynn this morning to tell them about it. My two pockets were stuffed with glass - white, brown, blue, & green of varying shades. And some of the pieces were at least 2-3 "

Beach Glass

now have them in my hotel room in a take-out plastic container. I also found pieces of pottery, with the design and glazing still on. I actually felt like I was on vacation! I've got to get some work done. I am already so far behind on the evals that I am starting to panic a little. But I will do the best I can. On top of arranging our domestic stuff, I need to learn and relearn many of the assessment tools. This takes a lot of time.

Lord of the Manor No More

Well, our house in Olney finally went to settlement on Monday after 2 postponements. With the house on the market for only 31 days and the price close to what we asked, I think the real estate gods smiled down upon us in this very unsettled housing market. I'm no longer Lord of the Manor and now a tenant in a buy-back situation until Oct 18th when all of our household goods (HHG) should be packed for shipment or storage. With the proceeds of the sale in hand, I'm tempted to go to Atlantic City and double my money (just kidding Joanne)!

The packers for our HHG shipment to Okinawa are scheduled to be here on Thursday, and the packers for my "hold baggage" (350 lbs of personal belongings that they will air freight to Okinawa) on Friday. Next week the packers will be here for our remaining HHG that will go into storage. We already stored 1 car in my Mom's garage in Cherry Hill for Nicki's use over the summer and will store the 2nd carer at a commercial storage facility in Baltimore at government expense until our return. I hope to depart for Okinawa sometime during the week of Oct 19th.

A Home Away from Home

Hi Tommy-san - Konnichiwa! As I told you in another letter, I put a deposit down on a house today. There seem to be many apartments available (or a floor of a house), but not as many houses. The realtor called this morning to say that another American family wanted the house I looked at on Saturday, so I had to make a decision or lose it. I rushed over there with the realtor and decided to take it. The apartment on the other coast by Lisa was beautiful (huge, with an ocean view to die for), but I decided that you would feel too isolated up in a high rise, a 15 minute drive on the expressway from Kadena AB. I think I made the right decision. I'll tell you about the Japanese apartments/houses I visited when we talk on the phone, but for one reason or another, I didn't think they were right. And here is my thinking. This is a two year contract (really less, because of the school year). I don't want to wait too long to get settled. This house is in Yomitan, very close to Tori Station. It is a rancher, in a supposedly quiet, Japanese neighborhood. It is a couple years old - the American family that PCS-ed (moved) lived there for 2 1/2 years. It has a small garden (with grass that we will need to cut), where you can put up your feeders. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths (bathtub/shower combination), a kitchen (electric) with a pantry, and lots of cabinets. I'll need to get the appliances from base. The dining room/living room is one large room. Lots of windows. Bedrooms are relatively small, but I think it'll be okay. We should be able to fit our master bedroom furniture in our bedroom, but the chair will probably need to go into the third bedroom, which I think we will use as a study. There are several walk-in closets and storage areas. The floors are hardwood and there is recessed lighting throughout the place. The wires are there for a satellite dish, which I am told I can get from base. I tentatively told them that I will move in on Oct 24th, so I will need to ask housing for some furniture. I can move in sooner, if I buy a car. That's my next job - to find a car. Although I don't mind walking, I don't like imposing on people all the time for a ride.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Joanne departed for Okinawa yesterday on a United Airlines 14 hour direct flight from Dulles-Washington to Narita-Tokyo. She changed planes at Narita for a All Nippon 3 hour domestic flight to Naha-Okinawa. She called this morning from the Shogun Inn on Kadena Air Force Base to report her safe arrival. All total she was 25 hours in transit door to door. Joanne said she slept for 10 hours on the first flight and for 2 hours on the second. I spent my first day of retirement continuing with the 101 odds and ends that need to be done around the house before the packers arrive on Oct 9th to pick up our household goods to ship and on Oct 14th to pick up our household goods to store. The toughest part of the move is trying to decide what to ship, store, give away or toss. We're not hoarders but were amazed how much 'stuff' we accumulated over the years. Settlement on the house will take place tomorrow morning, postponed from Monday. I will be flying to Japan on or about Oct 21st to be with my JoJo-san. This is the first time I've attempted to set up a blog, so bear with me as this endeavor evolves. When I arrive in Japan, hopefully a more savvy blogger by then, I will start posting photos and links to relevant websites. If you take the time to view the numerous short videos, here's a website that will orient you to Okinawa: http://www.agileh.com/. Click on Okinawa Videos for an overview of the island. BTW, note that the date and time of this post is set for Japan standard time, hence, the 13 hour ahead time difference from US eastern daylight savings time. - ToJo