Tokyo DisneySea

Ann, my co-worker, Larissa, and me

I could have spent all day in this area.

Instead of a street parade, they had a water parade. The shows were excellent, however everthing was in Japanese.

The first aid clinic. The staff was excellent but could not speak a word of English. Hand gestures and a the translation book came in handy.

So our short vacation comes to an end. After two days of enjoying the Onsen, we had one day to rest before another early rise for Tokyo DisneySea. The bus left Yokota around 6:30 a.m. I expected large crowds due to the summer holiday for Japanese kids. On the contrary, the lines were short and the crowds were pleasant. I have to say we enjoyed this park more than Disneyland. It had a European flare and elegance to it. Half way through our day, Larissa began to complain about a tummy ache. Unfortunately, my poor daughter spent two hours in the park clinic. She threw up once and felt she could no longer make it through the day. Rene decided it was best to head back home early, so he and Larissa took the train back to Fussa while I stayed with Renie. She was fine the rest of the evening and is doing much better today. She probably had a stomach bug, so I will have to return to DisneySea another day with Larissa.

A Japanese Experience Like No Other

Image of Onsen taken from Google, evening view of our Onsen

Onsen on top of our hotel-image taken from Google

Nikko was the destination for our Onsen experience.  Located just 2 hours outside of Tokyo, Nikko is known for its many hot water springs, beautiful landscape, and the Nikko San Rinnoji Temple.  Our hotel settled around luscious green mountains as did the outdoor onsens.  Thanks to Micky and Brett, we were given a lesson on proper Kimono dressing for hotel and onsen presentation.  Guests were able to walk throughout the hotel, dinner, and onsen wearing their Kimono's which were laid out in our room.  As a matter of fact, no one wore regular clothing in the hotel.  Since you are able to go anytime to and from the indoor or outdoor onsens, guests just kept their Kimono's on all day.  Nothing beneath, but your undies.  We were guided up to our rooms and presented with tea as we settled in.  This was service like no other hotel I had ever been to.  We changed and headed to the onsens.  I cannot begin to describe the feeling of sitting in an onsen butt naked overlooking the mountains.  It is quite a rejuvenating experience.  All you have is a small towel to cover your jewels, which is then put aside as you climb into the onsen.  The process involved before entering and exiting the onsen area is unique to no other culture but the Japanese.  At the end of the day, you are ready for more.  Sleeping on a futon was just as comfortable as a bed, maybe it was that fuzzy feeling you felt from onsen majic.

Tomorrow-DisneySea

Nikko

Everything Has a Price

Larissa learning the sport of fishing

Group photo, I am not sure who the girl in the purple shirt is, hmmmm

Rene has the week off, so this was a great day to bond with the kids. Unfortunately, I had to work. Rene, the kids, and the Ernie's went fishing at Okutama lake. This lake is around the hills of Mitake, a beautiful area not far from Yokota. All in all, the kids caught 9 fish. The japanese locals will gut and clean the fish for you, for a price of course. Everything in Japan has a price. There is a price for driving, taking the train, wine tasting, etc... Thankfully, there is not a price for using the bathroom. In Thailand, we payed 20 baht to use the bathroom. I guess everything comes with a price no matter where you are. We will be going to Nikko this week for an Onsen vacation. Sorry, no pictures allowed. Brett tells me I can get arrested if I try to take pictures around the onsen since we will all be naked. Mikey tells me there is a price to use the sauna. It gets better. Hotels charge per person. Just to give you an idea. The charge for Larissa will be $124.00. For the first time we will experience sleeping in a Japanese Style room (tatami). I hope I don't wake up to regret that decision. Being naked, sleeping on the floor, paying to use the sauna, all part of Japanese fun. Everything has a price.

Train Craziness

This is why we don't ever take the train during rush hour, it really happened to Rene on his way to Tokyo one morning. Ok, so I am not sure if anyone has ever died on the train, but going through this every morning just to get to work on time cannot be fun. Rene still suffers with PTSD from that day. So don't try this at home. You could die and not live to tell about it.

A Day Trip

Maki, our tour guide, she is super!

Ebisu Garden Place

A condom store, pretty hilarious

It was so crowded, a spot for young crowds

A stop in Harajuku where there are some weird fashion trends.

Maki our tour guide was exhausted and ready for a nap.

They had some great wine from all over the world

Rene doing some wine tasting in Ebisu Garden Place

House exhibit

Beautiful Garden outside the museum

Stone Basin, waterdrops echo in a sone basin buried under the ground and it sounds like a koto. It was an amazing sound.

The mounds are up above, you can see layers of shells in the mound formation.

Engoying a cool water mist

Dr. Morse

Today we ventured out with Maki and Dr. Grimm to the Shinagawa area in Tokyo.  Our first stop was the Shinagawa Historical Museum which was founded in 1985 to preserve the make full use of local historic material, as well as to enhance the local culture and heritage.  We were able to see Japans first signs of early civilization founded by Dr. Morse in 1877.  The discovered area is called the Omori Shell Mounds which still stand today.  We then headed to Ebisu Garden place where they have a beer garden, great wine and fancy shops.  On our way back home we stopped at Harajuku in hopes of spotting some Harajuku girls.  They were no where in sight.  The crowds were heavy, but all in all it was pretty interesting and hilarious.  We had a great day.

Happy 15th Birthday Renie

4 Years Old

Paul and Rene 

Today my baby boy turned 15 years old.  We celebrated with dinner at the Officer's Club.  He invited some friends and we had a nice gathering.  Happy Birthday Renie!

Saying Goodbye

Matt in the blue shirt

Sole being Sole

So this week we thanked Matt, our visiting dentist from Ohio with a nice goodbye dinner.  Matt was kind enough to sacrifice 6 months of his time away from his home base to come help the dental team here at Yokota.  He is a young energetic dentist and will no-doubt miss Japan.  Despite getting his bike stolen (his only form of transportation), getting lost in Japan and a solo visit to Kyoto, his last words were "I will surely miss this place and the wonderful kind Japanese people."  Good luck Matt!

Low Key Weekend

Rene enjoying some of my homeade salsa with chips before the company arrived.

No big news this weekend, just enjoyed some time with the family.  We had plans to go to Tokyo this weekend, but non of us could get motivated to get out the house.  Rene and I did our morning run down Tama River with the running buddies on Saturday morning followed by a nice breakfast at the E-club.   We woke up so early that morning so we napped the rest of the day and just lazied around.  Sunday was a bit more productive with our usual daily chores then having company over for a nice BBQ.   We are back to work tomorrow and are making plans  to go to an Onsen vacation next week.  This week Renie will be 15 years old, so we will celebrate his birthday on Thursday.  It is hard to believe we are into mid July, time is really flying.  

Ride Like the Wind

Sunday Morning and what a glorious morning it is.  North Korea fired 9 missiles yesterday into the Japan sea, but we are good.   This morning I went on a 10 mile bike ride with Rene's Commander, Kathrina, Ernie and the Med Group Commander and his wife.   It was a challenging ride, but fun.  My knees feel weak and my butt hurts, but we are all good.