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.