The Brassfield's do Tokyo! Week 1

I went to Atlanta for four fun filled and glorious weeks! I spent mothers day with my family, attended Alison’s bachelorette party in Florida and then Alison was married in a beautiful ceremony and I even made a speech at the wedding. That trip will just have to wait to be blogged about because I’ve already got going on this one about my parent’s visit to Japan. That’s right. The Brassfield’s actually came to Tokyo. For 3 weeks. And it was a blast. I certainly cannot recap everything that happened on this trip but I'll try to give you the highlights! Another option is for you to just come to Tokyo to visit to see for yourself what it's like to visit me. :) 

Day 1: 6/13- Wednesday

I just knew there would be a ton of traffic and my parents would get off of the plane and not know what to do; boy was I wrong.  We began this three week journey trip by arriving at the airport with plenty of time to spare. Once we arrived in record time, I just knew my parents would be the last ones off of the plane, and boy was I right. All of the people from their flight came through the immigration door, then the crew members, and then the people from the flight after them and their crewmembers. We were seriously the last people waiting for an arrival passenger in that whole airport. I went to the security desk to report them as missing. Then, of course, they showed up! One of their bags had gotten lost so they were busy filling out some paperwork to get it back. They’re here! Hooray!

Day 2: 6/14- Thursday

We spent the day getting my parents acclimated to the base. We exchanged some money, gave them a tour and George even spared a few minutes to give them a tour of the C-130. I forget how special getting an airplane tour is. To me, a C-130 is a plane that takes my husband away frequently and breaks down even more frequently. But George loves it, as do I. And it has brought me here with my Yokota family so I guess it’s all good. In the hood. No more rhymes. Sorry. My parents were very fascinated by that big Hercules plane and enjoyed watching George in his element.

That night we packed up and headed to the Seibu Lions baseball game! There’s nothing quite like watching a Japanese baseball game. Nothing! It’s basically the same thing as an MLB game in the states, except totally different. The food is different, the crowd cheers the whole entire time, and is run by the fans, not by the sound control guy, or the guy who bangs the giant drum in the outfield of Turned Field. It’s an experience, to say the least. Dad did good by putting on his navy blue tee and fit right on in. We met some of our closest friends at the game, and had a great time with them- particularly with our ‘victory balloons’. These are blown up by the fans and released during the 7^th inning stretch. It’s very fun.

 A Coca-cola vendor... your coca-cola products made in 

my hometown of Atlanta shipped right to you in Tokyo! 

 One point during the game they have you say "Ohhhhh" or "Yaaay!" or "Goooo!" Very fun! 

 My very mature friends/husband enjoyed doing this to my hair with our victory balloons!

Mom, Dad, Chelsea and George

 Victory Balloons! 

The highlight of the whole game was seeing a foul ball soaring right towards us. I played softball from ages 5-18 and I can catch me a doggone fly ball, but not without a glove. And hearing my friend Jenn’s story about being beamed in the head by Ken Griffey Jr. did not help my nerves! (Jenn… can you post a link to that blog? :) ) So I ducked way down and covered my head. But not my Mama. Judy leapt for that ball and it landed in between her and a nice Japanese lady. She claims her fingers touched that ball, but because of my lectures on how nice and cordial the Japanese are she didn’t want to be conceived as the greedy American so she let it go and let the other lady have it. She did get a skinned knee and hand out of the ordeal, but not a souvenir baseball. Good try Mom! I’m proud of your effort! If it were me, I’m sure I would have snatched it from that lady’s grip- way to stay classy!    

 This is the man holding a sign that says "Watch out for fly balls." 
Or so we think. We really have no idea. 

Day 3: 6/15- Friday

We got a late start to our day on Friday (you’ll find this was a trend)… but made it out to a fun filled lunch of Ramen and Gyoza at George’s favorite Ramen restaurant. This ramen is not the same as your $0.22 packs you ate in college, I assure you. My dad actually did a great job using his chopsticks, and Mom, well, she gave it a great try. This is where she learned she should carry a fork in her purse at all times. :) After lunch George had to head back to work and we finally settled on making a trip to Showa Kinen Memorial Park. It’s a beautiful nature filled park with trails, flowers and ice cream not far from the base.This was day number one of our soft cream ice cream, and the introduction lead to us getting one of these cones almost every other day my mom and dad were visiting us! Yum!

We walked around and saw the lakes, flowers, trails, and Cheyenne had a great time walking us. One of these days she’s going to get really good at walking on a leash. Maybe.

We managed to be lost quite a bit in this park. We got there just a couple of hours before closing time and had a lot to see before 5pm so it was important to not just wander and make sure we were back at the gate before they locked us in! We had a blast!

 Ice cream!

 With their grandpuppy!

 This dragon has a speaker inside that roared at us when

 we stepped into it's mouth. I almost peed myself.

 We were frequently lost! 

Thanks for a fun day Mom and Dad!

That night we ordered pizza at home and then went to Karaoke! It was so much fun, as usual! I don’t have any pictures but we had a great time singing and dancing. Even Dad sang one or two Elvis songs!

Day 4: 6/16-Saturday 

On Saturday I was co-hosting a baby shower for my sweet friend Mel and Mel was nice enough to let my mom attend the shower too! I don't have a single picture from the shower in my possession but it was a beautiful day and tons of fun to celebrate Mel, DJ and baby to come. Dad went golfing with George and the boys, then we all met up and had dinner and a movie at my place. It was a great day to hang and relax as friends/family before the crazy of the rest of Japan got a hold of us!

Day 5: 6/17- Sunday

I got up on Sunday and sent George off to the airport. He'll be gone for about 6 weeks doing some training stateside. My parents and I were bummed to see him go, particularly my dad, who was stuck with just my mom and I for the remainder of the their 3 week vacation! Poor guy! :) 

I have a small handful of complaints about my husband (you have them about yours too, be honest) and one my complaints is that he walks WAY too fast. I often feel like a small child trailing behind him because I can't keep up. He always looks back to check on me, but it's still bothersome. Funny how that role reversed with my very slow parents trying to keep up with me! Ha! So after a sad goodbye with George we high tailed it to the train station and began day one of the first of many train rides in Japan! 

 Mom and Dad's first train ride!

 Takahatafudo Temple

We caught the train and took it (well, 4 different trains) to Takahatafudo Temple. There was a Hydrangea Festival going on! It was neat to check out the temple there, see the beautiful flowers and see the items the shrine sale people had for purchase. It was a little smaller than I had imagined it took us about an hour to see everything there was to see at the festival. Since it had taken about an hour and a half on the trains to get there, so we had to find something to do to occupy the rest of our day! We managed to kill some time by walking around the town and checking out a 7-11, (more fun than it sounds), a hardwood store, a bakery and a cosmetic store where we got my mom some of that famous and fancy BB cream. (You should get some; it’ll change your life.) We also had berry vanilla soft cream. Yumm-o.

Day 6: 6/18- Monday

Day roku (Japanese for 6) found us in my car driving out to Mt. Fuji. It was not a very clear day but I was determined for them to see Fuji-san on this trip. How can you come to Japan and not see it?! And we all know about my secret love affair with the mountain.

We stopped by the visitor’s center to get our bearings and figure out where we were.

 I still can't believe they didn't purchase these hats!

Then we made it to the famous Moose Hill Burgers. It’s delightful to have an American style burger in Japan. A true delight.

 After that we managed to follow a map to Shiraito Falls, a beautiful waterfall near the base of Mt. Fuji. The water was so clear and beautiful, and it was really cool to share that experience with my parents! (Then we found more soft cream… I had peach. It was delish.)

 After the falls we still hadn’t even seen the top of Mt. Fuji yet and I was getting a little annoyed. We decided to head up the mountain. We followed the street signs and threw that little Mazda into 2^nd gear and went up, up, up. Eventually it looked like we’d see a break in the clouds, and finally we did… because we were above the cloud line! 

We made it to the 5^th station, which is as far up as you can drive. We were on the opposite side of the mountain than where I climbed it from last summer, so it was a neat experience to see another side of Fuji-san. We got out of the car and at my mom’s insistence, we walked up the trail for about 15 minutes. That’s all I was going to do. I swore to myself last summer I’d never hike it again but it was cool for Mom and Dad to get an idea of what it’s like to slide on rocks for 11 hours.

 See how rocky? (And Dad finally got down the art of the peace sign)

 After we had our Fuji fill, we went back down, down, down the mountain and drove around the 5 Lake District. The clouds cleared out just enough for us to see the whole mountain, in all ‘er glory! How very majestic!

The most comical part of the whole day was as we were about to get back on the highway to drive home we saw this man, walking 15 dogs. You can’t make this stuff up. 

Day 7: 6/19- Tuesday

Tuesday was rather uneventful. It was time for Mom and Dad to do some laundry, and for me to hit the grocery store. We were getting a tad burned out from all of the fun so we just took it easy at home. I was supposed to teach an English class that night which my parents would attend but because of a typhoon that came our way it was cancelled. We spent the evening playing my favorite game, Settlers of Catan and having dinner at home. It was nice to have a day to relax! 

Trip to Atlanta for Mother's Day 2012. Yay!

5:59am Eastern time, Saturday May 12^th

I’ve been awake for a whole hour. I’m in my sister’s guest room writing. I haven’t really blogged in months but hey- jet lag will do that to you. THAT of course, means awaken you to nothing but infomercials for a CD collection of soul, Sensa- a new diet powder you sprinkle on food and magically lose weight, various work out programs, a home microdermabrasion product, and two different acne products on two different channels. I’m watching a fishing show.

I’ve been doing a little scheming over the past few months. My sister Alison is getting married in a few weeks and of course I had to return to Georgia for the big event. The question came up as to when I would visit and somehow the plan to surprise my mom for Mother’s Day came into my mind. And so- it took some scheming and 2 handfuls of lies but I am successfully in Georgia and (hopefully) she has no idea. Alison convinced me to wait until Sunday (though I got into town on Friday night) to surprise her.

My mom is pretty much my best friend. She and I can chat on the phone for hours and I can tell her pretty much everything. She inspired (and shares in) my love of the Beatles and taught me most of what I know. I’m so excited to see her! It’s kind of killing me to wait another 36 hours.

SO. George took me and my two very heavy bags to the shuttle that would take me to the airport. I only forgot one thing and made George race back home to get it before the bus left at 1pm. I know he was annoyed, but it was only ONE thing. It could be much worse. (Since then I’ve realized about 20 other things I forgot, but oh well.) 

I got to the airport by 3pm and went to check in for my 6:15pm flight. The very tiny and sweet Japanese girl (she looked like she was 18 but was probably 35) informed me that the flight to Dallas was oversold. She offered another route through Chicago that would put me in Atlanta 2 hours later than I had planned on. She also offered me an upgrade to business class if I would accept. Now, let me tell you- if you have ever flown on a plane for longer than 4 hours you know how bad flying in coach sucks. As she weighed my bags (the largest one was 22.9kg’s—23 is the limit… awesome!) and scanned my passport she seemed surprised when I volunteered to fly through Chicago if they would put me in business class. Why she would be confused was beyond me. I was psyched.

I did a lap around the Narita airport, went through security and found a restaurant where I ordered katsu curry. Yum. Perfect send off from Japan. I ordered a beer from an imitation Starbucks and took it to my gate. As I went to my gate I bumped into a very tall lady with short blond hair and a business suit. We both apologized and I sat down, only to find her sitting a few chairs away. We smiled politely. Later I went to the bathroom. She was behind me in line. After the bathroom I hit a vending machine to get a bottle of water. She was behind me there. She promised she wasn’t stalking me. She seemed friendly enough so I decided to not be scared.

I boarded the plane when they called business class. I was surrounded my middle-aged white guys in business suits. They all had shoulder bags. I guess briefcases are a thing of the past. As many of them made small talk with me in line, I realized I was the only woman. I wished I had on a business suit too and silently pretended I was a very important businesswoman (I couldn’t decide on a business) who had just been in Tokyo for the week at a business conference. Far from my real life as a military wife who nannies one day a week and teaches English 3.5 hours a week. I was glad no one ever asked me what kind of business I was in. They could probably tell by my Old Navy jacket, Target t-shirt and really dirty Sperry’s I was not on a business trip.

I got to my seat. It was in the middle of two white business men who greeted me warmly. One helped me put my orange/gray backpack in the overhead compartment while the other showed me how to work my chair. I tried to not act like I had never flown in business class but I was SO excited! The chair was HUGE. The overweight gentleman (now referred to as right businessman) had enough leg room that his legs were stretched all the way out. I put my purse in the compartment in front of me, (not even a chair in front of me.) I couldn’t even reach my purse from my chair without taking off my seatbelt and getting out of my seat. I had a remote for my TV, slippers, a toiletry kit, a full sized pillow, and a really warm quilted blanket (no fleece in business class!). I felt like royalty as the flight attendant offered me champagne. I accepted it, by the way.

I tried to turn my TV on and businessman on the left showed me how to work the remote (channels, volumes, how to call the flight attendant—he also must have mistaken me for an 80 year old lady that couldn’t work a remote. I am 24, but did appreciate the offer.) The two gentlemen exchanged some chatter and one complained they hadn’t brought by headsets yet. (Mind you, the coach passengers hadn’t even finished boarding yet and I was 2 champagnes in) Businessman on the right explained to me they would bring around headsets soon. I said, “Oh, I have my own” and got out my white headphones that came with my iPod. He said, “Oh, I guess you could use those if they’re nice enough.” I wanted to retort, “These are made by Apple. I have an iPhone. I am cool.” Instead I politely said “well, they work.” 15 minutes later when the flight attendant brought around BOSE noise cancelling headsets I felt kind of dumb and threw my very uncool Apple headphones in my purse. I missed. That’s how much room is down there.

Before takeoff the flight attendant brought around menus for us to choose our meals. Here is what a business class menu looks like:

To Start: Warm mixed nuts

Appetizer: A selection of sushi

Salad: Fresh seasonal greens offered with pickled ginger vinaigrette or premium extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Bread Basket: Assorted gourmet breads

Main course:

Roasted Chicken Provencal—Roast breast of chicken accented by Provencal sauce, asparagus and chateau carrots, served with saffron couscous.

Beef Fillet with Madeira Sauce—Grilled tenderloin of beef in a Madeira sauce, accompanied by seasonal vegetables and roasted new potatoes.

Black Cod Miso Yaki—Miso marinated black cod served with teriyaki sauce, assorted sautéed vegetables and steamed rice.

Shrimp Noodle Bowl—shrimp with oyster sauce, sautéed peppers, shiitake mushrooms and bok choy served over noodles.

Dine Upon Request—You may choose one of the featured entrees to be served with an appetizer and dessert, presented all at one, at any time you wish.

Steamed rice is available upon request.

Dessert: Ice Cream—Vanilla ice cream accompanied by raspberry sauce and crumble topping.

Now that you’re all nice and hungry I’ll stop copying the menu and just tell you this went on explaining snacks, a large mid-flight snack (I had a large chicken sandwich) and a Light Meal prior to landing (I had Teriyaki Chicken)

It was wonderful.

I watched “The Vow” and “Bad Teacher”, read some of my newly downloaded and hysterical Tina Fey biography “Bossypants” (literally laughing out loud on an airplane kind of funny… don’t worry, everyone had on BOSE headsets, no one could hear me laugh) I also napped solidly for about 6 hours. Ever done that on a plane? No? That’s because your chair probably didn’t recline completely flat and you weren’t given an eye cover, noise cancelling headphones (that really do work) a pillow, blanket and slippers to make you feel comfy and cozy.

I’m sorry; I must sound like a snob. That one flight was all it took to turn me into a (hopefully) temporary snob. I do apologize for my raving. I was impressed though. I’m pretty sure I’ll pout and complain and be SO unhappy when I fly in my rightful place in coach on the way back to Tokyo in a few weeks. But for now, I choose to relish in my happiness. J

I landed in Chicago to find tall blond lady behind me in the line at the bathroom. She followed me through customs. At baggage claim she says “I assume you’ll be sitting next to me on my connecting flight to Atlanta too?” Turns out we didn’t sit next to each other but we were on the same flight. It was pretty funny she was everywhere. And no, she never did try to kill me.

I went to the USO to get some free Wi-Fi and call Sprint and get my phone set up. One hour later it was working. I hung out there about 2 more hours reading and playing with my

I got to my gate just in time for boarding and they included “military members and their families” in their first class call so I took advantage of that and boarded, just to be turned away by the flight attendant due to maintenance issues. (No, I didn’t get business/first class on this flight). I went back out to the gate for about 15 minutes and they re-boarded those of us who had already scanned through with our boarding pass. I got in my seat and buckled in and then realized no one else besides us original 10 people was on the plane and on came some maintenance men. They spent about 40 minutes on the plan fixing something with the lighting (I told them we could use our cellphone to illuminate the exit path should we need it—that didn’t seem to suffice). As we waited we all chit-chatted as Jose, the very lovely flight attendant offered us all wine and beer as we waited. I was SO glad I wasn’t sitting out at the gate NOT getting free booze.

One guy had just separated from the Army and this was his flight from Tokyo home to permanently live in Georgia with his family. His plan was to use his GI Bill to get an education and move back to Japan as soon as he found a job there. I was excited for him to start his new life. We found common ground in Japan, and both of us had nothing but good things to say about it.

Every once in a while I’ll cross paths with someone who hates/hated Japan. Those are the people who never leave/left the base. Those people are sad and I feel so disappointed for them.

We eventually landed in Atlanta and my little brother came and picked me up from baggage claim. I was SO happy to see him. It’s been a year and I’ve missed him dearly. He brought me to my sister’s house and I was so happy to be in the presence of my brother and sister. Living on the other side of the world is hard, and I miss them every single day. I am elated to spend a few weeks with them and celebrate my sister and her fiancé Brent.

Three Cheers for family “Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!” Ok. I’ll stop now.

Snowfest 2012

In February George and I flew north to the island of Hokkaido with 7 other friends. It was a blast. I'm a slacker and haven't quite kept up with this blog lately, so here's more of a visual blog than a written blog for me to chronicle this trip!

We stayed in Niseko and skied for a few days. It was a blast. I particularly loved the 'beer tent' at the bottom of the slope with happy hour and the hot onsen in the hotel. The only pictures I have from that part of the trip is when we met about a dozen preteen/teenage girls with a ski school who were obsessed with us westerners. I think we were truly the first white people they had ever seen in real person. They were very impressed by my blond hair and the hot white guys which brought them to insist we take pictures with them in the hotel lobby. I don't hate feeling like a celebrity. 

 Here's a pic of my good friend Natalie and I on the ski lift. We liked those beginner courses while everyone else rocked the steep and scary slopes. 

After about 3 days of skiing and enjoying ourselves there we headed down to Sapporo. Well... Kate and I headed out and the others stayed behind for one more afternoon of skiing. We chose to hop a train to the sweet and precious little town of Otaru. We were there in time to do some walking around and shopping. It also is famous for their lantern festival where they light candles and string them across the canal. It was like being in an Asian Venice. We debated holding hands a few times just because it was so romantic. :) (Thanks for the romance Kate-o!) 

It was also freezing. Literally!

The next few days we spent wandering around the Snow Fest. It was very impressive. People from all over the world come and enter their snow and ice sculptures. They are incredible. Seriously!

I think this one was done by Thailand. (?)

 Maybe from China? I used to know. Sorry. 

I really shouldn't wait 3.5 months to blog. 

I forget way too much!

 They even had carved out a slide that children could climb up the stairs to and slide back down. Sounds fun, right? 

 Yeah, that's what our friends Brad and T-dub thought too. Check 'em out! 

T-dub, Will and I also got roped into a (non-televised) Japanese game show! Luckily it wasn't Chris Farley/Mike Myers SNL style. We did not die. We actually received small cartons of milk as a door prize. Our team lost because it turns out the directions were in Japanese and 3 of the 5 team members (that's us) didn't speak much of the language. 

While the rest of us got hot mulled wine or hot chocolate my crazy husband opted for an ice cream cone. Weirdo. 

 We also visited a fish market. We (met and then) ate a crab. He was delicious. He did not have a name. 

We also ate the most delicious (and expensive) sushi I've ever had in my whole entire life!

 Nom. Nom. Nom.

 The big highlight of the trip was our all you can eat and drink for 3 hours dinner. I'm sure I gained 5 pounds in that dinner alone! 

 The Sapporo Beer Factory

 Beer Tasting!

 Oh my word that food was good!

 Inside joke. Love ya KB! 

 I insisted on getting grips to wear on the bottom of my feet for the trip so I wouldn't slip and bust my behind on this trip. George thought it was silly. Wanna know how many times I fell? Zero. Wanna know how many times George fell? I lost count. But here's an example. :)  

 The day we left we split up and the guys took off to see a BMX or motorcycle show or something equally manly us chicks took off the to the chocolate factory. None of us fell into a chocolate river (unfortunately) but we did have some fantastic fondue. 

For lunch on the last day we hit up Ramen Alley (for the second time) and ate at a restaurant endorsed by Anthony Bourdain and his crew. There ain't nothin' like a hot bowl of ramen to warm you up on a freezing winter day! 

One last pic of us at the entrance to Ramen Alley.

50 Things I love about Japan

CNN recently released this article: http://www.cnngo.com/tokyo/visit/best-japan/worlds-greatest-city-50-reasons-why-tokyo-no-1-903662


50 Reasons Why Tokyo is the World's Greatest City.


There's a ton on there I haven't done and a handful I had never heard of, but are now on my list of things to do. SO. I thought I should create my own list of why I love Tokyo/Japan so much. It took me about 30 seconds. Here it is... in no particular order:

1. Trains. They're fast and funny and you can almost always catch someone sleeping with their mouth wide open.
2. Sumo. Awesome.
3. Sushi. Best around.
4. People trying to speak English. I have to love and appreciate the efforts made by all.
5. Engrish. I have to love and appreciate the written efforts made by all.
6. Ramen. Not the same thing as the $0.18 packs you used to eat in college. 100 X's better.
7. Gyoza. Heavenly little dumplings. I once told my young English students that this was my favorite Japanese food which erupted in giggles. "Gyoza is Chinese silly!" (Who knew?)
8. Sake. Yum-o.
9. Karaoke. SO MUCH FUN. You even get tambourines and maracas. Who can have a bad time when you have those in your hands?
10. Anime Maid Cafe's. Seriously. They wear maid outfits and serve you expensive coffee and desserts, while you watch other patrons record their voices as popular anime characters. 
11. The Parrots. It's a Japanese Beatles Cover band; and one of my favorite things about Japan.
12. Yokota. Home sweet home. :)
13. Mt. Fuji. It actually turns me on sometimes. 
14. Cherry Blossoms. I've never even seen them bloomed here in real life but I know they're beautiful.
15. Plum Blossoms. Hot pink flowers on a tree? Pretty!
16. Shrines. You have to wash your hands first. It's a whole experience. Real cool.
17. Bells you can ring at shrines. Say a prayer. Ring a bell. I still don't fully understand... but I like it.
18. Chu-hi's. Cocktails in a can. Genius.
19. Ordering the wrong thing off a menu but still getting something delicious. It happens.
20. Bikes. Everyone has one. And they have bells and small children on them.
21. Walking. It doesn't sound stupid anymore.
22. Taxis. They'll get ya where ya need to go.
23. No Tipping. 
24. Lights. The city is bright. And I like it!
25. Cement. Everywhere. But it's beautiful.
26. Skiing. Incredible snow here!
27. Beaches. Not quite the same as the beaches in Florida but awesome in their own way.
28. The sun protection. Everyone wears sun screen, arm protectors, floppy hats, sun glasses. Long pants and sleeves. Year round. Even when it's balls hot outside.
29. The beauty products. I love going to onsens and trying new things out. My beauty regimen now contains a collagen lotion, and a blemish balm. Can't even read the directions. But I'm addicted!
30. 500 piece yen coins. It's powerful.  
31. Kebabs! Nothing better late at night on the streets of Tokyo!
32. Melon Soda. Super popular and super delicious.
33. Hello Kitty. She's everywhere.
34. Dancing Elvis' in Yoyogi Park. Hysterical. 
35. Giant snow fall. I hate snow. But love love love the prettiest and biggest snowflakes you've ever seen!
36. Department stores. I love to wander them and see new Japanese inventions.
37. Tatami mats. Take off your shoes. Sleep on the floor. It's an experience.
38. Kimonos. I'll never tire of seeing people wear them.
39. Yukatas. You can wear them around the hotel. You feel very cultured in one.
40. Onsens. Heavenly little nude bath houses. Weird the first time. Then just fun.
41. Vending machines. Everyone. With hot drinks, cold drinks, underwear, cigarettes and porn.
42. Bean Throwing Festivals. The first day of spring prominent men and women of towns throw beans and oranges at the crowds at shrine's. If you catch them, you will have a lucky year. I caught beans. Cheyenne ate them. Hope she enjoys her luck.
43. Mochi. Rice steamed and beaten into a pasty doughy substance thing. 
44. Bean Paste. It's an acquired taste, but it's basically red (kidney?) beans mushed up and you add sugar and then stick inside mochi... or other things. It grows on me each time I eat it!
45. Strawberries. The biggest and most delicious you've ever seen!
46. 100 Yen Stores. The most fun way to waste your money on crap you don't really need in Japan!
47. Heated Toilets. Need I say more? 
48. Apple tea. Delicious!
49. Rest stops. The neatest you've ever seen. Complete with those heated toilet seats, shops, food courts and hot dog stands. They're pretty cool!
50. The people. The friendliest, most polite and some of the warmest. My favorite thing about Japan. 

Sayonara,

Chelsea 

florence + the machine = awesome

Good grief.
Have you ever heard of Florence + the machine? (pronounced Florence AND the machine... I think) :-/
Well... if you haven't... you need to go Google stalk Florence and her machine and fall in love immediately.

A few weeks ago my dear friend (and social coordinator) Kate posted on facebook that they were coming to Tokyo and who wanted to go?

Now, 6000Yen is a lot of money to spend on a concert ticket for a band you only know one song by but I remember watching them on TV at some awards show, and was mesmerized then so I thought- "Hey! Why not?" Plus I figured it would be something fun to do on a Wednesday night and George was scheduled to be potentially still TDY so I signed myself on up. Of course George wound up making it home on time (somewhat of a rarity) so we tried to get him a ticket too the day of the concert but it just didn't work out and it was sold out. Oh well! He had a guys night while I went out with the girls. Sometimes that's fun too. :) (duh.)

SO. My friend Melissa and I had to work (hey, 2 hours every Wednesday counts as far as I'm concerned) so we couldn't catch the same train as the others but we made it down there in good time-- only getting slightly lost once. Those trains are still a tad intimidating when you're in a rush!

The concert was in a cute and trendy venue in Akasaka, the Blitz. It had 3 floors and our tickets were on the 1st floor, which meant standing room only. I am a horrible estimator at numbers of people, unless you count my slight OCD with actually counting people in a room, but I couldn't estimate how many people were in this theater. Melissa and I figured in a giant crowd of Japanese it wouldn't be hard to find our very American group of friends. There's only so many gaijin (foreigners) in Tokyo- how hard could it be... right? Wrong. The majority of the people were white and you could hear the British and Australian accents. Not sure I heard other Americans but Melissa and I had a harder time finding our friends than we had planned on. There were still a good chunk of Japanese of course, but it was the most gaijin I've seen in one place besides the base!

Anywho, it didn't matter how many or what kind of people were there because once that girl got on the stage there was little else you were concerned with besides being sucked into the glory of this woman's voice. Like I said earlier. Good grief.

The title of their first album is Lungs. And it ain't a joke.

She took the stage and just started belting it. I've never heard anything like it and don't know why I was so mesmerized but she was just a good performer. Her hands were the most unnatural but beautiful thing and when she sang it was as if she was telling a story with them and it was the only way she could get her point across. She even orchestrated the band and they seemed so well rehearsed. Anywho- awesome.

I got a big kick out of watching the difference in how the Japanese behaved at this concert and how the rest of us did. When George told me the tickets were sold out I was bummed that he couldn't come but also that we'd probably be pretty smushed. There was still that sense of personal space and plenty of room to sway back and forth.

At one point in the concert she got the crowd going and wanted us to jump up and down with her. I love to 'hop' when I dance so this worked out perfectly for me, but the Japanese people were slightly bouncing, not really sure what to do with themselves while the Brits, Aussies and 'Mericans jumped until our hearts were content!

And then the lights lowered and she just sang and sang and the people were silent. SILENT. I've never seen anything like it. I got chills. Mmmmm.

My point is-- Florence can sang. Not sing. SANG. I don't think she missed one note the entire night. And her back up singer (introduced only as Sam) had one hell of a voice.

Sometimes when I sing karaoke or in my car, I think to myself-- hmmm... I could do this whole singing thing. I could make it to Hollywood on AI. And then you hear Florence and you're like... "Oh yeah wait. Nope. I suck."

Just sayin' folks- keep your eyes on Miss Florence Welch. She's gonna be a star!

Moo... er-- "buh"

I love Japan. Have I ever mentioned that? Cause I do.

There is a struggle many military spouses, particularly overseas, face--and it has to do with finding a job and a full purpose in life. Don't worry, I'm not going to get all woe is me philosophical on ya; I'm just saying, it is a struggle many of us face. When we first got here I was still finishing my undergrad degree so I was busy. But now I'm done with that (HOORAY!) but there is a lull that I'm facing trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. So... in the mean time, I'm teaching English. And it's really really fun. I love it. I teach about 3 days a week for a couple of hours here and there and it keeps me busy and it gives me a chance to get off base and really get to know the Japanese people and their language and culture. It's an experience I am really thankful to have.

Something interesting I learned today I thought I'd share:
The past couple of weeks the subject of onomatopoeia's kept coming up so I finally created a lesson on American noises. This was a really funny lesson to me. I find it truly fascinating how in English a cow "says" moo but in Japanese a cow "says" buh. We all hear the same noises, no matter the language, but apparently we imitate them all differently. Not a single animal sound we went over was the same. Ducks don't quack, cats don't meow and birds don't chirp. Who knew?
 Microwaves in Japan apparently say "ching" and in English they say "beep." Other things beep too, like a car horn, but there are so many other words for a beep--ring, chime, ding etc. but I learned today that any appliance that beeps actually chings, including the apparently super button you push to fill your bathtubs in their Japanese houses and when it's full it lets you know by chinging. Awesome. Times like that- I regret having to live in an American style home on base, sometimes I'd prefer to have the awesome bathtub and super fantastic space toilet that plays music, makes flushing noises and warms your behind. But I do love my American washer and dryer, oven, stove, dishwasher and fridge. Most Japanese kitchen appliances are much smaller than our normal standard. So I guess I'm thankful.

That is all. :)
Chelsea