December 18, 2005
Dinner and Karaoke
Last night, I went out with some of our counterparts in the Japan Ground Self Defense Force. It was purely a social function, not official in any way and was a great time. My friend Toshi set it up, and...Read this update
Posted by djf at 04:02 PM |
Read Comments (0)
Tsukiji Fish Market
As mentioned, here are a few pictures from the trip to the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo...Seeing all those different kind of fish was fascinating and in a certain way, horrifying. Sometimes it's better to not know what you may...Read this update
Posted by djf at 02:36 PM |
Read Comments (0)
December 11, 2005
Still here...
It's been a while, sorry. Work has been really busy, and I've had the opportunity to do some travelling on the weekends, so it's been hard to get to the blog. A long overdue post chronicling the past month is...Read this update
Posted by djf at 06:24 AM |
Read Comments (0)
November 14, 2005
China from China?
The day that I went surfing with Ray, I was poking around on the beach and found a broken piece of china. It looked fairly old, but I don't know anything about this type stuff. Still, it was interesting to...Read this update
Posted by djf at 03:06 PM |
Read Comments (0)
Long Weekend
We had a long weekend this weekend, due to the Veteran's Day holiday. Have you hugged your Vet today? Really didn't do too much...sort of lounged around the house and did some tidying up. I did go out for...Read this update
Posted by djf at 05:37 AM |
Read Comments (0)
November 06, 2005
1500 Arahats
While on the Nokogiri hike, on the back side of the mountain is a stretch of trail that is called, 1500 Arahats...1500 small statues of men who attained enlightenment. Please don't confuse this with the 1500 Arafats, which is totally...Read this update
Posted by djf at 03:16 PM |
Read Comments (0)
Mt. Nokogiri Pictures
As promised, here are some of the pictures I took yesterday. It was an overall fun day, a bit of an early start for a weekend, but the Krispy Kreme donuts that my interepreter brought back from the USA, even...Read this update
Posted by djf at 02:57 PM |
Read Comments (0)
November 03, 2005
Protests
A few weeks ago, my Interpreter dropped me off at the train station (it was raining), and on the way out the gate, we saw these folks protesting. I think they were protesting the general presence of the US in...Read this update
Posted by djf at 11:29 AM |
Read Comments (1)
November 02, 2005
Update
I know, I know…you’re saying, “it’s about time!” It’s been too long since I’ve posted, and I apologize. It’s been busy with work and getting Melody ready to head out to sea. She left a week ago Monday, and will...Read this update
Posted by djf at 10:10 AM |
Read Comments (0)
October 10, 2005
Home again, home again...
I'm finally back from about 2 weeks of traveling. While it was work, it was pretty fun, and there were some good opportunities to see some different parts of Japan. I've already elaborated a little on the Morioka trip,...Read this update
Posted by djf at 06:51 PM |
Read Comments (0)
October 08, 2005
Strange things as seen through the eye of my phone's camera
While traveling around on work, it's difficult to lug around my crew-served camera with lenses, and all, so much of the time, I just use the handy-dandy camera on my super phone. We've got perhaps the coolest phones in the...Read this update
Posted by djf at 07:54 AM |
Read Comments (1)
September 24, 2005
Update and Pictures
It's been a pretty busy few weeks..we're getting ready for our busy exercise season, so there is a lot of coordination going on in preparation for that. Additionally, last week I was in the Combined Humanitarian Assistance Response Training...Read this update
Posted by djf at 06:09 AM |
Read Comments (0)
September 18, 2005
Surf's up...but I'm not.
While Melody had duty today, our friend Ray and I attempted to learn how to surf. We borrowed two boards, and headed to Kamakura's beach. The sun was out, and the waves were quite forgiving...actually, almost too small. Here's how...Read this update
Posted by djf at 05:04 PM |
Read Comments (0)
August 27, 2005
After School Sumo
One day after work, I was stopped at a light on the way home. While sitting there, I looked to the left, and saw this......Read this update
Posted by djf at 07:43 AM |
Read Comments (1)
August 26, 2005
It Came, It Blew, It Went Away...All Clear, All is Shipshape
Well, after all the hype and preparation, the typhoon blew onshore last night. It looks like it passed pretty much right over the house, and was pretty wet and windy. I went to bed around 10:30 PM or so, and...Read this update
Posted by djf at 04:07 AM |
Read Comments (0)
August 25, 2005
Typhoon...
We have Typhoon Mawar approaching. It doesn't look quite as bad as some of the hurricanes that swept through FL last year, but it was serious enough to warrant Melody's ship (and most of the others) to head back out...Read this update
Posted by djf at 02:58 AM |
Read Comments (0)
August 22, 2005
She's BAAACK!!
Finally, after 90 days, Melody has returned. The Kat came back Saturday afternoon, and it was a great thing to see it slowly being tugged in to pierside. She wasn't on the rails initially, so it was a little...Read this update
Posted by djf at 02:51 AM |
Read Comments (0)
August 14, 2005
High and Dry
On my way home from work one night last week, I passed this boat stranded on the beach. Not sure how it got there, but as I drove by, another, larger boat was attempting to yank it off the...Read this update
Posted by djf at 11:48 AM |
Read Comments (0)
June 23, 2005
Oh the sacrifices we make for freedom!
This time tomorrow, I'll be somewhere over the Pacific, enroute to Dallas. I'll be attending a conference in San Antonio next week, so I'll actually be in the US for a change. I'll get to see Melody's parents this weekend,...Read this update
Posted by djf at 06:47 PM |
Read Comments (0)
June 13, 2005
Gojira!!
"Oh No! There goes Tokyo! Go, Go Godzilla!" (A great old song by Blue Oyster Cult) Sure enough, right where Eric Trinidad said it was, I found the Godzilla statue. It was also, as he indicated, disappointingly small. If you...Read this update
Posted by djf at 03:47 PM |
Read Comments (0)
May 28, 2005
We're Off to See Godzilla!
Well, on a whim yesterday, I called the New Sanno to see if there were vacancies for last night, and upon securing a room, hopped on the train to Tokyo. I just killed last night watching TV (History Channel, Discovery...Read this update
Posted by djf at 05:16 AM |
Read Comments (0)
May 21, 2005
Update and More Pictures
Not much to report this week, except the purchase of a new (to us) car. It's a '95 Toyota Caldina station wagon that we bought from a friend on Melody's boat. At 2$K, it was a pretty good deal. It's...Read this update
Posted by djf at 05:57 AM |
Read Comments (1)
May 14, 2005
Visit to Odawara Castle
Last Thursday, we had a field trip as part of our "Headstart" class. Headstart is a week long Japanese Language and Culture class that is designed to get one familiar to some of the peculiarities of living in Japan. It...Read this update
Posted by djf at 11:53 AM |
Read Comments (0)
Some pictures
Well, I've been here just about a month, and it's starting to feel like home. You know how it is when you move...it takes a little while for the new place to feel like it's someplace you belong, and...Read this update
Posted by djf at 10:44 AM |
Read Comments (1)
May 01, 2005
Geocacheing
Well, I did something different today...Melody had to work, and we went to Mass last night up at Atsugi Naval Base. That was an adventure in itself, driving around for about 3 hours to get up there. Traffic here stinks...what's...Read this update
Posted by djf at 06:33 PM |
Read Comments (0)
April 24, 2005
They let women DRIVE here!
After living in Saudi Arabia for a year, it still strikes me as odd to see women driving, though I'm starting to notice it less. Still, I found an interesting article by an expat about the possibilities of women driving...Read this update
Posted by djf at 02:57 PM |
Read Comments (0)
Cool things here in Japan
One of the coolest things here in Japan has to be the variation one finds in toilets. You have the squatter types (usually in train stations), but you also have high tech toilets with heaters, washers, and blowers. We have...Read this update
Posted by djf at 02:45 PM |
Read Comments (0)
Adventures in Sushi
On Thursday morning, our rental agent called, and asked me to give Sai, our landlord, a call. We're going to get a second car, so I can make the commute up to Zama (eventually, after I get a licence), but...Read this update
Posted by djf at 02:04 PM |
Read Comments (0)
April 20, 2005
Adjusting to Life in Japan
Life in Japan is quite a bit different than in Saudi Arabia, but I'm adjusting...being back in the same house with Melody is obviously the best part. We've been pretty busy over the past few days. Went to Mass on...Read this update
Posted by djf at 04:41 AM |
Read Comments (1)
April 17, 2005
Konnichiwa!
OK...I've now been in Japan for just over 24 hours and have had my first earthquake. It happened about 8:07 PM this evening, when we heard the house creak for about 2 seconds...Nothing too big, but right around our general...Read this update
Posted by djf at 05:05 PM |
Read Comments (0)