New photos from Feb 3 Day Trip North

We finally got around to getting copies of the photos that we took with our friends camera on our Feb 3 day trip up north. So we've edited & posted them finally:

Okinawa - Day Trip North

There are over 150 right now, so browse at your leisure but there are some gorgeous views & interesting stuff in there! Enjoy! Josh

Sleeping does not come easily 'round here...

So our shipment (containing all of our household possessions that we couldn't quite squeeze into our 4 suitcases & 4 carry-ons) is delayed. It was originally supposed to arrive in port here in Okinawa on Feb 21st & then Feb 26th & now March 5th. Hopefully that's the end of the delays. If that is the case, we can hope to have it delivered to us (after clearing customs) around March 9th. We are SO READY for that event!! ;-) And one of the main reasons is our sleeping experience in our apartment. We have been borrowing a very air-tight queen-sized air mattress from a gracious coworker of Betsy's. And while it was fine for a week or so, Josh's lower back (bearing a few more pounds than Betsy's) is really starting to be unable to handle it. So we made it a goal today to purchase an alternative, something firm & inexpensive & that we will be probable to use again. We went to several recommended stores, on & off the bases, 2nd-hand & new, considering western futons (sofa by day, bed by night) & Japanese shiki futons (sleeping mats). At our last stop before giving up, we found a small western futon in cream-colored leather. It is light (wood frame) & low to the ground, so it will easily fit in our spare bedrooms. And it was cheap! Only 10,000 yen (about $85) which was a huge selling point. Unfortunately this is partially because it is small, about the width of a single mattress & only 6 feet long (so only Josh's heels hang over). Well, we were bound & determined to have it ASAP for Josh to sleep on, so we insisted on taking it right away in our little mini-SUV Daihatsu Terios. As proven by the last several photos in this album, it fit!

Okinawa - Out & About

The store loaders allowed us to make fools of ourselves, wedging Betsy in behind the wheel with her seat back reclined so the futon could come inside as far as possible. The rear door wouldn't quite shut (oh, yeah, and it was drizzling) so they used discarded plastic box straps to tie the door shut using the rear window wiper fixture. Josh wedged himself in on the passenger side between the window & futon. And the 10 kilometer drive was made in only medium traffic. After we arrived home, Josh dashed up the stairs to get the camera to show everyone how functional (debatably) at least one of ours cars has proved to be! ;-) Thankfully our apartment building is right up against a store that sells bedding (among many other things) & was having a 15% storewide sale. So we didn't have to go far to purchase a cover & blanket to go with our cheap futon! Now let's just hope it actually helps Josh's back begin to recover!

Mmmm... Gyoza!!

So after purchasing an 85-cent pan (have we told you all how much we ADORE the 100-yen stores on this island?) that has a face approximately the size of a fried egg, we were inspired to cook something Asian. So we started with some easy that was mostly prepared for us - Gyoza!! Beginning with the photo below & going through the next several in our Food album, the story is told pretty accurately: Basically, they came out pretty good (despite our having to guess as to the directions based on the few basic hand-drawn pictures). We only scrambled a couple of them! And we ate every last one along with some grocery store sushi. YUM!!

Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

Just to prove to everyone that indeed we are getting scuba certified, here are some photos that our instructor sent from our pool dives this past week:

Okinawa - Scuba!

Aren't we good-looking in the gear? ;-) This weekend we're hitting the ocean to finish up the certification course. Today we did 2 dives to about 40 feet around a reef that was just off the seawall about 2 stones throws from our apartment. (Should we stop rubbing in how great our ocean access is? Nah, ok, I didn't think so. Just checking!) It was fun stuff. The water a little choppy but decent. That is, according to our instructor & her assistants who are the experts - we sure wouldn't know! ;-) Everything went well. We continued to get more & more comfortable understanding the gear & our body's buoyancy when it's attached to a tank & miscellaneous hoses & a vest with 30+ lbs of weight in it, surrounded by the ocean! Tomorrow, we do 2 more dives & then we'll be ready to just have some fun instead of worrying about obeying our instructor. ;-) Come visit! Josh (& Betsy)

We live in a MANSION!!

Okinawa - Our new home, Yuri Mansion!

I think I'm liking this Okinawan thing to call a condo complex a "mansion". I mean, I guess if you look at the whole building, then, yeah, it is about the size of a mansion. But unfortunately, we don't occupy the entirety of Yuri Mansion. We only occupy apartment 301 (3rd floor, 1st apartment of 2). There are 6 floors (the ground being parking) so that means 10 total apartments. So the math means we currently have a tenth of a mansion at our disposal! ;-) I know, I know, you'd be excited too, right? Mainly we're just so darn glad to be out of the hotel & off-base. We're finally LIVING in Japan & not just driving thru every so often, maybe stopping for dinner. ;-) It's going to be fantasmic. Too bad the first day is quite a rainy day indeed! It could be worse. It's just some water. At least it's fresh! So you've probably deduced that today we officially "moved" in, which only really means that we set down our 4 suitcases & 2 carry-ons, all crammed with personal items along with some plastic bags of other things we've accumulated in our less than a month here. Also, Josh got to rush there at 11am, when the furniture store delivered our brand-new Whirlpool appliances. Yeah, we chickened out of using Japanese appliances (they're not just different, they're also MUCH smaller in capacity). So we bought them on-base (for our landlord), so we could actually fit enough dirty clothes & food in them to be comfortable. ;-) Immediately after the movers set the appliances down & took their modest delivery fee, Josh rushed back to pick up Betsy from one school so she could head to another (that's her job, going from school to school, therapizing the kids). That's correct. The Supra is still not back in our lives yet, 6 days after we left it at Camp Kinser (southernmost base on the island, about 16 miles south, top speed being 37 MPH). So therefore, Betsy dropped Josh off at his bike, chained up on Camp Foster by the bus stop (where he last abandoned it), and Josh rode the mostly downhill couple of miles to Yuri Mansion, where he got to hang out from about 12:20pm until 3pm. One of 2 servicemen showed up in that timeframe, so we have a working home phone now: (098) 936-5255 **Email me if you need details on how to call Japan from the US. For lunch, Josh dashed across the street to Italiano & ordered one of the more Japanese takes on Italian cuisine that he saw on their menu, a 10-inch pizza with squid (both rings & tentacled pieces)& seaweed on what was claimed to be a mayonnaise sauce (but which Josh suspects may have just been a fairly normal white sauce). He didn't save any for Betsy, but he did take photos:

From Okinawa - FOO...

He washed it down with some Pocari Sweat, which he'd been eyeing for a while:

From Okinawa - FOO...

Turns out, it's basically an energy drink that replenishes the body after heavy perspiration, hence the "sweat" portion of the name. The English portion of the description on the can was quite humorous:

From Okinawa - FOO...

We're loving the odd-sounding Japanese-to-English translations. I mean, the words make sense when you think about them for a minute, but just don't sound quite right. ;-) After enjoying the rain from our balcony, Josh set about assembling the inner components of our brand-new refrigerator & beginning on the washing machine (fighting with the hot water spicket - he has a blister to prove that). Betsy arrived around 2:30pm on a break from her day. She sampled some canned tuna on crackers (since Josh didn't save any of his funky pizza - that really needs to be rubbed in good) & after giving up on the gas guy (no hot water for us!), off we flew to drop Betsy off at her office. We're not sure if our scuba class for this evening is still happening with the rainy weather. We're supposed to be in the pool. I guess we'll find out tonight! Keep in touch, y'all!! Betsy & Josh

So I decided to buy a bike

Konnichiwa!! This is Josh finally writing something for all you lovely folks to read. Since this little anecdote is all mine, Betsy said I should author the post. Ok, so here goes... I'd been noticing a troubling little problem with the Supra we purchased from some very nice people. The former owner rarely drove it very far, usually staying on base, about a mile or 2 here & there. So I'm guessing he didn't notice what I did, in my adventures around base. Basically, whenever I'd go more than maybe 5 or 6 miles in it, the front right wheel/brakes would start making noises. And they'd be scalding hot. So I finally figured out a good place to take it, Typhoon Motors on Camp Kinser, a Marine base several miles south of our usual haunts. Sure enough, by the time I drove it down to them that wheel was blazing hot. After burning himself, the mechanic that helped me got a brake expert to confirm that the symptoms sounded like locked brake calipers that'd need rebuilding. Ok, so that was cool with me. I just wanted it fixed before I hurt myself in the car! So I left it with them & got to figure out how to make it home. I wandered to the nearest bus stop where 2 young Marines in fatigues were waiting on the Green Line to come by. That is a free bus system that travels around & between the various Marine Bases on the island. Sure enough, only a few minutes later, the bus came by & the driver confirmed that he was headed north to Camp Foster (the direction I was heading). So I loaded up & got that far. I had a few errands I wanted to run there at Foster anyway (bank & post office mainly). So after doing that, I went back to the bus stop & studied the various descriptions of the lines available. Nowhere was one of the larger bases on the island, right in the middle of the rest of them, even so much as aluded to. Kadena is an Air Force base. The Marine buses don't frequent it. Come on, people!! I'm a civilian contractor's spouse. Work with me here!! I don't think they were interested. So I weighed my options: 1) Spend absolutely no money & walk (about 5 miles), 2) spend about $15 & take a cab, or 3) spend $93 for a cheap mountain bike (that I'd already been eyeing) & various accessories. I chose #3 since I'd been wanting a bike anyway & figured it'd come in handy for other things later. I had a plastic shopping bag with the various papers I needed (from my car & from the errands I'd run). I considered spending another $9 for a cheap backpack, but we already own SO MANY cheap backpacks (probably from whim situations just like this one). So I refused. I tucked the bag behind me under my shirt, partly beneath my belt so it couldn't fall out. And off I went in my brown leather slip-on shoes & gray polo-style shirt & dark green cargo pants. Due to heavy traffic & no other bicyclists on the roads I knew, I stuck mostly to sidewalks & parking lots. After leaving Camp Foster (where the streets are wider & less congested than the public streets of Okinawa), the ride started off nice & flat. Sure I was sweating a bit but I was surviving. About halfway, it became an uphill ride. And I started to sweat a lot more. I thought I was never going to arrive at the first gate that would let me on Kadena, but I did, somehow. I finally got home & pulled out my sweaty plastic sack of papers. Only the envelope of the outermost papers actually entertained any of my perspiration, so after it was discarded along with the bag, the rest seemed to have survived in tact & relatively dry. I'd like to say I was then able to vegetate. Unfortunately, I then had to bike to the nearby USO that housed the insurance office where we did our car registrations. They'd told me to come pick them up, so that's what I did. I was pleasantly surprised with some home-made tempura (various veggies & seafood types) that the office staff was unable to consume themselves & were offerring to customers. I scarfed too many of those pieces down before returning to the hotel. Betsy was thrilled to hear that her husband was so adventurous/physically able/completely foolish. She laughed when I told her the story & insisted that I share. What do you think? Did I make the same choice that all of you would have? ;-) - Josh

Okinawa International Orchid Show at Expo Park

Okinawa - Tour to Expo Park

We decided to try one of the tours that are offered by Kadena's "18th Services". We went with a group to the same area where we spent the previous day, 35 miles-ish north of where we live on the island. Our destination was Expo Park which is hosting the Okinawa International Orchid Show (a competition) this weekend. It was a VERY impressive park, mainly known for it's Churaimi Aquarium, which we did not have time to check out (you need a day just for it). After checking out the numerous orchids involved in the show, we toured the lush, gorgeous gardens. And then we ran over to the other side of the park, near the aquarium, for some free dolphin shows & sea turtle & manatee exhibits. Yes, even though we took WAY too many photos, we will definitely be coming back to this park!!

Escaping the Military Bases

Okinawa - Day Trip North

Hi Everyone! Life on Okinawa is getting better and better by the week! Josh is getting pretty good at driving off base and we are beginning to explore more and more. This week we have eaten at several interesting restaurants and visited new places: 1) A Japanese chain hamburger restaurant called "Mos Burger." We just pointed to a picture on the menu that we thought looked interesting and that's what we got. I picked a pita type bread with a tempura fried chicken breast topped with a crab/carrot/'some vegetable I don't know' salad. Josh picked a seafood salad served hot on a rice bun (rice formed into the shape of a bun and put on both sides of the salad). Both were really good! But small...as most Japanese portions are. So after that meal, we headed across the parking lot to check out a local grocery store. We were mainly looking to see what they carried, but found a selection of tempura vegetables and some "to-go" sushi boxes. Nothing was written in English, so we picked a few things we weren't sure about and along with some sushi. One of the items we later identified as Japanese eggplant which was fried with some kind of meat (unidentified). We also wanted to purchase soy sauce from the store, since the "to-go" sushi boxes don't come with nearly enough soy. Well, Okinawans cook with many things that look like soy sauce. We spent over 30 minutes examining every bottled filled with brown liquid trying to decide which one was soy. There were no letters on any of the bottles and none of the kanji (Japanese characters) looked similar to other bottles on the same shelves (so we could not even decide which bottles had the same liquid inside). We finally decided on a bottle with sashimi (raw fish) on the front thinking this might be the closest we will get to a clue. And hurray!! We successfully bought soy sauce! It would have been terrible to dip sushi in fish sauce!! Another night we ventured to: 2) An Okinawan curry house which is a local chain and popular with the Americans:

From Okinawa - FOO...

We actually heard about this restaurant from a friend in the States before getting here, so of course we had to check it out! It is fairly close to the base we are staying on, so I decided that I would drive us there. I got so disoriented inside the car that I became scared to change lanes. The driving problem (for me) is that you have to look up to the left to see your review mirror and not the right. And I just can't seem to find the other cars that are around me...so I get scared to change lanes. And that leads to yelling and not turning around! So we went several kilometers out of our way, but eventually found our way back to the curry house. We..ok, I...decided to turn around in what I thought was a driveway. However, there were walls on both sides and it was impossible to back out onto the road. So, I followed the road (which I thought was a driveway) into a neighborhood that seemed impossible to get out of. The road was only as wide as our car (which is fairly small) and I was not sure how we would get out of there. Eventually, Josh got out of the car and directed the 3-point turn (ok, the 21-point turn) and we successfully made it out of the neighborhood tube. So, onto the food of the curry house...it is similar to Indian curry, but tastes a little different. Josh got curry with cuttlefish and I got curry with shredded chicken and spinach...it was yummy. 3) Pizza in the Sky: Today we went on a day trip to the north with one of my coworkers & his wife. It was great. We got to see a lot of the coast & the lush vegetation. There are a lot of mountains/hills on this island. We went to a great Japanese pizza place (sat on the floor on mats, shoes off, all that stuff). There was only one choice for pizza and one choice for salad, so we got one of each. The pizza consisted of goat cheese, corn, sauce, a few green peppers and what looked like hot dog pieces. They consider corn (kernels mostly) to be a semi-delicacy here (not an everyday staple that they get tired of like we do) so they put it on things like pizza (you know, like it was artichoke hearts or something). So of course, there was corn on the salad too!

From Okinawa - FOO...

Anyway, the pizza and the salad both were amazing. The restaurant is on top of a hill overlooking the East China Sea and it was a gorgeous bay. Then we went to an antique/pottery place where I bought a pink kimono. They were all second-hand, but authentic (I paid around $3 for a silk kimono)! Josh just went to town snapping photos of everything. Then we went to an old fortress/castle, basically a series of stone walls that they're still excavating. It was up on another hill so plenty more photo ops. Oh, and the cherry blossoms are blooming (only happens this time of year) so we got several photos of them. Our camera's batteries died about halfway through the day, so the rest of our photos are on our friend's camera. We will hopefully get them in a few days on a CD or something. (Josh has already loaded the pictures we do have onto our Picasa site: http://picasaweb.google.com/joshmurphy ). We drove back (part of the way)along the water & man, did it make me want to get in. We saw a few people gearing up to go scuba diving & a couple of surfers (one had a funky paddle to keep himself going; that made me laugh). But not a lot of people since our highs are around 60 degrees right now (kind of chilly to be in the ocean). But when it warms up, the beaches are going to be awesome!! We have signed up for our scuba certification which is a week long class (a couple of hours each night). The class will start on Feb. 11, so we will be ready to scuba dive with you all when you come this summer! :) There are a lot of coral reefs close to the ocean surface, so snorkeling is great too! We are planning to go to an orchid exposition tomorrow, so the pictures from that and the trip north should be loaded in the next couple of days. So, I could write a lot more, but I am sure you have had enough! Hope each of you are doing well! Miss you all, Betsy (& Josh)