Mom's Visit to Japan - Tokyo Explorer

In October, my mom came to visit me in Japan!!! She was sorry that my dad and brother couldn't make it out, and that we couldn't make the timing work so she could see James. But it gave me something to look forward to during James' deployment.

My mom was scheduled to arrive on Saturday night. I left early on Saturday morning, and took the train to Tokyo. I made sure I could figure out how to get to our hotel on the subway from Tokyo Station, then spent the afternoon visiting a couple favorite spots and window shopping in Ginza (the upscale fashion district in Tokyo). Then when the time came, I took a train out to the airport to welcome my mom to Japan!

Lunch at the Chipotle knock-off restaurant, conveniently located 1 block from our hotel

Ginza. SO many people!

Thankfully, my mom made it safely to Tokyo without any problems. I did my best to help my mom through the international travel process - stopping by the currency exchange, purchasing train tickets, etc. Then we navigated our way through the train and two other subways to our hotel. She was tired but excited and handled the transfers and long commute to the hotel with grace.

We stayed at the Hotel Arca Torre Roppongi. It was a nice, Japanese hotel right next to the subway station in Roppongi, the international/ex-pat district of Tokyo. I was impressed that my mom didn't mind the tiny, Japanese hotel room. It was fun seeing Japan through her eyes - explaining how the fancy toilets work, navigating the complex underground, taking in the crowds, crazy outfits, food, shops... Very amusing.

We spent a couple of days in Tokyo, taking in the sights. The first day, we hit up many of the top tourist attractions. Our first stop was Tokyo tower. We rode the elevator up to the observation deck to allow my mom to get a birds eye view of this mega city. There's really nothing like seeing tall buildings stretching as far as the eye can see.

After that, we crossed the street to check out a neat arts and crafts fair in front of the Zojoji Temple. It's an interesting mix of old and new. The craft fair was interesting too. We got to see lots of works of Japanese art.

Next, we took a subway to Shibuya, the hip shopping district that young Tokyo shoppers flock to at all hours. We oogled at the massive crowds that surge into the intersection in all directions at Shibuya crossing when the lights turn red. Then we walked around, grabbed some lunch at a yummy Japanese chain called Sukiya, and then went on a shopping spree in the 5 story Forever 21. She was so patient as I tried on several things. She said she just enjoyed people watching and seeing what all of the Japanese people were wearing. Definitely a fun mother-daughter outing.

By that time we were both pretty tired and foot-sore. So we went back to the hotel for a late afternoon nap. We had a pretty late lunch and weren't very hungry at 6:00. So instead we went to a movie in a Japanese theater (one of my favorite things to do here.) Then we grabbed a late lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in Tokyo: Roti Roppongi. They have some of the best burgers I've ever tasted. =^) Definitely a great start to mom's Japanese adventures!

October Lady Samurai Naming

For our October Lady Samurai naming, we decided to set aside our kimonos and dress in "classy" 14th attire instead. We have precious few opportunities or reasons to really dress up around here so we decided to sieze this opportunity! So I donned a purple and black cocktail dress and stuck a yellow flower in my hair. I also brought a healthy appetizer to contribute to the massive spread of delicious food my friend Sara set out. In addition to documenting the night's festivities on camera, I also got to be the one to christen the namees with their new call sign, utilizing a fake samurai sword. As usual, the night was full of much laughter, silly stories and fun with friends! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay for the after party because I had to run home and pack for my Tokyo adventures with my mom the next day!

Telling funny stories

I love these, funny, creative, classy ladies!

Gifts from Afghanistan

In September, I received a special package from James, filled with special gifts he had picked out at the bazaar there in Afghanistan. We've started collecting works of art from every place we visit and the fruit and nut bowl below is a true piece of native craftsmanship. I've never seen anything like it. When it's closed, it serves as a large, intricately carved trivet. But then you lift the handle and it pops up into a partitioned serving dish!

Before.

After!

He also bought me a pretty scarf with some purple coloring to it (since he knows that's my favorite!) and a beautiful jewelry set made of semi-precious blue stones called lapis lazuli. Outside of Afghanistan they're very expensive but, of course, he got a good deal. ;^) I love them all! He is so thoughtful, even while deployed.

Kristina's Engagement Photos

It's not often in Misawa that I have the privilege of taking engagement portraits. I mostly get asked for family and baby pictures. But my good friend Kristina will be gettin' hitched in November and so she asked me to take some pictures of her and her fiancee Andrew in September. She's a major photo-phile like me and so it was a little intimidating. She had some very specific ideas about how she wanted the pictures to look and so we spent 2-3 hours walking all over Miswa and experimenting. But in the end we were both very happy with the results. Below are a couple of my favorites from her shoot. Looking forward to another engagement shoot later in November! Capturing love on camera is my favorite. =^)

International Talk Like a Pirate Day MOSC Event

This fall, our Misawa Officer's Spouses Club got back up and running with a packed schedule of fun and creative social events, as well as service projects and other opportunities to interact with the Japanese community. The theme for our first big event was inspired by the popular un-official September holiday called International Talk Like a Pirate Day. We all dressed in our pirate-y best, sat at tables decorated with skull and cross-bone festooned hats, flags, and fake treasure, and played some games worthy of the high seas. Some of us even had to walk the plank! I won a prize for my surprising command of pirate/nautical trivia (thank you, Pirates of the Caribbean! I knew watching those movies over and over would serve a purpose down the road... ;^) Below are a few snapshots of the fun!

nametags

Centerpieces

My commander's wife and I added a little Samurai pride to our outfits

Prize for best costume went to Karolina who has a real wooden leg!

Jon Visits Misawa - AGAIN!

In early September, Jon and a few of the other pilots from Osan came to Misawa for a week of training in our simulators. Unfortunately, James wasn't here for some quality family time. But I enjoyed going out to dinner with Jon and his friends a couple of times and catching up. Since he knows the area so well, Jon enjoys serving as a tour guide on each of these trips - showing his friends from Korea the best restaurants, bars and attractions in the area. The first night they were here, we had a family-style feast at the New Miyaki Chinese restaurant out the gate. Then later in the week I joined them at Kin's for a gourmet, traditional Japanese spread of sashimi, tempura, cold noodles, etc. It was a little outside most of our comfort zones, but sometimes that's OK when traveling internationally. I joked with Jon that the only times I eat and enjoy seafood is when he's around. Kin is a long-time friend of Jon and Claire's, so he and his family were excited to see us walk in. Claire even took some cooking lessons from him, and passed that privilege down from Lady Samurai to Lady Samurai. Their adventurous spirit is the gift that keeps on giving around here!

Lights on the Lake

Since the weather is often too bad for fireworks on the 4th of July, the base decided to put on a fireworks display over Labor Day Weekend instead. They hosted a huge event at base beach - providing food, games, and live music until the sun went down and then launched an impressive 30 minute display from barges in the center of the lake. My friends and I thought we'd be smart and avoid the crowds by hopping the fence to the golf course and watching the fireworks from the hill above base beach. It was nice and quiet up there and we were able to see most of the fireworks over the trees in front of us. But as soon as they began, I started to regret our choice because I'm sure the photos of the fireworks reflected in the water would have been spectacular. Ah well, it was still fun and patriotic!

PYOC Soul Surfer Luau & Movie Night

At the end of August, we kicked off the new school year with a luau and screening of the popular Christian movie Soul Surfer. I had fun using our Hawaiian vacation earlier this summer as inspiration for the night's festivities. We decorated Fellowship Hall with all kinds of beach stuff - lawn chairs, beach balls, surf boards, shells, flags, etc... We had brightly colored cups full of tropical punch, complete with umbrella straws. For dinner, we had a choice of grilled pineapple chicken kabobs or Hawaiian style cheeseburgers topped with grilled pineapple and avocado. We also had a lot of fresh fruit, Hawaii-brand potato chips and either key lime pie or tropical fruit popsicles for dessert. It was a lot of work to set up, but quite a feast that we all enjoyed! The kids got into the luau spirit with some tropical outfits and silk lei's. All of this did a great job to set the scene for a powerful movie. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Inspiring true story of a teen inspiring a lot of people with her authentic faith!

Annual Parish Picnic & Youth Baptisms

The Sunday after our mission trip was our annual protestant parish picnic. This year, we held a combined worship service at base beach and then grilled out and played in the water. It was a nice day, but would not have been blog-worthy if it weren't for the fact that we baptized three members of our youth group in the lake after the service! What a wonderful day!

Arielle Goecker, about to be baptized by her father, Ch. Goecker

Arielle's younger brother Nolan being baptized

Kristen Farless, a new 7th grader and member of our worship team