Konbanwa! (Good evening!) or Ohayo gozaimasu! (Good morning) depending on what time zone you are in. :)
We have been in Japan for almost one week and have had a lot of fun exploring the local area of Yokosuka and eating all sorts of delicious and sometimes not so delicious food. Probably the most fun we have had is house hunting, and the good news is we have picked one!
A little Japan geography first:
There are 4 large islands that comprise Japan. Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu and Hokkaido. We are located in Central Honshu, nestled in Tokyo Bay about 1 hour south and west from Tokyo (purple arrow). Central Honshu (the area between Tokyo and Kyoto) is the most densely populated area of Japan and includes Yokosuka (our area), as well as Tokyo and Yokohoma which I believe are the countries top 2 populated cities, making that particular area the most densely populated metropolitan area in the world (most people per square foot).
Our house is in the city of Zushi, a beach town located on Zushi Bay in the Sea of Japan. Anyone who knows me will know how fitting it is that we are living in a beach town, and the best part is, the beach is only a 25 minute walk away! We were very fortunate to find a very new, Westernized home with large rooms. More to come in a future blog about the nuances and differences of Japanese housing and furnishings, because you cannot fully explain the wonder of a Japanese toilet without seeing pictures. :) Our house is also within walking distance of 2 different train lines, which will make travel to other parts of the island very easy.
We had such a good time house hunting, and saw some amazing homes. Probably the one that was toughest to pass up had an entire rooftop patio and adjoining smaller bedrooms to each of the larger ones that could be used as a dressing/closet on suite. However, this one was not close to public transit, which made it much less desirable. We also saw one with master bedroom floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the ocean, however the distance to Yokosuka was too much of a commute and the rest of house didn't fit our needs.
We are also in the process of buying a car here, although we are still in negotiations since we don't have our license's yet, so I won't say too much in this post.
So far, everything has been a great experience and the Japanese people that we have met are just extremely nice and welcoming. The amount of respect they have towards others in their community and the amount of responsibility they place upon themselves to live up to the highest standards is amazing, and really something to learn from. For example, we were set to meet our real estate agent at 4pm, and at 3:59pm we got a call from her, notifying us that she would be 2 minutes late, apologizing profusely and asking us not to leave.
This week we are in a mandatory training/orientation class, as well as taking drivers training. I will have much more to say in future posts about the housing and most importantly, the FOOD experiences we have had here. :)
Until then, Sore Dewa!
Konnichiwa! Greetings from Japan!
We made it! Since the last post, we have been very busy and have had a lot of adventures. The moving out process went very well and we were pleased with how well they packed our belongings and furniture. The first 2 days, one person came and hand packed everything in our house into boxes. The 3rd day, they sent the muscle who moved everything out. This took much longer than we were expecting, as they had to pack everything into international crates. The crates have to be packed a very specific way, with no wiggle room or extra space and have to weigh 1000 pounds. We ended up with 6 full crates with some left over that they were going to repack at the port, so our total poundage was about 6400 pounds! Must be all the clothes and shoes. :) We expect to get this delivery end of September.
After we were all moved out, we started a 10 day road trip adventure. We hit up Chicago, Baltimore, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City. We saw a lot of great friends and also made new friends along the way as well. We ended our tour at Kenny's parents house who had a little going away BBQ for us and who also let us take over their house with our re-packing and organizing process. I left my car there as well. It was tough saying goodbye to my good old Jetta, but we spent a lot of quality time together on our road trip before leaving and I know it will be in good hands while I am gone. :)
The plane ride was 12.5 hours! It actually went by very quickly. We were so lucky that Kenny had accumulated upgrades with all his travels and so we were able to sit in business class with the lay-flat seats. It was spectacular, however going back to economy seating is going to be difficult, haha. We arrived at Tokyo airport and gathered our excessive amounts of suitcases (see pictures) and were on our way to Yokosuka. On the drive, I noticed many more similarities to the U.S. than differences, including lots of people texting/talking on cellphones while driving, haha. The terrain is very similar to the D.C. area - lots of hills and lots of green. The weather is also very similar - HOT and HUMID. We were told we were lucky we weren't here a few days ago when the temperature was 103F and humid.
Currently, we are staying at the Naval Lodge on the Yokosuka U.S. Naval Base. This is making the transition a bit easier, as internet and cable TV is available. We will be giving housing information this week and should be able to start looking for houses this weekend. The Naval Lodge is basically a glorified hotel room, but very large with lots of storage and a kitchenette. We do have a great view of the water and saw a beautiful sunrise this morning. We will probably be staying here for 3-4 weeks before we find our permanent housing.
I haven't seen much of the Japanese culture yet, as we are quite sheltered on the base. The base is very industrial and not much to look at, but I suppose I wouldn't have expected much different. I am so very glad we get to live on the Japanese economy to get more of the local experience. However, I will say that it is very reassuring that "little America" is available to us at any time. We toured the base last evening after unpacking. There is a very large commissary which is basically like any U.S. grocery store and the Navy Exchange is basically a department store. There is also a very nice gym and track right on the bay, so you can work-out with views of the water.
Today, we have orientation and expect we will also start the housing process and be taking our international driving test. Tonight, we plan on going off the base and seeing more of the local Yokosuka area. More posts to follow!
Welcome to our blog!
We are hoping to use this site for a variety of reasons - mostly to keep family and friends updated on our travels/adventures, as well as to create something tangible for us to look back and see where we have been and what we have done during the next 2-3 years.
We aren't in Japan yet, but there have already been plenty of changes around the Raynes household. I have finished up with work, and for the time being have no plans for regular employment in Japan. I'm lucky enough to be able to keep a contract at my current hospital and will be traveling back to the States every few months to keep up my credentials. I get mixed reactions from people when they hear this, but all I know is that for me it has been a great way to keep myself sane in a career that at times I have found frustrating and disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it's not as bad as I will sometimes let on, but to be able to take a break from a career that is known for high rates of burn-out is to me an amazing way to hopefully re-connect with medicine and I feel incredibly lucky to have this opportunity.
The other biggest change so far is..... IT'S MOVING DAY!!
You would think that having movers come to do all the heavy lifting and packing would make moving more bearable, but I think it may actually be more stressful. Trying to decide what belongings you want to have with you on the plane, which ones you want shipped via the Post Office to have when you get there and which ones you can live 2 months without has been a headache. We spent 1.5 hours in the post office yesterday sending 7 large packages this way. I'm sure the 20 people in line behind us really loved us.
The stress of moving and not being able to pack things how I like may be because I am a complete control freak and also that I am having a hard time separating from my beloved clothing and shoes! :) I am consoled by the fact that my Louboutin's are safely in my suitcase and that Tokyo is one of the fashion capitals of the world (Kenny - you can just pretend I didn't say that, lol). Overall though, the experience has been a good one and nothing has gone wrong....yet. I guess we will just have to wait and see what our stuff looks like when it gets there.
We have 2 weeks left in the States, and will be traveling around to Chicago, Philadelphia and New York to see some great friends before boarding the plane with a one way ticket! :) Will post more about our journey then!
