Some Common Questions...

To tackle some of the common questions we get...

What is the food like?

There are a variety of Japanese restaurants - noodles, sushi, bowls, grill-your-own, etc. We have tried a few sushi places, and I think my favorite is the sushi-go-round near our house. Little plates of food go by your table on a conveyor belt and you just pick what you like (can I get one of those installed in my house?). At the end of your meal, the waitress counts up the number of plates you have in order to calculate your bill. Otherwise, we eat often at the little mom 'n pop noodle shop across the street - this is where Erik gets huge bowls of Ramen and I get heaping portions of chuhan (fried rice) - definitely a Chinese cuisine influence. Besides Japanese food, we can easily find Italian and Indian restaurants to mix things up a bit.

We primarily shop at the commissary on base (grocery store), so our everyday meals at home aren't really any different than what we had in the States. I am getting more comfortable shopping out in town for vegetables, fruit, and trying random new things - we have plenty of stores within walking distance.


What do you do all day?

Given Erik is gone about 9 months out of the year, I find I have a lot of extra time on my hands to kill. I am blessed to still keep a part time position with my company in Maryland that I have worked at for several years - so usually I wake up and do a few hours of work on the computer. Then its usually to base to run errands such as going to the library, the gym, checking the mail, etc.

I also teach some "English" classes - this is very common for the spouses over here. There are plenty of locals who want to learn more of the language or hone their skills by simply having a conversation. You can get anywhere between 5000 yen to 7500 yen for an hour (tax free!), so its not too shabby. Thats about $50-$75 an hour.

Other than that, there are plenty of day trips and activities to keep busy. I have met some great friends here, both from base and also some local gals - we know how to have a good time, whether its hanging out with lots of wine or going to the karaoke bar. So although some days are a snooze, overall you can be as busy as you want to.


What is Japanese TV like?

Erik and I actually don't have any Japanese cable, but some folks out in town do subscribe. They have things like soap operas, food eating contests, gameshows, etc. I think its pretty unique and interesting - but kinda' like how I never understood Monty Python/ British humor all the way, its the same with Japanese humor. Did you ever see the movie Lost in Translation? The scene where Bill Murray is being interviewed on that talk show? Its exactly like that.

We do have a satellite at our house, provided by base. This gives us AFN - the american forces network. There are about 10 channels and its a variety of shows that we would get in the States, minus the 200+ plus channels that it seems everyone has these days. We get plenty of sports, shows from the major channels such as ABC, Fox, NBC, and a few from the Food Network and HGTV once in a while. For live shows such as The Daily Show or Dancing with the Stars, for example, they are simply on a one day delay.


Thats all I got for now!