Final Destination: Sasebo

Yesterday, Tuesday, July 7th, we left NAF Atsugi for Commander Fleet Activities (CFA) Sasebo. Our adventure began at 6:30 a.m., when we woke up to finish packing up and to clean up the cats litter box. We then headed to the lobby to check out and to wait for our ride. On our way to Haneda Airport, we got to see Ayase. Ayase is the where NAF Atsugi is located. I tried to look into the name but there is no true explanation why for its namesake. I know you would think, its NAF Atsugi so its in Atsugi, but its not. Moving on. We also got to drive by Yokohama.

At the airport, I had no idea who are airline carry was. Thank goodness for Doug knowing. We went up to the counter and checked our bags and the cats. Gigi and Calcifer were placed together in a crate. Gigi was quiet while in the carrier with Calcifer. She was not quiet on the van ride to the airport. Then we took our baggage through the x-ray machine they had at the counter. This is convenient! They x-rayed our luggage and our personal items. We then had to go through security. Security was easy compared to going through security in the U.S. We scanned our boarding pass, no I.D. shown, the machine printed a paper for security. You put your personal items in a bin, show your security paper, and walk through a medal detector. I didn’t have to take off my shoes or go through the machine that makes you hold your hands up.

After security, we then went to find our gate. It was a short walk, it seemed, to the gate. We passed several places that were open. This made me happy because I was hungry! Once at the gate, we got settled in, we got there about two and a half hours before our flight. Doug went to buy drinks and I stayed to watch our stuff. Then I went to grab something to eat. Doug told me of a place that had sushi. I went to investigate and got some fried chicken sushi. It was delicious! Doug even tried some. He’s not a big sushi eater (he liked it). We sat and waited for our flight. I played Pokemon Go the whole time because I could reach a poke stop.

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On the flight, I got to see Tokyo during take off. The pictures I took doesn’t do it justice! I cannot wait to back and actually experience Tokyo. That is a huge to-do on my list while living here. We landed in Fukuoka about two hours later. I love how they greet you and have respect for one another. In Japan they bow instead of a handshake. I was caught off guard when our plane was making its way to the gate, once there, the ground workers bowed to the plane. The overall respect Japanese have for anybody is amazing. I guess coming from the U.S. where our culture is the vast opposite, its interesting to see the differences.

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We just followed everyone else to find baggage claim and to exit the airport. I also noticed how the Japanese don’t wait around. They were quick to deboard the plane, they were quick to get their luggage, and leave the airport. You didn’t see much standing and talking happening. We got to baggage claim and waited for our luggage. This might have taken five minutes to get our luggage. You normally have to wait forever. While the luggage was making its way to the carousal, our cats came though a different area. There was an airport worker there waiting for them. Gigi became mouthy once she saw us. We had to get our luggage first because the cat carriers were in them. Then we got the cats. We walked out to the pick-up area and our driver was waiting on us. When you walk out of the Fukuoka Airport, you are greeted by these huge billboards.

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We had a two hour drive to Sasebo. This drive was absolutely scenic. It was like driving through a Japanese anime movie. Doug and I would later on talk about what Japanese movies it reminded us of. For me, it was mostly “Only Yesterday” and for Doug was mostly “When Marnie was There” and the small town in “Your Name”. It was truly a remarkable drive even with it being cloudy and rainy! I took only a few pictures.

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Sasebo. We had heard that Sasebo was this small coastal town. When we got here. Man, I was shocked to see so many tall buildings! It sits in a valley and is surrounding by houses and buildings. Its quite remarkable. We made our way to CFA Sasebo. We were required to show our I.D.’s then went to the Navy Lodge. At the Navy Lodge we learned we would be on ROM again because we were on a commercial flight. This made me wish I would have got more food at the airport. That’s okay. We get to spend 14 days in our new room. Our new room is a little more updated and the layout is different. We do have a beautiful view.

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