I went on an adventure to the Tenkaiho Park and Observatory. It is known for its blooming of Cosmos in October and the amazing view of the Kujuku-shima (99 islands). There is actually 208 islands but it’s known in Sasebo as 99 islands. It has truly remarkable views of southern Kujuku-shima.
Its a 20 minute drive from my apartment in Central Sasebo. When I arrived there was plenty of parking available. There were about 15 cars in the parking lot in one parking lot and zero in the other parking lot. Parking can be an issue sometimes. It didn’t seem too busy.
I first walked around the Cosmos. They are gorgeous even in late November.
A look at the Cosmos.
The Cosmos
It’s a Pokeball of Cosmos!
After the Cosmos, I walked up the hill to the look at some of the islands. It was truly breathtaking. You can see Central Sasebo and CFA Sasebo (U.S. Navy base). Then you can see some of the islands. I tried to take as many pictures as I could. It was calm and quiet even with a few families around.
I go to AEON and Ellena. They are the closet grocery stores to me and I usually walk to get groceries. I am currently only buying groceries for me, so its usually about one to two bags. I go to store two to three times a week. The meat is only good for a day or two.
The Mini Ellena and the AEON are located in the Ginza.
What does a grocery store look like in Sasebo, Japan?
They are set up similar to a grocery store in the U.S. The produce section is usually close to the entrance. The meat and dairy sections are along the walls. The inner aisles are filled with sauces, seaweed, chips, candy, noodles, and drinks.
How are grocery stores different in Sasebo, Japan than the U.S.?
The carts are smaller. The portion sizes of meats are smaller. They have portions for one person up to a family size. The bags of chips are smaller. You can purchase small cans of some sodas to one liter of soda (this is only for few sodas). The overall size of the store is smaller.
These are the only carts I have seen.
What my grocery shopping trips are like.
The first thing I do when I walk in is grab a basket. I don’t need a cart, unless I am shopping with Doug. Since Doug has been gone for almost two months, I just shop for me.
The first section I go to is produce. I grab some fruit. Japan only carries seasonal fruit. In the Summer, you can find cantaloupe, melon, watermelon and pineapple. In the Fall, you can find apples, persimmon, and muscat (grapes). I will have to see what Winter and Spring provide. I have been able to find mandarin oranges in Summer and Fall so far. The fruit is pricey compared to the U.S., but it is cheaper to buy out-in-town than at the Commissary on base. There are plenty of vegetables to pick from. They have carrots, potatoes, green onions, leeks, different kinds of lettuce, onions, cabbage, and autumn squash.
Persimmons
Pumpkins
Produce
These were taking around Halloween. They acknowledge Halloween in Sasebo but they don’t do Trick-or-Treating.
After produce, I go look at meat. You can find wagyu beef, steak, sliced beef, pork belly, chicken (wings, breasts, and tenders), pork chops, ground chicken, and ground beef. I usually pick up steak, sliced beef, chicken, and ground beef. The expiration date can range for that day or a day or two later. It truly depends on when you go. If you go later in the day, you can find discounts on meat for that day or the next day. I don’t buy meat at the Commissary because it comes in frozen and the quality of meat is better out in town.
Depending on what I need, I will go through the aisles. The first time I got to a new store, I will walk all the aisles to see what they have. I always go to the noodle and snack aisles. If I don’t know what something says, I will use Google Translate. Its not perfect but I get an idea of what it is. Some products have English in parentheses underneath Japanese.
I have seen a few American products. They have SPAM, Oreos, Ritz, and Snickers. There are Kit Kats but they offer only select flavors (regular, almond and cranberry, and matcha). They have Coca-Cola and Pepsi but they are bottled in Japan. There is also a Lemon Coca-Cola and a Japan Pepsi.
The last things I look at before I check out is the drink cooler and the bread area. The drink cooler has several drinks in 500 mL (16 oz) bottles. The drinks I enjoy are Peach Water and Lemonade. The Peach Water I can find about anywhere. The Lemonade I enjoy can only be found at Ellena. The bread area has sliced bread and pastries. You can buy bread in three slices, six slices, to a large load (typical U.S. size). I like to look at the pastries and try different things. My favorite pastry to buy right now is a vanilla and chocolate sponge pinwheel cake.
Yummy favorites!
When I am ready to check out, I go get in line. You place your basket on the counter. The cashier rings your groceries and then places in another basket. Once all your items are entered, they will ask if you need a bag in Japanese (they will mime a bag). I always say no in Japanese. Then they might ask if you have a point card in Japanese. They might mime it out. It just depends. I don’t have a point card, so I tell them no in Japanese. I started getting this question after going to AEON several times. I have had a few cashiers speak to me in English so that has made it easier.
Then you pay. At AEON, you may use card or yen. At Ellena, I have only ever used yen. I don’t know if they take card or not. I always have yen on me (most restaurants only take yen). You don’t hand yen to the cashier, you place it in a plastic tray. They take the yen from the tray and put it in their cash register. When they hand you your change, they will put the yen in the plastic tray. Don’t forget to take your yen! There are some checkout lanes where they ring up your items then send you to a machine to pay. I like going to the machine, because I can take my time to go through my yen coins.
AEON Daito
AEON in the Ginza
After paying, you take your basket to a table. At the table, you put your groceries in a bag you purchased or your reusable bags. Yes, you must pay for plastic bags. They have plastic bags available at the check out lane. They range from 3 to 5 yen (3 to 5 cents). I always carry two reusable bags in my purse. At the table, there are plastic bags to put your meat in or any item that may leak. After I bag my groceries, I put my basket away and leave.
It took me a couple of times to get use to the set up. The first time I went to grocery shop at AEON, I went the wrong way to check out. The first few times I was walking through the store I would say excuse me in Japanese, but then figured out a simple head bow means the same thing. I always make sure to be respectful when out, because I am representative of the United States. It is a privilege to be here. To keep that privilege, I must try my best to follow the rules and customs to the best to my knowledge. I have made silly mistake and will most likely make silly mistakes.
The past updates of my blog have been weekly, but now that I have settled into a routine. The routine is boring to write about. I am just going to talk about the highlights of the week.
My favorite thing to get now is packages from the U.S. I have ordered a few things from Target and they have arrived within 7 to 10 days. It makes going to the Post Office on base worth it! It also allows me to check our box. I have been ordering a few things from U.S. Amazon and those packages go to base as well. I ordered some taco seasoning because who doesn’t love tacos?! I have been eating tacos at least once or twice a week. Having bulk taco seasoning makes sense!
On Friday, I hang out with Abby and her boys. They are the cutest! Our weekly trips involve McDonald’s and grocery shopping. It gives Abby time to talk to an adult and gives me a human to talk to. Talking to the cats makes me sound crazy but they do talk back. It is usually about food but at least its better than nothing.
I usually walk to the Ginza at least twice a week now. It is a nice quiet stroll and gets me out of the apartment. I love being immersed within the culture here. The grocery store is an experience within itself. The carts are different. The set up is the same. You have no idea what anything says, because its in Japanese (of course). There is English on some packaging. Google Translate is your best friend at the store.
I entered to be able to reserve a PS5 at the NEX. I missed being able to pre-order it when all the retailers decided to start pre-orders early in the U.S. The NEX had a drawing for the PS5. I entered and they picked my name. I was able to reserve a PS5 for Doug. YAY!
I got some donuts from Mister Donut this week. I love the Strawberry Pon de Ring. It has a chewy texture and Gigi always wants a bite! Gigi has good taste in food. If she chooses not to eat it, then I know its not good. I love the Halloween Donuts Mister Donut has. Halloween is not a big deal in Sasebo. They have some Halloween Decorations and some Halloween Candy.
Today was Respect for the Aged Day here in Japan. It is where people return home to visit and pay respect to their elders. It is held on the third Monday in September.
Gigi and Calcifer love their cat tower.
The plan for the day was to take Doug’s package to the post office on base. I also needed to pick up a package. I picked up the package first, it was an Xbox One game. Well, The Xbox One is at the apartment, so he cannot use that. I then took Doug’s package to the counter. I had to feel out a custom’s form. I was confused by this, because Abby didn’t have to fill out a custom form when she sent her husband a package. Well, I will make sure I have one from now on when I send Doug a package to his ship. Anyways, that whole process took about an hour.
Doug’s Box
I went home to make lunch. I made a salad and ate my Cream Puff with Pumpkin Crème. The Cream Puff was amazing! I will need to make sure to pick one up another one when I go to 7 Eleven.
For dinner, I made tacos and watched Netflix. I watched Friends.
Tuesday, September 22nd
Calcifer is guilty.
I woke up to a ball of yarn strewn throughout the apartment. Calcifer is the main culprit of the yarn dealings. He likes to steal the yarn I use for knitting. I stayed in. I didn’t feel like going anywhere. It is the first official day of Fall. It is starting to cool off here. It stays in the 70’s which is so nice after 80 and 90 degree days!
I binged watched Friends. For lunch, I had shrimp with white sauce from 7-Eleven. For dinner I made a salad. I did find a sponge pinwheel cake to enjoy for desert. It was so soft!
Shrimp with White Sauce
Pinwheel Cake
Wednesday, September 23rd
The plan today is to get faster internet installed and then walk to the Ginza to get a few things. I need to get some chicken, ground beef, and some lemonade. There is only one store, Ellena, that has the brand of lemonade I like.
They came in the early afternoon to install the faster internet, so we don’t have to deal with the lag from the free internet. It took them about 30 minutes to install and they made sure it was connected. They made sure the router was at full potential and then left.
After they left, I made lunch. I made chicken with yellow rice. Then I walked to the Ginza to pick up somethings. I was there for about an hour then came back.
For dinner, I made tacos and watched Friends.
Thursday, September 24th
Almond Danish for Breakfast.
The plan today is to finally make Buffalo Chicken Dip for dinner after wanting it for a week.
Today I hung out with Abby and her boys. I enjoy spending time with them. I picked them up from Hairo and we headed to Main Base. Abby had to order a bed for one of her boys and pay for it. The best part is she did get 5% off due to the NEX coupon going on. We went to the NEX and the Commissary. I picked up a few things from the Commissary. I want to make this Chicken Burrito Bowl instant pot recipe I found and to make a Peanut Butter Pie.
I love taking pictures on the Albuquerque Bridge.
Then we went to the Ginza for lunch. We went to McDonald’s. The boys love McDonald’s and I don’t mind having it once a week. I had a Big Mac this time with an Apple Pie. After lunch, we went to AEON. Abby wanted some more storage so we went to Daiso (100 yen store) in AEON. She loved they had more of a selection for storage.
After AEON, we headed back towards to car to go to Hairo. Abby needed to get to the post office before they closed. We also went to the Commissary at Hairo. I forgot a few things and plus I wanted to get the cold items off my list. I dropped Abby off and then I went to AEON Daito.
I had some recycling to drop off at AEON Daito. You can return foam meat trays and certain food containers to recycle. This helps reduce the amount of trash I have. I also wanted to pick up some things. Then I headed home.
I made the Chicken Burrito Bowl in the Instant Pot. It turned out amazing and reminded me of Arroz Con Pollo (Chicken with Rice). I will have left overs for days! After dinner, I made peanut butter pie. It takes an hour to set, so I will leave it overnight.
I talked to my mom for about an hour today. For lunch, I had Buffalo Chicken Dip. After lunch, I went to the Commissary because I forgot to get white queso for my Chicken Burrito Bowl. I also picked up some bacon while I was there.
I finished Friends, now I am on the search for something else to watch. I started watching The School Nurse Files on Netflix, which is interesting to say the least.
For dinner, I had leftover Chicken Burrito Bowl with white queso. The white queso really made it better!
I did get to talk to Doug today because they are close to Sasebo. They had to come in to get supplies and mail.
I love this view from our apartment!
Sunday, September 27th
I went to the NEX to see if there was anything I needed, because it was the last day for their coupon. I couldn’t find anything. I finally remembered to draw out some yen from the ATM. I headed back home and remembered recycling gets picked up tomorrow. I got all of the recycling together and put it where it needs to go. They only open the area the day before. The recycling and garbage gets picked up early, so I make sure to take it out the night before.
For lunch, I made nachos. At some point today I need to walk to the Ginza to get some more lemonade and look at a few things.
Doug called, he got his box. He was grateful for all of the snacks I packed. I mean the box was 15 pounds. I mean there were two big bags of Halloween Candy for Doug to share with his office. He keeps a basket of candy in his office. He then said they would be coming back in two weeks, so I can start getting another box together.
For dinner, I had leftover Chicken Burrito Bowl. For the rest of the evening, I hung out with the cats and watched Netflix.
Today I had to go get fingerprint cards from Darby Elementary and fill out more paperwork. Since I had to go to Darby, which is at Hairo, I went to the NEX at Hairo. Totally disappointed at there selection. Main Base NEX has more household goods and clothes. I went by AEON Daito too. At AEON Daito, I bought a few groceries and checked out an area that has Pokemon stuff. I bought a suprise box Pokemon thing. Its was super cute and I couldn’t pass it up. I really don’t need more Pokemon collectibles but I deserve to treat myself.
I got Bellossom!
All the possibilities
After AEON, I came home and made myself lunch. I made chicken quesadillas. I finished Criminal Minds. I don’t care much for the later seasons after Shermar Moore (Derek Morgan) left. Anyways, I decided to find a Korean Drama to watch. I found My Shy Boss. It is about a CEO of a PR company who has great ideas but no speaking skills. So he let’s his friend and co-CEO do the presentations to win bids. So far, it is interesting.
For dinner, I made beef tacos. For the rest of the evening I watched My Shy Boss.
Tuesday, September 15th
For breakfast, I made myself a Pokeball waffle with bananas. It was scrumptious! The plan for the day is to get my fingerprints done on Main Base. I have to go to the security office, then I have to mail them to Maryland with some other forms. I got my fingerprints done at security. The weirdest part was being so close to another individual. Covid-19 had made me feel uncomfortable to be within six feet of other people.
After my fingerprints were done, I went to the post office on base. It is considered USPS, so I can use the priority envelopes to mail out the documents. I got everything ready and the envelope ready. I took a picture of the contents, for my reference, then gave it to the clerk. I paid and was on my way. I checked our on base mail. Doug got something, but it was junk.
I went to the Commissary to pick up somethings. I have been wanting to make Buffalo Chicken Dip and all the ingredients to make it are at the Commissary. Plus, I wanted some eggs and needed to get cat food. They finally had cat food! I have been buying Purina One, which is cheaper on base than out in town. I finally heard from Doug as I was about to leave the Commissary. The internet for him has been spotty, so trying to talk to me has been impossible. Last time we talked was Friday, September 11th. Anyways he wants me to buy him snacks and send them to him. His ship will be coming to pick up mail on the 25th. I will just need to get a list and go get him some snacks.
I have been wanting some strawberry milk. There is only one grocery store I know of to sell strawberry milk. It is the grocery store by Coco Ichiban-ya. I don’t know the name of it. I just know where it is. I bought some strawberry milk and Doug some snacks. I will need to go to AEON to get him the other snacks and some things he asked for.
For lunch, I made Italian Chicken and Butternut Squash. I know when will I get tired of this. Who knows? For the rest of the day I watched My Shy Boss and hung out with the cats. I was going to walk to the Ginza but decided to be lazy. I will walk there tomorrow.
Wednesday, September 16th
For breakfast, I made eggs and bacon. I had my strawberry milk and it was delicious! The goal today is to walk to the Ginza. It is about a 15 minute walk from the apartment. The only problem is it is going to rain today. I talked to my Dad for a bit. He wanted to talk last night but I was too tired.
After I got off the phone with my Dad, I walked to the Ginza. I made it there in 13 minutes. I went to AEON to look for a few things for Doug. I got what he wanted and I got me a few things. Then I went to the 100 yen store for a microwavable bowl for Doug to make Ramen. I found one! I ended up buying him two just in case. Then I went to the mini Ellena in search for Lemonade and a few other things. I was able to find what I needed. I decided it was time to walk back. It was raining and my little umbrella helped, but not really. The back of my dress got wet and so did my bags. Its okay. I made it home. I put all my groceries away and put Doug’s snacks/stuff in a bag. I had to leave my reusable bags out to dry.
My walk to the Ginza.
For lunch, I made chicken quesadillas. They were yummy. I stayed in and started watching Because This is my First Life on Netflix. For dinner, I made Italian Chicken with Butternut Squash. It was good.
Thursday, September 17th
I had a difficult time sleeping last night. I slept for a few hours then woke up. I decided to keep watching Because This is my First Life on Netflix. Then I went back to sleep. I woke up and decided to just start my day since it was 7 a.m. I got up ate breakfast, attended to the cats, and watched Netflix.
I worked last week’s blog and got it posted! I have slacking on posting. That is okay. I had chicken quesadillas and then spent the afternoon watching Because This is my First Life. I became frustrated while watching because everything was falling apart for everyone in the show. Then the main male and female leads couldn’t get on the same page. They just need to admit how they feel for each other! UGH!
For dinner, I made steak with a loaded baked potato and asparagus.It was yummy and I am glad it was something different. I decided to take a break from watching Because This is my First Life and started watching Friends. Yes, you can watch all of Friends on Netflix Japan.
I won’t be getting a call from Doug for a while. The internet will be down on the ship for a week at least. He will still be able to message me though.
Friday, Saturday 18th
Today I hung out with Abby for the majority of the day. We went to AEON Daito for lunch and grocery shopping. We ate at McDonald’s. I finally got to eat the Teriyaki Burger. The Teriyaki Burger is better than the Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich. I only had to pick up a few things. I was mostly looking for Doug’s Bacon snacks. I got him 16 boxes. He ran out of snacks and I am sending him a snack box next week.
While at AEON Daito, I got some donuts from Mister Donut. It has been a couple weeks since I had a donut. I ended up getting five donuts. I got two cute Halloween donuts, two strawberry donuts, and a double chocolate donut. They will be a snack for the next couple of days.
Donuts!
Strawberry Churro
Double Chocolate and Strawberry Pon de Ring
Chocolate Cruller
Strawberry Mummy
Mister Donut
After AEON Daito, we decided to go to Main Base. Abby needs to order a bed for her youngest. It was broke when they moved in. Abby was able to order a bed, but it could take up to six months for it to come in. I know. Hopefully it comes in sooner, but with Covid-19, items take longer to get here. We then went to the NEX and the Commissary too.
Then I took Abby and her two boys to my apartment. They got to see Calcifer for about five seconds and got to pet Gigi! Abby’s youngest fell in love with Gigi. I mean Gigi is cute and fluffy. After checking out my place and seeing all of Doug’s games, I took them home. I love hanging out with them!
For dinner, I made myself Chicken Katsu. It was pretty good but not as good as going to Hamakatsu. I need to go back soon.
Saturday, September 19th
Gigi, my little vampire.
The plan for the day to look for two games Doug would like for me send him. One is Mario 3D Collection for the Switch and a wrestling game for the PS4. I went to the NEX but no luck. While on base, I went to the Commissary because Doug wanted popcorn. I picked up a few things while I was there.
I decided to go back to the apartment and made myself lunch. I made tacos. Then I walked to the Ginza. I need to walk more instead of driving everywhere. At the Ginza, I searched for the games. I did find the Mario 3D Collection but I didn’t buy it. I figured I would check the NEX again. I still couldn’t find the wrestling game. Oh well.
At the Ginza, I went to AEON to pick up some groceries. There is a Japanese Holiday on Monday (Respect your Elders Day), so I want to make sure I have food just in case the stores are closed. I just got some meat, some vegetables, and some drinks.
I made it back to the apartment and put everything away. For dinner, I made nachos. It was amazing!
Nachos
Melon Soda
For the rest of the evening, I finished Because This is my First Life. Well, the lead female and male finally share their feelings about each other and stayed together. The other supporting characters ended up finding love and lived happily ever after. I am glad I finally finished the show.
Sunday, September 20th
Calcifer in the cat bed!
The goal today was to find Mario 3D Collection for the Switch at the NEX. I got up, worked out, and had breakfast. I made myself a Pokeball waffle. Then I got ready to go to the NEX.
I was able to find the Mario game but no wrestling game for the PS4. I will keep checking, because you never know when they will get something in. I got the game and then went home. I know I went out for one thing.
For lunch, I made beef quesadillas from the leftover meat I had. It was Porygon Community Day in Pokemon Go. I was going to eat lunch and walk to the Ginza to play. Well, I decided to watch Friends and play Pokemon Go on the couch. I caught 10 shiny Porygon while being at home. I got tired and took an hour nap.
After my nap, I got up and made myself presentable. I want to make a salad and have no lettuce. I decided to walk to the Ginza to get some lettuce. I went to AEON for lettuce. I did find a seasonal beverage of Lipton Cream Brulee Milk Tea. I also wanted to try C.C. Lemon drink. That was all I got. I decided while I was out to go hang out at the park since it was nice. While going to the park, I stopped at 7 Eleven. I wanted to get a water and I saw they have a Pumpkin Cream Puff with Pumpkin Cream. I decided I needed to get one! Then I went to the park. I hung out at the park for 30 minutes watching the pigeons. Then I walked home.
For dinner, I made myself a salad with lettuce, chicken, bacon, cheese, cucumber, and ranch dressing. It was delicious! For the rest of the evening I watched Friends.
I woke up at 1:30 a.m. to howling of the wind against the window and the slight opening and closing of the front door. At least Calcifer was sleeping in the bed with me. I couldn’t go back to sleep so I decided to watch Netflix. I watched a couple more episodes of Its Okay to Not Be Okay. The power started going in and out a little before 3 a.m. It was only three minutes at a time. At around 4 a.m. it went out and didn’t come back on, I decided it was time to go back to sleep.
I woke back up at around 8:30 a.m. to the power back on. I don’t know what time it came back on. I turned on the air conditioners then went to check the hot water control panel. Thankfully I just had to put what time it was. I am glad I didn’t have to call anyone. Once I made sure the cats were okay, I waited to hear from Doug. He didn’t call me until the afternoon. I posted on Facebook that we were safe then made an edit once I heard from Doug.
I decided not to leave the apartment today because we were expected to get more rain and wind. I watched more episodes of Its Okay to Not Be Okay. For lunch, I reheated the Teriyaki Beef from yesterday. I made extra rice in order to make Fried Rice. For dinner, I had pizza. They both were good.
Pizza
Tuesday, September 8th
I rocked my morning routine and the plan for the day is to get groceries! I went to the Ginza to AEON. Well AEON had a line out the door, so I decided to go to Ellena in the Ginza. It is a Mini Ellena so they have only a few groceries, but they had what I needed. I bought some meat and vegetables. Then I made my way home to make lunch.
Once I got home, I realized I wanted tacos. I needed taco seasoning, cheese, and tortillas. They don’t have that out in town so I needed to run to the Commissary. I decided to have snack before I went. I got my taco supplies, Jasmine rice, white cheddar popcorn, and some waffle mix. I came back home and made tacos.
I finished Its Okay to Not Be Okay. I enjoyed how the story went and ended. It made me relate to Moon Gang-tae (main male character) on a personal level. I liked how it ended. It tied everything together and didn’t make me wish their were more episodes.
For dinner, I had Italian Chicken and Butternut Squash. I need to work on making different dishes. I am going to burn myself out making the same thing. I am loving butternut squash right now though.
For the rest of the night, I decided to watch Criminal Minds. I have seen all of Criminal Minds but wanted to re-watch it for fun.
Wednesday, September 9th
I am proud that I am sticking to my morning routine. The plan for the day was to go to AEON Daito. I was looking for kitchen towels and storage bins. I bought some kitchen towels at Watts (100 yen store). I looked at storage bins but I need to organize the guest bedroom first. That is the last room to organize. I am dreading it actually.
Then I decided to look at groceries. I picked up a few things like meat, teriyaki sauce, panko crumbs, eggs, curry sauce, and some vegetables. I decided I was going to make curry for dinner.
For lunch, I had Italian Chicken with Butternut Squash. I know I need to change it up. Its just easy to make the same when you have everything already prepped.
For dinner, I made Beef Curry. I tried to Google Translate the curry mix but it didn’t tell me how much water to add. I took a guess. The Beef Curry turned out good but I needed more curry sauce. I know next time to use one instead of two. I also have leftovers for tomorrow.
Beef Curry (it needed more curry sauce)
Thursday, September 10th
I woke up and checked my email. I finally heard back about my job. There is more paperwork to fill out. I have two days to fill out. It is a lot to do. I ate breakfast and start working on the paperwork. I took a break from the paperwork to make lunch.
For lunch, I reheated my Beef Curry and added more curry sauce. It was so much better! It really needed more sauce! The plan for today is to finish the paperwork and go to Main Base. I need to check the mail and go to the Commissary. The cats are getting low on cat food and I would like to get some bacon.
Beef Curry with Carrots and Potatos
I finished my paperwork but I need two witnesses to sign some of the papers. I am meeting Abby tomorrow to go to AEON Daito. I will have her be a witness and I know someone who lives in the same building as me, she will be my other witness.
I went to the Commissary. I was able to get bacon but no cat food. I went to the post office on base but they were closed. I will just go tomorrow.
I came back home and just relaxed until dinner. For dinner, I made pizza. It was good.
Gigi and Calcifer relaxing
Friday, September 11th
Today marks the 19th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Its a moment that many people, who were alive, remember where they were and how they felt. Many posts this year reflected on how we came together as Americans during a trying time. I guess many people forgot the hatred towards Muslims and Middle Easterners. How easily we remember the positives and forget the negatives.
I went to pick up Abby and her boys. We went to AEON Daito to shop, eat, and get groceries. Her boys were hungry so they ate at McDonalds. We went grocery shopping. Then Abby and I ate at KFC after grocery shopping. It is nice to be able to talk to someone here.
After AEON, we went back to Hairo. I took her to the post office to mail her husband a package. Then I took her to her apartment at Hairo. I headed to Main Base to pick up Doug’s packages. He got three. One package some water damage on the envelope on it, but no big deal because it was wrapped in plastic. He got the parts for the guest bedroom bed, a PS4 game, and Beetlejuice Collection Set. The Bettlejuice Collection Set is mine.
I went home and unloaded my stuff. I put my groceries away and stayed in for the night. For dinner, I made Italian Chicken with Butternut Squash. I got the signatures I needed and was able to upload my paperwork. I did run into an issue with uploading my college transcript. The file was too large and I had to downsize it. Thankfully there is website you can use to do it for free. Doug downsized my transcripts for me and they are on the broken laptop. I figured out how to do it and uploaded them.
Saturday, September 12th
I woke up and decided to work on organizing the guest bedroom. I was tired of staring at the mess. I was able to put some things in our storage closet, but I need to organize the storage closet. I am going to save that for another day. Anyways I got the guest bedroom to a point where I am happy with, for now. Then I worked on cleaning the apartment.
I am happy with how the apartment looks and made myself lunch. I made nachos for lunch. I watched Criminal Minds and hung out for the rest of the day at home. For dinner, I made Chicken Quesadillas.
Sunday, September 13th
Relax day!
I woke up and decided to make myself waffles. I have a Pokemon waffle maker. I know. Its cute and it was a Christmas gift from a friend. I love it! I made myself two waffles. I got a call from Doug’s Grandma, we talked for a few minutes. Then I called my mom and we talked for two hours, which is typical for us.
For lunch, I made Chicken Quesadillas. They were yummy! I then watched more Criminal Minds. Before I know it, its dinner time. Time flies by when you aren’t doing anything! For dinner, I made steak with red and yellow bell peppers and a baked potato. It was delicious!
I am on my own until tomorrow evening. Doug has watch today and will be home tomorrow night. I took Doug to work and he had to take two trips to the car to the ship. He is making sure all his stuff is on the ship before he leaves.
I am still rocking my morning routine. I came back to the apartment to work out, eat breakfast, and check the cats food bowl. The cats had plenty of food.
I didn’t do to much today. I wanted to rest because I feel like I have been going non-stop. I laid around and watched Big Bang Theory. For lunch, I reheated the pork chops from last night and had Miso Ramen with it.
For dinner, I went to Chili’s. On the ship, dinner was meatloaf. Doug doesn’t like meatloaf. He asked me to go get him dinner from Chili’s and I told him I would. He felt bad for making me go, but, what he didn’t know at the time as I was going to get me dinner too. I ordered him two things of Skillet Queso, a Bacon Cheeseburger, and Texas Fries. I ordered myself the Chicken Bacon Quesadilla. Doug was sweet to give me the salsa and a bag of chips. Salsa comes with the Skillet Queso. Doug doesn’t like salsa.
Yummy!
I took Doug his dinner and I went home to eat my dinner. I ate my Chicken Bacon Quesadilla while continuing to watch The Big Bang Theory. Then I took a shower and went to bed. Uneventful day.
Tuesday, September 1st
I got up, worked out, ate breakfast (peach), and cleaned the apartment. It was a little easier to clean because we now have the vacuum cleaner. The cats get cat litter everywhere and I hate stepping on it.
After cleaning, I needed to go to the grocery store. I went to AEON at the Ginza. I got some food for me for a few days. I didn’t get anything for dinner, because Doug might want CoCo Ichiban-ya.
For lunch, I bought some already made chicken wings. I bought six wings for $1. I brought them home and has to heat them up just a little bit. They were awesome! I cannot believe they were only a $1.
My cheap wings.
I waited for Doug to get off work. I picked him up and he wanted to get another blanket from the NEX for on the ship. Then we went home and ordered Domino’s for dinner. I got my own pizza! I got the California Chicken and Bacon Pizza. Doug got the New York style pizza. We also ordered wedges and desert. My pizza was awesome! The crust had two layers of thin crust with cheese in the middle.
We had a quiet evening with the cats. Calcifer, Gigi, and I hung out on the balcony for an hour. It was nice and they enjoy the balcony.
Wednesday, September 2nd
I dropped Doug off at work and won’t see him until end of November early December. He will be under weigh until mid October, spend two weeks in port, and then on deployment. They won’t be allowed off the ship because of Covid-19.
I worked on organizing the apartment. I worked on the Tatami Room again because Doug put items from the game room. I had to get his XBOX One games in the cabinet so I moved some movies around. Then I organized the closet because the book shelf we got doesn’t hold the big books we have. I put the books in the closet and made two stacks in the front. One stack is books I haven’t read yet and the other stack is Harry Potter for when I want to reread it. I finished the Tatami Room and had lunch. I reheated pizza from last night in the toaster oven. I love the toaster oven!
Later in the afternoon, our figurine shelf came in. The shelf was large and heavy. Thank goodness the delivery guy brought it in for me. I signed for the package and said thank you!
I lounged around for a while then made myself dinner. I made Korean BBQ beef with rice. Then I worked on putting the figurine shelf together. I had to unbox it in the hallway and brought the pieces to the kitchen. I built the shelf and I totally made a mistake while putting it together. I couldn’t fix it so I just kept going until I was finished. Once done, I started putting the figurines on the shelf. I need to put together our amiibo stand to go with everything else.
Typhoon Maysak came through with some fierce wind. It was loud and I woke up a couple of times throughout the night. I felt bad for Calcifer, because he spent all night under the bed. Calcifer actually likes it there, but I know he doesn’t like loud noises. We are getting another typhoon this weekend.
Thursday, September 3rd
I woke up, worked out, and ate breakfast. I worked on organizing the apartment some more. I worked on organizing my clothes. I just hung my clothes in the closet without putting them in order. I also needed to finish unpacking my suitcases and out the clothes away.
For lunch, I had left over pizza. Then I went back to work on organizing my clothes. I have some clothes that need hangers. I thought I had some extra hangers but no idea where they are. I guess I will need to buy some hangers.
For dinner, I made Teriyaki beef with curry noodles. I watched The Big Bang Theory and then went to bed.
Friday, September 4th
I helped out another Navy wife today. They don’t have a car and her husband is under weigh with Doug. They haven’t been able to go get driver’s license and a car yet. They do have housing at Hairo. Anyways, I took her and her kids to the grocery store. We went to AEON Daito to look around and to get groceries. I bought more groceries than I normally would to last the weekend.
After getting groceries, we went to the McDonald’s at the Food Court upstairs. I got the Gran Pepper Garlic Burger and a grape soda float. It was good. She got a Big Mac and agreed it taste different than back in the states. Then we headed back to Hairo. We stopped at the Commissary. She wanted to get some water and a few other things. I got salt, taco seasoning, and toothpaste. Then I took her back to her tower. I am glad I got to help her out.
I made my way back home and then had to go to Main Base to get Doug’s package. He got a Nintendo Switch game that he forgot he ordered. Story of my life. He tends to forget items he has pre-ordered. I then went back home.
I made myself diner. I made nacho cheese dip with ground beef. Yummy! Then another Navy wife, who lives in the same building as us, brought me a Filipino snack. It was thoughtful and good. I will also be helping her out if she needs to go get anything or do anything. She doesn’t have her driver license’s and won’t for a while.
I started looking into Typhoon Haishen and its not looking good. It is a Super Typhoon and is currently a Category 4 with potential of being Category 5. When I was looking at it earlier, Typhoon Haishen would be a Category 2 by the time it gets to Sasebo.
Saturday, September 5th
Last night I was looking into the typhoon we are getting late Sunday to Monday morning. Well it is now a Super Typhoon Haishen with winds reaching 288 km so its a category 5. It will hit Okinawa, then southern Kyushu island, then will hit southwestern Kyushu Island which is where we are. Typhoon Haishen will be a category 3 by the time it hits Sasebo. I decided I needed to get a few things before tomorrow night.
I went to Main Base to get some yen out of the ATM. I want to have some money on me just in case. Then I went to the post office to pick up a package for Doug. The last stop was the Commissary. I wanted to get two gallons of water and some snacks just in case. I wanted some white cheddar popcorn, no luck. I did get some Kind bars, Fiber One chocolate chewy bars dried apricots, and tuna and chicken salad snack packs. I left base to go to AEON at the Ginza.
My first stop was Daiso (100 yen floor). I was looking for a flashlight but no luck. I also was looking for masking tape but no luck. Instead I got some Halloween decorations, a water container, two bags of chips, paper cups, and paper plates. Then I went to the grocery floor to get some snacks. I got some bananas, cheese crackers, bagel, bag of apple slices, and garbage bags. I wanted to see what foods they grab up during a typhoon. I couldn’t find noodles and bread. The noodles make sense because they are easy to make and are essential to most Japanese meals. The bread I was kinda surprised by but it makes sense.
This is Halloween!
Halloween
Halloween
No string!
Cute Cat Feet for Chairs.
No Noodles
No Bread
Halloween Candy!
Halloween Candy
After AEON, I went to the 100 yen store to look for a light of any kind. No luck. Then I thought I could get some batteries, but realized I have some at the apartment from our junk door in Colorado. I did buy a rain poncho and some rubber gloves. Then I went to 7-Eleven to buy some Fruit Au lait and to see if they had some mango snacks. I got some Fruit Au lait but no mango snacks. Then I went home.
At home, I put all my snacks and drinks away. Then I decided to do the dishes because I didn’t do them yesterday. My plan is to get the apartment ready for the typhoon. I boarded up the windows. I packed an emergency bag in case I have to evacuate. Then I made lunch. I made Italian chicken with butternut squash. It was scrumptious.
Sunday, September 6th
Typhoon Haishen will be arriving tomorrow morning. I have everything I will need in case the power goes out. I just hung out at the apartment all day. There was no need to leave.
For lunch, I made myself Teriyaki Beef with Fried Rice. It was delicious. Then I filled the bathtub with water, just in case. Sasebo city announced they were opening 43 shelters to evacuate to if you don’t feel safe in your home. Later they announced they were opening more to have a total of 74 shelters. I was able to figure out where I could evacuate to, just in case. It is a community center that is a six minute walk down the hill. It is actually the building I turn by to get on the road in front of the apartment complex. Neat find.
For dinner, I made a pre-made pizza. It was good. I thought it was pepperoni but its ham. Then for the rest of the evening I started watching Its Okay to Not be Okay. Its a South Korean drama about a girl raised by her ‘monster’ mom and a boy who likes her. It has some interesting characters and some interesting themes. I watched about four episodes. I will continue watching tomorrow if I have power.
I woke up to Calcifer and Gigi sunbathing. I ate breakfast and slowly got ready. I wanted to straighten my hair and wear my hair down for an interview. I was smart and thought ahead to pack dresses and shoes to wear for interviews. I got ready and took a selfie because I was feeling confident. Then I went to AEON Daito to look at light fixtures and maybe some lamps.
At AEON Daito, no luck with lights or lamps. I am going to check out Amazon Japan to see what I can find. I did buy two trash cans. Well one will be for burnable trash and the other will be for recycling. Since I was out I thought about eating at the food court but remembered I cannot be doing that. I just went to the grocery section and bought a bacon and cheese wrap and some watermelon. I at lunch in my car. Then I headed to Hairo for my interview at Darby Elementary. Hairo is another U.S. base area, its mostly housing. They have the bigger Commissary compared to Main Base. Doug told me that main gate to Hairo is closed and to use the other gate. Got it. Well, the gate I was suppose to go through said close and main gate said open. I got a little flustered and eventually made it on to the installation and found Darby Elementary.
My Lunch
My interview went well. The position is for a special education aide. Its not a teacher position but it is working with kids. It is the only position they have open, so we shall see. Something is better than nothing. I can also teach English online if this doesn’t pan out. I am trying to find something in-person first, then work online.
After the interview, I needed to get back to Main Base for the initial JCI inspection. I made it back with ten minutes before the appointment. I went ahead and dropped the car off. I needed to come back before they close at 5 p.m. to pick it up. To kill time, I went to the NEX and bought some stuff. I bought a cute cat backpack, a shirt, and two cardigans. Then I went to the NEX Food Court. I treated myself to a Cold Turtle Cappucino. I was still trying to kill time. Then I played Pokemon Go for a little bit. When it got close to 5, I started to walk back to the NEX Mini Mart. Doug meet me over there after work.
Cold Turtle Cappucino
We have a final JCI inspection on Friday. They will fix what needs to be worked on. It needs just some basic maintenance and two tires. It was a little more than we expected, but we just got our ROM money. Plus, I forgot Doug gets paid Friday. Then Doug decided he needed to get brown boots, because they are more comfortable and don’t rub the back of his foot. He got a nasty rub on the back of his foot from over the weekend working shore patrol. The uniform shop is on the second floor of the furniture store. Doug decided we needed to look for something to put the microwave on. We found a bookshelf that would work perfectly, so we bought that. After we picked up the bookshelf, we went home. I let Doug drive home since I have been able to drive all weekend. He made it home without GPS.
Once at home, Doug decided to figure out the hot water control. I tried all weekend to get it to work. So all weekend, I took a lukewarm shower. I was totally fine with it because I have taken cold showers in the winter. It was a tough winter. Anyways that was a long time ago. While Doug was figuring out the hot water, I made dinner. I made Korean BBQ sliced beef with stir fry udon noodles. I put a little too much soy sauce in the udon noodles. My bad. Other than that, it was tasty!
Doug ate dinner then went back to figuring out the hot water control. I thought I was just stupid and couldn’t figure it out. Nope, Doug couldn’t figure it out either. Doug was able to find the information sheet from our realtor. He called the English translator and she came over. She couldn’t figure it out and called the maintenance guy. They tried to figure it out on the phone. Well they couldn’t. The maintenance guy came over, he had no luck. Thankfully for Google Translate to help us through some moments. The maintenance guy says he will come back tomorrow. We feel bad that these two people had to come over. It made Doug and I feel better that we couldn’t figure it out. Doug and I took a lukewarm shower tonight. Doug said it was cold to me it was more lukewarm. He didn’t like it and then said he wish he just stayed on the ship for a hot shower. Then he said at least this past weekend he got to have a hot shower. I am glad that he has never had to take a cold shower before because he had to.
Tuesday, August 24th
Doug spent his first night in the apartment last night. He woke up to his back hurting due to sleeping on an air mattress. I took him to work and came back to the apartment. Maintenance came to fix the hot water control. They got it working and I am so happy to have hot water. They did say sorry and I mimed its okay. I thanked them and they left. I decided I should eat the peach I bought the other day. Peaches are in season here and they are amazing! It was so juicy! Then I compiled a list of things we still need for the apartment.
Hot Water Control
I messaged Doug to see what he wanted for dinner and he said he didn’t know. I decided I was going to try to re-create the beef bowl from Hanamaru Udon. I went to AEON at the Ginza because I wanted to go to the 100 yen floor and then grocery shop on the ground floor. I got all the items on my list like a trash can for the shower/washroom, a paper towel holder, a water pitcher, a kitchen utensil holder, a cat towel rack, and a cat plastic bag holder. I am going to use the cat plastic bag holder to hold our keys by the front door. Then I went to the ground floor to get stuff for dinner. I bought some sliced beef, ground beef, an onion, some pineapple, sauce, some drinks, and noodles. Then I went home.
For lunch, I reheated the meat we had leftover for dinner and made some rice to go with it. It was yummy. Then I decided just to chill until time to pick up Doug from work. I decided to try a different route to go get Doug. I made a mistake but was able to figure out where to go. Pretty proud of myself! I got Doug and we went to base. We needed to check our mail on base, we didn’t get anything. Then we went to the Commissary because Doug decided he was going to make Korean Beef. He has made this before and I really don’t care much for it. I decided we should have it because its different. We bought some spices, eggs, chocolate milk, and Starbucks Caramel Macchiato cold drink. Doug enjoys cafe Au lait and cold lattes and is now trying different coffee drinks. After the Commissary, we went home.
Doug made dinner. I did help with dinner by making the rice. There are a few things I can cook better than Doug. One of them is making rice. Doug has taught me how to cook a few things (fried rice) and when he does I make it better than him. This is why I won’t learn a few southern staples from him. I don’t want to be stuck with making them and plus he needs to cook too. The Korean Beef turned out amazing!!! I actually liked it this time. We have plenty leftover. Tomorrow itwill be my lunch.
Korean Beef with Fried Rice
Doug was so excited about the shower he took one early. Once he got out, he told me how awesome it was. I will take a shower later. I cleaned the kitchen and took the cats out on the balcony. Gigi escaped to the next door’s balcony. I got her to come back with cat treats. She is a mess. I am waiting for the neighbors to get upset about her being on the balcony. I also need to figure out how to block it so Gigi cannot get over there.
Wednesday, August 26th
I woke up and did my morning routine. I worked out, ate breakfast, started a load of laundry, and made a list for the day. Doug is leaving this weekend for a little over a month. He wanted me to buy him some snacks to have on the ship. Doug requested to find a snack that is made by Tohato. The only place we can find them is on the 100 yen floor at AEON. I have been checking anytime I go in there but no luck. I told him I would try!
The Ginza (Yonkacho) is about a 15 minute walk from our apartment but since it has been so hot, I have been driving and parking at Nimitz Park. Nimitz Park is free to park at and is only a 5 minute walk to the Ginza. I decided to go to Watts (100 yen store) at the Ginza to see what snacks they have. They actually had Doritos and some other snacks. I decided to pick up some snacks Doug might like and if he doesn’t he can give them to someone else. Then I went to AEON in search for his Tohato snack. I did them and bought him eight bags. Then I went to the grocery floor to look for soy sauce, this bacon pretzel sticks he likes, and some fruit. I found what I needed and headed back home.
Snacks for Doug
To get ready for the movers, I cleaned the floors in the apartment. I want it to look good and for when they put our stuff down, its already clean! I picked up Doug from work and we came home. I showed him all the snacks I got for him. I made dinner and we had a quiet evening at home.
Thursday, August 27th
Getting our stuff day!
The movers got here at 9 a.m. and unloaded one of the three trucks with our stuff. We have a lot of stuff, maybe too much stuff. They brought everything up and then started bringing stuff in. The main guy had this piece of cardboard with the number of each box or item. Doug was in charge of marking off the box next to each item, and I told them where to put things. Every time they came into the apartment, they took of their shoes. There were about five guys helping with everything.
Most of the stuff they had brought up first was what we had in the garage in Denver. Which was mostly my teacher stuff, which we were putting in our storage locker that came with the apartment. Then they brought in our bed frame and tried to piece it together. Doug had to help them. Once Doug had to help them, I had to check things off. They did take a few breaks, which they totally deserved, because we have too much stuff. There were some moments. One guy tried to read me the numbers, but he was messing up. The main guy pretty much pushed him away. This made me laugh, luckily they laughed too.
For lunch, we usually buy the movers lunch. Doug talked to the main guy and he said they have lunch, but would love some drinks. We had water and some Bacari Sweat for them in the morning. I went to Daily’s (convenient store) to buy some drinks for them and a few for us. While I was out, Doug ordered us Domino’s and had it delivered. As soon as I came back, the pizza was there and the guys decided to take lunch. This was perfect! Doug gave them two Bacari Sweats to drink and we enjoyed our Domino’s. It was pretty good.
Garlic Master
American
Potato Wedges with Chili
Potato Wedges with Butter
Japanese Fried Chicken
Dominos
After lunch, Doug and I worked on arranging a few things and the movers got to working on bringing in the couch, our king size mattress, and the rest of our stuff. Doug and I were worried about the couch and the king size mattress. If they cannot fit them in the elevator, they would carry it up to the fourth floor and Doug and I would have to carry it the rest of the way. Well, they are miracle workers and got them both to fit. The king size mattress got funky and the movers got stuck in the blanket they laid down. I helped out with straightening the blanket and their shoes. They kept apologizing and I kept saying it’s okay. Then they moved the couch in. I got nervous and felt bad for them. Doug and I moved the couch in Denver into the apartment. It sucked! They did an awesome job getting it into the living room.
Doug and I were happy that the couch and our bed fit. They got everything in our apartment and we asked them to unpack the boxes. We normally don’t have them unpack everything but we didn’t want to have to take the boxes to base. They helped us unpack everything so carefully. My favorite part was unpacking all of Doug’s video games, he has over 600 games from several different consoles. One of the younger movers was helping and he pointed to several things he likes (Gundam Wing, Fulmetal Alchemist, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). It was so cute. He even noticed our Studio Ghilbi collection. At the end, one of the guys wanted to see Calcifer (he was in hiding) and I took him to see Calcifer. Calcifer wasn’t about it. I also had a few pikachu items on a shelf, and two of the guys pointed to them and was excited to see them. It made me smile.
Doug and I said bowed and thanked them all. What an experience! Knowing a little Japanese has really helped. We only know how to greet, thank you, yes, no, excuse me, and I am sorry (friendly). Then we looked at all the stuff we get to put away. We have too much stuff. Doug started in his game room/computer room. I started in our bedroom so we could sleep in our bed. Its been 106 days since we have slept in our own bed. We bought new bedding last year on Black Friday and now we can finally use it! It is a nice set and I am glad we have it.
The best part about having our stuff is sleeping in our own bed. It was so comfortable and Gigi was all about it. Calcifer was excited to get under the bed! It is nice to finally have all of our stuff and it is starting to feel like home.
Friday, August 28th
Bender, our car, has its last JCI inspection today! It has to have some work done and the mechanics take it out in town to get the JCI finished. Doug took it and then walked to work. I feel bad because it rained this morning. Doug took an umbrella. Instead of taking the big polka dot umbrella or the white polka dot umbrella, he took the penguin umbrella. Both polka dot umbrellas I have had since 2012. The penguin umbrella I just bought at Christmas and is Vera Bradley, he took that one of course. I told him to not come home unless he has the umbrella.
While Doug was at work, I worked on organizing the apartment. I started in the Tatami room where all the games and movies were. Doug started organizing them and I finished it. I cleaned out the Tatami Room and then took a break.
Before
After
Tatami Room
I started watching Lucifer season 5. I decided to watch one episode then get back to the apartment. I then worked on what I could in the kitchen. We bought a shelf for the microwave next to the fridge and I decided to put it together. I don’t want Doug to have to do a lot this weekend since he will be going under weigh. I put the shelf together and put the microwave on it and a few kitchen items on it too. Then I decided to take a break and watch another episode of Lucifer. I have to change out the rocker (name of his command) on Doug’s dress uniforms. I decided I could do this while waiting for the step stool and/or Doug coming home. I was successful in changing the patch out on both uniforms. Doug will need his dress uniforms in case they do uniform inspections while under weigh. For once, I sewed them on early instead of waiting last minute and being upset about it. I am glad we are back on a Navy Base so he can have them sew his uniforms and/or get the items he needs for his ribbons. We went on a hunt for stars to add to one of his ribbons in Colorado. We weren’t successful in Colorado.
I ordered a step stool for in the kitchen because I cannot reach the top shelf. It is suppose to get here today! Doug messaged me about the car being ready and how he was on his way to get it. He needed to get the car back and go to VRO (vehicle registration office) on base to finish registering it. He was able to do this so I didn’t have to do it. We have officially done everything we needed to do before he leaves! YAY!!! He then came home.
I didn’t have dinner planned because I haven’t been to the store since Wednesday. The meat is only good for a day or two and I don’t like to freeze meat. I know, its weird. Plus, Doug wants CoCo Ichiban-ya before he leaves. We decided to go to the grocery store by CoCo Ichiban-ya and then get Coco’s to go. We are not allowed to dine in at restaurants due to the PHO (public health order) released by the Commander of CFA Sasebo. They take Covid-19 seriously here and anyone with a PHO violation gets in trouble by there command. If you have too many violations you can be sent back to the states. There has been several people who have broken ROM protocols and have been banned from U.S. military installations for years.
I have a love/hate relationship taking Doug to the grocery store. He likes to buy items (junk food) we don’t need. I have got into this habit and I know its bad, but I have just given in at this point. We grab a basket and end up needed a cart. There carts are just the basket placed on the top and another basket on the bottom. We ended up with two baskets of food. We were buying food for two days, so I was trying to make myself feel better about it. It kinda worked. We got snacks and meals for the weekend.
We then went to CoCo Ichiban-ya for dinner. I ordered chicken curry and Doug got beef curry. It was interesting because right after we ordered, two guys walked into order, American. Then another American and then when we got our food another American came into order. I just find it funny that we don’t see Americans in grocery stores, but at restaurants we do. Its okay. I would rather shop out in town than the Commissary. I appreciate the culture and once you understand how things works, you go with it instead of against it. I love the simple gesture of a small bow instead of saying excuse me. It keeps things quiet. I love how quiet it is.
Chicken Curry from Coco Ichiban-ya
Saturday, August 29th
Doug and I planned on finishing the kitchen today. We also made a list of items we need for the apartment. We need curtains for our bedroom, cat litter, maple syrup, and some pots and pans. The maple syrup is for breakfast tomorrow, we want to make french toast. We couldn’t find any in town so we decided to go to the Commissary. A positive to the Commissary is we can get American food items we cannot find out in town.
We first went to main base to the Commissary and the NEX. One of Doug’s shipmates has been in ROM since the end of July. At first he didn’t have to ROM, then they decided to put him in ROM. Then he moved to his apartment in Hairo. They tested him for Covid-19 to come out of ROM but his test was invalid. So he had to ROM again. He will hopefully get out of ROM early next week, but they are going under weigh Wednesday. I know I mentioned it was suppose to be this weekend. Well that is how the military works. Things change last minute and you better role with it, because they could careless about your plans or life events happening. So this poor guy has been in ROM and his family is out of ROM. They haven’t been able to get a car or their licenses yet. They live in Hairo which isn’t close to anything. The tower they live in in Hairo is a hike to and from the Commissary. I feel bad because I dreaded the walk from the Lodge to the front gate in order to go out in town. We are going to help them out anyway we can. We went to the NEX to find a backpack for her to carry groceries in. Well we ended up finding a duffel bag with wheels to help. Then we took it to them. Going to Hairo was an adventure.
I love it here!
Doug picked the longest way to get to Hairo. He didn’t want to take the expressway because you pay a toll. Its like 100 yen. Anyways I thought it was taking the way I have been. No. It took us a different way and it wanted us to turn where we couldn’t. We ended up paying a toll. Should have just taken the expressway. It was okay, because I got to see more beautiful scenery of Sasebo. We ended up making it to Hairo and then got lost trying to find the gate. Google Maps was sucking today! We eventually made it to their tower and gave them the bag. We ended up talking for an hour about different things. We are going to do our best to help out anyway we can. I told the wife to message me and I would try my best to help.
After we left, we headed towards AEON Daito. Its about 20 minutes North of Hairo. We went by Huis Ten Boch. Huis Ten Boch is a Dutch amusement Park and that is one of the things Sasebo is known for. It is beautiful from what I can see from the road. Doug and I want to go for their for the food. It is off limits right now, it wasn’t when we got here. We were planning on going after we got settled. Anyways, we made it to AEON Daito, ready to finish our shopping for the day.
I got the curtains for our bedroom. We ended up getting two rugs, one for the living room and one for the Tatami room. They were both on clearance. Then we were about the check out, and realized we needed pot and pans. I went to get a buggy (cart) because we just had too much stuff in our arms. I got the buggy (cart) and went to Doug in the pots and pans. Buying a set for a induction cook top is expensive as a set. We ended up picking out two pans and a pot. Then we headed toward electronics for Doug to look at games. We got sidetracked and started looking at kitchen appliances. Doug wanted to look for a toaster because we got rid of ours. We ended up buying a toaster oven (for bread and pizza). Then we looked at video games. After looking, we decided to go check out. The ladies are so sweet. They asked us if we want a bag and we said yes in Japanese. We ended up spending about $300. We took our stuff to the car. We don’t need anything else expect two bookshelves, which we will order from Amazon Japan.
We put our stuff in the car and went back inside to the grocery store area. Doug wanted to get some milk for our french toast in the morning. I also bought some fruit, a watermelon and a peach. The peaches here are in season right now and they are so juicy and delicious! After AEON, we went home. I took Doug the back way to get home because it has some awesome scenic areas. There is a part where you can see SSK (Japanese Shipyard). Its really beautiful. You also go down a narrow road which is kinda scary but fun.
Once home, we put everything away and I hung up our new curtains in the bedroom. They almost fit. I am not going to buy another set to cover it. It will be fine. Its mostly to block out the sun in the morning and for privacy. Then I made dinner. I made Korean Beef with Fried Rice and Fried Pork Cutlets. We didn’t eat lunch and were starving. I am proud of ourselves! We waited to eat until we got home, instead of buying some food out in town and bringing it home.
After dinner, we worked on organizing the kitchen. I started a load of laundry. I let Doug finish the kitchen and went out on the balcony with the cats. We cannot trust them to be out there on their own. Gigi likes to sneak next door even though we covered up the place where she can fit. She found a way to get over there. Calcifer won’t go over there. I took my eyes off Gigi, and of course she went next door. Thank goodness they weren’t home. So I bribed her with treats. I got her to come back. She is sneaky.
A gorgeous evening!
Calcifer and Gigi love the balcony.
Sunday, August 30th
Sunrise
I was awaken early this morning to Calcifer scratching in the closet. He somehow got stuck between the wall and some luggage. I felt bad for him. I couldn’t go back to sleep. I stayed up just messing around on my phone. I waited for Doug to get up. Doug was in charge of making breakfast. Doug made French Toast, Pork Belly, Bacon, and Sausage. It was amazing!
French Toast
We then got ready to go to base. We needed to buy a printer and some tuna for the cats. They haven’t had tuna in five days. I am surprised they haven’t revolted against us. I needed the printer in order to print out a paper and send in for a job. I got the special education aid job. I know its just an aid position, but something is better than nothing. This will also allow me the chance to get to know the staff and at least have my foot in the door. I also think its time for me to take a step back and not push myself as hard. I reflect on our time in Colorado and realize we weren’t truly happy. I feel like I was just going through the motions and not actually living my life to the fullest. There were some crushing blows, Doug’s health tanked and I just didn’t care anymore. I feel more alive here in Sasebo, even during Covid-19.
For lunch, Doug decided we should do CoCo Ichiban-ya. He went to get it since we are waiting for Amazon packages. I just stayed at the apartment. Amazon didn’t come while Doug was gone, so I could have went with him. That is okay. We enjoyed our curry. For the rest of the day, we just hung out. Doug has watch tomorrow and won’t be back until Tuesday evening. He also has to get things ready for when they go under weigh. He wants to have the majority of his stuff on board in case they get locked down early.
I woke up, worked out, scooped litter boxes, and did the dishes. After they cleaned the room, I went to the NEX and Commissary for a few things. The cats needed tuna and I needed mouth wash, and water. I forgot to pick up something for lunch, so I decided to go to Hamakatsu. I was craving katsu and they have amazing tonkatsu (pork) and tori katsu (chicken). I decided to have both, tonkatsu and tori katsu. I love that you make your own tonkatsu sauce.
Hamakatsu
After lunch, I went to the grocery store for some fruit. I can buy a small container fruit, just for me, for around 100 to 300 yen (0.94 cents to $2.82). I got watermelon in one container. In another container, I got orange, kiwi, pineapple, and honey dew melon.
I picked up Doug from work and we went to the Ginza (Yonkacho). While deciding what to have for dinner, Doug got a message saying starting tomorrow, his ship will be on home to work. This means Doug can only go to work and home. He can stop for essentials but no dining out. We can get take out. This is to limit him getting Covid-19 and then passing it to his shipmates while they are under weigh. Yes, Doug will be under weigh at the end of the month.
With this news, we decided to go to Pepper Lunch. You cannot really do take out there. Instead of going back to the car, we walked to Pepper Lunch. Doug got the steak with rice and I got steak with bean sprouts, green beans, and carrots with a side of rice. We then decided to get some groceries out in town and some drinks at 7-Eleven. We went to AEON to look for anything we might need and for some groceries. Doug wanted to buy some more candy for work on the 100 yen floor. Then we went to buy groceries. We bought some two packages of ground beef, noodles, and cafe au lait. We spent 2,475 yen ($23.25).
Pepper Lunch
Tuesday, August 18th
Doug and I went to Housing for our initial paperwork meeting. We set up our lease signing, move-in inspection, move in date, and loaner appliance hook up date. It is all taken place this Friday. We are ecstatic to be able to move in at the end of the week. Doug will be going under weigh on August 31st. I wanted to have a place and at least our household goods delivery date before he leaves. Well, we will have a place before he leaves and Doug will have to call household goods for our stuff.
After Housing, we went to G.I. Bill Pay to set up rent, utilities, and getting faster internet. You can choose to pick if you want your rent to come out of one paycheck or two paychecks. We choose two paychecks so it doesn’t hit the account all at once. The utilities will come out to the closet paycheck date. I am glad we can use G.I. Bill Pay to have it come out automatically and don’t have to run around to figure out how to pay the bills.
Then we went through the McDonald’s drive thru on base. That was an experience! Since you order on the right side of the vehicle. We got lunch and I took Doug to work. I went back to the room to eat my Big Mac and fries. After lunch, I went to Navy Fedreal to get $3,000 for the lease signing. Then I went to Community Bank to exchange to yen. Our $3,000 was turned into 312,000 yen. I took it back to the room and added it to the money we already had. I wanted to make sure we had all the yen we will need for Friday (891,256 yen in total). We have a little more yen than we need, which is fine. Most restaurants and shops only take yen, no debit/credit card. We always make sure to have yen on us because you never know.
831,256 Yen
Doug got a hold of household goods and they can deliver our stuff on Thursday, August 27th. This means we will need something to sleep on. We decided to get some sleeping bags and pillows from the NEX. I went to the NEX to get the sleeping bags and pillows because you never know when they will restock things. What was exciting was the sleeping bags and pillows both were 20% off!
For dinner, we had tacos! I used the beautiful ground beef we got from the store. They were amazing! I love how fresh everything is here out in town. At the Commissary, the meat is frozen then thawed out. I also don’t care much for there meat.
Wednesday, August 19th
I got up and did my morning routine. I worked out, ate breakfast, and did the dishes. I forgot to scoop the litter box. I can always do that tomorrow. The plan for the day is to get some items for the apartment since our household goods won’t be delivered for almost a week. Like we will need a pot and a pan to cook. Some cooking utensils and bowls.
Breakfast
I decided to go to Gobangai (5th Avenue) Mall. I wanted to look at the 300 yen store and the 100 yen store. The 100 yen store has more kitchen items than the 100 yen stores at the Ginza. At the 100 yen store I got two bowls, two sets of stainless steel chopsticks, a strainer, a cat mat, cooking chopsticks, and a spatula. At the 300 yen store I got two bowls with cats on them and a reusable bag with penguins on it. Then I went to Ellena, grocery store, for some fruit. I just bought some watermelon for breakfast tomorrow.
I went back to base for lunch. I made myself a cup of Ramen. It was cheese curry and it was delicious! I just stayed in the room until Doug got off work. I picked him up from work. For dinner, I made fried rice. It was amazing!
The Commander Officer of the base released the newest PHO. We are no longer allowed to dine in at restaurants. We can order take out. There are a few restaurants that offer take out. Its not a big deal to us because Doug’s command was placed on work to home. Doug is allowed to go out to shop for essentials. I am allowed to go out and do what I want within the PHO measures. I don’t want to put Doug and his shipmates at risk, so I am only going out to get stuff we for the apartment and food. I consider that essential.
Thursday, August 20th
Let’s see, I got up, worked out, ate breakfast, scooped litter boxes, and did the dishes. The plan is to go to the Ginza (Yonkacho) today. I need to find a small pot and pan that are for an induction cooktop for the apartment. What is an induction cook top? It uses a magnetic field to heat up the whole pan instead of gas or on an element like electric.
At the Ginza (Yonkacho), I went to both 100 yen stores. I knew one of them had pots but I couldn’t remember which one. The first 100 yen store didn’t have pans so I left without buying anything. I then walked to the other end of the Ginza (Yonkacho). The other 100 yen store is by the entrance near Yoshinoya. I found a pot and pan. The pot was 700 yen ($6.62) and the pan was 500 yen ($4.73). I also bought two pads to put hot pans/pots on. Then I decided to go to AEON to look at some things. I ended up buying a scrub brush for the dishes, some cat chopsticks, and some plastic chop sticks. I then went back to base.
I decided to go to the NEX to get us some towels to use when we move in. Doug and I get rid of some stuff before we move. It makes sure we aren’t packing around old items with us. We got rid of our towels and kitchen cooking utensils. There are items they won’t pack like food even non-perishables and garbage cans. Anyways, I bought towels at the NEX because they were on sale and discounted for military. I bought Martha Stewart towels for $7.19, they were suppose to be $8.99 for the military price and $20 original price. I was pretty happy. The cheapest towels they have at the NEX are $7.99 and they feel tough.
I then went back to the Lodge to start packing all of our stuff. Tomorrow will be tight on time to get everything out of the room. Doug called me about an hour into packing to go get him from work. I picked him up and then we went to the NEX because he needed a planner for work. They had three options and the one he liked was plain and the most expensive. He needed it though. He also needed a notebook. After the NEX, we went to the NEX Food Court for dinner. We ordered pizza and cheese sticks from Anthony’s. While waiting for the food, we decided to check out Baskin Robins. This was a bad decision. We both got a cold cappuccino. I got caramel and Doug got cookies and cream. After we got our drinks, maybe two minutes later our food was ready. The cold cappuccino’s were delicious. I am glad I am finding about it now. I won’t be tempted unless on base.
We made our way back to the Lodge and ate dinner. While eating Doug started watching a new Netflix documentary High Score. It is about early video games developers and creators. In the first episode, it discusses my all time favorite game, Pac-Man. Toru Iwatani, creator of Pac-Man, he discussed how he catered it towards females because they like food. He’s not wrong. Then the episode leads you to two guys, who dropped out of MIT, to create expansion packs for arcade machines to make the games difficult. This would allow arcade owners to turn a profit on the game because Gamers were starting to figure out the pattern. They made one for Missile Command and were working on one for Pac-Man. Well Atari sued the guys for their Missile Command expansion due to copyright infringement. Atari settled the suit by having the guys work for Atari and get permission for anything new they created. For Pac-Man, they needed permission to sell the game from Midway (company who distributed Pac-Man in the U.S.). Midway decided to keep the Pac-Man brand going and turned it into Ms. Pac-Man. I love that Ms. Pac-Man was originally an expansion pack that got turned into its own game. I am looking forward to watch the rest of the limited series.
I finished packing up the room. Doug and I took a load to the car. Just so we can get a head start for tomorrow. We are excited to spend the last night at the Lodge. We have spent 44 nights at this Lodge, this is including our 14 days of ROM. I am glad to finally have a place.
Last night at the Lodge.
Friday, August 21st
It was a hectic day!!! I got up early because of Gigi snuggles. She likes to lay right behind my upper back. She can be sweet. I laid there for an hour and then Doug got up. We got ready to go to Housing. I made sure I had our money. Doug made sure we had our final bill to turn in to get some money back. We went to Housing and we were early. Once the realtor got there, we went to discuss the lease. We have a housing counselor who conducts the meeting. Doug signed the lease, we paid the realtor, we got the originals for everything, and we over garbage (burnable and non-burnable) and recycling. The garbage is going to be interesting. There are special bags (Sasebo-city bags) that you have to use and you must sort it correctly. I will be fine, Doug is the one I am worried about.
Sasebo-city gives you one coupon book per household member, there are five coupons in the coupon book. Doug and I get two books so we have 10 coupons. We get a new coupon book at the beginning of the year. My plan is to stock up on the bags because the coupons will expire. For recycling, you just need to use a transparent bag and make sure to sort it (plastic, paper, cardboard, and etc.). There is a calendar you must follow for your cho (neighborhood). For example: our burnable garbage is collected every Tuesday and Friday, non-burnable is collected once a month, and recycling is collected twice a month. It is important to know the date because non-burnable and recycling use the same area for collection. The bins are close to the apartment building. The recycling and non-burnable are as you exit the parking garage on the left. The burnable garbage bin is the right at the end of the parking garage.
Sasebo-city trash bags
After Doug signed everything, we went back to the Lodge for the cats and were to meet the realtor at the apartment for the move-in inspection. Calcifer and Gigi were not happy about the car ride that only lasted ten minutes. Once we got there, Gigi was fine, Calcifer tried to find a place to hid. Doug and I were going to start unpacking the car but the realtor arrived. I unpacked the car and Doug did the move-in inspection. After I unloaded the car, I went back to the Lodge for the rest of the stuff. We had one suit case and all the items we have bought since being in Sasebo. It took me two cart loads to get it all! I was able to turn in the room keys at noon, which was check out time. Then I went back to the apartment.
Doug helped me unload the car because they were done with the inspection. He forgot how much stuff we had. I laughed at him. At this point, I was starting to get hangry even though I had some watermelon earlier. Once we unloaded the car, Doug went to the NEX to get a router for the internet. I stayed at the apartment because we were getting our loaner appliances from the base from 1 to 3 p.m. Doug left without telling me how to use the intercom system. Yes, we have an intercom system to let people into the building. I called him to make sure I knew what to do. Its easier. You pick up the phone to talk to the person and hit the key button to let them in.
The people delivering the appliances got here at 1 p.m. on the dot! I let them in. Success! They brought all the appliances up and then came in to hook everything up. They set up the refrigerator, washer, and dryer. They just placed the microwave, dehumidifier, carbon monoxide detector, and two ground plugs. I signed for them and was given the directions for them in English. As soon as they left, which was 15 minutes later, I started laundry. I have heard Japanese dryers take a long time to dry, we shall see how long it takes. To wash, it was about 35 minutes are the recommended setting. They dryer takes two hours to thoroughly dry the clothes. Hence why most Japanese hang dry their clothes. There is a spot on the balcony to dry clothes. The largest load the washer machine will do is 45 Litres (12 gallons). It is a small load of clothes in the U.S. I will be doing laundry more frequently.
Refrigerator
Washer and Dryer
Our appliances
Doug called me once he was done at the NEX. He was surprised at how quick they delivered the appliances. He also grabbed us Taco Bell while he was on base. When he came back, we ate lunch, Doug set up the router, and I was working on organizing our stuff we have. Doug kept getting side tracked about things and interrupting me in the process. He eventually was able to get his stuff ready to go to work. He has watch all weekend, so I will be home alone (this will be happening a lot). We were expecting a delivery from Amazon Japan. Since we have an address out in town, Doug decided to see how much Amazon Prime Japan. It is $5 a month. He ordered a cat tower, two air mattresses, and a hookup for the car. Doug scheduled the delivery between 2 and 4 p.m. Before I took him to work, I wanted to check our mailbox and the delivery guy came with our packages. The poor delivery guy looked hot and tired. I am glad he didn’t have to take the package all the way up to the sixth floor. We took the packages up, then I took Doug to work. I came back to the apartment to work on cleaning and organizing.
About an hour and a half after I took Doug to work, he is texting me about how he forgot to bring two games to work. He told me twice, this means he wants me to bring them to him. I am nice, too nice. Thankfully, we only live ten minutes (driving) from base. I found the games and the controller he wanted me to bring. I took them to him and luckily I wanted to get some hand soap from the NEX. I went on base to the NEX, his ship is at SSK (Japanese Shipyard). I bought some Bath and Body Works Soap. Some advantages of the NEX is they do carry Bath and Body Works and Victoria Secret body care. The only thing is they don’t run sales on them. They do have a military price. It is okay, I wanted it, so I bought some soap. Covid-19 and being an adult makes you happy for hand soap.
I get back to the apartment. I am finally able to clean and put everything away. I was able to put the cat tower together. This is the first cat tower I got to put together without Doug. I am pretty proud of myself. Then I made myself dinner, Ramen. I took a shower and went to bed. It was a busy day.
Gigi wasn’t happy Calcifer was on the cat tower.
Saturday, August 22nd
I get to start a new routine in our apartment. Well maybe tomorrow. Doug wanted me to call his Grandmother last night to show off the apartment. Well we need to get lights for the living room and bedrooms. I called her this morning and she was happy for us. I then called my dad and mom to show them. My favorite part about the apartment is the view. It is beautiful.
Yesterday, I discovered in the fridge a water tank and an ice drawer with a scoop. Today, I found ice in the drawer! I am ecstatic! I was already planning on going to 7-Eleven to buy a bad of ice. August is the hottest month here. The heat and humidity is crazy here! It is worse than Florida. The plan today is to get stuff we will need around the apartment. I made a list we shall see what I can find!
Ice!
For lunch, I tried Cup Noodle Seafood. It was good but I still like the Curry flavor the best! Then I set out to go to Gobangai (5th Avenue) Mall. I went to Seria (100 yen) store and the 300 yen store. At the 100 yen store I bought some cushions for my outside balcony set for when it gets here and some items to sew Doug’s command patch on his dress uniforms (in case he needs them for deployment). At the 300 yen store, I bought a mat for the cat’s litter boxes and some more wash clothes. Then I headed to the Ginza (Yonkacho). I just went to AEON for curtains. I really didn’t like what I saw and their selection was slim. I ended up on the grocery floor to buy food for the weekend. I bought some fruit, sliced beef, bacon, teriyaki sauce, a couple of coffee drinks, some chocolate bread, and Sasebo-city bags.
I took everything back to the apartment. Doug messaged me and asked if I would bring him dinner. He didn’t like what they were having on the ship. I don’t know what he is going to do when they are under weigh or out for deployment, hopefully he will suck it up. I went to Chili’s and placed a To Go order. He wanted a burger with bacon and cheese, bacon and cheese fries, and two orders of skillet queso. I brought him dinner and then decided to go to AEON Daito. It is about 25 minutes away. It started to rain, my first time driving in the rain in Sasebo. It was easy. Made me reflect on the hour of rain we would get in Florida. Thankfully people in Japan can drive in the ran.
At AEON Daito, I was able to find some curtains for the living room. I bought two sets to see how that would do. Then I went to look the grocery store area. I have noticed that even if they are the same store you can find something different. I found some caramel popcorn and some fruit. I decided I needed bell peppers to go with my sliced beef for dinner. I also looked at drinks and bought a couple I haven’t seen yet. We will see if they are any good. Then I left AEON. I decided to take a different way home. It was exciting because it was a part of Sasebo I haven’t seen yet. It did get scary at the end. I was was going down a one lane road that was only 1.5 meters wide. Luckily I never came across someone going the opposite direction.
I made it home and made myself dinner. I decided to make teriyaki beef with yellow and red bell peppers and udon noodles. I just boiled the udon noodles, I should have made more of a stir fry with them. Doug gave me the idea after I plated everything and was ready to eat. Maybe I will try it again later in the week when Doug is home. Doug and his watch. He has shore patrol. Him and another sailor from his ship walk around the Ginza from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m.
I went to bed early. I didn’t sleep well last night. I slept in the living room last night and I decided to sleep in the Tatami room. We shall see.
Sunday, August 23rd
Today is Pokemon Go Fest 2020 Make Up Day 2 for the Asia Pacific Region. Ninatic forgot to turn on the shiny for the unown letters. I was happy with what I got last weekend, today was just a bonus. I did get one shiny today, it is the letter ‘o’ unown. I didn’t have that one. Successful Make Up Day 2. I also forgot to include on Friday, I can reach a Poke Gym from my apartment. In Denver, I couldn’t reach a stop from the apartment. I am happy.
Breakfast
Shiny!
I talked to my mom for about an hour and half. It started out about the curtains I hung up in the living room. The apartment came with curtain rods and the pieces for the hooks to go into. I bought curtains not knowing if they had the hooks on them. I was lucky. They have the hooks on them! While I was talking to my mom, Calcifer disappeared. He went into a cabinet under the cook top and didn’t come out. I searched the apartment three times looking for him. I left to go get curtains for the Tatami Room and the Game Room and then he came out. He scared me. I now know not to let him in that cabinet.
Sheer set
Hooks to hang them up
Blue set
Living Room Curtains
I went back to AEON Daito to get one more blue set of curtains and to pick out curtains for the Tatami Room. I tried to call Doug to get his opinion, but no luck. At first, I was going to go with these green and light green leaf curtains. Then, I was like, I can get what I want. I picked a orange, black, and light green circle curtains. The circles have different patterns on them. I got another set of blue curtains for the Game Room. Yes, it will match the Living Room but its Doug’s Game Room. They only had three colors to choose from those. They were beige, pink, and blue. The apartment has white wallpaper and the beige curtains would make it too neutral. I am not about a neutral look. Pink would be okay but Doug doesn’t like pink. I also prefer blue over pink. They did have a cute teal pair of curtains but I couldn’t justify the price. Then I went to look at bathroom stuff because I have been wanting some Jiji stuff, the cat from Kiki’s Delivery Service. I found a mat to go in front of the toilet and I bought another one for in front of the shower room for now. I also found a hand towel with Jiji on it. I decided I needed that in my life. I also bought a cheap knife so I could slice the bread I bought. I decided I spent enough money on that floor and went to the first floor. I wanted to get a filter for the faucet at the Watts (100 yen store). I found a filter for the faucet, a sprayer head for the faucet, and some scent stuff for the built in sink filter. Then I left AEON to go home.
Jiji mat and Calcifer
Tatami Room
Game Room
Game Room
Right before I got home, Doug called me. He asked me if I found lighting. I completely forgot even though I made a list. Dang it!!! He was like you can turn around. Yeah, as I pull into the parking garage for the house. I will just go back out. UGH! While I was on the phone with Doug, I hung up the new curtains. I am proud of my choices. It is starting to feel more like home. I cannot wait until we get our stuff. That will make it feel like home.
I went to the AEON in the Ginza (Yonkacho), no luck for lighting. I did go to the 100 yen floor and bought a push light to have at night. It is just for when I turn off the hallway lights right before bed. I bought a few more things on the 100 yen floor, like a scrub brush for the shower room, a cute pencil pouch, water bottle cleaner, clear plastic bags for cat litter and pads. Then I went to the grocery floor to pick up meat for tomorrow’s dinner. I picked up more of the sliced beef I got yesterday and some drinks for Doug. Then I headed back to the apartment.
For dinner, I made pork belly with Cup Noodle Curry. It was amazing!! I finally had some chocolate bread. I had to buy a knife in order to cut it. I just bought a cheap knife at AEON.
We were on a Storm Watch as a Tropical Depressions goes by. It is just creating rough waters out in the harbor and for Sasebo River. I went to the bank to get the rest of our savings out to exchange the currency for when we find a place. Doug picked me up and we went to Housing. They didn’t have anything. We have to go check every day around noon. At noon is when they post new listings or places people didn’t want. We will see if they have anything available tomorrow. I came back to the room and worked on fixing my federal resume for two jobs I already applied for then I applied for another job. My federal resume is now nine pages.
For dinner we went to Miraizaka. Doug has been wanting some yakitori and this place had it on the menu outside. We decided to try it out. When you go in, they have a genkan, so you have to take your shoes off and place them in a locker. They don’t have an English menu. We had to use Google Translate for the menu. They were nice to have a sign to tell us how to order in English. Doug ordered all the different yakitori they had and we ordered somethings that looked good. They at least had pictures for the majority of the menu. There were a few things I didn’t like which was fine. At least I tried them! We were happy we went there.
Front of Miraizaka
Side angle of Miraizaka
It is upstairs.
Our table
Artwork at our table
Next to us
Miraizaka
Miraizaka’s Menu and the tablet we ordered from.
Left to Right: chicken cartilage, chicken wings, and fries.
Potato balls with cheese inside served with ketchup.
Gyoza
Left to Right: Negiuma (chicken breast with onion), hatsu (chicken hearts), sasami (chicken breast), sunagimo (gizzard), and kawa (chicken skin).
Interesting day. I got up and did my morning routine. I worked out, ate breakfast, and took a shower. I worked on my Japanese. I review then learn new words through Rosetta Stone. It also goes over grammar and weaves in previous lessons for more repetitions. I also am working on writing in hiragana and katakana. I bought a kids practice book to help. My lunch today was Cup Noodles Curry and left over shaka shaka chicken. I was surprised how the shaka shaka chicken reheated well in the microwave.
Doug texted me about how he needed to go to the hospital. He was having pain in one of his testicles. There is only a health clinic on base so any testing or major things will be taken out in town. You must have a referral for out in town so we don’t have to pay. Doug came to pick me up and we went to the Sasebo City General Hospital.
Doug had to drive since I don’t have my license. I felt terrible that I couldn’t drive. Luckily Sasebo City General Hospital was close to base. It is just past Nimitz Park. A translator was going to meet us at the hospital. We figured out parking and started walking towards the main entrance. We meet the translator and went in. We sat in a waiting area for the translator to get the information she would need. Doug’s command doctor provided a sheet for the translator. A nurse meet us and Doug had to fill out paperwork. We then were taken to another waiting area for them to do an ultrasound and take Doug’s blood. I stayed in the waiting area. After they sent the blood work, we were sent to the Emergency Room of the Hospital because it was now after hours at the hospital. The main hospital closes at 5:00 p.m. We waited in the Emergency Room for the test results. The test results came back and the Doctor came, he took the Doug and the translator to a room. The good news is Doug had slight testicular torsion and there was no need for surgery. I got Doug’s permission to share this in the blog. Also, this was the translator’s first experience and she was nervous. She did amazing!
We went back to base and had Popeye’s for dinner. Doug and I both decided we liked KFC out in town more than Popeye’s on base. My problem with the Popeye’s here is they don’t have all the sauces you can get back in the states.
Wednesday, August 12th
I passed my driver’s test today! They only had me pull out and then back into a spot. I have been practicing so it was easy. I should have passed the first time, but that is okay. Doug came to get me for us to go to Housing. We got there a little early. We picked a place that has been on the board for a while. Housing contacted the realtor and set us up for a 1:30 p.m. appointment. It requires about $8,000 up front. We have that but our funds are starting to get low. The government is taking their sweet time refunding us for our second place tickets, travel expenses, and hotel costs. Anyways, thank goodness Doug gets paid Friday! They didn’t put anything new on the board. We are allowed to have two choices in order to look at.
Doug contacted his command to see if he needed to come back to work then go to the viewing. His command told him to come back after the apartment viewing. Doug decided to change out of his uniform to civilian clothes. It was too hot to walk around in his uniform. He would just take his uniform with him and change at work. We went to the NEX Food Court and had Taco Bell. I had a chicken quesadilla and Doug had chalupas. We then left our car at the NEX and walked to the back gate to meet the realtor.
We meet the realtor and she took us to the apartment. It is 2.2 km from the front gate and 1.2 km from the Ginza (Yonkacho). Parking is on the second floor and the apartment is on the sixth floor. There is an elevator. The apartment is four bedroom, one bathroom and is 1,214 square feet. There is one tatami room that counts as a bedroom. The living room is large and meets up with the kitchen. The sink in the kitchen is HUGE! There is a large balcony that you can reach from the living room, tatami room, and one of the bedrooms. It is beautiful and the view is breathtaking! There is also additional storage which is great for seasonal and my teacher stuff. We told the realtor we were going to take it! On our way back to base, she showed us where to place garbage and recycling. The garbage is located right outside the parking area. Recycling is around the corner on the left.
View out of front door
Front Door
Genkan
Hallway
Master Bedroom
Master Closets
Guest Bedroom
Guest Bedroom Closet
Game Room
Game Room Closet
Wash Room
Toilet
Shower Room
Tatami Room
Kitchen
Living Room
Balcony View from Living Room
Balcony View from Tatami Room
Beautiful!
Hopefully, our apartment
The realtor took us back to base and dropped us off at the back gate. We walked back to the car and went to Housing. We told Housing we would take the apartment. Housing then set us up for an initial paperwork appointment. At the initial paperwork appointment, we will get a ‘Need to Know Guide’, schedule lease signing, move-in date, appliance delivery date, inventory sheet (request appliances), cost estimate form (how much yen we will need), Sasebo Cho Rental Guide (paying utilities, rent, and important phone numbers). They will also tell us how to sort our garbage and recycling. The base will provide us with a refrigerator, washer, dryer, microwave, air conditioners (up to four wall units), dehumidifier, and a carbon monoxide detector. The apartment has air condition so we won’t need any more. The base will also install everything for you! We will need a refrigerator, washer, dryer, microwave, dehumidifier, and the carbon monoxide detector. I am looking forward to finally having a place!
I drove Doug back to work. His ship is located at SSK which is the Japanese Shipyard. They check your ID before you are allowed to enter. I got to finally see Doug’s ship. Then I went back to the Lodge. I just messed around for awhile until Doug called me to pick him up. I picked him up then we went out for dinner. We went to the Ginza (Yonkacho)and had Hanamaru Udon. We have had this before. I got the beef bowl and a potato croquette. Doug got the beef bowl, beef udon, and some chicken. We spent 1,727 yen ($16) for dinner. I love their beef bowl!
While at the Ginza, we went to one of the 100 yen stores and AEON for slippers in the apartment. At the 100 yen store we were looking for felt pads for our furniture since their is no carpet in the apartment. We also found some pens, candy for Doug to take to work, a basket for the candy, and two coloring books. Doug likes to have candy on his desk for people, he is sweet.
Slipper hunt at AEON. The apartment has a Genkan, so we will need slippers for around the house. A Genkan is a tradional Japanese entry way and you have to step up to enter the home. We also picked up some bathroom slippers too. We had to get the largest size slippers they have. I wear US size 11 in womens and Doug wears a US size 12 in mens. Japanese shoe sizes are in cm. I wear 27 cm here in Japan. Womens shoes here only go up to 25 cm (US size 9). I can find shoes and socks in men size 27 cm (US men’s 9.5). The largest slippers they have is ‘LL’ which Doug calls a ‘Large Large’. We both got the same style slipper just in different colors. Doug got gray and I got black.
On the way back to the car, we stopped at 7-Eleven for snacks. Doug has watch tomorrow so he wanted to get some snacks to take with him. He is not allowed to leave the ship while on watch. He picked up some snacks and I grabbed lunch for tomorrow.
We tried on the slippers once we made it back to the room. Doug’s slippers are just a tad small but they will work! My slippers fit perfectly and I am excited.
Thursday, August 13th
Doug has watch today so I will be on my own. I will pick him up from work tomorrow. I got up worked out, scooped the litter box, and ate breakfast. I have to pick up the car paperwork today. I don’t know when, Doug will let me know.
My lunch was shirmp gratin with a white cream sauce from 7-Eleven. It. was. AMAZING! I have been eyeing this dish and decided to pick it up last night. I was nice enough to share with Gig and she enjoyed it as well. I gave her some of the sauce. Gigi was a feral cat before we got her, so she eats everything. If she doesn’t eat it, then I won’t eat it. One time, she didn’t like a bratwurst, I took a bite and agreed with her. That is the only time I have seen her not eat something.
Shrimp with White Sauce and Rice
Doug called me to meet the lady at the Post Office on base to get the car paperwork. The lady goes out in town to get the name changed on the documents. I checked the documents to make sure they were correct and paid her. She was sweet, she kept apologizing and I told her not to worry! The next steps for the car is to register it at VRO (on base) for our base access sticker and to get the JCI (Japanese Compulsory Insurance) done. The JCI is a government mandated vehicle inspection that is required every two years. The JCI on Bender is due this September. We can have this done on base or out in town. The previous owners paid around $200 the last time the JCI was due. They also suggested to just do it on base. Doug has to do the JCI because the car is in his name. I am not allowed to have it in my name since I am a spouse. I am good with it, its not my responsibility. Their is a NEX Auto area at the NEX Mini Mart where you have the JCI done.
For dinner, I decided to go to the Ginza (Yonkacho). There are three places I want to try so I picked one of them. I went to Gyoza Ohsho (Gyoza King) which is a Chinese restaurant. I sat at a counter and took a look at the menu. I was happy to see Chinese Soup Dumplings. I didn’t try them, I will next time though! I ordered roasted pork and gyoza. The vegetables in the gyoza were crunchy instead of being soft. It was good gyoza. The roasted pork was amazing! I cannot wait for Doug to try this place out because they have pepper steak. Doug is a huge fan of some good pepper steak. My dinner cost was 737 yen ($6.89). It was filling and cheap!
Roasted Pork
Gyoza Ohsho
After dinner, I went to the 100 yen store to find the pens Doug liked. I found them! They had four left and I bought them. I also found some cute penguin sticky notes and a penguin memo pad. I couldn’t resist how cute they were! Then, I decided to go to 7-Eleven to grab something for lunch tomorrow. I found a meal that had steak with a sauce. It looked amazing and I used Google Translate to make sure it was steak. This was the only things I got at 7-Eleven. It was 499 yen ($4.67).
Then I decided I needed some fruit for my breakfast in the morning. I went to AEON. The grocery portion of the store is on the lower floor. I looked at the fruit. I was hoping for watermelon but they only had pineapple and cherries. The pineapple looked good but I decided on cherries. The cherries were only 255 yen ($2.39). I was pretty happy with my self. I didn’t embarrass myself and went the correct way to check out. The lady ringing me up didn’t ask me for a bag. I was glad because I had my 7-Eleven bag. She placed an AEON sticker on it and moved me over to pay. I used the button to translate it to English and paid in coins. I have to work on getting rid of 1 yen coins. I have over thirty! Then I headed back to the car, which was parked at Nimitz Park and went back to base.
Friday, August 14th
I had to do some errands so I actually woke up early. I got up, worked out, scooped the litter box, and ate breakfast. I got dressed and headed to the bank. I needed to get a roll of quarters in order to do laundry. Then I headed to the NEX to grab cat food. I forgot that the NEX doesn’t have cat food. The Commissary and the NEX Mini Mart have cat food. I then went back to the car. The Commissary didn’t open for two more minutes and it was too hot to be standing outside. It was 90 degrees today with 78% humidity. I got the cat food. I took the cat food back to the car. Then walked to the Post Office on base. The NEX and the Commisary are right next to each other. The Post Office is across the street from them. It didn’t make sense to move the car even though it was hot today. I had to turn in our form for a FPO box. The guy asked where we are living and I said out in town and Main Base is the closest. He went back in the back, I guess, to look up what box we could have and the combination code. He gave me a slip of paper with the box number and the combination number on it. Then I went back to the room.
The plan for the afternoon was to have lunch and work on the blog. I got behind because I have done video calls with my mom and dad this week. They wanted to know more about the apartment and how things are going. I am thankful for video and audio calls through Facebook Messenger. That is how I have been able to communicate with Doug, my family, and friends.
My lunch! The Charcoal Fired Steak with Rice I got from 7-Eleven was awesome! The sauce they used, oishi (delicious). I love some good meat with rice! I even sent a picture to Doug, he was jealous. Apparently on the ship for lunch, they decided to make salisbury steak with chicken noodle soup on top. No gravy. Chicken Noodle Soup on top. Doug had a peanut butter sandwich for lunch. I felt bad for sharing my amazing lunch.
Charcoal Fired Steak with Rice
Well I messed up my phone and had to completely restore it. I lost some of my pictures from earlier this week. I do have the food pictures because I sent them to Doug! Doug got off earlier which didn’t matter because he was trying to restore my phone. Doug decided for dinner to go to Pepper Lunch. I got the Sirloin Pepper Steak with bean sprouts, green beans, and carrots. Doug got the Beef Pepper Rice. It was awesome.
Sirloin Pepper Steak
We then walked over to Gobangai (5th Avenue Mall) because Doug wanted to go to Toys ‘R Us. We got another Super Mario Lego Set, the Mario Cat Suit, and two random small Super Mario Lego sets. We then decided to go to the 300 yen store. I told Doug it was bad in there. We left there with 2,750 yen worth of stuff for the apartment. We bought two rugs, one mat for the kitchen, two mats for dishes, snack clips, and dish towels. All of it has cats on it except one has penguins on it. Doug told me how it was a bad store and we shouldn’t have went it. I told you so. We then decided to walk back to the car and go back to base.
Penguin rug
Space Cat Mat
Cat Rug
Cat Kitchen Stuff
View on the second floor of Gobangai.
Super Mario Legos
Saturday, August 15th
A Beautiful Day in Sasebo.
Doug and I decided today we would go explore west of the base. Before we went on a mini adventure, we went to CoCo Ichibanya for lunch. We went there last weekend and had an amazing meal. Plus, Doug and I were both thinking about having curry. Doug got the same thing as last week, a beef cutlet curry and naan bread. I got the chicken cutlet with summer vegetables and a piece of naan bread. I kept my spicy level the same. Doug went up a spicy level. He enjoyed the spiciness and doesn’t think he would go any higher.
Chicken Cutlet with Summer Vegetables
Naan Bread
CoCo Ichibanya
We have been west but we wanted to venture further out. We decided to drive as far as we felt comfortable with. We ended up seeing some gorgeous places. I made sure to take lots of pictures.
After our mini adventure, we came back to the Lodge. Doug was feeling sleepy so he took a nap. I decided to watch K-Pop videos and play Pokemon Go. I haven’t given a Pokemon Go update in a while. Let’s see, I got a shiny Deoxy earlier this week. That was exciting especially because Doug’s account got a shiny before me. I also got a shiny unknown letter ‘l’. That is about it.
Shiny
When Doug woke up from his nap, we discussed what to do for dinner. Doug wasn’t hungry so we decided to go to several GEO’s and then find dinner along the way. GEO sells video games, DVD’s, and CD’s. They also rent DVD’s and video games. Doug has been able to find a few games he likes. Tonight he was telling me how expensive Gundam games are in the states but cheap here. For example one game he showed me was like $10 but cost over $100 in the states. Doug bought a few things and I got some caramel popcorn.
Yummy!
For dinner, we ended up at KFC. I decided to try this new chicken sandwich they had, the Hot Chili Cheese Sandwich. Doug got the Red Hot Chicken again. My sandwich was really good and the spicy level was perfect! I love their pies! We then went to Baskin Robbins because they have Pikachu ice cream with cute Pokemon cups. You also get a cute Pikachu spoon! It was sooo adorable! The ice cream was good.
Menu
My Hot Chili Cheese Sandwich meal (980 yen/$9.19)
KFC
Baskin Robbins
After dinner, we went to another GEO. Doug didn’t find anything at this GEO which was fine. It was on the way back to base. On the way back, we decided to stop at 7-Eleven for snacks. I also proposed we pick up something to eat tomorrow. Doug wants to have a rest day tomorrow. I found the Charcoal Fire Steak with Rice for him. I got myself the Shrimp with White Sauce and Rice. Doug also picked up some more drinks for himself and snacks. I still have plenty of snacks and drinks. I have been drinking more water and really only buying flavored water. I try to limit myself to one melon soda a day. That is one thing I love about Japan is their sizes are smaller. I cannot drink a large melon soda. I can drink a small or medium.
Delicious!
Sunday, August 16th
Doug wanted to rest today so he stayed in the room. I went to the Ginza (Yonkacho) to play Pokemon Go (make up Go Fest day). There was some problems during Go Fest and Ninantic decided to give people a make up day. It was available between 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. I got four shinies. I was excited because three of them I didn’t have.
It was hot today! I only stayed out for the event and then went back to the room. While I was out I got Doug and I a late lunch. I went to the McDonald’s at the Ginza. Doug got chicken nuggets and I got a Big Mac. McDonalds is so much better here!
McDonalds
The rest of the day, I did laundry and watched YouTube. Doug played a game. For dinner, I had Shrimp with White Sauce and Rice. Doug tried the Charcoal Steak with Rice but he didn’t like the sauce. I ate the steak from it and he had nachos.
Obon Festival
From Thursday, August 13th to Sunday, August 16th was Obon Festival in Japan. It is how Japan pays tribute to their ancestors and loved ones who have passed away. On Saturday, August 15th, we watched as several families paid tributes to their ancestors and loves with lanterns. I didn’t take pictures out of respet.
Hale of a Journey 