Birthday Weekend!

Perhaps you noticed it was my birthday.  I bet you did because according to Facebook, 56 people posted on my wall.  So I guess if I valued my self-worth based on Facebook profile, I'd say I'm doing pretty okay.  

And if I were to rate my birthday weekend, as planned by Hubby, I'd say it was Excellent :-)  (Yes, Excellent, as in the highest rating you can get at an OMEA adjudicated event).

My stuff!

First, it started at 7:45 am on Friday when the movers from Yokosuka came knocking at my door, bearing a truckload of my household goods!!  Woo woo!!  Besides taking nearly 11 weeks to arrive, our move went much smoother than last years'.  The moving guys were very respectful of our stuff and home.  I didn't hear them run anything in to a wall, drop any boxes, and they removed their shoes every time they came in the door (in true Japanese custom).    Our biggest issue is our bed:  We can't find the screws to put the frame back together.  I'm going to talk to the furniture store on base about this problem.  But we have a bed!  And it's super comfy and I am so very grateful for it.  Note to all readers:  Never take your own bed for granted.  Ever!   The moving guys were speedy and had everything unloaded, boxes unpacked, spare bedroom bed put together (the removed the windows from sliding glass door on our upstairs balcony and made a pulley system to get our mattresses up the stairs!), and had the packing paper and boxes all cleaned up by 10:30. And the best part, almost the entire time they were singing a Japanese pop love song (at least that's what it sounded like to me).  We worked on organizing the rest of the afternoon.  Later in the evening we went out to dinner/drinks and karaoke with Bryan's co-workers to send off Chia, who has left us for California.  Good times, we'll miss Chia, he was a fun guy!

Saturday morning we headed south to Kamakura.  It's close to the ocean and is known for a the Kamakura Daibutsu (Giant Buddha!) and lots of pretty temples and gardens.  We weren't disappointed!

We accidentally got off the train a stop early.  After a few minutes of wandering, we found a huge shrine area.

The woodwork is crazy!

A big Buddha, but not THE big Buddha.

This may be one of the coolest ceilings I've every seen.

I think they monks live back there. We heard them chanting.

The Japanese have really mastered the "peaceful" look.

There are huge spider everywhere!!  Eeeeeek!

We then continued on to our original destination!

He was built seven and a half centuries ago!  I was told that they've tried two or three times to build a structure around him, but every time they do, a natural disaster destroys it.  Apparently he likes to be outside.

He needs some anti-wrinkle cream.

For my engineer friends!

I did not buy any souvenirs.  But I could have bought wooden sandals...   

...or over-priced pottery...

...or flip flops in the shape of fish!

Despite all of the awesomeness above, I think I was most amazed by my train rides home.  First, we had to ride on an old train line, the Enoshima Electric Railway, which does not have very many cars on the train.  So lots of people + not lots of room on the train = people pushers!   I wish I had a picture of the actual people pushing, but I sadly don't.  But literally, lots of people get on to a train, smush themselves in like sardines in a can, and then more people want to get on the train too, so a train worker physically pushes the people in so that the doors will close.  I rode for at least 5 stops with about 8 people touching me.  I'm just glad that I was facing Bryan, not a stranger.  That would have been awkward.    Just to be clear, I'm not complaining about this situation.  It was on my bucket list, and I was just surprised that it first happened down by the beach on a Saturday afternoon, rather than during rush hour in downtown Tokyo.  Lots of other people on the train were also greatly amused by this as well.  Just to clarify though, I would NOT want that to be a regular part of my day (if I had to ride into downtown Tokyo for work, I'm sure it would be).  

This picture is not from my first people-pushing-ride, but my second.  This is inside the Fujisawa Station, one of our transfer points. 

If you look carefully in the window, you can see LOTS of people.

We met friends for dinner at "Fishtank Sushi", which is a popular tiny restaurant right outside of base.  The fish is in the glass behind the counter and the sushi chef cuts if fresh right in front of you.  Very fresh, very good!  From left to right, a pile of ginger, wasabe sauce (no thank you!), shrimp, flounder, salmon, and tuna.  So good!

Sunday morning started with Bryan bringing my hot tea and a bowl of Lucky Charms to me in bed.  What a great start to my 29th birthday!   He got me a beautiful ring, which I may or may not have hinted towards about 50 times and he told me I could pick out some house plants (despite not having a green thumb, I love plants, and was very sad that the ones I had from Ohio and Jax couldn't make the trip across the pond), and an umbrella (they have the most beautiful umbrellas here and I love them!).

So pretty!

  Aaaaand. he took me to The New Sanno Hotel (a hotel owned by the US military in Tokyo--super nice, very well known for their food) for brunch.  In case you don't know, I LOVE BRUNCH.  Perhaps this love stems from pushing pancakes at Denny's for five years.  Maybe not, but I just love brunch.   They definitely had the widest selection of any brunch:  regular breakfast food, several seafood options( including smoked salmon), fresh waffles and crepes, a carving station, lots of salads, cheeses, pastries and fruits, more desserts than I cared to count, an ice cream bar, omelet station, sushi station, so much more, and of course bottomless champagne.  Mmmmm!  Only complaint:  No fried chicken (Having spent one year in the South, I got spoiled with fried chicken being a brunch staple).  Oh, well.    After getting our share of deliciousness we headed to Ginza, which is a district of Tokyo known for their high end shopping (think NYC's 5th Avenue and Chicago's Magnificent Mile, combined, plus some!).   Craaazy!   It was a fun time, despite not being able to afford anything.   After a day of fun in the city, we returned home and Bryan let me pick out my birthday cake at the local grocery store :-)

We found this quiet park in the middle of Tokyo.

I definitely felt more like I was at Hocking Hills, not Tokyo.  So cool.

Bryan got me this card so that I could carry it around all day and everyone would know it was my birthday.  He's the best :-)

One of the brunch tables.

I liked the flags.  I did not like the long tables.  But I did like the ice carving of a bird!  Is it supposed to be a bald eagle??

Outside of the hotel.

Right outside of the Ginza station.

Sony Street in Ginza.

36500 yen for an orchid.  That converts to $465!  I would never buy this flower because I would probably accidentally kill it.

Adam and Bryan decided to have a fashion show in GAP.

Apparently I shouldn't leave them and a camera alone.

They decided it was necessary to try on skinny jeans.

They tell me that the fitting room attendant found it hilarious.

Yeah...

We saw a police-escorted protest!   Our best guess was that they were protesting nuclear power.

Chocolate birthday cake!!!

I leave you with one last pic, which is my current favorite pic of me and Bryan.  This one was from the Navy Ball.

Thanks for reading!!

Sexy man in a uniform!!