Misawa

Japan has accepted me back for a second time within a month. I never thought I would be able to leave for international travel at a moments notice, but I guess we always surprise ourselves. I should not even unpack when I go home. I am happy to be in Misawa. The climate is cool, similar to San Francisco. Maybe even the Pacific Northwest. The base here is huge compared to Yokota. Huge and prettier. Everyone kept saying that this was country, that there was nothing here. That is very wrong. It is a city outside the base, perhaps country compared to Tokyo, but most definitely a city. It is quiet, but there is no lack of buildings and amenities. On base there are hills and trees and a lake with a mini beach. I dare say some parts are even beautiful. When we were driving with our POJ, a squirrel ran across the road! A squirrel! I saw no squirrels in Tokyo.

After two nights in Sagamiono, which is where our Japan office is, we took the Shinkansen here. Our new Japanese hire, Kawasaki-san, drove his van up with all tools needed and our baggage, which was supremely helpful. The Shinkansen was awesome. It is like flying on land. My eyes were wide open the whole time. The day was partly cloudy, so visibility was decent. Even though there is little else besides rice paddies, I took it all in. We passed through some fairly large cities, which should not surprise me, but it did. It is hard to think of any city area in Japan outside of Tokyo, but it is, after all, a country with many centers. I think I was smiling the whole time involuntarily, something I realized when he hit a hilly area and we passed through several tunnels. As soon as we hit the tunnel, my view turned black, and I could feel my face relax. Every single time. I had to laugh. There is one word for Japan, though. Prefabrication. Almost every single house looked cut from one of several prefab designs. The same exterior in varying colors, the same layout, the exterior tinted acrylic garages, the same balconies, the same windows. Of course, this is based on the Tokyo area, and clusters close to the train tracks. Perhaps it gets more "real" further away from mass transit. Every hotel I have stayed at-save for the Kanto Lodge on base-has a bathroom that is one tiny unit. All plastic, with a drain on the floor, as if you could close the door and the whole things washes down like a dishwasher. I make a lot of noise in there, constantly banging my elbows on the plastic walls as i try to wash my back. I feel like a clumsy giant in there.

My Japanese ears are getting a lot of workout this time, as Kawasaki-san speaks only Japanese. Like me, he has a few token words in the 2nd language, but we are getting along OK. We are working a lot, so there is really no free time-that is so unfortunate. I would gladly spend 5 weeks here rather than Yokota/Tokyo. Hokkaido is so close, the seafood is so much better, the climate is more agreeable, the country is so close, the ocean is so close.... This place is a little more my speed.