Bangkok Bound

We have been in Japan for 3 months now, and our travelers visa was about to expire, so we needed to leave Japan in order to obtain our Japanese work visas. That's how it works in Japan, one must leave the country, apply for a work visa at the Japanese embassy in another country, and then re-enter Japan under your new status. So we left Japan to go to Thailand!

Before we left Japan we had a visit from our brother in law Brian who made the trek, while on business in Tokyo to visit us for the day in Sendai. We showed Brian our city, the studio and life here. We had a terrific time, it was wonderful to have family visit.
I think we have become so used to Janglish that we didn't flinch when we passed a pub called "sperm" - this was Brian's spot he called our attention to it- here's the sign....

Bangkok... I need to preface saying that being an American living overseas really opens your eyes to the way the rest of the world views The United States. When we arrived at immigration entering Thailand- the Thai immigration officer looked at our US passports and said- "America, Boo!" And this is a person who deals with foreigners all day everyday. So with an uneasy giggle we entered Thailand. At least in Japan they were not rude to gaijin to their face...

That was the only negative in our Thailand experience, on the whole we found Bangkok to be a fascinating, vital city. The people couldn't be nicer to tourists, and everyone we encountered in Bangkok, regardless of education level spoke English. This is a huge difference from Japan, Japanese people who are fluent in English is rare.

All of the Thai people we encountered LOVED children. From the most stern soldier and government worker to the waitresses in the touristy restaurants and random people in the subway, walking around with caucasian children was like walking around with rock stars.

Thailand is a study in contrasts- right next to the most beautiful, elaborate and ornate shrines are buildings that are literally falling apart right into the river, with people who are living inside them. The malls and shopping are some of the most sophisticated I've ever seen, all food courts are gourmet and meticulous, while there are stray dogs and cats running around right outside. The BTS subway and train system are advanced and get you where you need to go, but to cruise around the city, nothing beats a tuk-tuk.

In Thailand Buddhism rules, and there's no shortage of beautiful shrines with buddahs everywhere you look. Shrines, are places of worship where you'd go to pay respect to sacred religious icons in Buddhism and Hinduism, who in turn could grant you love, happiness, good fortune, success, luck or even fertility. There are enormous structures the most famous being The Grand Palace and obscure like the one we stumbled on. This shrine we visited was rarely open to the public, so we happened upon it and got an amazing tour from the guard. He explained how different buddahs represented the days of the week. I wish took more pics of all the different buddahs. There are also spirit houses everywhere.

Buddha for Sunday :
In Pensive Thought The enlightened Buddha stands with hands crossed over his abdomen

Buddha for Monday :
Standing- Stop gesture with hand

Buddha for Tuesday :
Reclining Buddha

Buddha for Wednesday Morning :
Standing-Holding an alms bowl

Buddha for Wednesday Evening :
Sitting-Retreat in the Forest

Buddha for Thursday :
Meditating-Sitting in the yoga posture

Buddha for Friday :
In Reflection (Deeply Thinking) Standing- Hands are crossed across the chest

Buddha Image for Saturday :
Sitting in meditation

We got around by river taxi to cross the river and take us to sights such as the snake farm. The snake farm is a zoo where you are encouraged to buy food and feed the animals. The snakes put on a show with their handlers. You get to hold snakes, feed monkeys, peacocks and enormous lizards- sorry Peta. You wouldn't find this petting zoo in the states!

Other cool modes of transportation includes the BTS skytrain and tuk tuks. These are 3 wheeled covered motorcycles that speed around the city with a family of four in tow. Motorcycles are encouraged and as prevalent as cars. At every major intersection you will see a pack of bikes.

Shopping is outrageous in Bangkok- there's nothing you can't get. Counterfeit or real there are great bargains to be had. The only issue is making the calculations in your head of baht (Thai currency) to dollar so you know how much you're bargaining! There are 35 baht to 1 dollar so there's really no easy comparison when doing quick negotiations.

All in all there's about a thousand things that we did not get to do and see and look forward to visiting again soon.

As soon as we returned with our work visas we became eligible to register and recieve an alien registration card which allows you to get medical insurance through the state and a Japanese drivers license, and open a bank account and basically be considered a human being instead of a tourist.
Well we returned to Japan on Thursday night, recieved our Government insurance cards on Friday, moved into our new house on Saturday and on Sunday Zack got an ear infection. So off to the doctor we went, our first experience with a Japanese physician.

Insurance through the government for a family is the ridiculous price of $10.00(yen equivalent) and you pay the doctor 30% for a visit, which comes out to $5-$10.00. The doctor saw Zack, diagnosed the infection, prescribed antibiotics, pain medication and ear drops all which amounted to $10.00. It is accessible to everyone, the only drawback being the wait time for a popular doctor. But- it was a positive experience which left me wondering why we can't make healthcare as efficient as his in the US.

Been a long time...

It's been a while since our last entry, life is busy. Since we will stay for two years, we will be giving up our temporary house and car and have been looking around for both.

First the car, my second favorite pastime here, after tee shirt and sign spotting is car spotting. By this I mean looking for cars that you are familiar with. Here in Japan there are the manufacturers that we are familiar with in the states- Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Suburu etc... except that the models are completely different, and the names are (in diplomatic words) unusual. For example: Toyota has the Alex, ist, Platz, Starlet, Voltz, Vitz, Blizzard, Harrier, Kluger, Voxy, Wish, Succeed, Noah, Alphard, Sparky(!), Stout and 190 more models! The Nissan has the Sunny, Tilda, Cube, March and 85 more, Honda boasts the Logo, Today, Vamos, Life, Life Dunk(!) That's, Vigor and 77 more... I think you get the point, there are countless models of japanese cars on the road. When you buy a car you must prove that you have a parking space for that vehicle- or you will not be allowed to buy it . A police officer will come to check that that new car has a home. So with all that said, the one car that's similar and increasing most popular is the Prius. Parking spaces are tiny here, and you must back in to a spot, so a large car for a person who really doesn't need it, is no favor. Especially with astronomical gas prices. So we went to look at the prius . We were sold, I was excited, really happy to finally get into the ultimate hybrid. So ready to sign the paper work, we were then told that it would be 4 months and we could expect our car in January! Lo and behold no Prius for us!

The housing- Japanese houses are for the most part not made with central heat or air. Instead, gas, oil and electric ovens and air conditioners are used to heat single rooms. They usually blend traditional Tatami Rooms with Tatami Floors made of straw and shoji screens with modern rooms with wood or tile floors. It is essential to remove shoes and wear slippers (inside shoes) indoors. Removing even slippers in Tatami Rooms- bare feet only
We found the coziest, warmest looking house(insulated) and will be moving in shortly.

Lastly, I have to say a few words about the toilets. There are two different kinds here, the traditional Japanese style toilet, which is what you will find in public restrooms they have the toilet on the floor so you must squat down as far as possible- very interesting, and quite challenging, in stark contrast to the luxurious western style toilets which most have heated seat, built in shower/bidet and DRYER! You find western toilets in all private homes.

Today we celebrated Field Day at the School which is a traditional Japanese school event. This consists of relay races for the kids, choreographed dances like the pom pom dance and the maypole dance, where each student grabs a piece of ribbon that hangs off of a pole and dances under and over and intertwines through each other to weave a beautiful pattern down the pole- quite impressive for a bunch of 5 year olds in unison! There are also events for the whole family like balloon stampedes (don't ask) for Moms and Dads, and even events for the grandparents. It wraps up with a picnic- and then a medal ceremony for the kids. Lots of fun.....

Birthday in TOKYO

John surprised me and told me that we were going to Tokyo to spend the weekend, to celebrate my birthday. He had booked the one of the most extravagant hotels in Tokyo, The Park Hyatt, featured in "Lost in Translation".  It was absolutely beautiful, we stayed on the 51st floor, and took pictures of the city, its spectacular views. 

Tokyo is enormous, populated with about 30 million, there are various sections of the city, each has a very distinctive vibe. It's like NYC times a thousand. For example, The Shinjuku area that we stayed in is a lot like a nice Times square. This is the section that is featured when you see movies that take place in Tokyo, it is illuminated with neon at night. The Ginza area is a lot like Madison/Park/5th Avenue, very upscale designer stores and shopping. The Harajuku/Shibuya area is like the East village/Melrose again times a thousand. The girls dress in costumes, that (we discovered) can be found at major department stores, on separate floors along with other young fashion like old school punk stylings like bondage pants, punk tees, and goth items. There is more shopping here than any one person could ever get to. If you lived in Tokyo a lifetime you still wouldn't get to it all. 

The subways are very sophisticated, they manage to get you to every area there, but trying to navigate the subway system was quite a challenge when you can't read the signs and there are different fares to get from place to place. The Shinjuku station is the largest in the world with 50 different exits, 3 department stores and countless other stores and restaurants.

On Saturday night we went to a restaurant called "The Ninja." When you arrive into the dark cavernous place, you are greeted by your ninja (waitress) who takes you to your tatami room by way of twisted labryths and stairways with special passageways that get you to your destination. The ninja does slight of hand tricks for you and makes a mean salad table side. 

A very fun party place.... 

Finally we got back on our Shinkansen express train to Sendai, which was decorated with Pokemon figures (Pokemon is still  the most popular character here.) a 1.5 hour trip. 

We look forward to more experiences and fun in Tokyo. 

Trains are Universal

We found out on a fluke that there was a big event just a half an hour away at a big train yard that brought all of the Shinkansan (bullet trains, pronounced SHIN-KAN-SIN- rhymes with Wisconsin.) trains from all over Japan there, to check out and admire, for kids (boys)of all ages. So, on Saturday July 26 we traveled by train to go to the the Shinkansen festival. We knew we were on the right train as there were hundreds of 4-6 year old boys and their parents on board.  Zack is a particularly big admirer of trains, so nothing made him happier than being able to get underneath the train and check out the mechanics of the enormous vehicle. These trains are more like spaceships than trains- they move at over 200 miles per hour.  We went with some friends from work, and their little girl, Serena, half japanese, half caucasian, who was too cute for words, and learned that when posing for pictures, it is appropriate to wink like Minnie Mouse. 

So moral of the story, no matter if you are, In America, Japan, or wherever, boys like trains and girls like Minnie Mouse, Hello Kitty and Barbie. 

Ocean Day

Today is Monday, July 21 and an official holiday in Japan called "Ocean Day" to celebrate the ocean. It begins the month long summer break for the schools.  We had an eventful week as the boys finished school and went to Japanese camp for the day. The "camp" consists of a special day long festival celebrating the summer holidays in traditional Japanese garb, such as kimonos and yukatas, and singing traditional songs and dances and fun carnival games then finishing up the evening with a campfire and amazing fireworks then an overnight stay at the school, the boys didn't stay the overnight since we live at the bottom of the hill of the school, so we brought them back the next morning for the big watermelon smash (like a pinata, except with a watermelon.)  

They had an amazing time. Since they finished with this class, probably starting with a new class in the fall, the kids made them a beautiful poster for both Max and Zack with drawings from everyone in the class. 

Yesterday we went to our first japanese baseball game. This was wild, the fans are really into it. We went with some other caucasians, some administration and English teachers classes at Meysen (the kids school). So we had a big white group, we'll call it the gaijin section.  The Sendai "Kleenex" (Yes, Kleenex are the sponsors of the stadium) Stadium is the smallest in Japan, probably seating around 5,000, but it is really nice and fairly new. There's really not a bad seat there. There is a wild west theme with a train that Zack and I rode on, cowgirl cheerleaders,  japanese "cowboys and cowgirls", and old time country tunes playing, a very funny scene. The stadium was packed at this sold-out game. As I said the fans are REALLY into it.  The Sendai team is the Rakuten (pron. rock-u-tan ) Eagles. There are two non-japanese players on the team, Rick Short and Jose Fernandez. When The Eagles were up at bat the crowd cheered this song, changing the name of the player at bat- it's very rhythmic and cool. There are "mini cheerleaders" the little girls from local schools who do a little number with the real cheerleaders. The beer and concession girls walked the aisles wearing the cutest little outfits sporting a keg strapped to their back (very handy) and knee socks with built in knee pads for to bend with ease for serving. The food is pretty similar except you can get some sushi rolls and udon as well, and the beer selection is Asahi and Sapporo. 

The really cool thing is that all of the fans at the seventh inning blow up and throw these red balloons to wish the team luck, and if the team wins at the end of the game they throw white balloons for Victory!  It was a really good game, the Eagles won, lots of white balloons, they boys were thrilled. 

2 weeks later!

Well, so much for the daily updates, we have internet issues at the house so blogging time is limited. We have had a whirlwind week full of school (for the boys-check out the uniforms) , driving- (yes, I'm driving here on the left side of the road in a right wheeled car), work, shopping (you cannot imagine the quantity of stores.) and an amazing welcoming barbeque for us, hosted by the company here. 

We live in the suburb of Sendai- Izumi Chuo (izu-me choo-oh). Sendai is a bustling city although they call it the "sticks" compared to Tokyo. There are so many stores that even I was overwhelmed, yes, me the seasoned shopper, was spent after a day of checking out the local stores. See photos of the "sticks"...

Driving here is a challenge- besides everything on the opposite side, when parking you must back up into the spot. Also the spots are tiny- my driving skills will quickly improve, there are so many different kinds of models of cars I don't think I've seen the same one twice. The names are funny too- I will dedicate a blog entry to the names of cars. For example one of my faves, the "succeed"

The boys started school here at Meysen, in a full Japanese class. The children are adorable and very friendly to the newcomers,  the boys wear name tags with English and Japanese names. They sit through class and are learning Japanese songs and days of the week, etc... the english is limited until we come back from break where they will then be in an immersive program of English and Japanese. 

Sports are big here they play soccer and volleyball after work everyday at the office, and we will be going to our first baseball game on Sunday! This is mayhem as the fans are really into it! There are 4 channels of just local baseball here, needless to say, Max is in heaven. 

We will be posting our Top Ten list- bad and good of typical Japanese culture. For example, the food- Sushi is amazing and CHEAP! We eat it everyday, the supermarket sushi is excellent, beats any upscale sushi joint in the states and for an enormous meal of sashimi, rolls and sushi for John and myself runs about $12.00 US. Bad is the pizza, there is a (no joke, Pizza Hut here) and it is beyond not worth eating with typical toppings of mayonaise and corn??!!!

My favorite spot this week was on a T-shirt, at the local department store, unbelievably funny tees here with completely nonsensical English, it read "Frolida's yacht club" translation "Florida's Yacht club" unfortunately I didn't have my camera. I will go back and try to find it next week. 

Did I mention there is an enormous buddah statue here, It leaves you speechless. 

Make sure you scroll down and check out all the pics! 

Konnichiwa

We are finally recovering from jetlag, although we all wake up at around 4:15 AM when the sun comes up, they don't call it land of the rising sun for nothing. We are 13 hours ahead of EST. It's quite beautiful and green here. This is rainy season, but we have had some sunny days in the 80's. 

There are many regions in this city, like LA there are several bustling shopping and city centers that are not considered the center of Sendai, (we will be going and spending time in Sendai center this weekend and will post pics) 

The studio John is working for is called WineStudios, it is a huge, gorgeous, state-of-the art facility, where they play soccer during lunch. 

Max and Zack will begin school on Monday, jumping into a full japanese program. The school is called Meysen, japanese for "bright horizons." It is amazing, the grounds are like nothing I've ever seen before- the pics don't do it justice. There is a farm, numerous playgrounds, pools and slides that go on forever and down the hill. They will learn japanese quickly and teach their mom and dad.

There are not that many people outside of the company that speak English, but they are really nice and patient. The food is great but different, if there are pictures on the menu its great, otherwise we kind of wing it, the boys will not starve because we found a great"Italian" restaurant and the boys said the pasta bolognese was the best thing they've ever eaten. Although udon, miso soup and plain rice is a major staple at our house. 

My favorite thing here is that the japanese love to use some english titles , and a lot of the time they just don't make sense. Everyday I look for a new sign or package that makes me giggle. Some of my favorites so far... "SWEAT"soft drink (like gatorade, to supply electrolytes.) and "STICKING PLASTER" band aids. 

We made it!

After 18 hours, 3 planes, 1 train and 2 automobiles later, we finally arrived in Sendai, Japan.