At the Westpac Lodge we remain. We just found out that we will most likely have our house by late next week (Yayyy). However, we have yet to meet up with Oki. We probably won't be able to meet up with him until later this week. Mike is busy with the check-in process, I am setting up appointments to buy a car, and Oki is out exploring.
Here's some pictures of the flags on Camp Foster, where Mike is working and where we may possibly be living. The area also has plaques dedicated to WWII veterans and is protected by Japanese Shisa, the lion dogs you have probably seen on TV or in Japanese markets in the states. They often come in pairs - the right shisa has an open mouth that is dedicated to warding off evil spirits and the left shisa has a closed mouth to keep good spirits in. There is also an ocean view from here!
As you can see from the pictures, the weather has held up nicely. It is very humid here and always around the low 80's in the summer months. Even though Mike and I came from Parris Island in South Carolina, the humidity is rough for us at times in Okinawa. A look at the weather channel, however, shows thunderstorms the rest of the week. If it's anything like the South, then it will poor for 10 minutes and then stop…We shall see...
We have our Newcomers brief and Japanese Drivers Test tomorrow. In case you aren't aware, Okinawa uses International driving standards. In other words…The steering wheel is on the right side of the car and you drive on the other side of the road than Americans. Mike utterly failed this the first time test-driving a car…Went right into the wrong lane on a right turn. Haha!! Good thing we only have to do the written portion of the driver's test ;)
Leaving base today was the first time I saw protestors outside the gates. The signs said, "Too many military bases in too small Okinawa" and "Marines are surrounded by our anger." Word around town is that some Okinawans want American military to leave their island. However, it is said that these protestors are most often hired by the Chinese and do not have the beliefs that the signs depict. I am not quite sure, since I can't speak Japanese to ask them about their opinions. I'm sure it's like any political discussion - there are plusses and minuses to both sides of the argument. Again…I don't know…What I do know is that everywhere we have gone we have been welcomed with open arms and everyone has been very respectful and nice. Even the man holding the protesting sign waved and smiled at us as we sat at the red light - and not a fake smile like the bums on the side of the road do in the states because they want your money. Haha.
RAMEN - Although we are busy, we have been able to explore a few places nearby! I am a huge fan of trying new restaurants, so you will probably see a lot of those posts :) The first restaurant we went to was a Ramen noodle house in a place called American Village. Since there are so many Americans in Okinawa, the Okinawans try to cater to them as much as possible. American Village is basically an outdoor mall filled with restaurants, shops, and street entertainers. The restaurants, I find, tend to be pretty authentic though, which is what I want! At the Ramen house (I do not know what the name is called since it is written in Kanji - the Japanese character writing) we sat at a sushi-bar type area. The menu is posted right in front of you at your spot, but again only in Kanji. They dropped by an American menu ;) The kitchen was literally right in front of you and you watched them cook everything. It was cool, but very hot since it's summer.
The Ramen Noodle House
I ordered the white miso ramen and Mike ordered the red miso. Both were delicious. You can tell they are homemade (obviously) and their noodle soups in Japan often come with pork. We also ordered the Gyoza (Japanese potstickers). Normally at restaurants they are frozen and re-heated and probably bought from Trader Joe's - I'm not hating on Trader Joe's potstickers though ;) These were definitely not frozen; they were some sort of veggie, but I could not really tell what was inside. Didn't matter to us, they were good :)
SUSHI - In the past 6 meals we have had here in Okinawa, two of them have been sushi. Duh!
The first sushi place we went to was called Hamazushi. It's a conveyor-belt restaurant but a little different than the ones I have been to in the states. Here's how it works - When you walk in you tell them how many you people you have in your party and whether you want sushi bar or a table, all on touch-screen computer. That will print out a ticket with your number. Then once you have your number called you are given a laminated paper that has a table number. You walk yourself to the table and grab your water on the way. Most restaurants here have you serve your own water. Then you take a seat and use the touch-screen menu to place your order. You can also grab the plates on the conveyor belt of the food you want, but only if they are black plates. The red plates on top of a boat are designated for each table that placed the order. Somehow when your order is about to come to your table on the conveyor belt, the computer flashes and sings to you that your order is about to arrive…So cute! There's also a few different sauces, which I had to taste all of them since they were written in Kanji. I know one was a potsticker-type sauce, one was teriyaki, one was soy sauce, and the others were a mystery. They also have you put the sauce directly on top of the sushi - a common custom here - otherwise, it detracts from the flavor of the fish.They track how much you eat based on how many plates are on your table. Mostly all the plates are 100 Yen, which is $1.00. Some of the special order plates are $2.50. Either way, a decent price! And that's the fun of conveyor-belt sushi!!
The outside at Hamazushi - they also have a drive-thru
At the table - the menu and conveyor belt
Gotta try something new - Mackerel and Squid
I made Mike eat Flying Fish Roe, which is all fish eggs. Notice the plates stacking up - we ate a lot ;)
Us!
UDON - Oddly enough we went to a sushi place, but ended up ordering udon. The restaurant is called Gen (not pronounced Jen) and is right outside of Camp Foster, so we took a walking adventure. So, needless to say it is a little more Americanized. In the picture, notice all the Japanese characters on top of the building. I'm not sure if this signifies anything, but it was cute. Also, the tables were half booth, half table and the booth side had little cushions for you to sit on.
The salmon sushi and tuna were melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The udon was pretty good, but I'm on the hunt for an amazing udon place. In case you are unaware, the Japanese are known for their homemade udon noodles, which are thick noodles made of flour and typically served in a soup. They had combo plates, so I ordered mine with shrimp tempura and Mike ordered his with tuna yam (tuna sashimi served over rice with some sort of white thick sauce - not sure what it was).
We knew we had to get water for ourselves (typical here) but did not know we had to push the button on the table to have our order placed. We were getting very frustrated when the servers kept passing us. Haha. The culture here is very respectful so they avoid asking you if you are ready to order or bringing you a check at the end of the meal - they believe it makes the customer feel rushed and pushed out too quickly. So, you usually just go to the front to pay your bill.
MACARONI GRILL - So, also in the past 6 meals we have had here in Okinawa, two of them have been at Macaroni Grill. Haha. It is right next to the Westpac Lodge where we are staying and we only went there because we were tired of asking people to drive us around - It's one of the difficult things about transitioning to a new duty station. We don't yet have a car. It's a typical Mac Grill, complete with a lunch menu.
