As most of you know, Mike left for Japan on the 2nd of January. The kitties and I weren’t able to join him on a count of the base not having any housing available for us all. Mike is currently residing in the Officer’s Quarters at Camp Zama. Since Mike has left we’ve kept in touch via texting, emailing and my beloved FaceTime! Technology certainly makes having loved ones far, FAR away a lot easier than I expected it to be. The purpose of this blog post is to share with you all some of the things that Mike has come across in his travels.

After the 2.5 hour-long bus ride back to Camp Zama he settled into his hotel room for the evening. He awoke to a beautiful view, which included mountains! YAY for mountains!! Mike, being the brave individual he is, ventured out to the streets of Japan. Barely knowing how to use the transit system, he hopped on the train and headed… somewhere… He ended up at a park in Tokyo.

Later that week he checked out of the hotel and into his Officer’s Quarters. He spent the next week in classes which introduced him to Japan’s curious language and rich culture. During that week, he and his class went on a field trip to Odawara Castle…

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As the days passed Mike became even more comfortable in his surroundings and decided to explore a nearby mountain that a new friend had told him about. Once again, he hopped on the train and headed to Mt. Oyama. He rode the train for a few stops and then stepped off to catch a bus. After arriving at the base of Oyama and walking up about 600 feet of stairs, he decided to take a break and snap a pic… Upon arriving at the summit his stomach growled so he sought out a bite to eat… Unable to read Japanese he opted for the only thing he knew how to purchase… … and to tell you the truth, I haven’t the slightest clue what this was that he ended up with, but I’m sure the soups that he was eyeballing would have made for a much better meal… Too bad we haven’t developed the technology that would allow us to place a chip in our brain that would result in us being fluent in any language on the planet. Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she?!?

A few days later Mike’s sponsor, David, and his wife took Mike out to eat at a Japanese “pub-style” restaurant in Ebina. He really enjoyed his meal and a neat grocery store that David and his wife had shown him. Matter of fact, he enjoyed it so much that he decided to return to that grocery store a few days later to further explore it’s offerings. He was looking for a restroom when he came across an older, extreme friendly, gentleman. Despite Mike not understanding a single word out of this man’s mouth, the fellow, growing more excited with each passing minute, continued to show Mike around the grocery store. They stopped at a meat counter where the man pointed out a beef patty to Mike and proceeded to purchase one for him. He and Mike then went out to a bench where Mike ate the beef patty and the man smiled as Mike enjoyed each bite.After spending about 15 minutes with Mike the man said goodbye and disappeared down the busy street. Mike enjoyed this beef patty so much so that he went back in for seconds. After consuming two beef patty’s Mike decided to head home. A home that will hopefully be accommodating three more mammals (two of them are featured below) soon!

I hope you’ve enjoyed Mike’s Japanese Adventure! Keep checking back, as there’s MUCH more to come!!