Welcome to Iwakuni Japan

  It's been a little over 6 months now, since we arrived in Iwakuni, and I can't believe how fast time has gone!  Instead of starting in the middle, I will start at the beginning of our journey.
  We showed up at SEATAC at 2 am on Thursday August 23rd 2012, with 6 full sized suitcases, 6 carry-on bags, a stroller, a carseat, and a 16 month old Kyle.  Needless to say, we were exhausted and feeling overwhelmed, dragging all of our things through the airport knowing that we were about to sit around for at least 6 hours then spend another 16ish hours trapped on an airplane.  After showing all of our paperwork, checking the 6 large suitcases, we were ready to face security.  We waited in line, trying to get our things in order, taking the laptop out of its bag, taking out our liquids bags, throwing out left over waters, sodas, and energy drinks, then taking our shoes off as well as Kyle's shoes.  I carried Kyle through the scanner, and as usual, Mark got randomly selected for a more extensive search.  Have I mentioned that I hate airports?  We finally made it to our departure gate and settled down to wait.  About 6 hours later people started lining up to board, when the gate attendant came on over the intercom, and told us our flight had been delayed until Sunday.  Apparently there was a typhoon over Okinawa that they wanted to wait out.  YOU'RE FREAKING KIDDING ME, RIGHT???  We had just gone through hell to get the three of us to this point, checked out of our hotel, turned our only vehicle into the storage it would stay in for the next three years, set up to have our cell phones shut off that day, and after SIX hours of waiting around with a baby, you tell us to wait another 3 days?  I was feeling a murder coming on.  We found another hotel, collected our bags, set up for a shuttle to our new hotel, called AT&T and tried to explain why we needed a few more days of phone service, and left the airport in defeat.  When saturday came around we started to pack our things up, when Mark decided to call the airport and check on our flight.  Thank God for that piece of wisdom, because it turned out our flight was delayed until Monday now, we were starting to doubt we would ever make it to Japan.  Airport; take two.  We show up at 2 am on Monday August 27th to SEATAC, check our 6 huge suitcases, we are ready and prepared to go through security and already know where our gate is, once again we set up our spot at the departure gate and get ready to take a nap.  Around 8am they tell us that our flight is still on, and everyone starts lining up to board.  We somehow manage to get our 6 carry-ons, carseat and Kyle onto the plane and to our assigned seats, and hope that we are really about to fly out.  Thirty minutes later, success!  It is about a 12 hour flight from Seattle to Yokota, which is an air base outside of Tokyo, and our first stop.  Kyle did really well, he slept through a lot of the flight, played quietly and snacked and ate his meals, we made a couple of laps around the airplane and he was golden!  They played movies back to back the entire flight and it really wasn't as bad as I expected.  We landed at Yokota on Tuesday August 28th 2012, thanks to the international date line we crossed, and everyone got off the plane for a short two hour layover.  I would have rather stayed on the plane come to find out, we walked across the tarmac and went through a check in station that lead us to a TINY room full of seats and nothing else, we weren't allowed to leave the room, and by this time Kyle was dying to get out and run around and play, which he wasnt able to do in the crowded room, so he decided to let us know by kicking and screaming for pretty much the whole layover.  Those two hours felt longer then the flight we had just been on!  We finally were allowed to board the plane, and left Yokota behind for the 2 hour flight to Iwakuni.  It was a beautiful flight, we flew over what seemed like millions of little islands surround by pristine water, it looked like a fairy tale land.  I think at one point I even yelled at Mark across the airplane that I saw never never land.  People started looking at me weird after that.  After almost an entire week of waiting, we had finally arrived in Iwakuni Japan, our home for the next three years. 

 

We walked through the torii gate and into the terminal with all of our things, it was hot and humid and the middle of a different day then we had left, I was trying to keep it together, but it had just hit me, I was in JAPAN.  Mark and I went different ways to check in, I went to the counter for dependants, showing Kyle's and my passports and ID's and signing papers and getting instructions.  A little while later the bags came out and once again there we were, in a a little airport, with 6 huge suitcases, 6 checked bags, a stroller, a carseat, a baby, and two jet lagged parents, just wanting it to all be over already.  We straggled through the inspection, to make sure we didn't bring anything illegal into the country, then went out to the bus that was supposed to take us to our TLF (temporary lodging facility), only to find out that the bus had about zero trunk space, and there was no way it could carry everyones luggage, let alone one familys.  Thankfully there was a small group of EOD that came to meet us, and drive us to the TLF.  They helped us grab our bags and we started walking to their vehicles and attempting to get all of our stuff to fit.  Of course nature decided that was the perfect time to start raining.  I was done.  I give up.  All I wanted to do was curl up in the fetal position and cry.  All of the vehicles looked about half the size of what I was used to, Mark sat on the drivers side, which was actually the passenger side, and then the guy drove on the wrong side of the road, it was just too much!  I didn't even bother to look around the base as we drove to the TLF, I was too busy trying to keep it together and not cry in front of Mark's coworker.  We finally pulled up to the Monzen Lodge where somehow it wasn't raining, checked in and got all of our bags into our room (thank God we were on the first floor and didn't have to drag all of that stuff up to the second floor) we settled in, showered and collapsed on our bed.  We had made it.

 



 

Here's hoping that the next three years wouldn't be as difficult as the week it took us to get here! 

 

  It took us a couple of days to get into the swing of things, Mark started going into work to get checked into the unit and working on getting us set up with housing, and medical and everything else.  Our TLF ended up being right across the street from the commissary, the PX, and the food court, and was right next door to the video store.  Our room had a kitchenette, so we were able to get a few grocerys and avoid eating out like we had been for the past couple of weeks.  Our first week was a little busy, we both had to take a driving course for Japan, and learn the new road rules, and how to navigate signs that are in Japanese, and how to drive on the other side of the road etc.  Then we had to take a test before we could be issued our SOFA cards (which allows us to drive in Japan and a few other things).  We went to softbank, the phone company here and got cell phones and set up a plan, two free iphone 4s's came with the plan, what a deal!  We had to go to the welcome aboard brief, we dropped Kyle off at the CDC (child development center, not center for disease control), the brief took almost the entire day, and consisted of letting us know about all the rules of the base, the different programs, and groups on base, how to be seen at medical, how to call PMO, basically anything pertaining to life on MCAS Iwakuni as well as a quick course on Japanese customs, so we wouldn't offend people as soon as we stepped off base for the first time.  The best part of the brief was that they took us on a bus ride around Iwakuni, showed us the main intersections that would take us anywhere we wanted, and downtown.  They dropped us off at the main train station in downtown and gave us an overview on how to use the train system and the bus, then gave us 30 minutes to wander around and check out our new city.  Bring on the panic attack, I felt like I had just been pushed out of the nest, and was expected to fly, in a foreign country, with the instructions in Japanese.  We stood on a corner until another couple who had flown in with us, and who was also EOD, came up and rescued us.  They had been out in the city already and took us to the Diaso (which is similar to the dollar store) and we had fun looking at all the strange and different items that they sell.  That week was also when we looked at 3 available apartments and picked the one we liked the best.  We wouldn't be able to move in until the next week, but we officially had a house now!

 

 

This is our building, or tower as they call them, Bara Tower!  We moved in on September 10th 2012.  Holy cow, I live in Japan!!