Starbucks of Yokohama

Wellcome to Yokohama Starbucks 


The Starbucks in Yokohama is pretty easy to get to. It is located at the Landmark Tower on the first floor and it is pretty much the only store on the outside on the south end of the tower. They have nice little souvenier cups too! So far, Soco has collected a coffee cup from Yokohama and Tokyo. She still has to go to Narita, Hokaido and Okinawa and a few other places in Japan.

Soco is addicted to Starbucks Coffee 

Navy Meteorology Center is always WRONG

The site I go to, Navy Meteorology Center, is always wrong! Except for the current weather, of course. I think they do it on purpose to throw everybody off balance. I have learned that when their forecast calls for Sunny, bring an umbrella to work because there will be a light drizzle. If the forecast calls for thunderstorms, it will only be a light drizzle. If the forecast calls for light rain, you'll have to put on a rain coat, rain boots, and EVERYTHING YOU GOT to shield yourself from the elements!!! Only trust the Japanese weather channel. Their years of experience make them experts at forecasting weather.

Soco at Ramen House in Yokohama 

Witness to an Incident

Blue Street 


Last Sunday, me and Soco were witnesses to an incident that happened at Yokosuka in the Honch. A drunk sailor "patted" a little girl on the head. Well, to the little Japanese girl, it wasn't a pat on the head, more like a "strike" to the head. Somehow the drunk sailor got punched by another shipmate and was knocked down on the ground. With a quickness, the base police showed up almost instantly. They handcuffed the drunken sailors and arrested them on the spot. The base police don't play around.

"Stingy Bastards"

Although Japanese people may be very nice and polite at times, it seems that they are extremely stingy when it comes to potlucks. They don't like giving out money, sharing with others or making much food for anyone else. Last Friday, we had a going away potluck for our old boss. The deal was to bring 10 dollars or 5 dollars and a dish to the potluck. Well, mysteriously, a lot more people showed up for this party than was invited. Also, those who only contributed 5 dollars, brought a plate... a plate which served five or six people! Reluctlantly, we ran out of food and by the time I got to the table, there was only a spoonful of lasanga and a few bags of chips and soda left. It made me a bit angry... especially those who scooped up two or three servings of a few dishes. Some of those in front of the line, prepared two plates so that they can feed their family. I swear, these people are too greedy. Someone had the nerve to say, "There's no food, I paid 10 dollars!" A Philipino guy who helped organize the event responded, "There's no food, and I paid 20 dollars!" The old Japanese man sat down and shut up. This isn't the first time that this has happened. It happens with every directorate in the hospital who do potlucks that involves their Japanese employees. I will never again participate in potlucks which involve those dirty little potluck scavengers. They contribute the least and eat the most. As Masato-san had stated, "They're stingy bastards."

Little Japanese Town along Tomei Expressway 

Kamakura Beach

Surfer Girl at beach in Kamakura 


Amazingly on my way to Camp Fuji, we accidently ran into a cool place along the beach in Kamakura. I believe it is on route 139... don't quote me on that. Just take the Miura exit to Kamakura on the Yoko-Yoko from Yokosuka. The place is laid out western style. Kinda reminded me of Southern California with all the Billibong stores and surfers everywhere. Real nice place. Since I was on official business, I couldn't stop the government van to go shopping/sightseeing. Although, I wish I did. Click on the pictures to get a better view.

Take the Miura Exit 


By the beach in Kamakura 

Damn Tolls everywhere!

Toll along the Yokohama-Yokosuka Road 


Japan has lots and lots of tolls along the freeway. Saving time costs money! A small ramp going from Route 16 to the Yoko-Yoko road is about $2.50 and the stretch of road is about a mile long. But you would never want to veer off the toll roads because the time savings are tremendous. Because if you take the long route, there are traffic signals every 50-100 meters. It sucks huge.

The green light means that, that lane is open. Sometimes you take a ticket. Once the ticket is obtained, you keep driving until you take your exit. From there, you give the man your ticket and he will punch up your total. After that you pay the man. Losing your ticket is not an option.

Rest Area along Tomei Expressway

Rest Area Signs 


Along our road trip to Camp Fuji, we came upon this rest area. There was, of course, a ramen noodle shop, souveniers, and high tech rest rooms. Everything is automatic. Including paying for your food. You just purchase a ticket with what you want to eat, and the cooks will cook it for you. No humans to interact with, except for the ones preparing your food, but they're in the kitchen. Really cool.

Rest Area along Tomei Expressway 


High Tech Rest Area 

Really long tunnels on Tomei Expressway

Tunnels along Tomei Expressway 


Almost all of the freeways in Japan have tunnels.... LOTS OF TUNNELS! Instead of climbing hills and mountains, they just blast through them. The Tomei Expressway is the freeway used to get to Mt. Fuji from Yokosuka. Maximum speed limit is 80km/h but I drive 145km/h in the fast lane. Mostly because the engine wouldn't go any faster. I switch back to the crusing lane when BMWs come up against my rear bumper. Kinda like the states, except that there's no speed traps. Just cameras. I heard that the cameras take a crystal clear picture of the driver and passenger and license plate of speeding cars and then the Japanese police actually mails you the ticket. I'm not sure of this, but I don't want to find out. I just go with the flow of traffic.

Driving thru a tunnel Tomei Expressway 

Hase House at Buddha Shrine 

Camp Fuji

Camp Fuji, Marine Corps Base in mainland Japan 


Today, I had to go to Camp Fuji to do repair work on the clinic's X-ray machine. Their unit was putting out an error code and Emil, Gary and I had to figure it out. The troubleshooting was pretty brutal and the machine was torn apart piece-by-piece. Well, enough about work... The trip to Camp Fuji was pretty cool. It was very scenic and there were many tunnels along the way. I wish I had brought my camera. The rainy season had already started and it has been raining non-stop for almost a week. The rain doesn't really bother me that much. Along the way, I saw a lot of rice paddies and forests and hills. The country side in Japan is a real treat from being in the big cities. The camp had a lot of Marines walking around. I haven't seen so many of them since I was stationed at Camp Pendleton. I heard that the local bars and restaurants prohibits gaigens (foreigners). Probably because they always cause trouble with the local community. ...Which brings back memories of Marines practicing eye gouging exercises on each other.... There was no Navy Exchange. Instead, they had a small AAFES which is run by the Army and Air Force. The main store was so small, I didn't want to buy anything for the fear that I would rob some poor Marine something that he or she could possible use. Imagine a whole store the size of your local gas station and with that being the ONLY store you can go to. I would have to say, that I almost feel sorry for them. Poor bastards... at least everyone stationed there has a nice view of Mt. Fuji on a clear day.

Chinese Framed Scenery I bought at the bazaar 

Adding Formalin to a Tissue Sample

Soco adding Formalin to a Tissue Sample 

Dinner at Monica's

View Outside Monica's Apartment 


Soco at Monica's 


This weekend we hung out with Monica Lee. She is Chinese, but born in Panama. She grew up there and later moved to New York City. Surprisingly, she can speak Spanish, Contonese, and English very well. Her daughter is almost a year old and is very playful and cute. I got to carry her around the base and Yokosuka. For dinner, we ate eggrolls, pepper steak and tofu. We watched Sesame Street and Barney until I couldn't stand it anymore.

Tatami Room at Monica's Apartment 

Lights of Shinjuku 

Souvenir Shop outside the Daibutsu 

Sex, Public Dining and Japanese Military

Route 16 


A few days ago, I had to do work at a small clinic at the Atsugi Naval Air Station. While I was there, me and my partner, Emil, went to have lunch at this Japanese diner behind the clinic. It was our second time there and we made the mistake of going during the peak lunch hour. We ordered the special, as usual, for 650 yen. The cashier gave us our black and white tokens and we handed our tokens to the cook. That place was really packed and full of Japanese officers, sailors and soldiers. I guess that this base shares with the Japanese military. (Hence, earlier that day, I encountered a bunch of army guys with their rifles when trying to get to the clinic.) Me and Emil were the only U.S. Navy guys in the entire diner. I felt like I was getting stared at... especially for being asian in a U.S. military uniform. They thought I was Japanese I guess. Someone had finally got up and I quickly sat down. Next to me was a Japanese civilian with his face dug into a colorful magazine. He was waiting for his food. I glanced over to see what he was reading and it had shocked the hell out of me. He was looking at pictures of naked women! The sight of boobs, nipples and unshaven pubic hairs was enough to make me disassociate myself from him right away. By golly, there's women and children in this place! Well, Japanese men don't mind looking at porn magazines in public. I was wondering what was taking so long with our food. I had seen a few people get up and take their specials as well as new people coming in and taking what was theirs. People were getting in front of us! I got up and stood at the window where the food gets passed out. Emil followed suit. The lady asked me what we had ordered, and I said, "The Special". She turned around and yelled out, "Special" to the cooks behind her as if she had forgotten about us. She prepared the two trays in front of us. She laid out the miso soup, tofu, steamed rice, cabbage and roasted ginger pork. Out of sheer hunger, Emil immediately poured mayonase all over his cabbage. In my mind, I couldn't stop laughing. I looked away thinking, "No wonder why Japanese think Americans are barberic." The lady yelled out, "TWO GINGER PORK" and some girl got up and picked up her tray, looked at the one Emil had covered in mayonase. In disgust, she changed her mind on getting that one. The girl said something to the lady and the lady looked at Emil. With a stupid look on his face, Emil said, "OOPS." In a split second, the tray with ginger pork covered in mayonase disappeared. Twenty minutes later, our food was ready.

Getting bored of Japan?

Dusk and view of Daiei Mall Parking from the 12th floor 


I was told that I shouldn't do too much too soon once I got here. I've visited all these places and took many pictures and gotten accustomed to living here. I've just about ran out of ideas of what I should do. Now, I'm prefectly happy just staying at home sometimes. Right now, that's how I feel. This foreign land doesn't seem too foreign anymore, thus less exciting. The bland colors, the monotony, the small spaces, the lack of selection of food choices, separating my trash... and the smell. For some reason, it smells wierd here. It is like everyone and everything is cleaned with the same cleaning product. The smell is hard to describe, but it is some strange faint... almost pleasant smell, that is not overwhelming like perfumes people use in the states. Over here, only foreigners use strong smelling perfumes and deodorants. It seems like everyone here wears the same clothes. Business men generally wear the same business suits and children wear their school uniforms... even on the weekend. It is like watching a bunch of lemmings follow the same routine everyday. People here act just like what I see in Japanese anime. Well, the excitement for me in Japan is almost gone. I still have a few destinations to go, such as Mt. Fuji and maybe the Aichi World's Fair. Pretty soon, I'll be taking a trip to Sasebo and Iwakuni.