JapanGirl64

 In the past few weeks I have thought again and again how unconventional our Christmas season/celebration is this year. And yet, to quote Dr Suess in How The Grinch Stole Christmas, "it came just the same". I can see that celebrating Christmas has very little to do with the trappings and traditions. Those are fun and I love them (and miss some of them!) yet I felt the Christmas spirit without most of them this year. But even though we couldn't keep all of our traditions we did manage to have a small tree and make some neighbor treats! We started our holiday by taking off early on Wednesday and heading to the Hottarakashi Onsen. It is in a lovely spot with a beautiful view of the Yamanashi Valley and Mt Fuji in the background. Because we went mid week it was totally uncrowded (at least on the women's side). Dad said he was joined by an entire baseball team on the men's side.  For Christmas Eve we went to Kamakura. This was my first time and it was so interesting to...

 For a long time I have been telling the kids that I would video our quarters once we got all settled. I guess I'm finally feeling all settled because this week I made some videos.  Army quarters, especially on Camp Zama, are not fancy. Our unit was occupied for over 30 years by the base doctor who retired right before we arrived. As part of the preparation for new tenants they put in new tile (except in the bathrooms), new AC/Heating units, some new appliances, new blinds, and repainted/re-caulked everywhere. And, the place was very clean when we moved in. But there is no getting around the fact that its a very old building.  In spite of the "College dorm" feeling I had when we first moved in, I have to say I'm now comfortable here. Its starting to feel like home. I like the fact that "it is what it is". (Hard to explain, but I don't feel any "house pressure". I don't feel like I have to paint or wallpaper or take out this wall and make th...

 Camp Zama sits near the base of the Tanzawa Mountain range. In between the camp and the mountains is the Sagami River. When we first arrived at Camp Zama we heard there was a nice walking path along the river and so a few weeks ago we drove over to check it out.  Our visit confirmed that the path/trail along the river is the perfect place to ride a bike. The only problem was that I was too afraid to ride my bike TO the river (and there is no way we can get the bikes in the Purple Grape).  Kimball tried to convince me it would be safe but, based on my observations of the narrow roads and heavy traffic, biking to the river has remained a NO-GO for me. But, this weekend we had absolutely perfect weather - cool, not cold and lots of sun with no wind! Ideal for a bike ride along the river......so we mapped out a route that had only very limited time on busy roads. I survived and the whole ride was lovely! Fall colors, lots of pretty farms, baseball games and we discovered Par...