Kadena Marina

This is the Kadena Marina - it is located only like 2 seconds from the front gate. They have a beach, SCUBA locker, a little restaurant - and also some boat slips.

This is a little island out in the middle of the beach area. I am not sure of you can tell but it has a little opening inside - that I am guessing was once used for cover, or maybe living area.
Looking out to the jetty's
Boat Slips

Let me tell you about Jusco!

Alright - Jusco is a store that is located in the American Village. It is similar to a Walmart in that it has merchandise and fresh food. However, to say that Walmart even compares to this place is ludicrous. Basically - there are 2 floors - the first floor is the food and make up and stuff like that. pots and pans, and there are some little restaurants as well. There are also some clothing stores within the first level - high dollar clothing. There is a handbag store - that I LOVE already!! Ok - once you get through the first floor - then you go upstairs! We went upstairs for the first time today and I am still thinking that I LOVE THIS STORE!! So upstairs is the kids section, toys and electronics and appliances. One one 1/2 of the second level is a GINORMOUS arcade. I couldn't believe it- they have a carousel, a food court and some more little shops and I am TOTALLY in! We found all the fun and games and of course Logan had to play - these are from our time in Jusco!
Ok - this was a little car that Logan and I rode it - you put the yen in (it cost $100 yen) which is about $1 us money. Anyway you put the $$ in and a little card pops out - you then have to swipe the car and it tells you which kind of ride you will have. This time Logan got the little Chihuahua card and these 3 little puppies came on the screen and the car started to move back and forth. The picture is of the screen where the doggies were - and he had to touch the circle and gain points by petting the dogs. It was very cute. He liked it - I however was thinking it was highway robbery paying $1 per game.
This is the school bus one - same as the puppy one but with the bus driver! They had a police car one and a normal SUV one.
Logan being bus driver Bob!
Ok - this is a POPPLE. I am not sure if you all remember the popples - but they are like from the 80's. This is one of those pay the $$ and guide the claw to pick the toy up. They are obsessed with Disney over here! I see Mickey Mouse everywhere and all kinds of Disney character!! They have more Disney stuff here than I have ever seen in the US - unless I was at Disney world. Its all very cute - they have Mickey Mouse Christmas ornaments, statues with lights - its crazy.
Here is the carousel that I mentioned before.
Just a view of arcade
This is the first game Logan wanted to play - its Mickey Mouse of course! Its like a mini DDR (dance dance revolution) only slower for the little ones.
Mickey and the dude dancing
Arcade again
Logan playing the game - he basically looked at the screen and stomped his feet a little! Total waste of $1 - LOL!

Finally - here is the house!!!

So here is the house - I tried to put the pictures in some kind of order but this website was making it difficult - so I gave up - I will just tell what they all are! The house in located in Chatan-Cho, which is a city in Okinawa. It is right outside gate #1 on Kadena AFB. We are like 3 minutes from American Village which is a huge shopping plaza - more about that later! Our house is 1300 sqft and is on the 2nd floor of a 3 story building. We are 3 minutes from the east china sea wall! The location is great - we are also 5 minutes from the Kadena Marina where we will be going to the beach ALOT!! So without further adeu-
Ok - so since we live in a traditional Japanese style house we have NO dishwasher..this little doohickey is inside the sink drain to catch all the food after you wash dishes (why dont they think of this in the US....instead they give you a little drain plug that can't even hold a pea let alone any other food. LOL
Ok - this is the oven....small right! Yeah its perfect for Logan when he wants to cook dinner (LOL) Lets just say that I wont be baking any american sized cakes (LOL) I am thinking that it is the perfect size for a frozen pizza (if that gives you any idea how small it is!)
Even though it is small - on the top there is a smokeless grill, in case I should even develop the urge to cook fish.
Here is my easy bake over!! Dont laugh - you wish you were over here in Japan with your very own easy bake oven!
The plus side to the stove is that it is gas!! Better cooking!
This is my sink - very big and there is a smaller one to the left. Great size for washing dishes! (can you tell I am thrilled that I do not have a dishwasher!)
This is the view from the 3rd apartment. One above us - straight down that road is the sea. All the houses are VERY close - and the roads are big enough for one car - not two! Mostly Japanese live in the houses near us - but there are some little shops down the road, and a little cafe.
This is one of the views from our balcony.
This is our balcony - it wraps around our house on both sides - very safe and beautiful breeze from the ocean! This will be Logan's favorite place to hang out - next to his playroom
This is another view of the non ocean side from the apartment above us. Remember in all those japanese movies when they would jump on the roofs and run - well you really can do that here - good to know in case I am ever running from the law!
This is the view up from our front door.
Ok - this is looking into the kitchen from the living room. There is that little built in shelving unit - and a little buffet thingie.
Ok - so apparently in Japan they don't believe in shower heads - this is the bathroom - and the hose is the shower. It hooks high up on the wall - I guess that will be nice when I want to wash the dog! (said dog doesn't exist yet - Christmas present for the boyo)
This is one side of the closet in the master bedroom - they all have these drawers that pull out from the bottom - for underwear and socks I am guessing. All the closets are short - and are big enough to live it! :)
Looking into the master bedroom from the hallway
Looking into Logan's room from hallway
This is the Tatami room - we will be making it Logan's playroom. He loves it and its perfect for him! Ok let me just say that the Tatami room is awesome! The fact that I have a room with rice straw mats is great! However, because the mats are new - THEY STINK!! I have no idea how to make them smell better (note to self: as locals what the hell to do!)
View from hallway looking into living room - that one entrance onto balcony
Living room again - 2nd entrance onto balcony
View into Tatami Room from living room - those doors close all the way across - sadly they are not made of rice paper, but some cloth material - they are very pretty though
Logan living in his closet
This is the infamous dish dryer - I am sure I will use it - but why a dish dryer and not a dish washer! I can't wrap my head around that!
Looking down hallway - to front door from living room
This is our front door - #B Hope you enjoyed the tour - I am hoping to see some of you in Japan to visit!! We are very happy with the house - there are HUGE windows in every room and when they are all open you get an amazing breeze from the water!! Its great!

Just a little more!

So these little trees are everywhere on base - thought is was a cute picture
Ok - now these are shrubs - all the shrubs on base are cut like this?!?! I guess they want everything to look like a bonsai!
Ok - this is our kitchen kitchen looking to the left - the stove is like play size. I have no clue what I might cook in there! LOL There is also a smokeless grill right above the stove foe like fish.
Here is the kitchen looking in from the right - there is a lot of cabinet space - they are all real wood. Looking straight ahead - it looks like a dishwasher - on the top is a dish dryer!? The bottom part is a little pull out thingie that I can maybe prepare meals on - its like a pull out cutting board.

I only have 2 pictures - we are going to go back tomorrow - my battery died, I will get lots more tomorrow! They will be posted shortly! Until then I will leave you in suspense! Oh - I just found out that family that lives below us - she is the head tech at the vet clinic that I have been talking to in email since August!! I thought that was convienent- this way we can carpool once I start working! :0)

The new (to us) SUV!

Ok -well here is the deal with the car! We bought it at a used dealer off base, they deal with primarily military so they always have good deals! This car was turned in by the lady who bought it before - and they sold it to use for like $3000 bucks! Its fully loaded, and the most important part is the AC! Oh and it has 4wheel drive - and its a nice ride!! Keith loves it - We are now going to start looking for my car - not such an easy task! I really like the car we have now - so we might get another one of those! Oh and BTW - we love this car however - it is like a feaking tank trying to drive through all the little alley ways in the city! Fun times!!!
Just Keith :0)
Here is the front - with the fog lamps
Logan in the back - he would not sit still :0)
Logan and Daddy - the boys playin with their toy!
Logan was mad because he wanted to stand out the window like Daddy - yeah can you say too short!
Here is the side view
The front!

Day In Okinawa

Ok - so this is a huge shopping plaza - they have a ton of stores like banana republic, BCBG, Zou Zou etc...in the very back of the picture is a HUGE bowling complex. Bowling is HUGE in Okinawa - inside the bowling center is a gigantic SEGA game floor. Apparently, gaming is huge here too (who would of thought LOL )
Well this picture did not turn out like I had hoped - this is on the AFB - and in the very far background that is one side of Okinawa City. (Ill get better pics later!)
This is another part of Jusco - in the produce section. This store is so cool - not only do they have food and all the other stuff walmart has, its also like a department store on the other half - so they have designer clothes and HANDBAGS!! They have like 7 little cafes, and a smoothie bar in the middle. Oh and also a Starbucks!
So we went to Jusco I bought a bottle of tea called Lemon Garden Tea (upon the recomendation of our fearless leader) its really good BTW! This is my receipt - ALL IN JAPANESE!! I have no idea - except that it is 198 yen - which is likw $2.00 US dollars. They only accept yen and MC and VISA.
This is just a ride into down town - and the taxi's that are everywhere. They drive like maniacs here - not to mention on the left side of the road. Its so weird watching them drive - they all have these little compact cars with flat fronts - and because of the fact that the cars are small they dont hesitate to cut in front of you! LOL

This is a local restaurant - they are everywhere.....japanese food buffet - all you can eat for $20 bucks. Once you sit down you have approx. 90 minutes to stuff your face - after that they start giving the looks :0)
Ok - this is Jusco - its like the Japanese Walmart. The people here LOVE food on a stick - don't ask me what this all it bcuz I have no clue - its all just sitting out in the case.
This is one of the many beverage sections in Jusco - they have a million types of drinks - they have 200 hundred types of tea.
These are the infamous OBENTO boxes, they serve OBENTO meals all over Oki - but these are empty ones you can buy at the store. (I will be getting one) they have little compartments - perfect for taking sushi to work for lunch!

I am going to be going out into the city some more this week! More pictures to come!