"Vend"ever You Are Craving a Little Something...

 One of the things about Okinawa that just makes me smile is the surprisingly large number, and often odd placement, of vending machines. There are at least six vending machines on any given block around the cities of Okinawa.

 Often, the vending machines will be right next to each other, sometimes even three in a row although they tend to sell the same things at the same price. In most vending machines, the price for drinks range from 110-120 yen ($1.36-148), though in some places there are 100 yen ($1.24) vending machines that have a slightly less expansive selection.



 One of the coolest (or hottest, as the case may be) features of Japanese vending machines is that they serve both hot and cold drinks in the same machine! The machine pictured here is on Camp Foster, therefore hot and cold are labeled in English. Usually, the label is only in Japanese. It is easy to tell though, because the hot drinks are listed in red and the cold drinks listed in blue.

I am truly fascinated by hot beverages from a vending machine that will also sell my kids a cold Coke. My two favorite hot beverages are coffee in a can (Thanks Rene and Chase for tipping me off about these! They were the first thing I tried in Japan. I now buy them buy the case at the commissary- much cheaper that way) and milk tea.



Another interesting item about cans from Japanese vending machines is how heavy the bottoms are. The bottoms are extra thick. I was told by my neighbor it is to help the cans from blowing away when the drink gets low. Regardless of the reason though, there is one downfall: the deception that occurs when the weight of the can in the hand says there is more drink left! There have been several occasions where both Blair and I attempted to take another delcious sip, only to find the can is empty and our smiles faded at the realization we had been tricked by the weight of the can.
Also, do not try to crush one of these cans by stomping on it like an American can. Your foot will be in despair and you will look like an idiot. You've been warned, but I know any of you who ever have the chance will try anyway.



Vending  machines are forver popping up in odd locations. Trying to spot the strangest location has become a new game for me! It is endlessly entertaining, but I am easily amused (obviously).



This vending machine is parked outside a junk yard. While this may not be odd, I have also seen them outside houses (which usually have a home on each of two or three floors), at the entrance to restaurants, and even the entrance to office buildings.



Sometimes, machines are plopped down in places where a person would wonder, who ever even gets to use the thing. The machine above is at the edge of a farmer's field along a road that leads to more farms.

In my quest to find the most odd vending machine location, this one is the winner. It is hard to tell because we were driving and Blair wouldn't turn around so I could get a better shot, but the cement structures behind these two machines: those are shrines! In Okinawa, each family has a shrine (a blog post to come about Okinawan shrines soon). This one was located further down the road from the farmer's field machine.

Drinks are not the only items available from a vending machine on Okinawa. The white machine below vends ice cream! 

This machine vends cigarettes. There aren't as many of these as there are drink machines, but there are still quite a few throughout the island, especially in areas where there are a lot of convinience stores and apartment buildings (deeper in city areas than out in semi-suburban or touristy spots).

While there are many more interesting things to share about Okinawa, this is one of the simplest that amuse me and just make me smile. If you ever have the chance to travel to Japan, ensure you try drinks (both hot and cold) from one of the many, and sometimes obscurely located, vending machines.

Learning to Drive Again

I picked up my car on Friday evening. It is a 2000 Subaru Blitzen B4. Basically, that equates to a twin-turbo Legacy in the states.

Initially, I had by heart set on a Nissan Skyline, however they were overpriced (which is a funny thing to say around here because they were around $8k) and the turbo versions I found only had two doors.

Although I have always been a fan of coupes, being a mom wins out and practicality dictates that a 10 and 9 year old don't do well when they don't have their own door. Therefore, The B4 was my compromise between sporty fun and mommy necessities. Plus, the max speed on the island is 80 km/h (and that is only on the toll expressway). Most roads are 60km/h or less.



The first thing to note about buying a car on the island is that there are more hoops and fees than I thought possible. The vehicles must pass JCI, which stands for Japanese C-word-I-can't-remember Inspection, carry Japanese insurance as well as American Insurance, be registered in Japan and with the American Forces, etc. All this makes car buying through a local used dealership the way to go. At the dealerships, the salesmen speak English and they take care of all the paperwork. The only thing for the buyer to do is purchase the American insurance and register with the bases, and even then the dealership has the paperwork all done and ready for the buyer to turn in.

I paid around $5500 for this car, which included everything except my American insurance. The JCI is good for two years (the longest available) and a one-year warranty. Not a bad deal.

I was told that the used car dealerships get their cars from auction on the main island, Honshu. I wasn't so sure about this until I picked up my car and noticed the sticker:

I think this will be a great car for us. The kids are comfortable in the back seats and there is plenty of space throughout. There is definitely enough room to put lots of junk in this trunk =)

Luckily, the car drives great. People are not allowed to test drive cars on Okinawa per some law. That is hard for many American buyers, but the guaranteed one-year warranty helps ease that stress a little bit.

The hardest thing to get used to is being the driver on the opposite side of the vehicle (and of course then driving on the opposite side of the road).

Another reason I chose not to get a Skyline is because the turbo versions I found were 5 speed manual transmissions. In the states, I much preferred a manual transmission, but here I have a hard enough time using the turn signals (which are also opposite of where they were in the states), so I figured an automatic was the way to go.

Road signs are also on the other side of the road here. Usually. I have run, or nearly run, several stop signs on base because the street sign is on the "normal" American side, but the stop sign is on the other!

It is also very easy to get distracted by the amazing views! Around any corner, an incredible view of the ocean could be waiting to distract! This picture does little justice.

The kids and I went on a driving adventure today. We had to drive to Camp Foster, which is two bases away, to get our road tax sticker. Instead of taking the same way home, I looked at a map and decided to take a new way which appeared to be quicker. What I did not know was that this new way would take us through a different part of Okinawa City.

This part of Okinawa was not heavily populated with Americans as are the parts I am used to. While driving, I noticed our car was the only one with an American plate (the plates for Americans are slightly different). There were no more store signs written in both English and Japanese. I was confident that I knew where to go, but I had to tell the kids to be quiet so I could concentrate, especially since cars would just park half in the lane in which I was driving!

Another thing that makes driving more difficult is that signs for major road intersections only come up once, as far as I have noticed, and when they do come up,  the turn  is immediately afterwards! This means it is best to be in the correct lane long before you plan to turn.

The kids and I made it home without a hitch. Luckily they were on the lookout for landmarks because I almost turned on the wrong road right outside the base gate!

I'm looking forward to more off-base driving adventures. Later this week, we will be venturing forth to Yellow Box (it's kind a furniture store), another store called Today O!K which sounds like an Ikea type store, and the beach for baby girl's birthday on Friday. One day soon I will be exploring Japanese grocery stores!

I-N-D-E-P-E-N-Doh!

Anyone who knows me also knows that I am very independent, even sometimes to a fault.

Living on the island has humbled me. To this point (and I know I've only been here four days), I have had to be dependent. I have had to depend on Blair for transportation because, until yesterday, I didn't have my SOFA license allowing me to drive in Japan.

As soon as I got my license, I began driving on base trying to get used to sitting, driving, and even having the blinker switch on the opposite side from what I am used to. Directly after our errands for the day, I had Blair take me to buy a car (as you can tell, I was in a hurry to have my own vehcile). I asked Blair to drive off base until I could get used to the opposite driving situation. Normally, Blair would have had a car purchased and waiting for me, but here people are only allowed one car per licensed driver.

We went to a used car dealership that works with Americans. We found a car that will meet our needs, so we decided to purchase it. Buying a car here is unlike buying a car in the states. Back home, we spend several excrutiating hours at the dealership but leave with a car. Here, it takes less than 30 minutes to complete all the paperwork but then there is a two day wait to pick up the car.

Two excrutiating days!! Sigh.

Normally this would all be fine and dandy. However, today I needed to coordinate buying a shed (there is surprisingly little room for storage in the houses and none outside for lawn care items) and run some errands like buying dishes and groceries.

Also, most things here Blair has to do. He had to sign for and purchase the vehicle. He had to go sign for and purchase the insurance. I can do almost nothing without him present. I do understand this is because we are here on his orders and he is the one responsible if anything goes wrong over here. However, this is very hard for me to adjust to since I am usually the one who handles most of our business-type transcations.

It is very difficult to be immobile and unaccountable for myself. I will grow used to it and find ways to be as independent as possible while, for the first time, becoming fully aware that I am a military DEPENDENT.

Hell is a Pitstop on the Flight to Heaven

I debated whether to start with this post, or even write it at all, because I don't want this blog to be about negativity or complaining. However, I have determined that I (1) need to write this down so I can get it off my mind (2) get it out of the way, and (3) fully catalog this journey. ** I am using military time in this post, mostly because I like it and I hate writing am/pm over and over again**


The trip from Seattle, WA to Okinawa Japan was supposed to take roughly 16 hours including layovers (22 hours if I were to include the requisite 0230 check-in , 6 hours pre-departure). That is a long, but perfectly acceptable, amount of time. For the kids and I (and 214 other military people), the journey took closer to 72. 


After spending an incredible day exploring Seattle with my mom, dad, and Weezie, we arrived at the SeaTac Air Mobility Command (AMC) terminal at 0230 Thursday morning. The process went faster than I planned, mostly because people traveling with children went to the front of the line. Upon checking our bags, the attendant told me our flight would be leaving three hours later than scheduled. (I later found out this was because the contracted airline, North American Airline was flying over a new aircraft because the original needed repair) This wasn't such a problem because it meant more time to spend with the family before we took off. 


Following an amazing early morning breakfast at the 13 Coins restaurant, we returned to the airport to say our see-you-laters (I don't believe in goodbye). When the kids and I arrived at the gate, we learned that the flight was delayed an additional hour and a half. 


While waiting, we made friends with other people on the flight. Tony, a Marine Major was traveling with his three children to Okinawa. Like me, his spouse was already on the island awaiting his arrival.


The nine hour flight to Yokota AFB on the Japanese main island of Honshu was relatively uneventful. We watched in-flight movies and attempted to sleep. The kids were much better at accomplishing any of this than I was. 


We arrived at Yokota around 1415 Friday afternoon (which was around 2100 Thursday back in Seattle). This is where the nightmare began. The AMC terminal staff there were not friendly, but it didn't matter since we were only scheduled to be there for two hours. We spent two hours at the terminal, both inside and on the patio. As the kids and I stood on the patio and man came walking over from the aircraft to the AMC staff who were standing near us. The man said that he had been trying to tell them for 20 minutes that the aircraft was ready to board passengers. The staff members continued to talk for another 10 minutes before the announced reboarding for the second leg of the trip to Iwokuni.


As we were about to take off, the pilot came on the intercom to announce there was a problem with an air conditioning valve and that maintenance would be coming out to try to fix it. This could take about 45 minutes. People grumbled slightly, but nobody cared too much. 


Nearly and hour later, the pilot informed everyone that the valve was rigged to stay open and should be sufficient to last our two short legs to Iwokuni and Kadena. But as we prepared to take off again, the pilot added that an electronic card must also be replaced. Maintenance was going to insert the card and we would be off. The downside to this was that all electrical systems would have to shut down. After another 20 minutes the captain relayed that the maintainers had the wrong card and this was a problem. If the aircraft reached an altitude where the air temperature was cold enough to freeze lines within the airplane, it would begin to ice over.


Since this repair could take awhile, all passengers had to return to the terminal. Once we all arrived, the less-than-friendly AMC staff announced that the airline would be providing a meal for all the passengers and that updates on the repair status would be announced every 20 minutes. The terminal was full of tired travels, many with kids and pets (that were loaded and unloaded from the aircraft each time the passengers had to board or depart) we waiting to reach their destination. 


There were several useless  announcements (more than 20 minutes apart each time) that reiterated the fact that there was no information on the status of the repair and that meals would be brought to the terminal. 


Around 2030, we were informed that the aircraft would not be repaired until morning, the airline would provide lodging for the night, and that there would be a meal brought to the terminal (for it still hadn't arrived). We were instructed to return to the plane to remove all our carry-on luggage. 


Forty-five minutes later, the meal (Burger Kind and Pizza Hut) was delivered and distributed to those who were hungry. The kids ate, but I was pretty tired and too upset to eat- I was sick of traveling and wanted to get to Okinawa. I already had my first weekend planned and this was cutting into my schedule!


As people ate and everyone waited for the busses to take us to lodging, the staff announced that the baggage had been laid out on the flightline. We could take bags to lodging or simply remove items we would need for the night. As I had the toothbrushes in the carry-on, I grabbed a pair of clean underwear for each of us and called it good. As I walked back into the terminal, a new announcement stated that since it was starting to rain, passengers needed to collect their luggage from the flightline and move it to the baggage area or the covered patio. Cole and I returned to move the bags while Lily watched the carry-on items inside the terminal. 


Cole and I could only find five of the six bags. As we looked around in the near darkness which was poorly illuminated with truck headlights, we overheard the staff say that not all the bags had been removed from the airplane yet. At this point the level of incompetence and disorganization from the AMC staff had me very irritated. This is their only job, to deal with AMC passengers and baggage. We found the other bag as it was unloaded from the truck and placed it with the others. 


Two hours after we were stricken with the news we would be staying the night at Yokota, busses showed up to transport us to the lodging office. We waited on the busses for 20 minutes before AMC personnel came to announce we had to wait for customs officers to check and stamp all our passports which they would then re-stamp before we left less than 12 hours later. Not a one of us could fathom why this didn't occur while we were waiting in the terminal for the last three hours. 


Finally customs arrived, stamped passports, and we were off to check into our rooms. I checked into our room and was handed meal vouchers that could be used at any services restaurant. Because our room was on the east side of the base and across the flight line, we were bussed there as well. As we exited the bus, we were told it would return at 1030 to take us back to the terminal. 


By the time we got to the room, brushed our teeth, and the kids got in bed it was 0030 Saturday morning. Cole and I woke at 0630. We called Blair on Skype (the room had internet, the only blessing in this situation). He had access to the arrival information for Kadena which showed our flight arriving SUNDAY! I was incredulous. I called the AMC terminal who confirmed this new information. They told me there would be a briefing at the lodging office and to meet the bus at 1030 outside the building. I asked about places to eat near our room, but the airman on the phone confirmed there was nothing on our side of the base except a Subway (which wasn't open until 1030) and a shoppette which would not accept the meal vouchers we were given. This made everything worse because Cole is a kid who wakes up famished every morning. I hung up with the AMC "professionals" and went to get Lily ready so we could walk to the shoppette to buy some breakfast. 


The walk to the shoppette was nice. It was raining lightly, but the breeze was very nice. Inside, there was very little to choose from, so the kids each picked a cinnamon roll and juice while I grabbed a large coffee. We went back to the room to eat and wait for the bus. 


At 1015 we went down to wait for the bus. There was nobody else waiting. This made me uncomfortable. There were at least 70 other people in our lodging area and nobody was waiting for the bus. We looked all around the building trying to find where we were supposed to be. At 1030 a bus showed up, but it was not the bus we needed. This driver directed me to another area. There were four Marines from our flight waiting there. They told me that they'd received a phone call telling them the bus was arriving at 0930 to take everyone to breakfast and then the briefing. They had missed that bus, and this was the base shuttle (that nobody had told us was available) that drives back and forth to the other side of the base. 


We arrived at the lodging office AFTER the briefing ended. As we were walking to the building, we ran into Tony and his kids. He also did not get called about the time change, but had just been in the right place at the right time as he left the building to take his kids to find breakfast. He gave me a map of the base with the shuttle schedule. 


I went into the lodging office to renew my key and was told by the AMC people that there would be a bus to pick up everyone at 0230 to take us back to the terminal.


Realizing the kids and I had no clean clothes at this point, I went over to the BX to buy some clothing and find a more substantial meal. While there, I ran into many people from our flight buying necessities (deodorant, underwear, razors, etc). The woman who was staying in the room next to me bought a container of laundry detergent which she offered to share so I could wash our clothing. 


When we returned to the room, I put the kids in a new pair of underwear and wrapped them each in a sheet. I did the same to myself and threw all our clothes in the wash (thankfully each room had its own washer and dryer). We sat around and watched movies until the kids were hungry for dinner. 


We all dressed and walked to the Subway nearby that was now open. The kids and I each got a sandwich, went back to the room to eat, then shower and go to bed. 


I had set all three alarm clocks plus my phone to wake us at 0130 so we could pack up our few things, brush our teeth and get down to the bus. When the alarm went off, Cole came to my room saying he felt sick. Five minutes later he was throwing up and stricken with diarrhea. 


As we got to the elevator to go to the bus, Cole threw up again. I ran back to the room and grabbed the roll of paper towels and every plastic bag I could find.  


As soon as we got to the bottom level, Cole told me he had to use the bathroom again. Thankfully, Tony and his kids were waiting for the bus, too, and he said he would be happy to watch Lily. 


I took Cole back upstairs. We arrived back downstairs a minute before the bus arrived. The bus, which was supposed to take everyone to the terminal went instead to the lodging office. Though we had been told check-out would be handled at the terminal, the plan had apparently changed. Cole had to use the restroom again. Since most people were just sending one person in to check out, I asked Tony's girls if Lily could sit tight with them. 


Cole ran into the restroom while I checked out. As I was waiting for Cole, I looked out the window and saw the bus leaving with Lily on it! I yelled for Cole and ran out of the building screaming that my daughter was on the bus. It just kept going. The bus behind it stopped and let me and Cole on. Fighting back tears, we followed the first bus. At that moment I had a horrible thought: what if Lily had gotten off the bus at the lodging office?


At the terminal, Lily was already off her bus standing with Tony and his kids. As I scooped Lily into my arms, Tony told me that everyone on the bus had been yelling to the driver that there were people missing, but he just kept driving. 


Inside the terminal, we processed through security and waited. One SrA who had been at the terminal Friday night was there again this morning: in her pajamas and slippers! The level of professionalism from this staff was astounding! The AMC staff told us breakfast would be served on the first leg of the flight. We waited about two hours before we boarded the flight which took off with no problems. 


There was no meal served on either leg of the flight taking us to Okinawa, but Cole spent the entire flight throwing up and Lily and I weren't hungry. Many people offered help, medicine, or advice for Cole. Nothing helped, but it was nice that people were concerned about my son.


After talking to other people on the flight, I determined Cole had food poisoning from the Subway sandwich he had the night before. 


When we finally arrived at Kadena, Blair was happy to see us! He brought us home, then we took Cole to the Emergency Room on the next base. Cole had been unable to hold down any liquid for over 12 hours by this point.

The most important thing I realized on this flight is how blessed I am to be part of a military family. On that flight, everyone took care of each other and made sure they were taken care of. 

 can thankfully say this trip from hell is past. Okinawa is absolutely beautiful. There is so much to do and people are very friendly. 

Mission Statement, My Way

The purpose of this blog is to catalog and share the experiences of my family as we live and travel the world! These blogs will always be honest and hopefully fun!