The Dynamic Duo

Dec 1, 7:15 p.m.
I’m a little more sure of the date today, at least where I am. For you guys stuck in the past, still in November, let me just tell you that December is great, at least so far.
We have been in Japan for two days now, and while I may be only fooling myself, I feel pretty much acclimated to the time difference already. Tomorrow morning is the big wedding, so of course we are greatly anticipating that. UltraBob&Girl will be leaving the house very early, and Heather and UltraMom will walk, all by themselves, to the train station to meet Kristen, who will then go with us and make sure we get the right taxi and arrive where we need to be on time. Yesterday morning was pretty much devoted to making sure we knew the correct route to the bus station. UltraBob made it as simple as possible with only three turns to remember; once we reach the main street from the house and turn left in front of the park, we follow the road to the 7-11 convenience store, turn right and keep going til we get to the station. Just to make sure, we did another walk through today, and I’m pretty sure we’ve got it.
Heather just walked by and informed me that, in reading recent posts, she has noticed several glaring errors. To name a few: the ride from Tokyo took over TWO hours, not one. Huh….seems to me like I just closed my eyes and we were here. Also, she feels she did not receive enough credit for finding our connecting flight gate in Los Angeles. What does she want, a medal or something? I think a “Kudos” from UltraMom should be all anyone could ask for, but whatever, dude.
UltraGirl has been very busy with Wedding Plans. She was gone most of yesterday, but still managed to fix us the most amazing meal for supper. It was some sort of seasoned beef strips with vegetables served with the sticky rice I am becoming increasingly fond of. Today was delicious chinese cabbage soup and a fried rice dish. I could easily get used to this.
Very near the UKids’ house is a Park, complete with several public swimming pools, now closed for the season, a soccer field, and some areas for children to play, complete with old fire truck for climbing on. I think there are also tennis courts and a gym inside that UBob sometimes makes use of for approx $3.00/day. In one area is a large, decorative sun dial. When I remarked on it, UBob pointed out the large conventional timepiece mounted nearby on a tall pole. “You’d think they would have noticed there was already a clock here before they went to all that work on the sundial,” he quipped.
We enjoyed looking at the different shops along the way, and especially liked the supermarket. At the bakery inside were lots of different meal-type pastries. A certain color of sign next to a tray denoted ‘hot and fresh.’ UBob picked out several types, including some cheese/tomato/basil turnover sized pastries, and cheese popovers. We took our purchases to a nearby Starbucks and enjoyed our repast with coffee and hot chocolate. “These bakeries are one thing I really miss when I return to the US for a visit,” UBob informed us. I can see why.
Today our walk ranged a little further past the train station, and we walked to a nearby beach. On the way, we stopped to look at a fish market with an amazing variety of fresh fish, octopus, seaweed and shellfish. Next to the beach is a small wind-surfing school and we saw several people out in the surf practicing. Heather and I each picked up a sandy pocketful of small seashells before UBob found us plastic bag for our treasures. We skipped some rocks in the surf, and I just had to take my shoes & socks off and walk in the ocean. The weather was perfect for this adventure.
The UltraKids’s house is much roomier than I had expected and is very nice. Many things about homes here are different than the ones I have been accustomed to in the US. The floors are all wood, and I think carpeting is rare. One of the rooms has a heated floor, which we really enjoy since it is a bit cool here this time of year. There is no central heating, but the house is not drafty. Many things that in the US are made of metal or ceramic are constructed of a durable plastic here. The toilets are interesting; a sink is mounted above, and when you flush, water comes out for handwashing before cycling down to fill the toilet. The shower room is very nice and also contains a tub. There is also a small TV mounted into the wall, but I don’t think the kids use it much. You press a button to heat the water when a shower is eminent, and a different button turns on a fan to dry the room out. Noone here has a clothes dryer, and you see many types of clothes-drying apparati around the neighborhood full of drying laundry. I hear that once in a while trucks come by selling laundry drying poles and such. Recycling is mandatory here, and trash is divided into about 4 different categories. Each day trash is taken to a collection place and inserted behind the blue mesh (to keep out marauding animals) for pickup. A different day is denoted for each category of trash, and apparently UltraGirl stays right on top of it. The kitchen is nice, with large pull out drawers for storing dishes and utensils, but no oven. Ovens are rare here, and the kids have a separate microwave and toaster oven. They do, however, have a fish grill. But NO dishwasher, unless, according to him, you count UltraBob.
Tonight UBob went out with friends for a little pre-wedding boys’ party. UGirl fed us some amazing spaghetti with vegetables. Then Heather washed her hair, while UGirl and I watched a couple of episodes of “Third Rock From the Sun”. I used the term “watched” loosely; I realized I wasn’t watching all that closely when I woke myself up snoring, and we soon went off to bed, with visions of sugarplums, or maybe wedding festivities, dancing in our heads. Tomorrow: THE WEDDING
World Traveler,
UltraMom