December 12th & 13th: X-mas Party and Akihabara
Since my arrival Terry and I haven't gone too far from the base since we're still getting everything set up here but the past couple days we had a little fun.
Yesterday Terry, myself and his friend Geddess went to the Command Christmas party on base. It's the normal faire of drinks, buffet, not so great music and prizes (the best part, of course). It's nice to meet everybody that Terry works with.
Unfortunately it was too dark to take pictures during the party but Terry did win a prize! He won a PSP --pretty cool.
Afterwards we walked around off base into Yokosuka looking for a quieter place for a couple drinks and snacks. But being in Japan --there is no such thing. Everywhere is packed, ha ha.
Japanese T.G.I.Fridays. It's very close to the train station.
As you can see English in Japan isn't very censored... we wanted to drink here just because of the name but it was impossible to add three more bodies into that bar. Next time maybe~
We stopped in a place called "Buffalo's" close to base. It was a total dive but had a "cool" Japanese Jager poster.
At the end of the night we stopped at a Ramen place that is pretty much the closest eatery by base. As you can see they're very Sailor friendly. The menu is in English and the staff can speak it as well... not to mention it's delicious!
I ordered Ramen with a Miso broth. On the table is also Kimchi and Geddess's meal --where you dip the noodles into a soy sauce like based broth. Terry ordered a Kimchi Ramen (very spicy!). As you can see the portions are huge! Go hungry.
Today we went for a little trip into Akihabara. Otherwise known as Akihabara Electric Town (秋葉原電気街, Akihabara Denki Gai) or just Akiba. Famous for cheap electronic, and anime goods. Along the crowded streets you'll see cute Japanese girls dressed as maids handing out whatever --among other things (no pictures, tho. Bummer).
Stores and well, everything, is small in Japan and crowded. I let Terry push his way through a camera shop alone (yes, what you see is pretty much the size of the shop). Lol.
Just a look of the sites and Terry in Akihabara. The buildings are typically tall and crowded (per Japan) but with added lights and Anime advertisements (stories tall).
Terry got a few things he needed for Skype on the PSP and some really cheap USB cards. I got a Kenshin cell phone charm (mega happy, lol).
We had lunch at a Japanese Italian restaurant (of all places). Terry got Spaghetti (which he said was probably some of the best he ever had) and I got a rice omelet or Omurice with a seafood sauce. That was also delicious. Both our meals came with Miso soup, salad (not your ranch dressing American type salad) and neon green Melon soda.
It was located downstairs from ground level and had Beach Boys playing in the background. Yes, very Japanese, ha ha. But I forgot to take pics -sorry!
Figuring out how to get there by train was a little tricky at first but once you figure it out it almost becomes easy. But they are packed! You'll have to stand for most of the time and don't feel bad for mowing down a couple Japanese for a seat 'cause they'll just do it to you in return, ha ha.
One thing Japan has going for them is that in the Station you have a Passmo card to pay for the train fare and additionally with it you can buy stuff out of the vending machines and even a beef bowl with just a wave of your card. Soon we're also going to program our cell phones to have the card information on it and all we'll have to do is wave our cell instead. It's fantastic --I hope the States catches onto this soon.
At the station I picked up some Mochi at the station. Mmmmmm... a yummy Japanese sweet. Terry does not care for it.
Among things we bought today Terry and I got a lot of Gashapon (which is typically a little Anime figure or cell phone charm that comes out of a bubblegum like machine)... in search for the right one. Philip, my lil' bro, you can expect our cast-offs. lol.
Terry's phone (above) is now graced with a little Kon and Soul Eater figure. I got my beloved Kenshin charm plus Naruto. They cost about 200 yen a piece. Everyone in Japan has a charm on their phone (not necessarily an anime figure, but it's not uncommon to see men in their forties sporting one). Girls into their twenties seem to usually have ten on their little phone, ha ha.
On the way home we stopped at an American restaurant and had corn dogs, chili fries and tacos. It was interesting, ha ha. One beer there cost as much as a six pack on base --just to illustrate Japan is not cheap if you didn't already know.
The last stop was 7-11 where we bought yummy Japanese snacks to bring home. Today was a pretty good day in Japan once again.
Yesterday Terry, myself and his friend Geddess went to the Command Christmas party on base. It's the normal faire of drinks, buffet, not so great music and prizes (the best part, of course). It's nice to meet everybody that Terry works with.
Unfortunately it was too dark to take pictures during the party but Terry did win a prize! He won a PSP --pretty cool.
Afterwards we walked around off base into Yokosuka looking for a quieter place for a couple drinks and snacks. But being in Japan --there is no such thing. Everywhere is packed, ha ha.
Japanese T.G.I.Fridays. It's very close to the train station.
As you can see English in Japan isn't very censored... we wanted to drink here just because of the name but it was impossible to add three more bodies into that bar. Next time maybe~
We stopped in a place called "Buffalo's" close to base. It was a total dive but had a "cool" Japanese Jager poster.
At the end of the night we stopped at a Ramen place that is pretty much the closest eatery by base. As you can see they're very Sailor friendly. The menu is in English and the staff can speak it as well... not to mention it's delicious!
I ordered Ramen with a Miso broth. On the table is also Kimchi and Geddess's meal --where you dip the noodles into a soy sauce like based broth. Terry ordered a Kimchi Ramen (very spicy!). As you can see the portions are huge! Go hungry.
Today we went for a little trip into Akihabara. Otherwise known as Akihabara Electric Town (秋葉原電気街, Akihabara Denki Gai) or just Akiba. Famous for cheap electronic, and anime goods. Along the crowded streets you'll see cute Japanese girls dressed as maids handing out whatever --among other things (no pictures, tho. Bummer).
Stores and well, everything, is small in Japan and crowded. I let Terry push his way through a camera shop alone (yes, what you see is pretty much the size of the shop). Lol.
Just a look of the sites and Terry in Akihabara. The buildings are typically tall and crowded (per Japan) but with added lights and Anime advertisements (stories tall).
Terry got a few things he needed for Skype on the PSP and some really cheap USB cards. I got a Kenshin cell phone charm (mega happy, lol).
We had lunch at a Japanese Italian restaurant (of all places). Terry got Spaghetti (which he said was probably some of the best he ever had) and I got a rice omelet or Omurice with a seafood sauce. That was also delicious. Both our meals came with Miso soup, salad (not your ranch dressing American type salad) and neon green Melon soda.
It was located downstairs from ground level and had Beach Boys playing in the background. Yes, very Japanese, ha ha. But I forgot to take pics -sorry!
Figuring out how to get there by train was a little tricky at first but once you figure it out it almost becomes easy. But they are packed! You'll have to stand for most of the time and don't feel bad for mowing down a couple Japanese for a seat 'cause they'll just do it to you in return, ha ha.
One thing Japan has going for them is that in the Station you have a Passmo card to pay for the train fare and additionally with it you can buy stuff out of the vending machines and even a beef bowl with just a wave of your card. Soon we're also going to program our cell phones to have the card information on it and all we'll have to do is wave our cell instead. It's fantastic --I hope the States catches onto this soon.
At the station I picked up some Mochi at the station. Mmmmmm... a yummy Japanese sweet. Terry does not care for it.
Among things we bought today Terry and I got a lot of Gashapon (which is typically a little Anime figure or cell phone charm that comes out of a bubblegum like machine)... in search for the right one. Philip, my lil' bro, you can expect our cast-offs. lol.
Terry's phone (above) is now graced with a little Kon and Soul Eater figure. I got my beloved Kenshin charm plus Naruto. They cost about 200 yen a piece. Everyone in Japan has a charm on their phone (not necessarily an anime figure, but it's not uncommon to see men in their forties sporting one). Girls into their twenties seem to usually have ten on their little phone, ha ha.
On the way home we stopped at an American restaurant and had corn dogs, chili fries and tacos. It was interesting, ha ha. One beer there cost as much as a six pack on base --just to illustrate Japan is not cheap if you didn't already know.
The last stop was 7-11 where we bought yummy Japanese snacks to bring home. Today was a pretty good day in Japan once again.