Sayonara Japan

At the time of this posting, we're on a plane en route to America.  We've said all of our "see you later"s and checked everything off our Japan to do list.  All that's left to do is cherish the memories we made and embrace the adventure ahead of us.  We had a great last few days in Japan, just enjoying time with friend and visiting some of our favorite restaurants/bars one last time.

I have fallen in love with the sushi here and I know I'm going to miss it.  Some of it I can make at home myself but it just won't be the same, I'm certain.

We were exhausted from cleaning for 3 days straight but happy to be eating sushi!

 I received an award from Jason's battalion commander for my dedication to the unit.  It was the first time I've received an award like this so I was very appreciative.

We ate/drank at our favorite bar one last time.

When we told the owner (I never did learn his name) that we were leaving Japan in a couple days he ran off and came back with this bottle of sake for us.  I'm so badly going to miss that place!

We spent our last full day at the pool on post.  We've done everything we could possibly want to do here (and more) so we just wanted to relax and spend time with our friends.

For our last "non airport food meal", Jason chose ramen.  I was totally OK with that, although, it's so much better on cold winter days than it is on blazing hot summer days.

Jason is obsessed with their chahan (fried rice) and I must admit, it's pretty darn good.

They veggie gyoza and they're some of the best I've ever had!

I had to add another shirt because I cannot eat ramen without making a huge mess!

We are going to miss Japan more than I can express in words.  The past 3 years have been some of the best of my life.  I'm so happy Jason convinced me to accept this assignment.  The people I have met and the things I have experienced have made me a better person and will stay with me forever.

Just like I say with friends, it's not goodbye but see you later.  Japan, I will return.  One day, I will be back!

great weekend

Every single weekend this month has been MISERABLE!  It will be nice all week and as soon as Friday rolls around, the temp drops and the rain begins.  It's been awful!  Finally this weekend, we had PERFECT weather and we took advantage of it to the fullest!

Friday it rained all day but cleared up just in time for dinner so we headed to the local sushi-go-round with one of our favorite couples, the Robs.

When we 1st started going to this sushi-go-round, I got hooked on a certain plate of sushi.   I haven't seen this particular sushi in over a year though.  Every time I go, I look for it, but I never see it.  I don't know what it's called, therefore I can't order it.  So you can imagine my excitement when the friends we were with ordered some sushi and out came THE sushi I have been looking for for over a year now!

I still have no clue what it's called but I now have a photo to show the sushi chef {or I could just ask one of my students to tell me the name of this}.   After sushi, we came back to our house to play a few games.

Saturday, Jason and I went to the local Home Depot/Bed Bath & Beyond store called Viva Home.  We needed to pick up a runner for our hallway so Buster can walk without sliding around like he's on a sheet of ice and some herbs/veggies for our "garden".

We settled on basil, rosemary, thyme and tomatoes and okra {Jason INSISTED on okra}.  I can't wait to have enough tomatoes and basil to make tomato sauce and bruschette!

That evening we had our first neighborhood BBQ of the year.

We are so blessed to have some wonderful neighbors!  I'm looking forward to a summer full of great BBQ's!

Sunday we attended church then brunch at the community club on base {thanks to some free tickets, we don't usually fork out $18/person for a mediocre meal}.  After brunch, we headed out on our bikes.

I love my new cruiser...except when I have to go up hill and only have one gear!  I'm really hoping our next base is in a flat area!

We went to a park and tossed a softball for a while but mostly just rode around town enjoying the beautiful weather.

We topped off our wonderful weekend with what has become one of my favorite Japanese meals, udon and tempura

and a pretty good earthquake.  A weekend in Japan couldn't be complete without a little shake!

I hope you all had a great weekend!