McDonalds in Japan

June 29 2009. Well yesterday we went for a drive to Hachinohe. We've been there before. It's about 30 minutes to the South. Our mission was to find a computer store so that Shane could find parts for his mistress (the computer). It has been in death throes for a couple of weeks now...poor thing (not sure if that sympathy is for Shane or the computer, ah well) Anyway, accomplished finding the computer store. After such a feat, we were hungry. Since we haven't eaten at McDonalds yet, decided we should give it a try.
Thank goodness for picture menus! Most of the restuarants, whether an American import, or native Japanese, usually have pictures. Those that don't have pictures, will have a very brief, somewhat confusing english translation.
One just points to the picture of choice, then to the sides. works well. Except for me....Let me just say...#8 is NOT a hamburger! It is a sausage patty with teryaki sause piled on it. Oh well, ate it anyway. Shane got a #1....the secret sause here....not so secret...horseradish...Shane does NOT like horseradish. Andi, got the safe kids meal, and throughly enjoyed it. Lucky girl!

Not the Salt Lake Valley!

These two photos are from Jan 15 2009. A couple of weeks after we arrived. We took a tour sponsored by the base, to acquaint ourselves with the area. These are taken at a clan house. A tradtional house, that depicts life back when.
The painting on the wall gave me a double take. No, it's not Brigham bringing in the pioneers. Nor is that pioneers above settling the valley. Depections of the settelment of Japan with new western influences.
We plan on going back to see the clan house. So, at that time I should be able to get more info. Actually info was given at the time, but I was so tired that I'm not sure what I remember.

Shimoda Park

April 19 2009 We went to a nearby park, called Shimoda Park. There is a little lake there referred to by the Americans as Swan Lake. I'm not sure if that is it's real name. But then SAM have been giving our own names to various roads that we walk or drive frequently....it works well for us, but others look at us blankly.

info signs at the beginning of our walk.

These were about all the wildlife we saw. It was still a bit chilly and I don't think the migrating water fowl have all come back yet.

There is a little hiking trail that loops around the backside of the lake. So off we went exploring!

See! There I am! I really am here in Japan...though I guess the woods are rather non-descript and could be anywhere....no I'm really here.

Obligatory "artsy fartsy" picture. I don't know what type of flower....the sign was in Japanese.

The object of our hike/walk. This is an old watch tower (rebuilt to withstand todays toursit). It has 133 steps to get to the top.

View from the top of the tower. I had to zoom in on my camera. I think those are part of the Hokkaido chain of mountains/volcanoes. We don't see the mountains much from Misawa, there is usually clouds obscuring them.

Baseball diamond. (a parks and rec league) The soccer and baseball fields here in Misawa are all dirt. We've traveled a couple of hours south, and those were all lush grass. I'm sure it is because our spring is so late in the year. Will have to make a point of driving by again and seeing if there is grass on it now, or if they remain dirt.

View from the tower of people enjoying their Sunday afternoon.

At parks and the botanical gardens, we have found these cement chutes at the sides of long stairways. It is a slide for the kids to come down. It looks like fun....I haven't given it a whirl yet. Just polished cement....that's all....no other safety features, except for your comman sense.
The way it should be.

At the bottom! I think she did it 3-4 times. I'm surprised there wasn't a hole worn in her jeans, but they barely looked the worse for the wear after she was done.

A little water feature.

On the way home we could see smoke and fire from one of the many fields. Acutally, we had seen various fields, and the water trenches being burned. Getting ready for the new plantings. During this time we could smell smoke day and night. No fires got out of hand, even if the wind was blowing. As you came across these fires, you might see one or two people out tending them, on some no one.

June 18 (well, almost the 19th, way past my bedtime) 2009
Ok-I know you've seen the picture above before in the blog, but just had to show you the difference a couple of months make! (the above was taken April 8 2009)

And, now it is June...ok, so the shack is still a shack, but it is a well tended garden. Note the wood pile on the right. As soon as the ground cleared farmers started in on the wood. Another farmer down the road has about 8 cords of wood that was cut and stacked in less than two weeks time. (those will be pictures for another time...the wood pile series)

Andi found a lady bug! She is always so happy to find things here in Japan that are just the same as in the states.

Tending a field of carrots. (I'm pretty sure that's what they are.)

June 18- Haven't been out much the last few days. The picture above is from last weekend. The fields will produce their own mist layer...while the fields with planting are clear.

Summer break has started, and Andi and I haven't done much of anything, but clean. I tried to get her to go out and ride her bike today but was told "mom, why won't you just let me have fun...I'm trying to clean!" Well, far be it from me to intrupt. We did go out later on a short bike ride. The fields are thick with ocean fog, very low visibility and very damp...but well I guess that goes with the fog.

Signs of the time

June 16 2009- Most of these pictures were taken a few months ago (as evident by the snow) Vehicles here for the most part are a bit smaller....well economical. There are still some larger vehicles, such as ours (the grey heap above) I'd like you to note that our car barely fits in the garage....barely, length wise. Width wise, we can have a second car, but our bicycles are taking up space....so no need for the second car. Anyway, ours is a Nissan Terrano 1990. 4wd which we used this winter. 4wd is put to good use here. They don't plow the Misawa city streets. The base gets plowed as it is a bunch of Americans there after all....

The semi truck (above left) is about the average size for the semis. I think I have seen one full 18wheeler since being here, and suddenly it seemed VERY LARGE. We have very quickly gotten used to the small economy size of everything here...going back to the States will become a culture shock I'm sure.

Above: A sign labeling for the water cistern. Some of them have hydrants as well, others are just marked with a sign. Along with small semi's are the small fire trucks, but I guess they get the job done. We haven't had occasion to require their assistance. This one was just in the neighborhood, checking the hydrant/cistern, as this is a newly constructed housing area.

Road signs are always a treat. Most of the ones here in Misawa have the English translation. Needless to say, some things are lost in translation. Some of it is probably due to the fact that the Japanese language is very phonetic, there are a few weird sounds, that don't look the same when written on paper, but much less confusing our English/American oddities. Other miss-spellings are probably due to the dialect the American had when translating what it should read in English. If you read the above sign with a deep southern drawl....it makes perfect sense.

Sign on the right, just letting us know that a new water pipe would be worked on April 20, 21st year of the Emperor. There are two year systems used....the year 2009, like we write it, and as in this case 21, indicating how many years the current Emperor has reigned.

Of course, there are always familiar signs and faces. The KFC is down in Hachinohe. But we do have a McDonald's here in town. I'll have to say, the "fast food" here tastes a lot better, and is better proportioned, no big "super size".

Just an interesting sign. I have no idea what the business is, but the sign is a great landmark for remembering when I need to turn, or not.

January 30 2009 Hachinohe Fish Market!
Obviously a big step back in time....This was on our tour of the area that was part of our introduction to life in Japan.

The fish market is a very smelly place, to say the least. It was recommended that if we didn't think we could keep our stomach contents down, then don't go in....It took a few minutes, but we got used to the smell.

Some of the vendor would hand out free samples. Shane tried some raw squid soaked in some kind of sauce. After watching his eyebrow shoot up into his hairline....I declined to try any. It must have been bad as he didn't incourage Andi or I to give it a try.

Displays of seafood everywhere!



Below: April 19 2009

Arrived at the Misawa Fishery Port for cleanup day at the port. The fisherman had already brought in some of the days haul. Fresh crab getting ready for their final destinations.

Fishing boats in the harbor at Misawa. The weird things on the seawall are additional protection from Tsunamis.

Fishing boats.

String of lights on one of the boats.

Local fisherman.





Below: March 15 2009

Misawa Fishery Port. March 15 was a celebration day. It was the opening of the clam season. There is a specific type of clam that is harvested. The port sponsors a big "cookout" and opprotunity to get your clams. No, we didn't get any....I don't know how to cook them.

Clam meat being "cooked". The meat is put on a stick, then browned. I watched others eating theirs....the outside is browned, but the inside looks pretty darn pink to me. We thought it best to wait to try this til we are a little more used to the cooking styles.

Bins of clams, and lots of people...

Clams getting shucked. It is a common sight to see the workers with a cigarette dangling out of their mouths. Maybe it disguises the smell of the clams.

The man made seawall creates the safe harbor for the fishing boats.

Misawa Fishery Port. I don't think it usually looks like this. Just on festival days are the banners out.