III MEF Band @ Koza Music Town

It's been a while since the III MEF Band  performed out in town for any event except the annual joint concert.  So it was a kind of special treat for my daughter to get to go see her daddy play today.

The crowd wasn't enormous or the set long, but it was still a good time.  The band had only been invited to play a few days prior when they got home from a camping exercise.  (Yes, even the band has to do "real" Marine work.)

It rained that day, so I thought the gig would be cancelled.  However, I was surprised to learn that the top floor of Koza Music Town is an indoor stage facility.  So, rain or shine, Koza Music Town has music available to the public!

That's really the entire purpose for this post.  If you'd like to see a group or performance at Koza and think the rain will keep you from doing so, go check the top floor and in most cases you'll be pleasantly surprised.  :D

Okinawa Santa Run

If you're looking for a fun, laid back event to attend around the holidays, the Okinawa Santa Run is for you.  The registration fee includes a one-size-fits all Santa suit for adults and a Santa hat for children.  The money raised goes to provide Christmas presents to children spending Christmas in local hospitals.


As with most things in Okinawa, the event is on island time.  We showed up about 1/2 and hour early to register and get ready for the run but the "run" didn't actually start until an hour after it was advertised.  This was actually fine by me as we didn't have any other specific plans until evening.


Besides, they had plenty of live entertainment to keep us occupied.  Among these were a band playing festive tunes, pop dancers, a jazz singer and many more.

I don't eat before a run so I didn't take part in devouring several of the local food venders stands.  However, the smells were divine.  There were also tents with local products for sale.

Also, participants were encouraged to walk in the "run" and enjoy American Village.  They even had incentive cards for participants to stop in various shops throughout as those shops were offering discounts and other goodies to race participants.


Parents with children in strollers were diverted from the run course or asked to turn around at one point because the course was not stroller friendly.  But there was free ice cream waiting back at the start/finish line and more entertainment lined up.

Our first Space-A Adventure

Steps to Space-A (in brief):
1.  Obtain your command sponsored letter for travel
2.  Sign up for the waitlist for your flight ASAP
3.  Show-up for role-call before the crack of dawn with ALL of your bags and EVERYONE that will be traveling with you (don't forget your passports!)
4.  Wait... Wait... Wait to see if you will actually be boarding the plane
5.  Go home or attempt another flight if they don't take you

*For more information, attend a Space-A brief or contact your Passenger Terminal*


Let the Adventure Begin!
Oh wait... that's right.  We have to make it there first, lol.
Let the attempt begin!

Day 1: Tokyo trip...

We woke the girls up at 4 am to go get on the plane. My husband's unit was scheduled to fly out that morning to Atsugi and we were going with them.

We arrived at the passenger's terminal and got checked in (bags and all) and were told we would be getting on the plane within the next hour or two as no one else was attempting to board the flight and there were plenty of seats available.  Yay!

We hung out in the playroom until we heard our names called.  Thinking it was time to board I gathered all our things and we made our way to the counter.  Unfortunately, another entire unit of Marines had showed up wanting passage to Atsugi so we would no longer be able to board our flight.  There it is... space available travel.  And now there was no longer space available for us.  Thus, My husband shipped out without us.

They put us on the top of the list for another flight to Atsugi that same day.  We spent a few more hours in the playroom and ate the breakfast I had packed.  Then found out we would not be catching that flight either.  There were no more flights to Atsugi that day, but there was one going to Yokota.

Since we were just trying to get to Tokyo and both bases are about the same distance away... sure, why not?  Sign us up for that flight.

Up until then, we would still be traveling with daddy once we got to Atsugi since their transportation to Tokyo had still not arrived.  Now, we were on our own.  I took the girls to get lunch and they fell asleep in the car.  While they napped, I went home and down-sized our luggage from 2 suitcases to 1 and lightened our backpacks.  We had a long road ahead of us and this momma knew she'd be carrying everything (if not everyone) by the end of it.  Not to mention trying to maneuver it all through public transportation.

We caught our third attempted Space-A flight to Yokota.  We were excited and happy to be on our way to Tokyo... until landing.  45 minutes of slowly lowering to plane for an extremely bumpy landing took it's toll.  2/3 girls got sick on the plane.

We picked up our luggage and cleaned up the best we could in the bathroom.  By the time we were done, we were the only people in the building except for two employees getting ready to lock up in 1/2 an hour.  After talking with the young service-member at the counter, he called us a cab to go to the train station we needed in Fussa.

So here we are in mainland (I've never been here before) at our first train station.  A mother with 2 kids just trying to get to Tokyo.  Someone forgot to mention that this far out of normal tourist areas there is literally NOTHING in English to help guide you and the station workers won't know how to communicate with you.

So... we're completely lost.  COMPLETELY LOST.  I mean, I have absolutely no clue what to do now and no way to find out in the place I am.  A very nice lady eventually offered to help us, but even she couldn't get the station worker to understand where we were trying to go and eventually had to leave.  Thank you for trying nice lady!

I ended up calling my husband, whose friend is married to a Japanese woman from Tokyo, and he sent me step by step instructions on where to go and which transfers to make.  As you can imagine, she is now one of my favorite people ever!  And I still haven't actually met her.

We finally got on the trains and made all the connections. 1/3 girls sick on train. AND O almost fell under the train on our last switch over and her shoe had to be rescued from the tracks.

We arrived at hotel at 11:30 pm. Everyone was settled and asleep by 12:30 am.

Today project reclaim this trip for happy fun begins! Got my shower so we're off to a good start.  grin emoticon

TCM: Eating Goat

If you are currently pregnant and overdue, Naomi-San says, "Go eat goat," which is tradition to bring about labor. The meat is very good, like a stew meat. Naomi-San says it is very similar in taste and texture to deer meat.

Goat meat benefits the heart, spleen, digestive system, kidneys, reproductive system, fights fatigue and weakness, gives strength, nourishes body and brings warmth. It is also well-known for arousing sexual desire.

TCM holds that goat meat is especially good in winter as it contains hot energy, warming and powering your system. The infusion of yang energy can help relieve blood stasis (poor circulation, menstrual irregularities). 

**Do not eat goat meat if you have high blood pressure or other cardiovascular conditions.  The locals always come across people who have high blood pressure eating goats, and say they almost felt like their veins were going to explode.  So if you have high blood pressure, goat is not recommended. **

(Info taken directly from Okinawa Natural Herb Meal FB page - words adjusted slightly.)
(Photo from https://s3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com/okinawaclips3/ja/images/2508.jpg)

Okagesamade

There are many Beautiful Japanese phrases that cannot be translated. 美しい日本語でなかなか通訳できない言葉のひとつ『お陰様で』 の解説。"Okagesamade" (Oh-kah-gay-sa-ma-deh) is one of them.

Generally it is translated as, "thanks for asking" but the true meaning behind it is,
"With everyone's help, being in our shadow, everything is going well or everything went well" 

This phrase is used on a daily basis for answering, "How are you doing?", "How is your work?" or "How is someone's condition?" The Japanese will say "okagesamade".

This phrase encompasses gratitude for the efforts of everyone involved.  For example, a Japanese Traditional Dance Performance (Nihon-buyo).   There are many things that require attention to detail. It is not just about the performers but also the sensei's efforts in teaching and the master teacher's guidance. There are so many people involved including those doing hair and make-up, those who set-up for the event, and the guests who came to watch. Without all of these people, the performance would not have been possible.

So when asked how the performance went, the Japanese will say "okagesamade" ("with everyone's help being in our shadow, everything is going well/everything went well." ).

You can tell that this phrase has a very deep meaning but unfortunately it is translated simply as "Thanks for asking."

(Info adapted from a post by Naomi Ohara on Okinawa Natural Herb Meal's FB page.)
(Image from https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6106/6883412552_0dfd4bd8df_z.jpg)