All on base hotels are reserved for ROM folks, so after exiting ROM we moved to a hotel off base! It was an “experience” getting all our stuff from the hotel shuttle to the 5th floor of this hotel/apartment building, but we eventually made it! It’s definitely not as spacious but it has everything we need. Living/dining room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms, office (which we are using for Jonathan’s room), laundry room, and a restroom. It is also a 2 minute walk to the base gate so it works out well for Taylor when he has to go to work. Most of the appliances are in Japanese so it has been interesting figuring out how to use everything! (It’s not hard – just push buttons until it works!)
The first day we got to the hotel I spent the day settling in and organizing our stuff while Taylor went to his office for the first time. He spent the day meeting his new team and taking care of some administrative things (…so many admin things). When he got back we took a stroll through our new area and picked up some takeout for dinner. Our first Japanese curry experience! We quite enjoyed it!
The next day we went to base to check our mailbox and to do some shopping. It was 2 days before Christmas, so with everyone doing their last minute Christmas errands and with COVID precautions there were long lines to get in everywhere, but overall they went pretty quick and we were successful! We don’t have a vehicle yet so we walked, but it was really nice out and the boys got some much needed time at a park.
After having a big lunch on base earlier we decided to just do a 7/11 dinner. It was pretty good! There are lots of interesting goodies at the 7/11 and it is just a minute from our hotel. Taylor goes like twice a day to get snacks or drinks lol (The 500ml malts under 200¥ are great!)
The next day for Christmas Eve we did some Christmas activities with Jeffrey while watching Home Alone. I really tried to get his gingerbread house to stand, but it just didn’t work! Jeffrey still really liked decorating it though. He also liked making patterns with the bracelet beads.
Then we took a walk to Mikasa Park, which is about a 5 minute walk from our hotel. It was a little colder and windier than we thought it would be but it was still fun. Good place for the boys to run around.
After the park we did naps and decided on Indian takeout for dinner. More please!
We gave the boys a bath and they were all ready for Santa in their Christmas jammies!
On Christmas day, the boys were excited to see that Santa had visited. They loved their new toys. No Grammy’s bread this year, but we did get orange cinnamon rolls (My favorite! I think they’re growing on Jackie) for breakfast.
For lunch we had reservations at the O Club on base and had a traditional American Christmas meal. Turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes…the works! It was pretty good, so glad they had that available for us!
We decided to just relax the rest of the day and have easy PB&Js and 7/11 ramen for dinner.
We watched the Polar Express and ate cookies after. Jonathan enjoyed his cookies.
Merry Christmas!!
BRB, Out to Japan – Jackie