It's like living in a foreign country... oh, wait...

Sukiya- a chain of restaurants in Japan serving curry (Japanese style), beef bowl and other tasty deliciousness

Yamato is the area to the east/northeast of the base, a lot of shopping, restaurants, and places to live.  Jef (who also picked us up at the airport, and has done a host of other very nice, helpful things), took us to a Sukiya.

The biggest difference between eating in a Japanese restaurant and eating in an American restaurant is that everything is in Japanese. The second is that you have to call the waitress to come take your order.  There's a button on the table that you press if you need anything.  There is no hovering or checking over your shoulder to see how you're doing.  They don't need to.  They're not working for a better tip.  They're not working for a tip at all.  Japan is a non-tipping society.  It's awesome, especially considering the exchange rate is awful.

Our first meal off base:

Chicken deliciousness over rice, salad and miso soup

beef curry, miso soup, and salad

After lunch, we took the train for the first time and went to Yokohama for a baseball game.  We each got a Pasmo.  You put yen on the Pasmo, and use it to pay for the trains that take you anywhere.  You don't even have to take it out of your wallet.  Living in a country that values mass transit is awesome.

Huge beds of tulips outside of the stadium