5 Things I Didn’t Expect Our First Week In Japan

“You have to take risks. We only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen” – Paulo Coelho

Hello from Japan!

Husband and I have been here for about a week, learning our way around and trying our hardest to stay out of trouble.  I think we’re both finally over the hump of jet lag and feeling a little more settled these days (or as settled as we can be without much of our stuff).  Our short time in country has had a lot of expected moments: exhaustion, short tempers, starting back to work.  But there have also been some awesome unexpected moments.  Here are the top 5 things I didn’t expect from our first week in Japan.

I didn’t expect my first meal to be so bold.

My husband will tell you – I’m not the most adventurous eater.  I’m certainly willing to try new things, so long as they’re not spicy or look like they could walk, fly, crawl, or swim off my plate.  Sometimes it’s best if I don’t know what something is before I try it (or even after).

After our flight arrived in Tokyo, we had a few hours to kill before the shuttle arrived to take us to our new home.  Since we weren’t quite sure what awaited us, we decided to get some food at the airport mall.  Laden with baggage and not wanting to walk too far, we decided to stop at the first place we saw – Soup Stock.  Husband got a clear vegetable soup with ginger and I ordered a cream-based soup with cabbage and shrimp.  All is well until I look down and think “Hhmmm, it’s weird there’s only two pieces of pepper in this soup.”  Guys – not pepper!  I didn’t realize the shrimp in my soup still had eyes, legs and a tail!  Luckily they were small and, if I closed my eyes, I could mostly forget about what was on my spoon.

I didn’t expect to be up at 5am every day.

I tried my hardest to make sure I was good and tired for the first night in a new place.  After waking up at 3:30am the morning of our flight, I slept about 2 hours of the 16 hours of flying, 9 hours of waiting, and 2 hours of bus riding.  I was tired and ready for bed…

Until we arrived at our hotel at 9:30pm.  Then I was awake (presumably because 9:30pm our time is 8:30am EST).  Luckily we were able to sleep a bit but both of us were restless and woke up exhausted.  We’d warned the sun rose early here, but it’s one thing to hear about it and other to experience it.  Sunshine streaming through our windows at 5am didn’t allow for much sleep, and I’ve been awake by 5:30am since we arrived.

I didn’t expect for us to have permanent housing.

I have heard so many horror stories from spouses about having to wait a month or sixty days for housing to be available at their new post. Having never moved with the military or lived on post before, I had no idea what to expect.  The moving process was much more streamlined than I had anticipated.  It happened very quickly and much closer to our departure date than I’d hoped.  I expected the opposite with housing – a long wait time and a slow process.

Once again, I was surprised when we were told there would be a place for us this week, if we wanted it.  (We do have the option to turn down housing.  Doing so means the money that pays for our hotel room stops and we are responsible for all those costs.  Plus we go to the bottom of the list.  I guess they really don’t want you to say “no”).  On Friday, we signed and got the keys to a 3-bedroom, 2.5 bath townhouse.  It’s at the top of a hill with an overlook of the city.  We’re very pleased and, since it’s bigger than we thought, I feel an IKEA trip in my future!

I didn’t expect the local community to be so helpful and welcoming.

Talking with people before we left the US, our sense was that, as Americans, we would be well received. We’d been told that the Japanese people were very helpful and would do their best to help if asked a question.  We’ve experienced this hospitality and helpfulness on multiple occasions, but one in particular really stood out.

Husband and I were out and about this weekend, looking for a friend’s house.  Because we don’t have cell phones yet, we can only communicate with people through wifi and then only through limited apps.  Which means we do lots of looking up and taking notes before we leave, snapping pictures of places and maps.  We can’t get turn-by-turn directions or call for someone.  This particular time, we got off the train and were confused about which direction to leave the station.  We stopped to ask Japanese gentleman on the street – he was dressed in a hat and sash and appeared to be an information guy – which way do we go.  Luckily I had a picture of the intersection we were trying to get to.  He smiled at us and pointed us in a direction and we were off!

As we walk and talk, Husband and I are looking for the intersection, knowing that we need to take a left at some point.  Suddenly, we hear indistinct yelling behind us and we turn to see our information attendant jogging after us.  We had missed the turn at the intersection, and this gentleman ran after us to tell us we were going the wrong way!  He turned us around and walked us back to the intersection, sending us on our way again with a tentative “Go straight”.  Husband and I were both blown away!

There was also the cell phone rep that attempted to talk to us via Google translate about cell phone plans.  When that failed, he printed out the company website (in both English and Japanese) so that we could review it.

I didn’t expect to be so welcomed by the post community.

As many of you know, my personal experience at our last duty station wasn’t the best.  It took me a long time to find friends and feel welcomed.  It was hard for me to get information and help from Husband’s unit.  This place seems exactly the opposite.  We are like children here – we know nothing.  Asking our sponsor questions while we sit in waiting rooms means that others around will chime in, offering up their experience and thoughts.  Not in a rude or pushy way, but in a genuinely helpful way.

Being able to go through some of Husband’s in-processing pieces has also been so helpful for me.  I’ve gotten to know offices and locations and faces of co-workers.  It’s already made a huge difference in my comfort level here.  Although I think it’s rare to have a spouse tag along the first few days, I was never made to feel out of place or awkward.  I was always welcomed and spoken to, and that meant a lot, especially when it came to Husband’s co-workers.

I’d been told that the communities overseas are tighter than many military communities in the US, and I’d believe it.  Husband’s sponsor has been awesome, staying in touch throughout the transition process and making sure we had everything we needed our first week in country.  Our first weekend here, included an invite out by some of Husband’s co-workers.  That was huge.  Getting some face time with people has been awesome, especially since the post isn’t as large as our last one.

All in all, its been a great experience so far.  We’re still adjusting and will be for quite some time. But knowing there are other people willing to help you along the way is so comforting.  I just hope that one day we’re able to repay the favor.  Until next time friends!