Firsts

Any trip to a foregin country will have its fair share of firsts. Here are mine for the week:

1. First trip off base

After the first days of orientation, filled with lifeguarding inservices, lesson planning and wondering if my outfit is acceptable for the grocery store (yes, this is a concern), we were finally allowed to go off base! “Why doesn’t America have that?” quickly became the question of the day, as we noticed the raised lines on the sidewalk for blind individuals, and a conveniently placed bike ramp along a flight of stairs. The aquatics staff went to two 100 yen stores, which were filled with the cute little trinkets and interesting little snacks that I’ve come to expect from Japan. We then toured “the Haunch,” (aka the West Wing of Yokosuka), which is the forbidden stretch of bars frequented by Navy personnel. Before heading back to base, we visited a 7/11 where I experienced my…

Bike ramp along flight of stairs

2. ...First consumption of BOMB Japanese ice cream

The 7/11 has a variety of awesome Japanese desserts, the best of them all being Coolish, a homemade-tasting ice cream in a pouch. You have never had ice cream until you’ve had Coolish. I have had one everyday for the past three days, and plan on continuing this trend for quite some time. I’m either going to have to ship tons of this stuff home, or comb all the Asian markets in the US until I find it.

  

3. First Japanese sushi!

For our first off-base dinner, we visited a sushi restaurant in a little mall right by base. It had a conveyor belt with colored plates of food, with each color indicating a different price. You picked up what you wanted, stacked the plates when you finished, and a waitress came and tallied your total at the end. FUN FACT: The Japanese do not accept tips. If you leave one, they will chase you until they’ve returned your money to you. (Luckily we were informed of this before, so there was no social faux pas on our part.) As for the sushi itself, it was great (even the hidden wasabi in the salmon sushi!) I intend to have much more before my time in Japan is through.

4. First time using a Japanse bathroom

This was not a full-on traditional Japanese bathroom, where you squat over a bathtub-looking object (see picture on left below), but rather a western-style toilet, Japanese style. This meant the walls of the bathroom stall went all the way to the floor, water came up to squirt your butt when you were done, and (best!) there were sound effect buttons to mask the sound of you going to the bathroom. You could adjust the height of the squirt and the volume of the sound effects—customized to create your own personalized bathroom experience!

5. First time making a fool of myself in front of Japanese women (see above)

While using this futuristic-esque bathroom, my friend and I were geeking out (quite loudly, I might add) by taking pictures, giggling when the water hit us, and marveling over the mere existence of the sound effects button. When we exited the stalls, we found a line of bemused Japanese women waiting to use the restroom, looking half annoyed, and half as though they were trying to hold in laughter. Typical Americans.

6. Not really a “first,” but more of an observation: I know that I will continue to experience the friendliness of the Japanese people for as long as I am here. The people that I’ve met thus far have been unfailingly nice, from the girls on a school basketball team who posed excitedly for endless photos with us, to the group of men in a restaurant  who stared at us for a few minutes before approaching us excitedly to shake our hands and say, “nice to meet you!” Japan is such a welcoming country, and I can’t wait to explore areas outside of Yokosuka.

I’m one of a few Yokosuka aquatics staff who has to work this weekend (everyone has to at some point), so I’ll have time off later in the week. In the meantime, I’ll be lifeguarding in the pool with the best view ever (see below.) Awesome!

    

Clockwise from top left: Baby pool, big pool, water slide

Random FUN FACT for the day: There is 1 vending machine in Japan for every 12 people.