Morning in Japan

I live on Yokota Air Base, which is located about 30 KM west of the City of Tokyo, Japan. Being an air base, it is centered around the flightline (aka runway), which runs roughly north-south, dividing the base into two sections. The western section is where most of the base is located, including almost all of the work centers, and a significant amount of base housing. The east side of base is almost entirely base housing, and that is where I live. In order to get to work, I have to drive across the south end of the flightline, heading west.

It has been raining and overcast for what seems like several weeks here, but this morning it finally dawned clear and beautiful. As I was driving to work, I had a magnificent view of Mt Fuji in the distance, with the air so crisp and clear that it felt that I could just reach out and touch the mountain. With all the wet weather we have been having, I was surprised to see that the mountain showed no signs of snow (which makes it look even more beautiful).

I am a member of the Finatics Dive Club at Yokota. We dive frequently on the Izu Peninsula, about a 3 hour drive south of base. The diving is surprisingly good, with lots of tropical fish and corrals. We regularly see clown fish, lion fish, several types of eels, damsel fish, needle fish, and the occasional small ray. The water temperature has been around 77 F most of the summer, and I am quite comfortable in a 2mm shorty wetsuit (although some of the Japanese we see there actually wear dry suits, quite crazy). We have a trip planned for the Veterans Day Weekend to the island of Saipan, which is supposed to be just gorgeous, but there is a problem. When our club president went to the travel agency to make the reservations, they told him that the flights coming back on Sunday were all full, so we may be screwed, which would suck.

This weekend Yokota Air Base is having its biennial Yokota Officer's Spouce's Club Asian bazaar, and the Finatics have a booth selling breakfast burritos and tacos to raise money. We are not getting very good participation from the club, though, so we will see how it goes. The club is also doing a beach clean up dive on October 24th, which seems to be getting better participation. We will be going to a beach just south of Yokosuka and cleaning trash up out of the water. They are providing free tanks, weights, and lunch. My wife (she is the leader of a Girl Scout Troop) is bringing her girls scouts out to clean up on the dry side.

Well, that's today's entry. Have a great weekend.