Everything but the Pumpkin Coach and Glass Slippers

This past weekend was both exploratory and enchanting as we headed for Yokosuka, a major naval base in Japan, for the annual Seabee ball. Jennifer had never been to this base so we decided to make a weekend of it to give ourselves time to check out the facilities and its surrounding areas.

As previously mentioned, traffic in Japan makes for some incredibly long drives, even if the distance is reasonable. That being said, we began our Saturday with a 3-hour, 30-mile drive along the coast from Ebina (our home city) to Yokosuka. Oddly enough these beach streets reminded Jennifer quite a bit of Southern California...sunshine, beaches on one side, shops and restaurants on the other.  Upon arriving at the base, we were confronted by another "first" for Jennifer...a Navy base with ships! It seems like a given, but thus far John has been working at bases that focus on Navy air, construction and training. In addition to this teeny tiny difference, it was clear upon arrival that this establishment was BIG. It felt like an enormous college campus and definitely made us appreciate the quaint, smaller community at NAF Atsugi.



California or Japan?

It soon became time for the evening's festivities and we were on our way to the ball. We had friends in attendance so that made for a fun evening, in addition to the usual chit chat and networking. After shooting the breeze with one gentleman, Jennifer said to John, "he seemed important", to which John responded, "yeah, that was an admiral". Needless to say, that was definitely information best learned after the conversation and was a good lesson in uniform insignia. Let's just say Jennifer is more of a polka dot girl, but has never been more intimidated by stripes in her life.

Ready to go!

Us with some of John's coworkers, some of whom you may recognize from snowboarding or St. Patrick's Day :-).

 

The traditions carried out at this gala were very interesting, as they incorporated both American and Japanese customs. Both nations' flags were involved in the presentation of the colors, and kimonos were not uncommon among the Japanese female attendees. One highlight was watching the high-ranking U.S. and Japanese leaders work together to break a sake barrel with wooden mallets. There was definitely nation-building worked into all this fun.

Roll out the barrel!

We had big plans for these paper clip holders before we saw others using them for the sake.

After a delicious meal, (ahem) beverages, cake and dancing, we concluded our evening at the ball, at which we had just that :-).  

P.S. - Our winning streak in raffle drawings continued at this event, but with an element of mystery...Jennifer won this prize but we don't know what it is. Even our Japanese friend could not translate it. Perhaps it's some sort of lantern, but other suggestions are welcome :-).

Your guess is as good as ours.