Moving to Japan has been amazing already, and we have only lived here for five months. If you read my Mom’s Substack, then you know about the culture and the differences between America and Japan. But that still leaves the mystery of the life of military kids that roam the base. Well, I am here to tell more about them.

The first day of school will always be the scariest. You are walking into an area where you don’t know anyone. So many kids move in and out here, though, that you get a buddy to show you around school and to sit with at lunch. I don’t think I have ever had to be braver than coming up to new people and saying, “Hi, my name’s Emlyn Walsh.”

Having to navigate my way through a new school, learning everyone’s names and the different rules they have set for us, was hard. So many of the kids have come from other DoD schools, so they already know how to work Google Classroom and other apps, and I had no idea how to get on them.

I became best friends with the secretary the first month of school because I had to go get my password reset so many times. I don’t know why it was so hard, but it really was frustrating. I did end up in tears because of it a couple times.

When I was in Granville, I was in an intermediate school. We only changed classes two times a day, but instantly I was in middle school after a long weekend, and I changed classes eight times. Learning my way around the school took a second, along with learning all the teachers’ names.

I was also not prepared to choose my own seat in the lunchroom.

In Granville, they assign seats in the lunchroom. And I think that, too, made me worry that I would not have anyone to sit with on the first day (I did).

The last and final thing that threw me off was the locks on your lockers. I had to take mine home to practice because I came in the middle of the year and got locked out of my locker three times for forgetting how to do my lock.

They have fewer travel sports here because we can’t really go up against Japanese teams, and the closest other Navy base where we could travel to for sports is two hours away. So instead, the school has clubs after school for sports and robotics and whatever suits you. Because we have extra time on our hands, we hang out at the youth center.

The youth center is a place where all the kids can play. There is an art room, a gym, a music room, a lounge, and finally a game room. There are all exceptionally nice kids here who care about each other, accept each other’s differences, and let people be who they are. As I told my parents, I did not know kids could be so nice. I think military kids just learn to be much more open and accepting.

Apartment life has helped with social skills. I have also had to be more quiet in the morning when the rest of the family is sleeping or even just knowing there is a baby next door. Riding the elevators with my sisters is always a race to see who can press it first (it’s always Paige). And even learning little things like sharing a bathroom with two little sisters was not fun to get used to, but now it’s OK.

I finally, though, get my own room while we are here. Because it’s an apartment and we don’t get much space, we put a lot of stuff in my closet because I have the biggest closet. The balcony is my favorite part of the apartment. It’s not an amazing view, but you can see the flight line from here.

My favorite part of Japan has been the amount of freedom that kids are allowed to have.

Like, I can take a bus anywhere I want on base, I can go to the youth center any time I want, or I can just come home. But I have really been trying to take advantage of all the freedom and opportunities that come with it. My closest friend here rides her bike 15 minutes to school from off base. My Mom had to fight my school back home to let me walk half a mile home in 5^th grade.

But it has also been a life-changing experience to learn that there is more in the world. Like traveling around Tokyo with my family, I get to learn more and more about their culture every day. Like they carry their trash home instead of throwing it away somewhere near you. They believe it is your own job to clean up after yourself, not someone else’s job.

My favorite trip was down to Tokyo the first week we went, so I was head over heels for Tokyo and traveling. I still am, but that first time I will never forget. We petted otters and got crepes and looked at the stores for the first time.

My least favorite trip was to Hakone. Paige and Margo would not stop fighting and complaining. We had to leave Dad on the side of the road because he got sick, but we were taking a bus with a lot of people. We were with my dad’s work friends, which made it not worse but a little awkward because it was the first time we met them.

I also want to go to Korea to learn their culture. They often compare Japan to Korea, and I want to see what the differences are compared to Japan. My Mom said we are hoping to go for Spring Break but Paige’s new school has a different schedule. Maybe I can miss school.

Learning the Japanese language is so different compared to what I am used to. It is difficult because they have kanji, which are pictures that you have to memorize. I have friends who went to Japanese schools, and they can speak the language fluently. I am only learning Japanese in class at school for Japanese culture, but it helps speaking to the locals. Here are some words in Japanese if you want to learn: “”Watashi wa Emlyn desu,” which means I am Emlyn.

In Granville, there was not much diversity, and here it is very diverse from all over the US and world. I love it because I get to learn everyone’s culture and origin and where they came from. I have been introduced to new music while I have been over here, some Japanese, some Spanish. I have also been introduced to new movies and temples. And even our conversations at school some mixed with Japanese, some mixed with Spanish or even Korea words. It has been amazing to discover there is more than just American culture and churches.

Time zones and staying in touch can be difficult with the different time zones, and we are a day ahead… not to brag or anything. But if you find the right time and rhythm, then you will get it and be able to call friends back home often.

Earthquakes happen a lot over here, and I am here to say the whole ground splitting is fake other than really big earthquakes. No, earthquakes are more like a swaying feeling, like you’re on a boat but can’t control where it’s headed. If it is a big earthquake, then it would be more like a jerk. The jerking ones are terrifying. We have apps set up on our phones to go off if an earthquake ever were to happen because you can’t really predict earthquakes. They worst is in the middle of the night. It is not fun to wake up to the alarms going off. The Japanese build their houses very strong and ready for earthquakes and they are able to sway.

I was really worried while moving that there would not be any books on base because this is my first time ever living on an Air Force base. But I was wrong. There is a library across base and one at school. If you try to get any off base, though, you will just be getting Japanese language, and no one wants that if you can’t read the words.

Another thing that surprised me when I came was how quiet everyone is just walking down the street… not a peep. It is not culturally normal to talk while walking or eat while walking. And though my family is still getting used to the rules, we are doing much better than in the beginning. Like once, instead of me walking with my family at a store, I sat and ate so that we would be following the invisible rules of Japan.

Along with those rules, it is more culturally appropriate if you bring your trash home than walk a mile trying to find one. Finding a trash can in Japan is rare. If you find one, then throw everything away.

Another part is Japanese people are so selfless, and instead of thinking for themselves, they constantly put others before them. One day we were out and a man was working his job but he saw my family was lost, and instead of letting us pass, he stopped and helped show us the way. They are so selfless. It is rude to just say no to someone here who is trying to be kind. I think that we all benefit from this part of their culture.

And they make sure they have a sense of purpose. Even the elderly here will be picking up trash or doing small jobs that will benefit everyone in the end. Like even just standing and making sure the train does not hit you.

It is amazing and so sad when you meet all these wonderful people in your life and then they mention at school they will move soon. My mom says it’s an opportunity to meet future friends moving in. But it also feels like here, my best friend could move away. You never realize how much a person can have an effect on your life until you move.

It can be hard with people moving a lot because a lot of kids don’t say when they are going to be moving or if they are, so my, like, best bud at school could move and I wouldn’t know. I think that is always a little scary and sad when people that you have connections with move.

I guess when I moved here, I did not think it would be so much about being a military-adjacent child and that we would just be moving to Japan. This has been more than just one experience. It has been eye-opening to see a whole new Japanese culture and military life.

I am proud that I moved here because I really feel I have learned so much more through the different people and culture than I would in Granville. And that I have really more outgoing, loud, and brave. My mom says I am thriving the most in Japan, and I am already nervous to come back home because how do you explain this and who I am now to everyone?

Instead, for now, I am just living every moment of it, taking in all the experiences, and catching every bus alone I can until then.

When we were first deciding about Japan, one of the first things I thought about was 4-H. The idea of missing memories at the Hartford Fair and 4-H Camp seemed inconceivable to me. 4-H summers and the fair are the moments that built me. The person I am today correlates directly back to those life lessons learned in the barn as a family.

I know my childhood is not theirs, and my girls’ experiences will be different, just by us living in Granville vs. Northridge. Still, it was hard to let go of what I had pictured in my mind for them.

Of course, living on the other side of the world and experiencing a totally different culture will be life changing. But I also know… 4-H is too good to miss out on. So, the one part of Ohio I was determined to bring with us was 4-H.

I reached out early to Licking County’s 4-H Extension Educator, Lisa McCutcheon. She may have been one of the first people to know about our plan.

I always like to tell people I am one of Lisa’s kids. Her leadership during my 4-H years taught me more about excellence and personal accountability than almost anyone. I took a résumé and cover letter (and wore a suit) to my first Bob Evans interview because of the expectations set during our years interviewing for Junior Fair Board and Camp Counselor.

I am so grateful my kids get to be part of Lisa’s world.

I asked her what we could do to keep 4-H alive for them. Together, after talking with some military-connected 4-H leadership in Maryland, we decided to have the girls complete project-based books and present them to Licking County Extension over Zoom.

While the girls would be totally State Fair ineligible this way, for me… it wasn’t about ribbons or awards. In the purest 4-H way, it was about the experience.

Working on the books the girls picked out before we came quickly became a source of continuity and focus during a truly transitional time. While the girls were still making friends, starting activities, and figuring out life here, having a project that gave structure and purpose to their days was hugely important and a massive blessing.

The girls recorded their Health and Safety demonstrations as a requirement for their club, Kids and Kritters 4-H Club. It was fun to upload their videos, this time about earthquake safety and bike-riding rules on base.

Emlyn is in her fourth year of 4-H. She picked the project Make Over My Space because, in our three-bedroom apartment, Emlyn was the only one who got her own bedroom for the first time. We had promised for years to make over their room back home, and this was really fun because it let her be the designer of her own space.

We had fun going to IKEA Japan, Japanese furniture stores, and seeing everything she could get. When she started, she had 700 ideas and 12 different color palettes. However, the project went step by step through the design process and made her narrow those ideas down. It helped her focus on, “What function does this space serve?” Before she knew it, a pretty tween bedroom appeared.

What made her project even cooler was an unexpected connection.

My friend Michelle remembered sitting next to a young man and his mom at a Granville Area Chamber of Commerce meeting years ago. The young man, Jonathan Stratton, was interested in furniture design and was moving to Tokyo. She had followed him all these years on Instagram and made a social media introduction. That is how we learned he was now only about 45 minutes from us!

Jonathan had recently opened a furniture design studio in Tokyo. Here we were, with Emlyn and Jonathan having grown up only eight miles apart in Ohio, and now he was here in Japan just down the road.

We were able to take the whole family to Jonathan’s studio in June. He shared how he built a woodworking business in a foreign country, developed local partnerships, and established an internationally recognized design studio. He was awarded multiple International MUSE Design Awards this year.

It was so cool, and I think Brian and I left with a feeling of being “proud parents,” wanting to support Jonathan’s incredible journey. We are really excited that he invited us to his newest gallery opening in Tokyo next week! We will be cheering him on for years to come.

Paige’s project took her in a different direction.

Paige loves the idea of space exploration and research. She was so excited to find a new 4-H project called Missions in Microgravity. This project had Paige explore how gravity influences scientific research. For the final part, Paige was supposed to design her own space experiment using the engineering design process.

Paige and I talked about how Uncle Lee’s tomatoes were spoiling while sitting in crates on the truck, and it sparked Paige’s interest in how gravity affects produce storage. Paige developed an experiment exploring whether lessons from microgravity could improve the storage of heirloom tomatoes.

Having met Jonathan, I started thinking about who Paige could meet. Then I realized we had the BEST opportunity for her right here on Yokota Air Base: Space Force Guardians!

I reached out on the community Facebook page and asked if there was someone Paige could talk with, and Capt. Mikayla Szipszky of the United States Space Force agreed.

It was such a cool day! Paige and Capt. Szipszky could be besties!

Paige explained her experiment idea, and Capt. Szipszky leaned in with so many follow-up ideas and questions. Paige had prepared questions about engineering, education, and careers in space operations. But what was really cool was that the conversation helped Paige see how her interests in math and space science could someday become a career.

“It was like meeting my future self,” Paige said, skipping out of the meeting.

She really was so surprised to meet an adult who was just as excited about space and science as she was. The two have stayed in touch since, and her office is right across the street, so I know it is the start of a cool relationship.

After they completed their project books, we had them make PowerPoint presentations, which was a lesson in itself… especially for Emlyn. It was like a whole additional project!

The girls did their judging from Okinawa over Zoom. The internet did not agree with us that day, but the girls were just as nervous as they would have been showing up in person. Lisa and Adrienne asked great questions and listened to the girls go through their entire projects.

After judging, the girls sent their project books back to the United States. Aunt Lindsey put them inside their fair booth, and the girls received an A on their projects.

But… they were also VERY surprised and thrilled to see a Superior ribbon awarded to each project too!

For a second… 6,550 miles felt like nothing.

Both projects demonstrate one of 4-H’s greatest strengths… 4-H isn’t just winning. 4-H is about seeing the BEST in the next generation.

Honestly, I think so many of the parts of childhood that we all worry about could be mitigated with 4-H and the responsibilities trusted to these young people: the responsibility to care for living animals, the reward of making money with a good sale, encouraging young people to ask questions, seek out experts, sit across from adults for an interview, share their ideas, and feel a sense of pride and accomplishment through club leadership.

4-H creates opportunities far beyond county fairs or club meetings… sometimes even opportunities in a foreign land.

For Emlyn and Paige, completing 4-H projects from Japan helped make an unfamiliar country feel a little smaller. Whether meeting an internationally recognized furniture designer who once called Licking County home or presenting an original research idea to a Space Force officer, the girls saw so many adults working to ensure their success. They learned that what they had to say and share mattered.

When we decided to move to Japan, I worried about all the things my girls would miss. I knew what 4-H had given me, and I didn’t want them to lose that just because we were moving across the world.

But their 4-H experience didn’t end. It just grew.

It looked different than I had pictured but their childhood was always going to be different from mine.

And, just like I hoped, it is turning out to be just as good.

We didn’t leave 4-H behind in Ohio. We just packed up everything it taught us and brought it along.

As a high-functioning, formerly gifted child turned elder millennial…do you know how many hours I have spent asking myself that same question: “WHAT AM I DOING?!”

These last four months have stretched that question beyond what I am doing day-to-day to where, in fact, is my life is headed. I find myself learning a new balance and an identity that is not completely tied to achieving.

Honestly, since getting here, I have started to wonder how I got everything done in a day back home. When I turn around here in Yokota, it’s after 4 p.m., and I realize the day is over and I have not started my to-do list.

The answer is… Community!

In Ohio, I got more than five things done at one time because we had an amazing network of friends and family always moving kids around so they could be three places at once.

I had a Ms. July who was there if I had a two- or eight-hour window when I needed care. I could be networking a trustee issue while standing at the farm market. I knew I could run to the store while a kid was at swim practice and be back before they dried off.

In Japan…even the simplest task comes with a huge cultural learning curve and then add in…a foreign language.

Take, for instance… swim team and grocery shopping. Emlyn’s coach is not fluent in English, so to talk about simple things like paying for lessons, schedule changes or which suit to wear, we communicate entirely through Messenger so we can translate each other’s messages. That includes delays. The aquatic center has its own set of cultural norms surrounding shoes and locker-room etiquette.

If I want to run to the grocery store during that time, I am met with aisle after aisle of food labeled in Japanese. To find the lemon juice I needed for a recipe, I had to pull out my Google Translate camera and scan each yellow bottle until I found the right one. Then I carried my reusable bag back to the parking garage, translated the kiosk, paid my fare and navigated home using Google Maps and streets labeled in Japanese. It always takes 4 times longer to complete even the simplest task.

When our flight to Okinawa was canceled, instead of hopping on the Southwest app while my coffee brewed, I had to locate a translator, schedule a call and then sit on hold while a 40-minute conversation was translated before we found a suitable solution.

The days of multitasking are over.

I used to describe myself as “inherently lazy with an addiction to getting things marked off my to-do list.” However, Paige recently asked me, “Mom, when you were little, did you ever get tested for ADHD? Because I think you should have.” She may not be wrong. I am someone who has always carried a list of 30-plus items, held four different jobs at once and worked down to the final seconds of a deadline. My childhood motto has always been, “If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute.” Prove me wrong. ;-)

So…for the record, I am still working.

I remain Vice President of Internal Affairs for Ohio Farmers Union, where I am helping manage the sale of our Ottawa building, reviewing bylaws and moving more of the organization into the cloud.

I still serve on boards, have been on many late-night board calls and still get to give interviews about agricultural issues…they just happen to be at 1 a.m. JST now.

But…most of my time still goes to the farm. If you see a social media post, receive a newsletter, join the CSA, shop through the online store, reach out for employment or contact the farm about a wholesale order, you are still talking to me. Lee, Jessica and I talk multiple times every day.

The best part is that the days are filled with family, the girls, homemaking, making meals and changing habits BEFORE I usually sit down at 8 p.m. and pull out the computer when Ohio wakes up. Then I get my work hours in on the couch.

The freedom of everyone being asleep during the day has been a huge weight lifted off my chest. Everyone is asleep, so there is no need to perform. Previously, if I got an email…I would immediately return it. If I had a call, I took it. Now…everyone is asleep, and so I get some space to live.

Work feels good to me. It fulfills me, Japan came with the huge privilege of base housing and the financial freedom of renters, meaning work was not a need but I am SO very thankful for the people and technology that allow me to remain connected from so far away. It really makes the distance feel small.

I run.

I get the girls to and from.

I chase protein goals.

I keep up with the laundry.

I volunteer for the PTA or church!

I plan our adventures.

I manage our financial goals.

I sell hundreds of pounds of tomatoes.

I am building systems and habits our family has LONG needed. Anyone remember when my cleaning lady fired me for being too disorganized? 🫠

And that may actually be the biggest work I am doing here: learning to find contentment in ordinary things, learning that caring for our home is not time taken away from more important work, and learning not to require achievement, praise…or an entire community voting every four years to confirm that they still like me in order to feel fulfilled.

And because I will apparently never become a person who spends her afternoons eating bonbons, I am adding one more thing to my days.

In two weeks, I am starting seminary.

No, I am not planning to become a pastor.

I will be pursuing a second master’s degree at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, studying Public Theology. This opportunity was presented to me right about the same time Brian got the call from Japan. I have long had a calling to live out my faith more fully through my personal life, public work and commitment to rural communities. Even if my first “intensive” comes with the week of August 17^th being in class… 9PM – 5:30AM Japan time! The first week of school for girls too…. 🫥🫥

I had to order books and got my .edu email after a 20 year break! I am hoping I remember how the difference between APA and MLA citations.

When both opportunities came…we knew Jesus was giving us an escape hatch from the trappings of our overcommitted life.

So maybe this entire thesis was just for me to keep working out the lingering question…what am I doing?!

I am creating habits that will serve our family when we return and I inevitably start chasing big dreams again.

Governor’s cabinet, anyone? ;-)

I finally exhaled.

We did it. Ten days in what is often called the Hawaii of Japan. Our first real family vacation, not an adventure, not traveling home to see relatives, not visiting someone else, not trying to fit every person we love into a limited number of days. We went somewhere simply to be together.

There is an old military motto, Semper Gumby. Always flexible. Our false start the Friday prior required us to be flexible and not give up before we even got there.

Our original flight was canceled because of a typhoon. After realizing our economy Japanese airline did not have English translators on staff, we hired a mom on base who was able to sit on a call with us and get us rebooked. Thank goodness for technology.

The girls are incredible travelers, even after just a few months. They can so easily go with the flow. It is not something they were just born with, and yes, it does often require the reminder that… “either go with the flow or we don’t go”.

When they were little and we would go to the park, before we got out of the car I would set the time expectation and say, “When we go to leave, you are not to fight it or cry, because if you make leaving painful, then we can’t do the fun stuff in the future.” That lesson has served me well, from electronic usage to “someone just has to sit in the middle!”

Other than the usual and expected sibling bickering… they did awesome. Brian and I have six siblings between us, so sibling fighting doesn’t really faze us. We only referee after a foul has been thrown.

We finally arrived in Okinawa on Sunday night instead of our expected Friday afternoon

.Okinawa is not like Tokyo.

Some of Brian’s Japanese coworkers had mentioned that Okinawa was culturally very different, and we weren’t sure what to expect. And it was evident the second you landed. Like if a New Englander visited California for the first time.

Because Americans make up 8% of the island’s population, there is a much heavier American influence. Folks were dressed much more casually, and we saw men in shorts and even a few women in athletic wear! There was not the same “hustle” as Tokyo, and life had a more relaxed beach-town vibe.

In our prefecture, everything is very pristine. Buildings, roads and sidewalks look newly constructed. On the island, you could see more age and wear on many buildings. We assume island life adds a lot of logistics and cost to maintenance and construction.

Also, there are way more Lawsons than 7-Elevens.

We arrived at Okuma Bay, a private resort for military or military-adjacent families. One of the best perks of Brian’s career has always been access to military beaches. From Pensacola, Hawaii and San Diego to now Okinawa. They are often very quiet, few people, white sands, and very cheap morale, welfare and recreation rentals!

At Okuma, we did the real vacation thing. We slept in without guilt, ate all our meals out and stayed up late for movies. We had no schedule or plan and the sunburns to prove our hours in the water.

The girls loved snorkeling over the coral reefs! It was right after the typhoon and the current was very swift. We felt safe with the Captain and Lifeguard on board but I could tell it was swifter than they had hoped. Mom and Dad basically ran a marathon underwater to ensure the kids didn’t float away in ten seconds. We eventually kept them on a tow line, but while their expressions were pure joy and smiles… mine was internal panic.

We spent the nights watching ’90s movies and making sure they were cultured in Cast Away, The Goonies and Free Willy. True classics.

We left Okuma Bay after four nights to travel south to the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, one of the largest aquariums in the world. Zoology Bryn got to really impress everyone with my knowledge of phytoplankton and shark cartilage. We saw dolphin shows and sharks and Paige loved every minute, taking notes in her notebook.

Though we were told American Village was nothing more than a tourist trap. It was and…. we ate it up!

Think Easton Mall with the pretend village façade, but with endless alleys and storefronts of American and Japanese cuisine mixed with Americana-themed beach retailers. We soaked it in for all the cheesy, touristy moments it was worth. We loved window-shopping, finding little knickknacks and having the BEST pancakes and coffee we’ve had in months.

But we also knew we could not come to Okinawa, particularly as an American military-connected family, and experience only its beaches and tourist traps. There is much more to the story of this island.

Life with Brian always means a good, meaningful history lesson. Before we came, Brian had us watch a documentary on Okinawa, and he read two history books. We wanted to be sure the girls knew about the indigenous Ryukyuan people and the island’s rich natural history.

We were lucky enough to visit the brand-new visitor center at Yanbaru National Park in northern Okinawa. The subtropical wilderness was inscribed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site in 2021. Inside the park was the Yanbaru Forest Toy Museum. It was the coolest place and a real way for the girls to connect with the natural beauty and cultural history through play. They played for at least four hours and even Brian and I got lost in our pretend wooden ramen cafe.

On our final day, we traveled to the southernmost tip to visit the Okinawa Prefecture Peace Memorial and Museum. It was an incredibly solemn day with many hard conversations.

How do you explain war to a child? How do you explain why America has so many bases on foreign land?

We were thankful the memorial and museum allowed for natural conversations about the horrific realities of 1945. We saw 250,000 names written out and walked through looking for names like theirs on the walls. Children aged 7, 10 and 12. Soldiers with the last names Walsh or Bird.

It was hardest when some of the images shown in the museum were disturbing to me as a mother. I hated watching my children witness them, but I know they will speak for a long time about the ultimate need for peace and the ghastly realities of war. The truth that war is hell.

They saw a narrative of the war they have not been taught in school, raising questions about who was right and who was wrong and the truth that… “History is written by the victors” and it is important to learn the other story.

We talked about why even certain tragedies occur and how we must always question authority and even “our side.” No leader is so divinely loved that they should ever be worshiped, and no political side is ever absolutely right or good. For us, our identity is only as children of God, and we seek to be more like the Prince of Peace.

One evening, Brian and I built a fire… rather impressively, if you ask us… and we made s’mores. The girls immediately began listing all the times I had promised we would make s’mores back home but “never had time.”

They were right.

We had navigated the typhoon, the currents, the sibling bickering, the difficult history and ten uninterrupted days together. But more importantly, we had finally made the s’mores.

And can I be honest… I’ve had too much family time! If anyone wants to fly over and travel with us next time, I’d appreciate the company but these memories will live forever. Just us five.

And when we got home the condensation pipes above the little girls closest had burst and inches of water in their room and got to rewash all their clothes from their closest totes…. welcome home!

With about 55,000 U.S. military personnel and roughly 100,000 dependents, the 4th of July is not a foreign concept in Japan. In fact, Japan marked America’s 250th Independence Day in Tokyo with waterfront fireworks and a drone show featuring President Trump and Japan’s Prime Minister, and both the Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower were illuminated in red, white, and blue.

Spending the 4th of July in another country gets you thinking. When you’re someone deeply ingrained in politics and married to a Naval historian major... even more.

People may not realize it, but Japan is currently led by a strong conservative government, both with the Prime Minister and the Tokyo Governor. They are very much “Japan First” and share many of the same priorities and rhetoric that have made Trump popular in the United States.

Before we moved here, I worried people might be upset with us because of Trump. Politics isn’t openly discussed much at all, but in private, especially for Brian, several Japanese men have shared their admiration for Trump and their hope that Japan continues with strong conservative leadership and emulates much of the US’s strong voice for conservatism. They really like Trump’s plain language and strong military stances towards many parts of the world.

Japan has become such a trendy spot online… people can almost idolize it and act as if it has no problems. People sometimes act like America’s political divisions are uniquely American and Japan is an oasis of children cleaning their own classrooms and people riding the trains. But in reality, Japan wrestles with many of the same issues: economic pressures, social inequality, immigration, sexism, and what to do with aging population. Amidst other areas of tension, even I would not feel comfortable writing about without even more deeply understanding the nuances. However, I do read the news here everyday and just like home… things can feel tense.

However, one thing they all agree on which is interesting, is fossil fuel is a dead end road. We must invest in new forms of energy and use our human ingenuity to protect the limited resources we all have.

Public transportation, public goods, public health, public education, public parks, and collectivism do not have to be anti-conservative.

Japan’s ruling conservative party is called the “Liberal Democratic Party”, which in America, might send any MAGA aligned individual spinning! But the name comes from the tradition of classical liberalism: free markets, limited government, rule of law, individual liberty, economic freedom, and freedom of speech.

Somewhere along the way, America’s rugged individualism became synonymous with conservatism, while many of the classical liberal democratic ideals our country was founded on have faded from the conversation. That is something worth reflecting on.

Could it be that conservatism has become so intertwined with the interests of the billionaire class that we’ve been encouraged to believe investing in one another somehow threatens individual freedom? Because my gosh... imagine how powerful we could be if we embraced just a little more collectivism.

While our minds were on the deeper meaning of the weekend, we also knew we couldn't spend all four days debating politics. We had a holiday to celebrate.

Knowing we would miss the best four days in America at the Granville 4th of July Festival, I knew we needed to stay busy. Very busy. So I booked our entire weekend.

Thursday evening was karaoke with Brian and his coworkers to celebrate the July birthdays.

Friday we went into Tokyo to visit a former Granville resident from Licking County who now lives in Japan on an art visa. It was an incredible opportunity but I must save that full story for another day, because it was too amazing and will need a longer post. Any guesses who it was? I know some of you will know!

Afterward, we wanted to see something older than America.

With the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake, which left more than 100,000 people dead and millions homeless, followed by the WWII firebombing of Tokyo, there is surprisingly little in the city older than about 80 years.

We talk about that all the time. Every skyscraper, every massive train station, every school, every temple... almost everything around us has been rebuilt within a lifetime. We meet so many older Japanese and I think about all they have witnessed.

Japan decided to rebuild, and then they simply did.

We found the oldest surviving pagoda in Tokyo was only a 15 min walk away and so we set out. The pagoda at Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple, in Ōta Ward, dates to 1608.

It turned into one of our favorite afternoons yet. We wandered quiet streets, ducked into a neighborhood bakery for incredible treats. No one talks about Japan’s bakeries and that has been our favorite surprise… so many great bakeries.

Bread is actually a relatively recent addition to the Japanese diet. Only in the last few decades it overtook rice, as the main caloric driver in Japanese diet.

We finished the evening with another 7-Eleven parking lot dinner before Brian and I managed to turn a one-hour drive into well over two after getting turned around in Tokyo rush-hour traffic. We call it “marriage strengthening.”

Saturday the base hosted a free 4th of July celebration for military families. There were Japanese street performers, a Freedom Walk car show, food, music, and fireworks. It was a cool mix of Japan and America… and free.

Sunday we took the train to the Ginza District, home to luxury shopping and millions of dollars worth of cars parked on every block.

One thing Emlyn has quickly noticed is how people in Japan dress. Women dress beautifully... for everything. It’s refreshing. Somehow everyone manages to look dressy without looking flashy, and all of us have found ourselves putting just a little more effort into getting dressed. It simply feels good and fun to dress up. You do not find women in leisure wear, even Mom’s chasing kids at swim lessons. More often casual dresses and flowing slacks.

We found a Starbucks Reserve. There are only 6 of these in the world, and we may have eaten the best croissants of our lives. It was fancy enough that it took us a minute to figure out how everything worked, but one thing became immediately clear: take-out coffee was a, “no.”

Finally what we really came for… chopstick making! We had fun learning the history of chopsticks, which come from China and the cultural significance behind them. We have all gotten very good at using them and prefer them during noodles and our favorite Pepper Lunch steak.

I hope the girls keep those chopsticks forever and remember spending America’s 250th birthday in Tokyo.

We window shopped Tiffany and Co., wandered down Ginza 2 and did cart-wheels in the street. We talked to locals waiting in long lines to get in to Chanel and Cartier. We visited a park at the top of Ginza Six and ate $6 truffles.

By the end of the weekend, we had walked more than 45,000 steps. Brian and I keep laughing that our American feet are still adjusting. We stretch, we do calf exercises, and we’re still sore. You don’t realize how little you walk in America until you live somewhere where the car is secondary choice of transportation. Our baby American feet will never get used to this!

At the end of the weekend our family sat around the table and took turns sharing our favorite part of the Declaration of Independence... yep, we did that. Are you surprised?

For me, it will always be, “the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Sometimes when I find myself disagreeing with a group of people or neighbors, I remember just how profound those words are. Before that, it was “life, liberty and property.” Property included the enslavement of people and also who had the right to vote, hold power, and make change.

Thomas Jefferson’s inclusion of “Happiness” has often been understood as expanding the ideal beyond current power. It points toward civic virtue, the common good, and the opportunity for every person to pursue a meaningful life. It means we should respect, encourage, support, and develop policies that help all Americans pursue happiness. And while my happiness may sometimes look different from yours… or even come into direct conflict with yours… I do not believe we should create policy simply to diminish another person's ability to pursue theirs. Today, it feels we want “my happiness… at the expense of yours.”

Being away... being here... doesn’t mean I love one place more than the other. People say to us often, “don’t come back!” but I simply see both for what they are: societies full of people wanting the opportunity to build a life filled with their own version of happiness.

Loving your country doesn’t mean believing it has nothing left to learn. Sometimes the greatest gift of leaving home is returning with fresh eyes. Not to love America less, but to better appreciate both what we’ve built and what we still have the opportunity to become.

My prayer is that this time in Japan reminds our girls that America has always been in pursuit of “a more perfect union.” We are a great experiment that was never poised to look back or again, but by becoming even more free, and creating the opportunities for more people to pursue happiness.

Obviously, I booked a roadtrip the following weekend.

There was something symbolic about it. We finally had our belongings, our walls had pictures, the house felt like home... and now it was time to see the country we had moved halfway around the world to live in.

Thanks to our USFJ SOFA driver’s licenses, we can pack up the minivan and just go! Before the girls and I arrived in Japan, Brian had purchased us two minivans: a 2000 Toyota Noah and a 2005 Honda Stepwagon (by far the most popular car on base). Another perk is Brian’s agency has a culture of passing vehicles on to the next family coming in, so he paid just $2,400 for both. Yes, they are older than our marriage, and we knew this weekend would be a good test.

The forecast all week showed tons and tons of rain. We have officially entered “rainy season,” or tsuyu (梅雨), which means “plum rain.” It felt fitting as we drove around rural Nagano surrounded by endless plum orchards ripening.

Knowing it was rainy season, Brian and I went to our favorite store, Joyful Honda, and spent a small fortune on the most stylish Japanese ponchos, umbrellas, rain outfits, and boots! We are ready because we are not letting weather slow us down. Rainy season means about 40% of every day is at risk for rain... but that leaves a big chunk without it. You just have to be flexible. The girls bought in.

As we got on the road, we made an itinerary change and, without even reading up or looking at a map, pointed our GPS toward Matsumoto Castle. Brian had heard, “it’s cool.”

We were gobsmacked by the lush mountain terrain. Being from Colorado and spending our Augusts in Palmer Lake, we know Rocky Mountains, but these were straight out of Moana! You know the scene where Te Fiti lays down and turns into a green mountain? Yes. That was what we drove through.

What was incredible was the tunnel system. Somewhere between tunnels we drifted into a spirited Walsh family discussion about why America struggles to build infrastructure without calling it socialism while Japan simply tunnels through mountains.

The tunnels and highway system felt safe and easy to navigate and at one point we drove through a single 4.7km Sasago Tunnel linking Kantō Plain from the Kōfu Basin. We do not have our Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) set-up and so we had to stop at toll booths and tolls are much higher, costing us $60 in tolls for the weekend but only $110 in gasoline! Thank you, tiny engine.

Matsumoto Castle

• One of Japan’s oldest surviving wooden castles, built in 1592. Take that, America 250. 😉

• Castles weren’t homes… they were fortresses. (mind blown) This one was never attacked.

• We all laughed realizing samurai weren’t just carrying swords... they also carried rifles. Who pictures guns?! Thanks Portugal.

• The castle survived only because an educator and a merchant fought to save it from demolition after Japan began tearing all the castles down in late 1800’s.

• The best: Free volunteer tour guides. The Alps Language Service Association gives locals a chance to practice English. Since we had done exactly zero research before arriving... we needed them.

Nagano

Another 55 minutes down the road brought us to our Airbnb, a 100-year-old traditional Japanese home. We were met in the parking lot by our host, the grandson of the 95 year old owner. We slept on traditional futons laid over tatami mats and honestly it was not bad and I laid awake after everyone fell asleep and cherished us all being together in one room. It won’t always be like this.

Nagano is the birthplace of soba, a form of buckwheat noodles (Shinshu Soba). So we took our host’s recommendation and walked to a restaurant on the main street. They served us soba noodles, soba highballs, soba tea, soba cake, and soba tempura. We were all very brave and tried everything. Paige decided soba is absolutely her thing. The rest of us? It was good... just probably not a craving. The word, “wheat water” was used through jokes and bites.

After coffee Sunday morning with my “future best friend” Emlyn, we basically stumbled onto Zenkoji Temple, a 7th-century Buddhist National Treasure and one of Japan’s most important pilgrimage sites. It is the home of the first Buddha statue brought to Japan. We called the rest of the family to quickly join us for the most grande temple we have yet to see.

The highlight wasn’t the temple itself. It was walking past a little souvenir shop and peeking inside to find Emlyn with her shoes off, speaking in the Japanese she has learned while buying herself a keychain with yen from her own coin purse.

My World citizen.

Jigokudani Monkey Park

What we really came for...

By day two the rain had passed. Thank goodness. It was finally time for the snow monkeys.

These are the northernmost monkeys in the world, famous for soaking in their own hot spring onsens during the winter. Everyone comes to see them in the snow. It is a huge tourist attraction.

I have zero interest in driving mountain roads with snow chains through 124 inches of annual snowfall and fighting hour long crowds just to see monkeys in the winter. I had heard that in June they bring their babies to the springs. It’s less crowded, but you’re never guaranteed you’ll actually see many monkeys.

The entire walk through the most beautiful forest I’ve ever seen (again... I’m from Colorado, so that says something), I was silently praying we would see one monkey and the trip would be worth it. I had my fingers actually crossed.

As we got close, one monkey casually crossed the path and sat on the edge. We carefully walked past, convinced we’d already had better luck than all the visitors we passed walking back to their car.

Then we walked through the visitor center and around the corner...

Hundreds.

Hundreds of monkeys and dozens of day-old babies.

“I think it was crazy how much they fought,” Margo wanted me to be sure I shared. We told her maybe it reminded them of three sisters who get mad when someone touches their favorite squishy.

The monkeys wandered so close they could have touched your leg. They were completely unfazed by visitors, busy grooming, fighting, eating, and nursing babies.

We watched them for over an hour before making the 30-minute walk back to the car absolutely giddy. We were the luckiest tourists with no crowd and tons of monkeys.

Our first roadtrip was a massive success. We’ve realized “no research and just go” has basically become our travel style. Don’t let Japan travel blogs overwhelm you. Simply stepping outside in Japan and turning left is filled with more adventure than you can imagine.

I think each of us says once a day, “It’s going too fast,” followed closely by, “Do we really have to go back?”

And for that... we are thankful.

However, now… we eat at least two meals a week at 7-Eleven, and we would argue it serves some of the best Japanese food you can find.

In honor of our love for 7-Eleven, which kept us fueled and fed during our 10 weeks with a barely equipped kitchen, the girls and I decided to do a “Viral 7-Eleven Hack Challenge.”

Basically, we’re YouTube stars now. Be impressed with my editing skills and Brian’s videography.

We recreated these hacks, and the girls had SO much fun. They still talk about it, so we’ll definitely have to do more. Enjoy us making a fool! :-)

So... what exactly makes a convenience store worth making a video about?

Japan’s 7-Elevens were originally operated by a subsidiary of the parent 7-Eleven company, but in 2005, after becoming the most successful convenience store chain in Japan, it actually bought the global parent company.

7-Eleven isn’t just a convenience store, it’s a place of business for locals. You can pay your taxes, traffic fines, electric bill, gas bill, and life insurance bill at nearly any location, conveniently found everywhere.

I think what I’ve realized is that 7-Eleven is more than just a store. It’s a real reflection of Japanese culture around food, efficiency, health, convenience, and caring. Caring about everything someone might need and then providing it in the most efficient way possible.

Point A: Rechargeable phone chargers!

You’re out and about in the big city and need your phone because your Suica (train fare) card is electronically tied to it, but you’re dangerously close to 5%. You can walk into any 7-Eleven, rent a battery pack, and return it at any other store. How thoughtful!

Point B: Need a printer, scanner, or photo printed?

No problem. Every store has a high-quality printing station in the corner, and since there are 21,927 stores... you can almost always find one within a few blocks.

Japanese 7-Elevens are also known for their high-quality, fresh, and surprisingly healthy food. There is half an aisle of candy and three aisles of fresh, ready-made meals: fruit, smoothies, egg salad sandwiches (Bryn’s favorite), bento boxes, onigiri rice balls (Brian’s favorite), donburi, noodles, and more ready-to-eat ramen than you could possibly imagine.

Want a healthy lunch? Grab a frozen smoothie cup from the freezer filled with frozen fruit and yogurt pieces. Scan it at the “smoothie maker” machine, and a little door opens. The machine automatically knows how much liquid to add, blends everything together, and serves it up with a straw.

Want to pick one of the FIFTY types of ramen and eat on the go? That’s okay too. They have hot water dispensers at the counter. Add water, wait three minutes, and truly... it’s just as good as many of the restaurants we’ve visited!

Our family wishes we had never discovered the Morinaga Choco Monaka Jumbo. It consists of vanilla ice cream and a layer of crisp chocolate sandwiched inside a grid-sectioned waffle wafer and costs about $1.50. We’ve now promised each other we’ll only buy one if we’re splitting it... because we have a problem.

Having a place with so many healthy choices is very reflective of Japan’s health-conscious culture. More than one person sent me the recent CBS Mornings segment on “Lessons on Healthy Eating,” and yes - it really is true that only about 10% of Japanese adults are overweight. Employers are actually taxed if they have too many overweight employees (think about it, they have nationalized healthcare, funded by employers and taxation, so a higher risk pool will pay more) so healthy eating and maintaining a healthy weight have become national priorities. Places like 7-Eleven make convenient, healthy eating genuinely possible.

So how does Japan’s 7-Eleven do it?

First... domination.

With so many stores to service and so much volume, they’ve built an infrastructure that would be incredibly difficult for anyone else to replicate.

The Fresh Food Playbook

• Multiple Daily Deliveries: Commissary kitchens prepare fresh food daily, with trucks delivering up to three times each day—perfectly timed for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

• Area Dominance Logistics: Rather than spreading locations thin, stores are clustered tightly together. This allows delivery fleets to run highly efficient, high-frequency routes.

• Precision Packaging: High-tech innovations, like two-layer onigiri wrappers, keep the crispy seaweed separate from the moist rice until the exact moment you open it.

• * The Real Magic * AI-Powered Demand Forecasting: Stores use real-time point-of-sale data tied directly to predictive AI that factors in local weather, seasonal trends, and even neighborhood events to avoid overstocking and minimize waste.

And one last tip...

I thought I was so cool when they asked if I wanted a bag (because you’re charged for one), so I confidently replied, “Īe” (”No”).

I later learned from my Japanese teacher that this was actually pretty rude. They were simply asking a question, and my direct “No!” can imply they were wrong to ask in the first place.

Instead, say, “Daijoubu desu” (大丈夫です), which means, “I’m fine, thank you.”

I keep my friend Marc abreast of all my 7/11 finds hoping he and Stacie will be too curious to stay away. I truly hope even more visitors will be able to come over and enjoy as many Morinaga Choco Monaka Jumbo bars as we can eat.

This adventure continues to humble me and remind me of the sacrifices and hardships military families live with. Every few years, they go months without their things, and when those things arrive, they don’t always arrive in one piece.

It was funny because when I saw the yellow numbered stickers stuck to all of our furniture, I was immediately transported back to my one and only military move (or, as the military community calls it, a PCS — Permanent Change of Station). At that point in our lives, we had very little furniture, and what we did have wasn’t exactly sturdy. Much of it showed up at our apartment in pieces and I still found those stickers years later on the back of nightstands.

So when those same yellow stickers were stuck to everything in our Granville home on March 16 (12 week!), I knew we were officially back on an adventure I never saw coming.

I tucked some AirTags in our belongings to watch it travel across the Pacific and was so excited when it docked in Tokyo first of May! However, my excitement was quickly diminished when we were told the first delivery date available was, June 9th.

The girls’ last day of school.

Japan is currently facing a major truck driver shortage. Between an aging population and new working-hour regulations, the country is estimated to be short nearly 100,000 drivers. Japan, which has historically been less open to immigrant labor, is now allowing more foreign nationals to enter the workforce to help fill these roles. With nearly 20,000 foreign drivers. The driving shortage has lead to one of the largest foreign workforces in Japan.

What that meant for us was simple… all of our stuff was so close, yet still so far away.

While we waited Yokota AB provided us with temporary furniture. We did buy a few things to make life easier here, but I refused to buy anything I knew was coming! Brian and I slept on twin beds and the pillows and blankets we could fit in one suitcases. We were allowed 16 suitcases when we came over, and we have been living out of them since. I am excited to have more than 8 t-shirts to pick from.

Brian is excited that I no longer "test fate" each day by using a plastic-handled steak knife to cut vegetables for dinner. (I did finally cave and buy a real kitchen knife three weeks ago.) I got pretty good at using a Ninja Crispi Table Cooker, rice cooker, and Ninja mini bullet to make dinner!

Regardless, we were thrilled when everything finally arrived. Yes, much of it was broken, but they will pay to make it right. We did leave a lot of our belongings in “Non-Temporary Storage” in the states provided by Brian’s job. We are now surrounded by boxes, trying to figure out how everything that fit into 2,600 square feet in Ohio is supposed to fit into 1,400 square feet in Japan.

We’ve gotten creative.

Paige is now spending her quiet time in her closet, complete with a new vanity and a handmade sign that reads: DO NOT ENTER.

Brian has taken a few days off, so I suppose I should get back to work.

But, for the first time since arriving, it feels less like we're visiting Japan and more like we're living here.

And I promised the girls that the very first thing I would make with the KitchenAid would be chocolate chip cookies.

Can’t wait to host as many of you as possible! We have a queen bed and a fold-out couch waiting!!

Which is fair. Brian has always been the charming one.

Four months apart, seventeen years into marriage, and this year has taught me something important: I CAN do this on my own, and I can most certainly manage hard things. But I also know for a fact that Brian makes everything a lot more fun, a lot more sane, and is constantly pointing out the “what if...” details I never even think to consider.

He has steadily carried me through a wild range of emotions these last two months and somehow comes home each day to either a highly motivated Bryn or a Bryn who is one minor inconvenience away from booking a flight home, depending on the moon.

So this week, I’m stepping aside and handing the microphone to the one and only...

Bri Bri.

______

Ship Log: Day 179

As you may recall, I traveled to Japan almost 4 months ahead of Bryn and the rest of the family. I thought I would tell you about some of the things that have surprised me since arriving here. I have experienced both the bachelor and family lives here. Prior to their arrival, I stayed in a hotel on base. Four months is a VERY long time in a hotel room.

At this point I have been without normal kitchen items like microwaves, pans, and other comforts for 6 months. Communication can be tricky. The 13-hour time difference means there are only small windows when you are able to actually talk to people back in the States, and changing your internal clock is rough... having now been through that 5 times for travel and training. Speaking of training, at one point I was in a three-week course on U.S. time while still in Japan. I basically didn’t see anyone for that entire span and felt like Tom Hanks in Castaway. My version of Wilson was my houseplant I named Larry.

Japan the Island:

Although still needing to explore a lot more, I have learned some interesting lessons. This region of Japan is WAY more tropical than I realized. There were only 2 days the entire winter I wasn’t able to wear shorts. It is very common to stumble across jungle-like foliage while wandering around. However, Japan is also home to the city with the highest annual snowfall and snow base, with 312 inches. From our home, we can easily go to the beach or the mountains.

Earthquakes are not uncommon. At least once a month we feel the building rock when one hits. They have emergency preparedness activity centers, basically like a children’s museum where people go and learn what to do in pretty much any emergency.

I run the evacuation program here and am responsible for getting every American in my office out of the country during an emergency. Naturally, this means I own enough emergency candles to survive the collapse of civilization. It also gives me the perfect excuse to have the world's best bug-out bag. Strictly for educational purposes, obviously.

The People

My office is about 85% Japanese, and to be honest, I don’t think they always know what to do with me.

I tend to bring a little Chris Farley energy into the workplace, which is not exactly the norm in Japan. Early on, my morning enthusiasm was met with several coworkers politely informing me that I needed to quiet down. The Japanese really are as polite and reserved as you’ve heard. Contrast that with me, who often barges into conference rooms like Kramer from Seinfeld, only to find a group of very serious people staring back at me.

My colleagues seem to get a kick out of some of my attempts to lighten things up. When it came time for the official office portrait that hangs on the wall, I may or may not have creatively enhanced mine. I’ve also been known to use Photoshop to turn ordinary photos of coworkers into superheroes and then share them during boring PowerPoint presentations to lighten the mood.

More than once I’ve been told I need to bring my energy level “down from a ten to about a two”—especially in the mornings. This is not the first work environment where I have been compared to Emmet from The Lego Movie: “Everything is awesome. Everything is cool when you’re part of a team.”

I love working in this environment. I am learning so much more than I would working with only a U.S. team. I am also incredibly impressed with my Japanese co-workers. They really are very hard working. It is VERY common for them to have multiple jobs. As an American, the currency exchange rate is great, but for locals many have not received substantial raises in a long time. Many work in the office during the day and then work in restaurants at night, often even sleeping on work couches between jobs to get a little rest. While my team speaks English, very few Japanese are fluent, so Google Translate is a go-to on my phone.

Speaking of which, in Japan they use all different apps. To stay in touch here and in the U.S., you need to check nearly a dozen different communication apps... and honestly I suck at that, so I apologize if you messaged me and I ghosted you. My bad on that.

Ease of Living:

Bryn used to always tell me about the need for good zoning. While I frequently zoned out (pun intended) during those conversations, I now get what she was talking about. Japan is so walkable. In any urban or residential area, you can easily walk to a grocery store, convenience store, park, farm, or about anything else you need to get to.

This is good because driving can take a while. I usually plan on any trip taking 5 minutes per kilometer. Those minutes can be very stressful when Bryn is driving! Not that she is a bad driver, but it is common that the telephone poles here are in the road, forcing cars to pull over when passing other traffic. This is most noticeable when sitting in the left passenger seat.

As an American in Japan, it has been most shocking to step away from the U.S. and feel so much financial pressure lift. You can breathe. Even with Bryn giving up her job to move here, it is still so much easier to live, travel, and actually have fun. Perhaps my favorite places are the HardOffs, which are secondhand stores with high-quality stuff. There is a culture of reuse, which we could all do more of. It’s like an adventure in four walls... even if Bryn may not agree with me.

Being here is also like living in the past and future simultaneously. You can drive to Toys “R” Us or take a trip to countless malls that are always crowded. Toilets have dozens of buttons and heated seats... I’m still trying to figure all of that out.

The Military:

This whole region has SO MANY military bases. I was recently on a Navy destroyer and couldn’t get over how young everyone looked. The senior enlisted who seemed ancient to me when I joined are now a decade younger than me. There was a Senior Chief onboard who looked like he was still in high school. I guess I really am old.

If you go out around town you’ll definitely see Americans, but riding the train even one stop can feel like a completely different world. Most of the people I work with are pretty adventurous and enjoy getting out to explore. That said, I’ve been surprised by how many people can live and work in Japan for years and still be perfectly happy spending most of their time on base.

Family Time:

I was pumped to FINALLY have Bryn and the girls come out. I was getting bored of all my fun nights out singing karaoke and hanging out on Bar Row with coworkers anyway.

Overall, I am really surprised by how smoothly it has gone. The girls have adapted well to school, are making new friends, and are killing it academically despite the mid-school-year transition. They are eager to learn about Japan and asked to be put into Japanese culture and language classes. Sometimes it feels like a funny balance working on our 4-H projects in Japan.

Bryn has had to quickly adapt to the ways of the military. Everything here is based on the sponsor, or the person on orders. Let’s be real, she handles all of the important adult parts of our life, like medical stuff and keeping us alive. Here, however, I often have to go do that stuff, usually needing good notes from her on what I’m supposed to say. Despite some of the antiquated structures of military life, she has really made it feel like home despite not having furniture or any of our stuff. She has also been our adventure coordinator, taking us on fun trips, even if she did abandon me on the side of a highway in the middle of nowhere on one of them.

Thanks for reading about our adventures!

First: Baseball in Japan

They just do it better.

I do not remember a lot from my first time in Japan. The memories from Semester At Sea are fragmented, but one stands out clearly: Japanese baseball.

I remember how happy everyone seemed and how it was one of the only times I really saw people “let their hair down.” So I was thrilled to take the family to a professional game.

We live in Tokyo Prefecture, but on the western side, and many Fussa families cheer for the Saitama Seibu Lions. The Lions are in neighboring Saitama Prefecture, only about a 20-minute drive away. Also, fun fact: the team went through a rough financial stretch years ago before receiving a record $51 million posting fee from the Boston Red Sox for the rights to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka. Brian immediately felt connected and proudly wore his Red Sox cap to the game!

When we first approached the stadium, it looked small, almost like a minor league stadium in the States. I even thought it might be similar to Columbus Clippers games. I was wrong.

The Japanese, being in such urban environments dig the stadiums in to the ground, creating the space needed to hit that home run and to fit 40,000 people!

We arrived in baseball caps, shorts, and loads of sunscreen, fully prepared to bake in the hot sun. But honestly, we should have known better because the Japanese simply know how to avoid direct sunlight. The stadium has a roof covering both the field and the stands, but open walls around much of the seating so natural air still moves through. Genius.

The game itself was incredible. The Lions came from behind and won on a grand slam. However, it was how the crowds were electric, even during the first 5 innings when we were losing. There is a cheering section, much like college student sections at football games in the US. This section never sat once. Everyone was dressed in coordinated spirit attire and they had a cheer for each player as they went up to bat. Yes, a unique cheer for each player.

Emlyn was catching on and they were saying the players last name and then a chant usually about hitting a homer. Between innings they sang spirit songs, and every team has its own seventh-inning tradition. For the Lions, everyone inflates these long skinny balloons and releases them all at once so they squeal and fly through the stadium. It was honestly hilarious listening to 20,000 hand pumps frantically filling balloons right before the seventh inning.

The girls were fascinated by the “keg girls.” They were tiny, beautiful young women with perfect makeup and sponsored outfits sprinting up and down the stairs carrying mini-kegs strapped to their backs. Those poor girls were sweating to death but still smiling the entire time.

We flagged down both the Baskin Robbins girl and the Coca-Cola girl just so we could say we did it. Since you don’t tip, I just said extra “Arigatou gozaimasu”

We also had french fries with parsley and olive oil and, of course, our family favorite: crepes. You could get ramen, curry, or sushi at the stadium. Fancy, I know but I will say, being at a baseball stadium I was fully craving a hot dog and peanuts and they were no where to be found.

One thing I loved is that you can bring in your own food and drinks (just not alcohol). Tickets can be as cheap as $6. We had premium reserved seats near third base (it was a package I booked on base) and they were about $36/each. But the fact a whole family could attend for under $30 and bring their own food makes baseball still accessible to everyone in Japan. (sad to think my kids have yet to be to a Crew game or Blue Jackets… I can’t afford that!)

My favorite moment was there were several international players on the team, including one American: Tyler Nevin. Every time he came up to bat, the crowd waved American flags and chanted “U.S.A.” I know we do similar things in America for players from Puerto Rico or elsewhere, but usually it is fellow Puerto Rican fans showing solidarity. Here, it was everyone.

Japan does baseball well.

It was clean, efficient, fun, high-energy, good food, deeply bonding, and pure joy.

We are officially Lions fans for life and will absolutely be back many times before summer ends.

Friendship Festival

The following weekend was the 50th Annual Yokota Air Base Friendship Festival, an event celebrating and strengthening the relationship between the Fussa community and Yokota Air Base.

We had heard it was huge. It was HUGE.

More than 226,000 Japanese nationals attend each year, which is wild considering the base itself only houses around 10,000 people total. It is basically the size of Granville Village/Township suddenly absorbing a massive city-sized crowd.

They always show videos of each morning when they open the gates and thousands of people sprint toward the airfield. Thousands.

At first, I could not understand what on earth they were running toward. I have been to plenty of air shows and, respectfully, planes are not “run-worthy.” (Who am I kidding? Brian would absolutely run.) But eventually I realized people were racing for coveted shaded spots beneath the wings of the C-130s so they could enjoy the day comfortably.

The festival had four stages with American and Japanese performances, K9 demonstrations, paratroopers, food vendors, shopping at the BX (Base Exchange Department Store) for American brands , and tons of fun “nick nack” shopping. Oh… and an E-2D Hawkeye… Brian’s old plane and what he would say was the highlight.

However, it was very apparent, beef was the main attraction. I joked I could run an entire campaign for Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) just by filming the two-hour lines for American steaks and burgers. The Budweiser line was just as long. America may think of Wagyu as the ultimate delicacy, but American marbled beef is still viewed as premium around the world. Which is exactly why this administration needs to push MCOOL across the finish line instead of continuing to dilute our product….

Anyways….. ;-)

My favorite part of the weekend was seeing so many Japanese visitors proudly wearing American apparel: West Virginia University hats, (a few MAGA hats), “Party USA” shirts, Disneyland bags, Colorado sweatshirts. It was really cool to see Japanese visitors proudly showing off their American apparel.

We had to join in and bought the Japanese/American flag headbands. Sometimes we cosplay country farm girls, sometimes Granville prep and sometimes military-adjacent child. Like me, they will probably always have many versions of themselves. I just hope they grow more comfortable in that multifaceted skin than I ever was.

Living here also comes with an uncomfortable reality of knowing our presence exists here because of relics of treaties born from the aftermath of a devastating war between our countries.

We talk often with the girls about why we must always be respectful of cultural norms and understand that living here carries complexities they will not fully grasp until they are older. In other parts of Japan, local communities (rightfully, so) have not always been as welcoming of stationed service members and honestly, had this opportunity been on a much larger base, I probably would have said no. But this base is small and the surrounding Japanese community is much larger and there has been 50 years of high integration. The Japanese Air Self Defense Force base is just a few miles down the road, Brian’s team is 85% local nationals, and the girls participate in local activities off base where parents have been incredibly kind and welcoming.

We have felt nothing but welcomed by the Fussa community.

So this event, was such an amazing opportunity to share in that friendship. In honoring each other’s cultures and for America…. that meant sharing in our love of high cholesterol inducing foods.

You’re Welcome World.

Pray. Every four hours. Stop. Pray.

Because even in the midst of the most perfect adventure, the enemy can sneak in with the fears, the worries, the panic, the sadness of “what if,” “FOMO,” and “what next?”

This marks the start of our seventh week on the other side of the world. Seven weeks of fitting all my “work” in during the hours Ohio is awake. My 6 a.m. - 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. - 11 p.m. are usually spent texting the farm, talking with my sister, and jamming in as many Zoom meetings with Ohio Farmers Union interns as possible. I have said working here is like working with my right hand behind my back. Even simple things like setting up a new farm Venmo account I cannot do because Venmo can tell I am using a proxy VPN or international call. If I realize in my morning I need something from a colleague, I have to wait for them to wake up the next day for an answer.

In a foreign land, even the most simple task is met with a learning curve. That feeling eventually left me on the couch, taking naps in the middle of the afternoon. Every day. Brian would find me in tearful panic. Deregulated might be the word.

All of these feelings while we are living the greatest adventure. One full of pure, unadulterated joy. The relief of financial pressures that come with life in the States. Maycember? What is that? There is no travel basketball with 27 practices and games a week to keep track of. We have dinner as a family every night. It’s perfect.

“We are so jealous of your adventure,” is something I hear in almost every text from back home. But with everything, there is the Instagram perfect life and the in-between.

Since high school, I have returned to a favorite song by the esteemed 1990s band Lifehouse.

This is over my head
But underneath my feet
Cause by tomorrow morning I'll have this thing beat
And everything will be back to the way that it was
I wish that it was just that easy

Somewhere in between… la de da… la de da de da….

During change and heartache, I’ve always wanted to rush to the equilibrium. Frantically. I know it will come. I know things always work out, but… can we get to that place yet? This feeling wasn’t just my own. By last Wednesday… we all were there.

So we took the day off.

No work. No School. Just fun.

Showa Memorial Park was about 20 minutes away. Margo had been begging us to go after a school field trip there days after we arrived. Too embarrassed to say she couldn’t tie her shoes, she opted out of participating in the wading pool and greatly regretted her choice ever since (which also made her quickly learn how to tie shoes).

With over 400 acres, I was blown away by how amazing of a space was just down the street. There is a bonsai museum and a large children’s play area with slides and bouncing domes. There is also a boating lake where visitors can rent row or pedal boats by the hour, a barbecue and adjoining sports facility area, a waterpark, a traditional Japanese tea house, a Japanese-style village and nature center, a Children’s Forest, and a small folk village with a traditional farmhouse. It was incredible and after spending all day there, we saw maybe a quarter of the park.

The best way to get around was by rental bike. They had an entire garage full of bikes and, like so many things in Japan, another quiet symbol of community: a self-service ticketing machine. For all five of us, it was… $13.20.

We all picked a bike and off we went.

All of us.

All five of us.

Because Margo had just learned. She was beaming with pride. Brian has spent the last seven weeks outside with her every evening. He says he has a four-point system for teaching girls to ride their bikes. He starts with no pedals and works up.

We biked around bike-only roundabouts. We biked to lunch where we each had something from a Japanese food stall. Some were hits, some were not.

We saw Japanese children on school field trips wearing their traditional bright-colored hats, and they would stop by our table to practice their English while we practiced our Japanese. So many giggles. The yellow hats are another symbol in Japan of community care for children, which in turn led to one of those “normal” Walsh household conversations about global birth rates and reasons for national variations. Obviously.

We walked through flower gardens. The girls bickered… but the pictures look perfect.

At some point we biked in silence for 20 minutes… and I was met with moments from previous seasons of my life, of motherhood.

Moments when this was just a dream. When I felt behind and my feet were out from under me. When our neighbors would ride by on their bikes, all three kids in tow, heading toward Wildwood Park for soccer practice. They’d wave so graciously… all perfect and cute looking. I would turn back to my family… too busy to stop and teach them to ride bikes, racing to get in the pickup truck filled with trash, in mismatched soccer socks and the wrong jersey because the real one was lost.

All the nights when I laid awake with the same worries of “not enough” ringing in my head. The belief that I was failing as a mother because they couldn’t ride bikes, their bedroom was a mess, I never sat down to read that book, we didn’t have enough meals as a family, and I was putting the farm and commissioner campaigns ahead of their childhood.

And yet… here we are. Time passes and God makes all things good. Prayers then, answered now. That family I envied on bikes, has told me how much they wish they were here now too!

On that bike ride, I was reminded there is time. No need to rush it. There is always a new season coming. God reconciled so many years when we were in hospital rooms caring for older parents. Seasons between jobs and summers when a simple day trip to Kings Island was all we could afford — and now we get to show them the world.

Instagram perfect. Then and now. Because of God’s perfect timing.

This perfect Japan adventure, in many ways, is the same desperate, prayerful season of motherhood… just with better ramen.

We saw everything from “make your own chopsticks” to “be a sumo wrestler” dinner theater. We saved hundreds of reels into our “Viral Japan” folder on Instagram, and somehow those moments always turned worry into complete excitement. Those 30-second clips fueled our last year.

I think our time in Japan will be a balance between our desire to understand and explore the rich culture, history, language, and people of Japan… and our giddy excitement at petting teacup pigs in a cafe on a busy Tokyo street.

For this weekend adventure, we went back through our saved reels and each picked one of our favorite viral trends. We booked a last second cheap “robot hotel” for the night and checked off some of the most fun experiences we’ve had as a family so far.

Emlyn’s Pick: Takeshita Street in Harajuku (Tokyo)

This street was made to go viral. It’s a long, narrow road packed with countless shops, food stands, and themed cafes. I think we found half our saved reels from this one strip alone. They had everything you could possibly want, and we did learn that something called a “budget” may need to be adopted before future adventures like this.

Each store was like an American Claire’s on steroids. Margo kept saying, “Claire’s is dead,” as we walked through endless shops filled with accessories for your phone, your hair, your backpack, and apparently every girl who is any girl carries a mirror comb now. Naturally, they each needed one. And more bows.

I enjoyed a tornado potato from Long! Longer!! Longest!!! and at the end of the weekend I officially declared it my favorite food. We also tried Berry Moon’s famous candied fruit, mostly because the sign proudly announced they had sold 30 million berries.

Finally, we found our way to our intended destination: otter petting.

For $30, our family got 30 minutes petting nearly two dozen otters. Was it strange? Yes. Was it awesome? Also yes. Do I wonder if PETA exists in Japan? Yes.

The best part was that they are definitely prepared for “American man size,” but they also make you feel it. Poor Brian and another guy were squeezed into tight pink jackets and waterproof skirts they had everyone wear. After warning the children that the otters may eat their earlobes, we went in and enjoyed 30 minutes with one of my favorite animals.

That first afternoon we also visited Togo Shrine, dedicated to Japan’s naval hero Admiral Togo. I didn’t even know there had been a war between Japan and Russia, and our resident naval historian Brian happily gave us a full history lesson.

We also found our new go-to food: crepes. The girls had never had them before, and these were filled with ice cream and wrapped in a long family history of perfection. We ate every crumb.

Mom’s Pick: Wagyu Burgers at the Fish Market

I remember being so poor in college when I first visited Japan that I split one piece of Wagyu beef with four people. It was incredible and also less than a bite.

Now I apparently have no budget, so let’s try this again.

We found the neatest Wagyu burger restaurant above the fish market. The online reviews were incredible, and we assumed there would be a wait, but we timed it right after the market closed and ended up being the only customers there. The owner was so happy she offered us free sushi.

At first, I politely said no thank you, but was quickly reminded of omoiyari and realized I definitely offended her. So naturally I corrected myself immediately: “Just kidding, of course we’d love your raw sushi from the Tokyo fish market.”

Honestly, when I say that sentence back out loud… I sound insane for ever considering saying no.

However, it did lead to what will go down as one of our family’s legendary stories: the moment Mom almost gagged and threw up directly onto the table in front of the very kind owner of a fine Tokyo establishment. I could feel the scales. The girls are still teasing me. Why did Mom get stuck eating the gross fish, so we didn’t offend anyone!

However, I did genuinely like the raw tuna and white fish and am willing to try again. Growth.

She was so thrilled with my rave Google review that she brought us mochi ice cream afterward, which was funny because we learned Mochi ice cream is not Japanese. It was actually invented and popularized in the U.S. by a Japanese-American chef and Whole Foods.

Paige’s Pick: French Toast

The thing about Tokyo is that it’s the largest city in the world, so you can be physically close to another district but still somehow 35 minutes away by train. This trip, we refused to let distance stop us, so we hopped into an Uber that cost less than $10 and somehow had the fanciest seats imaginable. If this is how celebrities travel, sign me up.

We knew there would be a wait, and we were willing to wait. We arrived right at 9 a.m. when it opened and there were already people lined out the door. The strange part was that it sat wide open inside a shopping center/high rise lobby. Brian and the girls wandered around while I waited for an hour and a half and… I was the LAST person they let in. There were still 40 people behind me who got turned away for brunch. Phew.

This French toast was with Japan’s famous milk bread soaked in sweet cream, cooked in a cast iron skillet until crisp, and topped with what felt like half a cup of whipped butter. It came with less than a tablespoon of maple syrup and we all agreed on one thing: French toast will now disappoint us for the rest of our lives because this was the best version ever created.

Although we did all agree that Day Y Noche still might be slightly better, and we texted Anselmo immediately to make sure he knew he had beaten Japan.

Margo and Brian’s Pick: teamLab Planets Tokyo

Probably the most virally famous experience in Tokyo. Brian had already gone with friends and was excited to show us teamLab Planets.

I had also just read the day before that someone asked Elon Musk his favorite place in the world to visit with his kids and he answered: teamLab Planets Tokyo. So there’s that.

It truly was an experience, and absolutely worth it. You take off your shoes and roam through water somehow while still feeling very clean. They have lockers that are free and a simple bracelet key system because Japan understands that they don’t need to nickel and dime you, sometimes just have a free locker and make experience better for everyone.

I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking because that’s really how it’s meant to be experienced. The art changes as people interact with it, reminding us that our presence impacts those around us and that together we can create beauty.

And when the girls, Brian, and I drew our own artwork and watched it become digitally interactive… I cried. Thinking about our family together in this peaceful little eternal art world, watching our creations fly around together.

I know these memories will become our own little eternal dreams we each carry. Someday we’ll say, “Remember when Dad had an otter on his head in Tokyo? When Margo ate two whole crepes? When Mom almost threw up that fish?”

And then one day they’ll tell their own daughters, who will one day say, “My mom lived in Tokyo when she was little.”

And on and on… these moments will keep dancing.

Before I came, a friend who had lived here for many years shared the Japanese philosophy that quietly drives daily life: Omoiyari (思いやり). It’s the idea of thinking about others before yourself: deep empathy, consideration, anticipating someone’s needs without being asked. A prosocial, almost selfless instinct that prioritizes harmony, often through small, voluntary acts that make others more comfortable.

It is in everything. It is everything.

This week, Emlyn started back with swim team. She went from swimming five days a week, at least six miles to… nothing. Her “mental health hour,” as she calls it and the place where the noise turns off and she can think, was missing.

We’re excited for her to be under the guidance of her Japanese coach, and we love getting to go to a local community pool center here in Fussa. But even that came with cultural norms we had to quickly learn.

You rinse off before entering the pool (so no showing up right as practice starts). Swimmers always wear caps, men and women. Tattoos must be covered with waterproof bandages. Shoes come off before entering the community center - even for parents. And you must be completely dry before entering or leaving the changing area (no more running to the car in the dead of winter in a soaking swimsuit).

The pool is quiet. People respect each other’s lane space. Multiple swimmers and walkers share lanes with ease. It isn’t just about your swim time.

Emlyn is loving it. She told me she’s learning that even though she and her coach don’t fully share a language, they’re still find ways to understand each other. He focuses far more on technique than endurance, and we both know that will serve her well long into the future.

Emlyn, Paige, and I started Japanese language classes on Tuesdays. (Margo can start at eight. Brian is hoping to join soon.) We quickly realized, what is a way of life here translates directly into the language.

Sumimasen (すみません) is used for “sorry,” “thank you,” and “excuse me.” Our instructor told us that to really understand Japanese, you have to be Japanese culturally. (He laughed and said he felt the same way when he lived in California and had to figure out why everyone said “dude.”)

Someone hands you food at the table… he chuckled… “what an inconvenience you are, sitting there needing something you can’t reach.” So you say… sumimasen.

That idea alone has shifted something in me.

I think it’s why I’m finally committed to trying to speak Japanese. I did the very American thing… eight years of Spanish and still remember crying during my final exam at Miami thinking… eight years and I can’t conjugate. Later, doing farmworker advocacy, I spent time in Spanish-speaking communities and still didn’t try. I was paralyzed by the fear of getting it wrong.

But knowing omoiyari, that the effort itself is part of respecting others, I’m trying.

So now I have flashcards. Notes. And every morning, at the coffee shop, I practice.

“Ohayou gozaimasu.”

I order my black coffee in a real cup because carrying drinks isn’t the norm and I sit. I stay. I take a minute. A lost art after being known as someone who always had my River Road cup at meetings.

“Arigatou,” I say as I leave, reminding myself there’s no “r” sound. So I think: A-li-ga-to.

I will be no expert, but hopefully I can be respectful in our day to day.

I was just in New Orleans, sitting eating my Beignets at the famous Café Du Monde, watching two women berate an overwhelmed hostess because their table was dusted in powdered sugar. And I keep thinking… what if the person before them had simply wiped it down? What if the expectation wasn’t that someone else would fix it, but a voluntary effort that we would leave things better than we found them? What if, instead of frustration, they just felt some empathy and acted on it?

We all could use a little more omoiyari in our day.

Brian and I are not new to this life. From 2002–2015, he was connected to the military - as a midshipman, active duty, and then reservist. We started our marriage in Norfolk, Virginia, where we lived for nearly five years. I showed up as a junior officer’s wife, faced all the fun, the distance and unpredictability that comes with it. But we never lived on base, and I always had a career outside of Brian’s world. So while I dressed up for the USNA Ring Dance and pinned on his Wings, I never fully immersed myself in the culture.

Now, I am.

There are a lot of rules. A lot of forms. A lot of systems that don’t bend.

I can’t rely on people knowing me, or extending grace when I forget something, like a form… or a vaccine (oops). Here, there’s no gray area. The kids were sent home, and I was calling our pediatrician for documentation that same day.

The average age in the Air Force is 29.4. I’m finding it a little harder to build friendships than I did when I was wide-eyed and 26. I remember sitting in Brian’s C.O.W.s house, (commanding officer wife) and thinking this woman is so old, she can’t relate to me at all! Now I catch myself in briefings realizing the presenter was born after 9/11. Does anyone want to be friends with the lady with grey hair?

We have taught the girls about Taps each evening at 5pm. Taps plays. First the Japanese national anthem, then the U.S. anthem. If you’re outside, walking, driving, anything…. you stop. Pull over. Hazards on. Stand still. At the base movie theater, everyone rises before the film begins for the National Anthem. A holdover from another time, but one that still shapes daily life here. It’s one of those small, powerful norms we’re learning to live within.

You can hear Taps.

We live overlooking the air field. We have C-130’s, C-12’s, Osprey’s, helicopters taking off all hours of the night. We had to tell the girls when the red lights flash you cannot cross the airfield on your bike and the car stops and wait for planes to roar down the runway. We are at Bravo Force Status and signs are posted on school doors and grocery store… reminding us there are wars that make security here a little higher.

We do get “comforts” of home with a Chili’s and yes, I have gone for a margarita and a fajita on a night I just needed home. There is a Taco Bell and even a Panda Express but the cost makes it a luxury, except when Einstein Bagels is calling on a Sunday before church. There are Old Navy jeans (the only short legged jeans that fit me) for sale in the BX and I can still get Oreos when the girls konnyaku jelly runs out. I also appreciate we are taking Japanese language classes and Karate, as part of the base Force Support Squadron’s offerings. Many comforts that makes life so much easier.

As a spouse, I’ve also had to adjust to a different kind of identity. I’m listed as the emergency contact on the girls school forms. Brian is the “sponsor” and listed as primary on everything. For years, Brian was “Mr. Bird” and us, the “Bird family.” The military machine must have systems that assume one structure, and anything outside of that (like different last names) can quickly complicate things. I accidentally registered the kids under my name, which created an account labeled “Bird,” and was quickly told that wouldn’t work. I do admire, no institution holds up the institution of marriage like the Department of Defense. Unlike Granville, these power structures in our unit have shifted…. I am adapting. You are a sponsor, a spouse or dependent. I am “spouse.”

We’re learning gate hours, which entrance to use after 10pm, how to always remember my ID and Emlyn’s. It is a big deal, but after the age of 12… you get your own. And speed limits are not suggestions. They are very much enforced

The girls have enjoyed moving in the middle of the Month of the Military Child. They quickly wanted to be sure not to commit “stolen valor” and told everyone they were not military children, but were reassured it includes “military adjacent children.” Which has meant lots of fun activities… their “touch a truck” was “Touch a Tank and a Plane” and they climbed all around the equipment one day at school. They also are learning what it means to have a parent who has to leave a lot, who can deploy for months, who cannot control their work schedule, who must live in worry when a parent is gone and one who feels immense pride in knowing their parents job is so important.

They still find it funny when we attend a “parent and me” event and nearly every adult is in uniform… except Dad. And they are quick to tell everyone we are a Navy family, not Air Force

.Today, Paige was… “bumped” (hit) by a car while riding her bike to school. She was okay but did have some pretty big bruises on her legs. Her quick tumble lead to Security Forces, Air Force Paramedics, and Fire Department all rolling up with sirens blaring. She was mortified and decided to strongly voice her opinion they were all overreacting. To which the security forces (aka military police) told her it was standard procedure and we would now need to come down to command.

Moments like that highlight how different this environment is.

Back home, I’m used to being known. To often getting my way by asking the right person. I texted our Granville Fire Chief afterward to share what happened, he knows Paige well, and he joked, “tell her I wouldn’t have made a big scene.” And I know he wouldn’t have. Because they knew us.

Here, it’s not about who you know. It’s about the system working exactly as outlined by procedures and policies.

Even the vaccine situation made me laugh in hindsight. In Granville, when we missed one, I’d promise to get it handled… and it slipped. No one was calling to cite a code or request a form number. Needing my husbands DSN and SS# to ensure we have record. Everyday I feel the fire hose of new norms and sometimes it feels a little defeating. But alas, I am just a spouse to a civilian trying to remember my CAC card before I go to the commissary again.

Brian and I thought that chapter of our life had closed when he stepped away before we had kids. A decision we made together in order to avoid these long stretches of distance. And yet, here we are.

Me, back on a military base… just as his classmates are retiring. Did not see that coming.

I am incredibly grateful for this double cultural experience. Our girls aren’t just learning about Japan, they’re gaining a window into military life. They’re learning respect, empathy, and a deeper understanding of the sacrifices families make in service. A lesson they will carry forever.

But this week, something shifted for me. I am reading the devotional from She Reads Truth, Mourning and Dancing. That we can live in the between. The real human experience of both. This is our season. In Japan. And I know there will be harder ones ahead. But I want to remember this one and all the details.

So I’m going to keep sharing. As much for myself as anyone following along.

Mute me if I get to be too much… you won’t be the first 😉 So…. second post this week and probably not the last!

For this story… we start on Saturday—where we left Brian on the side of the road in rural Japan.

Here on base they have tours through the Force Support Squadron (think Navy’s morale, wellness, recreation). They are called ITT (Information, travel, ticket) tours. They are amazing. There are tours every weekend, overnights, long international trips that we can register for at discounted prices. We went with some of Brian’s co-workers to Hakone to take the Ropeway over Owakudani’ and the plumes of sulfur smoke before we visited the famous Hakone Shrine on Lake Ashi.

We knew it would be a long 13 hour day and we still made the mistake of dress shopping in Tachikawa the night prior for Emlyn’s upcoming school dance. We had too much fun and then had a missed train and got home past bedtime with a 6am wake up call! We all pressed snooze and so in our frantic hustle to get out the door, Brian downed a large orange juice and a Japanese yogurt drink he has come to love. Not long into our windy mountain bus tour, seated in the back, I had closed my eyes. Only to be jolted awake by my earbud saying, Brian texting, “I am going to throw up.” and vomit he did. Luckily, this must happen often, because there were barf bags on the back of every seat. Brian miraculously didn’t ruin everyone’s trip and kept it contained.

The poor tour guide and I tried to communicate in our most basic English and the driver pulled over at the next rest stop, not before Brian got sick again. They gave us 8 minutes to make a decision… leave him, all of us leave, or keep going. Brian was down for the count…. and we paid a lot for the day…. and so I did what any loving wife would do. I left him on the side of a highway sick in the middle of another country. I took his money and our IDs and ran. Poor Brian. I yelled, “Download Uber, and find a car” before we pulled away.

(fast forward: he continued to feel sick for another hour, worried police would be called on him for looking like a drunk, but eventually felt fine enough, found an uber that would make the journey, and paid more than his tour ticket to get home)

After, the girls and I had an amazing day.

The Ropeway, is a basically a gondola over what was called “hell’s valley” and is site of ancient volcano activity that smells like sulfur. Margo loved it. She was ready for T-Rex to come around the corner.

At the top they have food and famous, “Black Eggs.” They are essentially hard boiled eggs, that are boiled in the sulfur fumes. The calcium of the shells and sulfur make a chemical reaction but they taste just the same. Legend has it, if you eat them, you get 7 extra years of life! So for $6.00 we got 4 eggs (the prices are still amazing.) and we will get 7 more years.

We took a pirate ship (bizarre part) across Lake Ashi, a crater made lake that is 140 feet deep and never freezes because of the sulfur and minerals. Saw the famous Tori Gate of Peace from 737 AD. We didn’t stand in line for 45 minutes for the famous viral picture that looks like you are standing alone on a dock… you aren’t, there are hundreds of people in line.

We toured the Hakone Shrine and were lucky enough to see a traditional Japanese archery (kyudo) competitions, held at the on-site budojo (martial arts training hall.) Paige’s favorite Disney princess has always been, Mulan and she felt like we were living the real life movie. It was fun to see her childhood dream come to life.

We watched Shinto pilgrims come to pray and allowed for us to have conversations I am excited to have and learning to navigate. Many questions I simply responded, we will learn together and need to look it up. Many questions on our faith traditions and convictions vs. theirs. What an opportunity. One I am leaning in to and also… any advice and prayers are accepted.

Our other funny part of the day was this was our first time really out in rural Japan. There was no “regular” food anywhere. We could not get away with enjoying Japanese Milk Bread instead of “fried squid balls.” It was traditional Japanese dishes all day. The goldfish were depleted before lunch and so when girls sugar crashed and attitudes spiked we had to stop as a small family restaurant. We figured we could eat rice, kake udon, and fried bamboo, However, we totally mismanaged our time and forgot that they cook it from scratch and our quick lunch, turned in to an hour… almost missing our bus, me telling the girls…. use your hands when chopsticks were the only option and much too time consuming. In my terrible google translate asking for the check and probably offending them as I was handing money to them before we ate. “Shitsurei shimasu” Sorry, for my behavior! We would have seen a really cool ancient Edo Period checkpoint but instead we ran past fried bamboo in pocket.

What a day. The view of Mt. Fuji was never lost on me. At the end of the day, we came around a turn and I still audibly gasped. She is so beautiful. Eating black eggs, drinking matcha and staring at Mt. Fuji… this is a dream.

On the way back we stopped and I found a Starbucks and a Kit Kat. You can put the girl in the middle of Japan… but you can’t take the basic out of her.

We also are trying so hard to have girls look up, and not down. So no screens for the 2 hour drive there and back… meant I also got a good 2 hour long Margo conversation. Which are always hilarious and very mentally taxing. Did you know she can count to 500… I do now.

This weekend… Tokyo’s Shinjuku district. The heart of it all.

They started school last week. The “new kid” for a day. And yet, they never flinched. Never a tear, never a “no,” just an unwavering bravery I did not have when I was faced with this same moment at 12. When we moved from Colorado, I was anything but happy and did a lot to torment my parents and make them feel my annoyance.

But not these three. They confidently stood together, know who they are and went. Our girls, were ready to see what it might be like to find new friends. It is their first time they have to make friends, as most their buddies are from 2 year old preschool.

Margo made a friend before we finished paperwork and held hands with a different buddy out of school. Her teacher came to me and said, “she’s gonna be just fine.”

Paige. She rides a bike alone to and from school. She told the teacher the math was too easy and the school is too quiet, she’s decided military kids are more disciplined than normal kids and actually follow the rules. She had two friends and said she probably doesn’t need more.

Emlyn. She’s determined to reinvent herself here. No longer seen as quiet, she wants to be outgoing and louder. I stood near the bus stop after her first day, just in case, but she didn’t even notice me. She was too busy walking with her new friends, who she boldly asked if she could sit with at lunch and the bus. She said she doesn’t have time to find out if people like her, she’s just gonna ask. Next week, her first school dance.

Sisterhood is magical, I think it gives superpowers. Because they all said, “If I don’t have anyone, I’ll just look for my sister.” ✨

We sure miss Granville schools. Granville schools are everything, everyone says about them. I am not used to not knowing their teachers, as my neighbors and working closely with the superintendent on Township work. I am a stranger and we are learning nuances to a new district. First, there is no dismissal app or process. The kids…. just leave. It is crazy to watch 5 year olds just walking home. I am used to 16 steps of verification. The school district and I went around last year when I wanted Emlyn to walk home from school… once. For the most part, kids ride their bikes everywhere. So we had to go back to our favorite store, Hard-Off (2nd hand store) and get some very cool cruisers. They’ve loved the freedom and Margo is finally motivated enough to really go for it. She and Brian have been out each evening learning balancing and steering. Give it another week ;-) Paige has loved her new found independence and as Margo says each day as Paige rides off to school without me, “she’s so tiny and cute.” Double strawberry blonde braids from under her skater helmet, freckles galore, black chucks, and scraped up knee. She is the cutest there ever was on her bike.

Me. I am trying too. Had a coffee out with a wife of Brian’s co-worker. I also went to a “sacred sisterhood” church group. It has been nice to meet a church group so quickly. We have loved the Episcopalian church and it was fun to remember listening to my Mom able to recite the full liturgy by memory. A welcoming, smaller congregation, we have felt right at home. This church is so active and we made freezer meals, with one to take home and one to give to someone we felt may need a “break” one night. I am hoping to take mine to our neighbor with a new baby, that I can often hear giving their Mom a hard time during dinner.

We came here because the girls were brave enough to tell us they wanted to try. They truly have never wavered. While we have all had moments of nervousness and sadness to leave our friends, they have wanted to go for it. Their bravery keeps me going on days when being the new mom in town feels daunting and my last name has been replaced by “Mrs. Walsh,” and it doesn’t get me as far.

May we all be as open to making a new friend this week as these three 🤍

Punch the monkey became a viral sensation and our girls classmates were all talking about the cute monkey, who had no Mother and found comfort in a stuffed animal. Our neighbor and one of Paige’s besties even had the same Ikea orange monkey stuffy! When we learned Punch was in Japan, I used the promise of visiting the monkey as leverage to keep the girls cleaning and packing. So of course, our first trip…. we found our way to the Ichikawa City Zoo.

First thing was navigating the trains. Thanks to technology and google maps, you can essentially type in where you want to go and it will give you exact instructions on time, platform, and even which door to stand by to avoid crowds! It took…. $3.00 per adult, free for kids, 45 minutes and 12 train stops.

The trains are completely silent. In fact, the city was silent. The girls first comment was just how silent a major city can be. Paige, is ready to move here and live in peace.

I stopped for a quick coffee after we got off the train and was quickly reminded “to-go” coffee is not a cultural norm. Instead you are expected to stop and eat or drink. Honestly, a lovely concept but not my favorite as an avid coffee drinker.

The Ichikawa City Zoo is very small. The enclosures leave much to be desired and it is not like the Jack Hanna Columbus Zoo. They had lots of Gineau Pigs. They had hundreds and you could pay to pet them. We did not indulge.

Punch seems to be doing fine. He leaves his stuffy inside his enclosure now. He sits with a friend and is getting much bigger. However, he does stay to the side and we watched one small argument but he was fast and ran away. The zoo is fee was only $2.50 and the day we went, we were some of the only observers of Punch. And somehow… I didn’t take a picture of the dang monkey. I did stand and watch for like an hour and never took a picture.

After our monkey time, we went to Inokashira Park in Tokyo. This beautiful park is known for beautiful small temple, ancient water ways and a pond with duck paddle boats for $6. We enjoyed the day looking at cherry blossoms, eating cherry blossom flavored ice cream, honey and sherbet flavored dippin’ dots for…. $4 each. Brian and I kept saying boat tour and ice cream in Ohio would have been $70. We spent under $20.

The girls and I had fun meandering through the vintage clothing stores on the walk back to the train station. Emlyn bought the cutest skirt at a Tokyo designers storefront. All the girls here wear layered, ruffled skirts with various patterns on each layer. They are super cute! We learned how shoes being removed before going in changing rooms is cultural norm and these boxes of “head tissues” in each room. Honestly, pretty smart to avoid stains when trying on new clothes.

Ohio State Sweatshirt $125+, Colorado $85….

After the girls crashed on the ride back, Brian and I were pretty dang proud of ourselves. All the headaches, stress, tears, boxes, finding tenants, finding contractors, spending money like it grows on trees, worries, mopping, dumpsters, painful goodbyes, worries, and more… were made worth it in the one day.

I cannot wait for next weekend…. Hakone National Park!

Watch out world. I am Japan’s newest legal driver. I sat through, what was not a very detailed class, and after completing the test earned myself a drivers license! A U.S. Forces Japan Operator’s Permit (USFJ Form 4EJ) specifically. Being back in the military world, everything is a form and an acronym and I have am unsure if Japanese or military lingo is the harder language.

Things are much the same, expect Japan drives on the left hand side of the road. You signal when you leave a roundabout, you have to watch for the flight line lights/sirens or risk getting hit by a C-130. The peddles are the same but blinkers, wipers, and seatbelt still get me. I think you can tell an American driver by how often they are wiping their windshield on a clear blue day.

The other nuance I am getting the hang of, is you back in to parking spots. It is the expected way to park and I believe because the spots are so tiny and the cars are more easily maneuverable. Brian bought us to “vans” before we came. They are tiny and honestly, I do feel safer learning to drive on the left hand side of the road when every car is 1/4 our US car sizes and the fastest you go is 60 km/hr and 100 km/hr on a highway (60mph). Which is ironic, as I drive an F-150 back home. Without the whizzing of semitrucks and 80mph Mom SUVs it is much less nerve wracking.

Brian currently owns a third car, but we have to sell one, as we are only allowed one car per drivers license on base. However, it is the cutest little car and super fun to wiz around on date night. It’s like collecting matchbox cars and there are so many more unique cars and COLORS! I miss the world of fun car colors. You don’t realize until you are gone how we are such a black, white, gray car America.

US - Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) personnel in Japan must pay annual Japanese road tax (Jidosha-zei/Keijidosha-zei) every year maintain legal vehicle operation. In order to do this “simple task” we have had to go to two base offices, one Japanese office and use Google translate to read our bill. We paid with Yen, as paper money is still preferred and most places do not accept cards. It is also socially expected you lay your yen/card on a little blue dish on the counter vs. handing money to a person. However, everyone has been so kind and nice helping us along the way. They keep offering grace, as we keep trying our best to be respectful of opportunity and privelage to have a license here!

It is not lost on me in Ohio they are actively trying to ban non-english speaking drivers license. A proposition that would limit so many legal residents and workers from growing our economy and providing for their families. Here I am given the opportunity to drive freely when I cannot even read a single word. We won’t take this privilege for granted.

I convinced him to stay in Ohio until the day before he had to start work here in Japan. I gently nudged him and promised it wouldn’t be that bad once he got here. Then in January, he had to flip back again for a three-week course in the U.S. and when he returned on March 13, I had him up and packing by 8am on March 14… with very little mercy.

I owe that man… a vacation.

That 13-hour time jump? Brutal.

Maybe it was the month-long sprint to the finish, the late nights with farmers in New Orleans, the windstorm that took out a few high tunnels and needed immediate attention, or the random vertigo that knocked me down the day before we left but let’s just say our family has looked like slow carbon monoxide poisoning this past week, each of us randomly crashing wherever we were standing.

I was day two. Fell asleep at 1pm… and didn’t wake up until 6am the next day.

I was so underprepared. However, I think we are all hitting our stride, the apartment is unpacked and we’ve already made some really sweet memories.

Showed up with 16 bags, to a canceled flight. Rebooked 12 hours later. That overnight in LAX definitely didn’t help the jet lag situation.

One highlight - $29 to feed our family of five (okay, $34 once we added ice cream). The girls are so excited to try everything. Margo is taking bites of it all, which has been so fun to watch her enthusiasm to try new things.

One thing I didn’t fully anticipate was the added layer of culture shock that comes with living on a military base. It’s going to be a two-for-one experience for the girls. Learning to stop for evening taps turned into a meaningful conversation and a new part of their story.

And my new favorite store: Joyful Honda. It’s everything you could ever need, just smarter. We’ve already been multiple times getting the house set up. I’m oddly proud of figuring out how to communicate our way through things, even more complicated tasks like copying keys. Everyone has been so kind, and we’re doing our best with the few words we know.

Hanami is simply flower viewing, most often the Sakura (cherry blossoms) and it’s all about celebrating it’s fleeting beauty… I love the whole idea behind celebrating seasons. Margo also lost a tooth and somehow managed a double visit from both the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.

We’re one week into this adventure. I’m not quite sure yet how to share it all, but I’ll get there. I could fill pages with stories already (I met Brian’s coworkers—they all call him “boss,” and he seems to be doing so well), but for now… it’s everything I hoped for, and the homesickness I knew would come.

I can’t wait for week two.

Let me know if you have questions 🤍

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Detour Ahead.

The Bird-Walsh crew is headed to Japan! Yokota Air Base, outside of Tokyo to be exact.

Yep, this came out of nowhere!! After feeling so convicted something big was about to happen I didn’t seek a third term in office and the same day I announced it, Japan DFAS called Brian and asked him to consider a Director of Site Support and Operations role.

We originally said no, but after telling the girls, they convinced us to go. Paige didn’t hesitate, Emlyn is excited to skip the middle-school drama, and Margo is braving the adventure but her 6 year old friends definitely don’t believe her.

Yes, we will keep our home and rent it. The government will put everything in storage for us and move what we want. We will live in base housing and girls will attend an American school as Emlyn wanted to stay on track before starting high school!

Brian has been in Japan since November 28th. 110 days later we will join him over Spring Break! We expect to be there 2 years before returning for the start of high school, middle school, and intermediate.

The farm, our nieces and our parents are obviously our biggest concerns and hesitations but I’ll continue to support Lee abroad on bookkeeping, CSA, marketing but I do expect this community to give them extra support!!

I’m working through plans with Farmers Union, but believe the organization will be in great hands, even without me.

I’m thrilled for the break, praying about possible seminary courses to keep me busy and excited to just be a Mom and travel travel travel before those busy teenage years begin.

We feel blessed and as if God answered a long-held desire. We can’t help but just praise Him. Yes, it’s crazy but as always… Brian’s lifelong public service and hard work continue make our dreams a reality!