Land of the Rising Sun

It's been another long day here at Iwakuni, but a good one. I started my day with a 4 mile jog along the jogging path at the sea wall next to the river. The path starts right behind the building where I'm staying. I was a little nervous heading out at 6AM alone to run, but that was silly because all the military folks are also exercising at that time of day. It was a gorgeous morning. I rounded the bend on the sea wall to face east and the reddest sun I've ever seen was rising over the top of a mountain. Amazing sight! I wish I had had my camera to capture it. It was just like a story book picture. It rose and disappeared behind some clouds.
I finished my run and the work day started. Today was a day of lots of meetings and meeting folks. I won't bog you down with all the details because it gets confusing fast!
This afternoon I saw 2 fighter jets practicing flying formations. Pictures are not allowed...
I was finally able to break away from the group today and shop at the PX and commissary on base. The PX is like Dillard's. They have a really nice Japanese gift section which is where I'll buy my souvenirs. I can't decide if I want a wall hanging, tea set, or Japanese kimono style robe. The tea sets are beautiful! Which reminds me...I need to find some authentic green tea to take home with me.
After shopping I strolled back to the jogging path to take some pictures. There's a couple of Japanese style gardens on base. This time I caught the setting sun.

Also, today I got to eat in a restaurant off base. It was adventurous! My boss Mark and I took a taxi from the base to downtown Iwakuni and found a restaurant that had pictures on the menu. The restaurant specialized in yakitori (meat and veggies on skewers grilled). It was amazing! I had grilled green onions, shitake mushrooms, a salad (not grilled!), and grilled rice balls (which were my favorite!). The rice balls were covered in teriyaki sauce, grilled, then topped with miso and green onions! Yum! There's a picture of a sign in the restaurant above. The wait staff was so nice. They spoke a little English and thanked us tremendously for coming in. The waitress followed us outside the restaurant and bowed and said thanks many times over. The Japanese are known for being very polite and helpful. I'm planning to take Sunday to myself and go downtown to see the Kintai Bridge, castle, and Samurai quarters. I hear there are artifacts to look at--my favorite. Jim will be thrilled that he doesn't have to go to an artifact museum with me!
I'm back at the base now at the Food Court (it's the closest place I can get Wi-Fi).
Tomorrow I have a meeting at 8:00 and I do not plan on getting up as early. I feel like a might have a cold coming on and need more sleep!
Sayanora!