DAY EIGHT - SQUID SNACKS & CHU HI

Another travel day today. We drove past and through some of the areas we’ve hit in the previous days and things are actually starting to look familiar to us. Japan Airlines is a first-rate airline and there was virtually no issue with all of our baggage like back in BWI.

The only snag we ran into was on their end. Our MCO’s are good for every flight on the trip, but for some reason they only saw our Singapore Airlines MCO and processed that. (Miscellaneous Charge Orders – They pay for the cost of the extra baggage, and have been supplied by AFE) Only after Spike cleared the situation with the desk were we able to pass through security. WE DIDN’T HAVE TO TAKE OFF OUR SHOES! I didn’t have a sweet little old lady wearing too much perfume to mask mine this time, so I’m very grateful for this. I snagged a couple of Rice balls and beers and boarded the plane.

The flight took only an hour and a half, but it was one of my favorites ever. For one it was not packed, and we could move around. Two, we passed Mount Fuji from the air, and the plane nearly tipped over from all of us rushing to the left hand side of the plane to take a look. Third, the landing was probably the most bizarre I’ve ever experienced. Hiroshima airport is a small airport sitting on top of a mountain, and it has what looks like a metal truss bar extending a few thousand feet off of the one side. We assume this is for lights. A steep bank turn and a nice forceful slam on the tarmac signaled our arrival in Hiroshima. The concourse was equally as small, and it took no time at all to get baggage and make the hour and a half bus ride to the Kure Army Depot.

This place is the smallest yet, but it has a gym that rivals any I’ve seen state-side. A sauna and a bar all inhabit the same building. It will be impossible to get lost, but I’m sure one of us will. Our POC is a friendly Dave Ricks, and he’s been managing the facility for about 6 years. The tour of the base took only the time to prepare the dinner we ordered, and we ate like we hadn’t eaten in weeks. A couple of beers at the bar (which was footsteps away) ended the evening. Watched some Old School with some Chu-Hi’s and J&C’s Kent and I gathered at the 7-11 off base. I got some squid snacks for the guys, hoping one of them would be brave enough to eat ‘em.