This is the story.... Not of a man named Jed... a story of an American family living in Northern Japan!
We were stationed there for 5 years! Fun times, and beauty! Misawa Air Base Japan, to be exact! It is in the Northern Prefercture of Aomori, Japan. It is beautiful up there! We were on the mainland of Japan, up on the North East Coast, that is the other side of the Pacific for all of y'all in the States! The scenery is awesome. On good days, the mountains to the North are quite breathtaking! We usually averaged around 125" of snow a year, but sometimes we were blessed with over 195"...
The local economy is quite interesting. The Japan system of money is basicly 8X what ours in the US is. Meaning, that what we would pay for something in the States, the cost here is about 8X, but the people make around 8X what we make! It is weird to try to concept, but you get the hang of it after a while.!
The people make their money from either farming (rice), fishing or owning small stores. They even live in the store! It is quite interesting to shop at the local shops... there will be a curtain near the back of the shop, and back there is where the family will live! Talk about a short commute to work!
I remember my Pop telling me something before I came over here. See, he has been to Japan at least a few times. He said that I should always wear sunglasses when outside. Naturally, I asked why, and he said that because we are over 6', and the people of this country are all around 5'5", and the fact that it rains alot here, their umbrella's are always right at eye level! I must agree with this! I have dodged quite a few umbrella's to the eye while living in Japan for those 5 years, and I must pass that along to anyone over 6'. If you come here, wear glasses! More for safety, than for anything!
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