Another First

I have to say our tour here in Japan definitely keeps us on our toes. We have experienced a lot of firsts here, both good and well, interesting.

This morning John woke up and went to work. As he was walking to his car he noticed all the frost on the ground and the cars. Then he thought we must have had a light dusting of snow. He got the snow brush out and started brushing away and realized it was ash.

Mt. Asamayama had erupted during the night and left our base dusted with a light coating of ash. Mt. Asamayama last erupted on 2004 and is located 65 miles northeast of Yokota AB.

As a result all schools on base were closed, but the Japanese school remained open. So Lexi got a free day off and Anika went to school with her little Japanese mask on. It was recommended that everyone stay inside today. I was planning on running, but probably not a good idea. We have stayed inside on this beautiful sunny day and I have to say my throat is a little dry and scratchy and I have been clearing it a lot. My eyes have been a little scratchy too. The base has been very quite, since planes and helicopters are not supposed to fly in ash.

Interestingly enough 2 other volcanoes erupted within hours of our eruption that are located on on the same volcanic chain. Mt. Karymsky and Mt. Sakurajima erupted are the names of the other volcanoes that erupted in this region last night. As long as Mt. Fuji remains quite, this volcano is a little too close for comfort if it blew.

So Japan has given us yet another interesting experience. We have now experienced a mild volcanic eruption, typhoons and then many other things that have wonderful to experience.

Sayohnara!