Day, um, 4? -- I could get used to this

This morning I enjoyed a traditional Japanese breakfast of ... Burger King.

Let me back up and explain ... one of the points of my trip (believe it or not, I really am here to work) is to see some of the bases we cover. So last night I rode with Stacy to Yokota Air Base, and got a first-hand look at her atrocious commute (housing for married DOD cvilians is at Yokota, about a 90-minute drive from our office). Geoffrey grilled steaks for dinner, and it almost felt like we were back at their former apartment in Arlington. Except for the crazy Japanese show on the TV.

I was put up in another DOD-owned hotel, Kanto Lodge. Unlike Hardy Barracks, which has a free continental breakfast, Kanto didn't offer food, so I had to forage on the base. At first I was supremely annoyed -- I didn't fly 15 hours to eat crummy American food -- but then I told myself that since I never eat BK at home, I could consider it foreign and exotic.

In the morning, Stacy took me on a tour of the base, which really is a self-contained small city, and then I met the base's public affairs officer.

I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to do -- I never meet people for work! Two days of meetings, that I understood perfectly. But it went fine (I think).

Irony: back home, I have to get up at 6 for work, and it takes a tremendous amount of willpower -- I'm always still tired and craving more sleep. Today, when I could have slept until noon, I was wide awake at 5:45, just like I have been every day so far.

It doesn't help that the sun comes up insanely early in Japan. I woke up at 4:45 my first night and it was broad daylight out.

So, I don't really have any adventures to report, but it was nice to relax last night. And to go to bed before midnight.