Freebies and Thrift Store Finds...

Rarely in any community in America is there one like base housing on a military base. The military community is a very transient one, with families moving every few months to every few years. You quickly learn what are valuable items you must move with you, and which ones aren't. Easily discarded are clothes that don't fit, things packers won't pack (like spices, candles, craft paints, teas, batteries, etc.) and items you don't like enough to count against you in the amount of weight you are allotted in each military move. Based on your rank, and whether you have dependents (spouse and kids, typically), each military member is allotted so many thousand pounds of goods to be moved for free on the government's dime. Anything over that and the military member has to pay for it out of pocket. This is avoided like I imagine a plague would be.

So now is peak PCS (moving) season in Iwakuni (and at most bases around the world). People are packing up, packing out and arriving. I'd say about a quarter of the base inhabitants move in any given year. If you're leaving, it's time to decide what outgrown clothes and unnecessary furniture you plan to leave behind to save on weight... and having to spend the energy and time to unpack it at the other end of the move. If you are arriving in Iwakuni, you are realizing what you should have packed, what you need for your new home because the dimensions are different from your old one, and other such household decisions. For instance, I realized that I did not pack a toaster in my express shipment and my kids wanted Eggos for breakfast. I got a toaster at the thrift store for $3 that was nicer than the toaster in my shipment making its way across the Pacific.

So this transition period known to those of us military families as PCS season is where the freebies and thrift stores come in to play.

If you live in a midrise, or tower, like I do, there are 43 other families living in the building with you... on any given day of the year, there are always abandoned items in the lobbies for other residents to scavenge. These piles just get bigger during PCS season:

Some of the free stuff I have managed to collect over the past year:

The shelf/drawers

Plus a huge teddy bear, a table, a couple of chairs, and unopened, unexpired food the packers won't move. Obviously, what is one person's trash due to a move is another person's treasure... until their own move.

Some of the renovated midrises now have signs saying not to leave items in the lobbies, to take the stuff to the thrift store instead. But I am not sure if people are actually following those signs or not. I have never seen spices for sale at the thrift store... or for free (there is a small free section by the front door of free items... like Mary Kay samples and bibles).

Now, some of the people moving are kind enough to transport their unwanted items to the Marine Thrift Store on base for donation. (Here is the link to their Facebook business page, where the employees post large items that have just come in to the store. Active duty can shop anytime when there is a store employee there, even when the store is officially closed. Everyone else has to wait until the store is open. So, if you really want something, send the active duty military member of your family over there ASAP).

Out front are most furniture pieces, bicycles, riding toys, car seats and strollers.
Yes, things do get stolen sometimes. There is a special circle of hell for people who steal from the thrift store.

That white block says 10 a.m.

The non-profit thrift store, located near the base chapel, has employees and volunteers that then sort through the donations (and those of you nasty people who drop off Diaper Genies full of dirty diapers also have a special circle in hell) and take the items that can be resold, displaying them in the store at INCREDIBLY reasonable prices. The thrift store then donates the majority of the proceeds back in to the community. The rest go toward paying employees, utilities, etc.

Here is a look at the thrift store:

Toys, linens, DVDs and electronics

DVDs and electronics

Baby

All military clothes and gear are free to active duty personnel. Be prepared to show your military ID to the clerk.

Maternity (there are only about two to three racks of maternity clothes at the exchange, just FYI)

Sports, large televisions, pets

Children's men's and women's clothes

Toddler and infant clothes

I am a frequent shopper at the thrift store. You never know what you might find... name brand jeans with tags still on, oak cabinets, shoes, purses... well, here; here are some of the items I was able to get pictures of as I walked through my house, and checked my iPhone photo library today:

Dress

Sweater and scarf

shirt

Side note: Most of my kids' clothes now come from the thrift store. These are name brand clothes and shoes. In fact, my 9-year-old has four pairs of gently worn Air Jordans... and we didn't pay more than $10 for any of them. With less than a week's notice, we found out the 13-year-old needed to be dressed in a shirt and tie for an awards ceremony... we went to thrift store to get his shirt and slacks:

Not only was it $2 for both items, but they were also in the school colors. Bonus! Clothes are usually $6 for a Walmart bag's worth. Same with loose items around the store without prices. If you bring your own cloth recycle shopping bag, you will get $1 off the bag of merchandise. Books are $1 per bag.

How other items are usually priced:

purses are usually $3-$10

heels, usually between $3 and $6 a pair, but shoes are often half off

Butcher block cabinet, $30

oak cabinet (just bought this so I remember the price: $25)

two bookshelves, can't remember the price

chair for the boys room (has a rip - $10)

suitcase - $6

cup and saucer (made in Japan, part of a bag)

cool pillow, part of a bag

frames that spell Family, $3

frame - $3

elf, new in box - $10

The coat rack on the left, the Christmas tree on the right and the jeans the aprons are made from.

So, if you are looking for an affordable way to clothe your children and deck out your home, check the thrift store.... or maybe the lobby of a building. You never know what treasures you might find.

Day Trip to Nagato: Adult "themes," sacrificial rock altars, and getting naked once again....

Blogger's Note: This post has some adult... "themes" in it. But if you can get past the conservative American in you, you'll realize that the "themes" can be found on the side of a rural Japanese road in plain view. We just happened to stop and get a better view of the, ahem, "themes."

Motonosumi Inari Shrine

On a Monday in April, two vans full of American women made their way from Iwakuni, Japan, to the opposite side of the Yamaguchi prefecture, to an area about two to three hours away known as Nagato. I did not plan this trip (for once - so exciting!) and I was happy to go along as a mere participant. Many thanks go to my friend, Gwen, who planned the entire trip down to a 15-minute-interval timeline that we actually managed to stick to without rushing. For those of you interested in replicating the trip, here is what her schedule looked like:

Gwen and I have like minds: She decided to throw in a "surprise" stop and really kick the day trip off right with the Mara Kannon Shrine in Tawarayama (warning: this is the "adult theme" part):

Looks like your average roadside shrine... until you get a closer look, starting with the "welcome" sign:

And then walk up the hill to the shrine:

I like how they are all the same size... no pissing contests... LOL.

Don't ask... (but I'm still telling)

Yes... yes I did.

If you click on the photo above, you can get a summary of the story behind the shrine. Essentially, some poor guy ended up... "theme"-less and so now this place is a fertility shrine. I am not sure how that works, but let's just go with it. And fertility is relative: it can be taken literally, or you can wish for a successful business or plentiful crop. I went with the successful business. And this shrine is not to be confused with the Nagoya Fertility Festival I attended last year.

Once we had our fill of... "theme," it was time to jump back in the vans and head to one of CNN's Most Beautiful Places in Japan: Motonosumi Inari Shrine in Nagato.

My friend Carolyn... modeling the fact that the torii gates needed a coat of paint.

Proof I was there...

Look, Ma, no handrails...

I really want to go back to the shrine when I can get photographs at dusk. Maybe next time...

Next up: Omijima Boat Tour. For some reason this kind of reminded me of the submarine ride at Disneyland, but I think it was mostly the shape of the boat, but who knows? We never went under water, but if you leave the windows open while the boat is moving, you will get splashed. Luckily, it was a warm, sunny day!

Here are my photos of the "Sea Alps," weird orange tide, and what I jokingly call the sacrificial altar rock. Of course, I am sure these things are explained during the tour, but the tour is all in Japanese. It was kind of fun making up our own names and stories for everything, though...

"Hungry Rhinoceros Rock" (See... empty belly)

"Three-Car Garage Island"

"Guarded by Teeth Cave"

We got to go inside two or three of the caves. The natural lines on the rock were interesting.

I think these are petroglyphs...? Or a really brave grafitti artist was here.

We have no idea what was causing these sections of red tide around some of the beaches and caves. We surmised that it could be breeding plankton. 

"Keyhole Cliff"

Ah, yes, the "Sacrificial Rock Altar." There are ropes tied at the top of this rock... below is a slightly better view...

Doesn't it look like something out of the Clash of the Titans? The 1980's version, of course... Japan is the home of Godzilla, after all.

The boat tour was about an hour and half. We then headed off to see a second shrine (Shion Shrine) and a temple (Tokoji Temple), which are close together in Nagato. I don't have a lot of photos because by this point, I was ready for the most relaxing portion of our day: the onsen.

More proof I was there...

So, the only photo I have from the onsen is this:

It's the Hotel Youkikan's van. I highly recommend the onsen at this hotel. It is outside, and has a lot of pool options, one being the deepest pool I have yet to see. The water came up to my chest while I stood, so it was nice to get the whole body relaxed without having to sit. The waters were more on the hot side than warm, but once you got too hot, you could just sit along the edge.

Of course, I don't have photos of this because photos are not allowed: onsens are public baths and you must be naked to use them. If you're interested in learning more about onsens, you can check out this post. Again, if you can get past the conservative American in you, onsens are incredibly relaxing and I have come to the conclusion that you really can't be great friends with someone until you've sat naked in a pool of hot mineral water with them. However, with this philosophy, I think it may be tough for me to make new friends once I return to the States.