Yesterday we drove to Chiba-ken (Tateyama, for those who know Japan) to visit a family practice clinic that is run by an acquaintance of Akihiro's. This doctor was trained in family practice in America, just like Akihiro. He returned to Japan about 5 years ago and eventually started his own family practice residency program and clinic. This type of set up is very rare in Japan. Most of the doctors are specialists. This doctor would like Akihiro to help him, so after some prayer and discussion, we decided to give it a try. It is about a 2-2.5 hour drive from our house in Hachioji. He will work two days in a row twice a month (4 days a month) and will stay overnight there two nights a month. He is excited to again be doing true family practice--seeing geriatrics, pediatrics, obstetrics, etc. The drive there was interesting as we drive under the Tokyo Bay about 10 km and then went above the bay on a bridge for several more km. It was a very clear day and we could see Mt. Fuji from the parking area/ rest stop in the middle of the bay. Akihiro will also be starting to teach nursing assistants one day a week for a few months. He likes the variability of his many different jobs and likes the flexibility that it allows.
He met with the architect today to start planning for our house. It is exciting, but also fairly overwhelming! We are keeping busy with the third revision of our book and Akihiro is studying hard for an accounting test he takes this weekend.