Window Side Curtains For Your Car!

Window side curtains for your car…I never knew they existed before we came to Japan, and I don’t know how we managed all this time without them! I recently broke down and bought a set to install in our Honda Fit. For some reason I thought it was going to be a complicated install, with screws, clamps, and some cursing mixed in. But there was none of that, just a lot of double-sided tape, which it came with. Don’t let that double-sided tape fool you though, it holds tights and you would have to rip those curtains off to mess anything up. Anyways, I highly recommend them, even if you have tint on your windows. Because of the blaring sun here, even with dark tint, you will still cook in your car. And for some reason, most cars here don’t have tint on the front windows at all, but I am guessing there are laws against that here or something.  So once I installed the curtains, I definitely felt like a VIP in my car, felt less heat, and it added to the privacy factor a lot. Plus it helps us blend in with the locals, but never mind the obvious Y plates though!

Well, the curtains are on rails, so they can moved back if needed, and secured when you don’t need them. There are plenty of styles and colors to choose from, so knock yourself out, but I went simple black and cheap (~$20 a set). I got mine at the SunSea, which is the big green building down road on the right out from Kadena Gate 3. The instructions are in Japanese, but the pictures will give you an idea how to install them. Just make sure to mount the metal railing on the top, since that is the one you can bend to form along the top of your doors. My Honda Fit uses the small size, and surprisingly so does my Odyssey, so don’t just think you need to by the medium or large sizes because you have a van. The main measurement of concern is how tall the inside window frame is in your car, so measure that before you buy. If you get curtains that are too short, it won’t connect to the top and bottom railings. If they are too long, then they will sag and bunch up and look like crap. Also, the straighter your window frame (the rear) the better. I tried mounting these in the front windows, but there was to much of an angle and it didn't fit right. I have pictures of the packaging of the curtains I bought for reference down below. 

Side Curtain L-112 

Side Curtain L-112

Side Curtain L-112

Side Curtain L-112

Side Curtain L-112

Side Curtain L-112

Authorized Apple Service Center Okinawa Japan

***UPDATED AT BOTTOM - 30JAN16***

Well it have been awhile since I posted anything of interest, so here it goes…Well the wife’s Iphone 5 took a hard dump these last couple of days and basically became unusable. I am sure it is due to her dropping it numerous times, but who knows. Here is the issues she had and how we got it fixed.

1. Bad Gyro – I guess this phone had a bad gyro from the get go, but since it was the wife’s phone, I never noticed. She never used Google maps or anything, so the issue never really came up, until she couldn’t tilt the phone to change it display orientation anymore. I also noticed that the compass app would be all over the place too, so I knew something was really screwy with the phone. I tried to fix that when she let me know about it, but nothing I could find online would fix it. She lived with for months, until the phone stop receiving any signal…

2. No Signal – A couple of days ago the phone just stop receiving a cell signal and there was nothing I could to get it back. Luckily, the wifi worked still and she was able to communicate via the data side of things, but obviously the phone’s primary function of making phone calls was no good. That was the final straw for me and her, so I went to the AU phone shop at the Kadena BX to see where I can get it fixed. Luckily, there is an authorized Apple repair shop down Hwy 58 and it is about 15 mins from base with no traffic.

So I made my way down there recently and it wasn’t hard to find. It is literally right off Hwy 58, just look for the building with big “Sharp” billboard on it and you have found it. However, they have an EXTREMELY small parking area in front of the building, but I was super lucky and there was a small spot open. Luckily, I drive a Honda Fit and made it in there no problem, but any bigger car than that wouldn’t of fit. If when you go there and the parking area is filled up front, there is a small alley way on the left that takes you to a barely bigger parking area around the back. Just remember that, so you don’t think you have to back out onto the Hwy 58 traffic again just to get out of there. Well once you park, make your way up the stairs and follow the signs they put up to direct you to the apple service center. Be warned though, if you are expecting some pristine white Apple service center, think again, it is definitely a small mom & pop operation that is sandwiched between other electronic repair services with boxes piled up the ceiling.

When you walk in, make sure to take a number from the machine up front and sit down and wait. There were plenty of Americans and locals in there when I went, but I say I waited about 20 mins before I was seen. The guy I talked to had limited English, but that is what Google Translate is for. Anyways, I let him know the problems we had and he got it scheduled in for work, which they start right then and there. He even popped the phone open right in front of me to look around in it, which was super easy to do. You just take the two small screws out at the bottom of the phone and it opens up in half, so if you didn’t know, now you know! Well, he told me to be back in about 40 mins to pick it up and he then gave a small card with a number on it to claim my phone. There is a “Staples/Office Max” like store right next store to the service center, so I killed the time in there. There are 3 stories in there, so don’t get stuck on the small first floor, unless of course you love pens of all shapes and colors. Well, after about 40 mins, I went back and waited for them to call my number. You don’t have to take a number again, I just made it obvious I was picking up my phone by sitting right next to the service desks with the number card in plain view. They gave me back my phone and I noticed that the signal was back, but luckily I checked if the phone could change its display orientation, which it still couldn’t. He then took the phone to the back and chatted with the technicians for a bit and came back out with some dire news…I guess I am getting a new Iphone 5! Yup, they replaced it free of charge, since it is still under the 1 year warranty. But he told me to come back in an hour, because they needed to activate the new phone with my AU service. Well fast forward 1 hour and my wife got a new phone that works great now, but we will see how long that last with it in her hands now…

I do want to note that many of the clerks in there have limited English, but they have a couple that speak good English, so don’t worry about communicating with them. Of course the service clerks were friendly and it is nice that they start work on your phone right there and then. Lastly, my phone was still under warranty, so bring YEN only if your Iphone/Ipad isn’t under warranty to pay for services rendered. I attached the instructions and contact info for the service center to this post.

Authorized Apple Service Center

-------------
UPDATED on 30 Jan 16

Ok I have an update on the Apple service centers near Kadena. To be honest I don’t even know if the Service Center originally posted is still legit now. Either way, I have two places for you to try to get your Apple devices fixed or have some warranty replacement work done. So the place I went to is in the new AEON Rycom mall on the second floor and the entrance is pictured below.

Newcom Apple Service Center

 Long story short, my iPhone 6 took a shit on me last week and it crashed hardcore. Luckily I was able to update it or something with iTunes, and got it running without losing my stuff! But the wifi and Bluetooth functions stopped working. That is no way to live, so I went to the AU shop on Kadena for information. There is place near Foster and the handout to that place is below, but I didn’t go there, so I can’t really speak on the service there. However, the place in the mall was legit and long story short, they ended up replacing my iPhone 6 for free, since it was still under Apple’s one-year warranty. Score! So, I would try the place in the mall if it is closer to you and you want to shop around as they fiddle with your phone. They have English speaking reps there, so you should be fine on that end.  But I am not sure if they take credit cards or not for non-warranty replacements, since my service was free, but I imagine they do. Last thing, they do NOT do repairs there for iPhones. They just restore the software and if that doesn’t work, they will replace your phone for a fee or free, depending on your situation.

Camera Kitamura Apple Service Center

American Village’s Restaurants Guide

We tried a restaurant in American village recently and on the way there I grabbed the tourist guide that has most of the restaurants there. While the guide is not completely inclusive, you will get an idea of what kind of food they have there. However, a short walk around the area will show you that there are plenty of hidden places to eat at, with larger mainstream establishments that you can eat at as well. I have the guide right below for your viewing pleasure…

American Village’s Restaurants Guide - Page 1 of 4

American Village’s Restaurants Guide - Page 2 of 4

American Village’s Restaurants Guide - Page 3 of 4

American Village’s Restaurants Guide - Page 4 of 4