We visit Japan a lot on deployment, because we've got several large bases there at various locations, including Sasebo, Yokosuka, and Okinawa. Over Christmas and New Years this year, we stayed in Yokosuka, and Mike got a little bit of time off to see the sights, such as the Hard Rock Cafe in Yokohama. Obviously, Japanese food is the predominant theme, but if sushi, teppanyaki, or noodles aren't your thing, there are others to be found, if you look. The most efficient way to get around Yokosuka and Tokyo was riding the train. The train systems in all the Asian countries we've visited so far were very clean, fast and efficient, though they all tended to be crowded pretty much any time of the day.

Here's a picture of the USS Kittyhawk, a nuclear-power aircraft carrier which participated with us and a number of other boats in an exercise just before Christmas. You see her being guided into her berth across from the Honolulu by one of several tugs. If you look closely, you can see some of the crew in their dress blues on the edge of the flight deck; this is a tradition known in the Navy as "manning the rails," and is done by most ships when they pull into port. Here's a view of Yokohama Bay on a typical day. By the way, Tokyo and its suburbs are (I think) about on the same latitude as Portland, Oregon, so it DOES get cold there, by some people's standards -- average daytime temperatures there in December were in the mid to upper 40's. This is the Yokohama Landmark Hotel at sunset. I didn't actually stay there (sleeping on the boat was cheaper, and I hadn't been there long enough to have grown tired of it yet), but the view too good to pass up. More pictures to come when the film is developed!

Updated: March 8, 2001
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