Sayonara Japan (continued yet again)

(4)  The Japanese national anthem.  Fairly short and in a minor key, it is hauntingly beautiful.  At eight every morning near the dock harboring the fleet, a loudspeaker broadcasts a recording of the American national anthem followed by the Japanese one.  Because the BOQ where I currently live on base is much closer to the dock than to the school, I have heard both anthems much more frequently the last few weeks.  Whenever the military or JROTC presents the colors at some function, the Japanese anthem always follows "The Star Spangled Banner."  I remember I liked the German national anthem as well.  Perhaps there is a solemn beauty and grandeur to the music selected for any national anthem.


(5)  Mt. Fuji.  I'll miss watching for the days Fuji-san decides to stand on the horizon.  Living on the side of the Miura Peninsula where I did, I had easy access to view him whenever he was visible. Once the humidity dissipates in the fall, he appears quite regularly on clear days until the humidity builds again in the late spring; he shows a clear preference for sunrise and sunset hours, often blurring into the haze of mid-day.  In the summer, catching a glimpse of him depends totally on gale force winds or a typhoon blowing clear the atmosphere, and his hours of visibility rarely last long!

Three morning shots:  actual beach view and then two using the zoom.

This last one is a view at sunset.

(6)  Fishermen and their stuff.  Before WWII, scattered fishing villages dotted the coastline of the Miura Peninsula and agricultural endeavors dominated the interior.  Yokosuka itself was the site of a Japanese navy base.  Today the Miura Peninsula is one of the quickest "beach" escapes from Tokyo and Yokohama, and especially its coastal areas are now high rent districts.  Although "high rent" properties have invaded and nearly conquered, Sajima Bay--not quite a mile away from where I lived in Ashina--still retains some of its small fishing village style and aura.

Looking toward the village of Sajima Bay just before sunset.

Drying seaweed.