Friendship Navy Cuisine in Yokosuka

While walking in the portside Verny Park, you’ll see U.S. Navy and Japanese sea forces located on each side of the naval port of Yokosuka sharing the facilities. American ships are being piloted by Japanese boats while Japanese submarines are maintained in the dockyards on the American side. Get on a cruise boat weaving through the warships and survey boats in the docks, and you’ll get a glimpse into the unique Navy roots of the idyllic town. With the history of cooperation between the two navies, Yokosuka City proudly produces unique food menus originated from the recipes used aboard the warships: “Navy Burger” from U.S. Navy, and “Kaigun (navy) Kare (curry rice)” from Japanese sea force. Getting off the boat, let’s get your fill of navy cuisine.

You’ll find some restaurants with flags of a burger icon around the port. Those “bemedaled” shops offer Navy burgers cooked faithfully to the U.S. Navy’s official recipe. So the burgers feature a half-pound patty of 100% lean beef while fatty meat is generally preferred in Japan. It’s served with classic garnishes: a large leaf of lettuce, a slice of tomato, and pieces of onion. Help yourself to add some ketchup and mustard, and then bookend all the stuff with thick buns. Complemented with a side of french fries and a glass of Coke, the plate is ready for your attack.

You’ve also locked on to another plate, “Kaigun Kare”. It may be worth knowing that when “Kaigun Kare” was developed in the kitchen of Japanese warships about 100 years ago, the shipboard chefs came up with the idea to add extra flour to curdle the curry soup into paste so that it couldn’t have been spilt on the ships yawing on the bumpy water. Today “civilian” chefs on land artistically add that original texture to their Kaigun Kare while keeping the rich curry flavor. So you may find your Kaigun Kare is stickier and pastier than what you’d expect from general image of curry. Let’s have it with a glass of milk, the traditional accent on the kare.

You may want “rescue force” to finish all the plates. Then ask local people dining in the same restaurant to join your table. They’ll gladly help you, and you’ll make new “brothers-in-arms” with them. That’s how the navy cultures have taken root in the town to bear fruits of friendship.

Noise or Voice?

Summer green

It was a hot summer morning as usual. Mike, a European businessman, spoke to one of his Japanese colleagues, Takeshi, in the office.

“I’m impressed with how patient Japanese people are.”

“Patient…with what?”

“These days the noise of cicadas is getting louder and louder, but nobody in our office cares about it. It’s so loud that I can’t concentrate on my work. How do you put up with it? I really want to cut down the forestation in front of our building so that they’d be gone for my peace!”

“Eeh.. so? I don’t care much about it… but yes, it’s getting louder…”

Takeshi had no idea why the normal sound of summer could be such a big question. On the other hand, Mike was unsatisfied with Takeshi’s unsure reaction not being on the same page.

Mike came to me to ask my opinion.

“Please help me understanding Takeshi’s answer. The noise of cicadas is getting louder these days, and it’s disturbing our intelligent work. Right?”

Probably Takeshi had felt Mike’s idea had been strange. Actually, it’s the question of how the world is viewed.

“Technically, you are right. The sound is getting louder, and it may be disturbing you. Regardless of the fact, we, Japanese people, never say it noise but ‘voice’ of cicadas.’”

“I don’t get it. What do you mean?”

“We view the world in a different way from how you do. We value something alive like cicadas and make a connection with them while you see them just as annoying bugs. They are living their lives from birth to death. It’s the same as what we, as people, do. We rank them in the same position as we are in. So it’s natural they have their ‘voices’ to speak up just like we do. That’s why Takeshi didn’t agree to your idea that cicadas are ‘the source of noise.’”

I saw Mike was getting confused with my answer.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I am. You must have realized so far that we Japanese are not good at being faced with different or opposite perspectives. We are likely to share one single common angle among ourselves. To put it into practice, we animate things as if they are alive so that even living nature can be the same subject as we are. Then cicadas are no longer objects offensive to us but something from the same level.”

“Why do you want to avoid objects as opposites? They don’t necessarily offend you, do they? Actually, cicadas are small bugs, they don’t have any weapons. ”

“Really? You said you wanted to get rid of them, didn’t you?”

“Hey, quit pulling my legs!”

Mike agreed at least to the point that Japanese people are happier than he was with cicadas because they are friends with the small bugs. He remained the only enemy to the seasonal neighbors. One single phenomenon can be understood in a different way or plays a different role in a foreign philosophy.

Trail to Makuhari Messe

Trail from Makuhari Messe to the station

Makuhari Messe is one of the major convention halls around Tokyo, and many international fairs and conferences such as “Tokyo Motor Show”, “Tokyo Game Show”, and so on, come to the venue. That’s one thing confusing people who aren’t familiar with Tokyo. Though Makuhari area is promoted as a modern business park, it’s not in the downtown of Tokyo and technically and practically belongs to another prefecture, about a 40 minute train ride away from the city. You have to travel to Kaihin-Makuhari on JR Keiyo line.

You may want to start your trip from Tokyo, the very departure station for Keiyo trains. However, it’s a complicated railway complex combined with commercial malls so that many non-Tokyoites have got lost. The platforms of Keiyo line are located in the underground half a mile away from the other lines. It’s closer to Yurakucho, the next stop on JR Yamanote line than to the other platforms of Tokyo. Once you enter Tokyo station through a ticket gate or you come to the station by another line, you’ll have to walk 10 to 15 minutes to the platforms for your train to Kaihin-Makuhari. Probably many other visitors will get off the same station and trail to the venue, and you’ll easily find which way to go.

Once you leave the square in front of the station, there are no shops on the road to the convention hall. Remember to buy a bottle of water and snacks before leaving the station if you want some. And ideally, you should bring your own lunch with you. Though some restaurants are available in the business buildings around the station, it will take 15 minutes from the hall to come and another 15 minutes to go back. Of course, there are some food shops within the hall, food selection is very limited, and what is worse, you’ll have to wait in line up to an hour around lunch time. As there are not enough benches available in the lounge area, you’ll see many local people having their lunch sitting on the floor. Others don’t care about their eating style, either. If you want to finish your lunch as quick as possible, why don’t you do the same? Nobody would care about you eating on the floor.

The gates of the hall open at 9 or 10 am according to the event schedule. Yet you may not enter the hall soon even if you are there on time. In order to secure visitor safety, the gates temporarily close after a certain number of people get in. Once the group safely walks into the exhibition halls, then the gates open again. So you’ll have to be waiting till you are allowed to enter. You’ll think that you can avoid that time loss by arriving to the place much earlier. Then remember that the center doesn’t allow any overnight queue. Needless to say, it’s just additional time lost to buy a ticket on site. Be smart about it, and purchase it on line before the event.

You may want to tweet how exciting the event is on your smart phone. Then you’ll have to be well prepared. If you don’t care about the bill coming a month later, the easiest way is to use the roaming service of your mobile phone. Probably most visitors expect wi-fi on site. Actually, some wi-fi services are available in the event place, but they basically require monthly subscription. On the other hand, one provider, HotSpot, offers one-day service to light users. You don’t need to sign up but to buy a prepaid card with a unique passcode, which is sold at hotels and convenience stores. Once you get the radio wave and access the log-in page, you’ll be asked to enter your code. Then you can use the wi-fi within 24 hours not only in the event place but also wherever you can catch the HotSopt wave.

Many people will stay till the closing hour and then trail back to the station all together in the evening. So it’s recommended that you should buy a return ticket when you arrive at the station in the morning. Otherwise you’ll have to queue in the crowd for the ticket for another 10 minutes. You may want to stay somewhere near the station for a drink until the crowd is gone. Unfortunately the area is a business park, and it’s hard to find a fun place around the small station. Remember it’s far away from the bustle of Tokyo.

■Makuhari Messe Official Site

An Off-The-Beaten Otaku Place in Tokyo

Nakano Broadway Center

The shopping street in front of Nakano station on JR Chuo Line leads to Nakano Broadway Center, an off-the-beaten otaku shopping place. While most old buildings are being renewed into modern shopping complexes according to the construction boom, it remains as it was 40 years ago. The inside is dimly lit with low ceilings and gloomy walls. The showcases lined on the passage narrow the shop entrances, which blocks the inside view and makes those shops even mysterious. It looks very different from brightly lit up today’s fancy locations. At that time, its innovative design imitating large shopping malls in the U.S. represented Japan’s economic growth, which fascinated people and promoted businesses around the area. As time goes by, main stream fashion has already left there after the leading trends, and it is being left behind for more stylish shopping complexes and sophisticated business parks all through the metropolitan area. On the other hand, the place has incubated underground shops and services dealing with premium figures, anime costumes for “cosplay”, military goods, authentic celluloid anime pictures, and so on, and this unique portrayal of junk has been luring cutting-edge otakus. They have been coming here to stay current with news for their interests.

Anyway, in contrast with the busy shopping street outside, it’s not much active these days. Actually, the fourth floor is almost abandoned and empty. Unfortunately it’s not a favorable situation for the shopping center that it’s losing customers, and accordingly, tenants as well. In order to survive today’s competition, the center is promoting its aspects as the unique otaku resort to become a major spot to retain light otakus and even non-otaku customers. Probably, despite the intention, it would not be a desirable change for the hard-core fans of the place that it would be a successful entertainment.

The leading shopping street

Road to Boat License

Pilot Boat

Tokyo Bay is one of the greatest spectacles in Japan. A fashionable commercial district and a beautiful night scene give it a popular image. But it has much more than you expect. From the sea, you can see all of the different faces of the big city.

So why don’t I get a Japanese boat license? I passed the written test. Next was the practical one on the water.

It was a good chance to get a partial view of the bay and to realize the dynamics. The test place was the coastal water around Tokyo Disney Resort, the busiest area of the bay. I did it on a hot summer day.

The boat was anchored at a marina a little bit upstream from the mouth of a river to the bay. When I got on it, I had no idea what I would see on the busy water. I was very nervous. The instructor started the engine to sail into the bay and gave me the rules of the test. I manned the helm at the mouth of the river. Let’s go to the sea!

Imagine that you are on a small boat floating on the water. There are no crossing points or traffic lights. You can take whatever path you like. But you are not alone. You are surrounded 360 degrees with huge freighters and flying barges and pilots all heading for you though you have never sailed there. It’s that thrilling!.

So I was surprized and scared at the big the commercial ships surrounding me when I came into the bay. Of course they were very far away from my boat on their way to the pier. But still they looked so enormous and all heading for me. I slowly got close to the first checkpoint buoy while I was wishing they couldn’t clash me.

I had to get off shore at a higher speed to pass the first assignment. It was scary at first. But when I felt comfortable with the sea breeze and got a wide view of the sea, I realized how exciting it would be to sail away. Then I relaxed and steered the boat at full throttle, passing by the landmarks of Tokyo Disney Resort, Oil tanks at power plants, and construction sites of the port. What a wonderful view!

Over 100 years ago, the bay was a successful place for fishing. Even today there still are some fishing villages along the bay. Ever since the bay has been the entrance to the city, it has been developed as a major trading port with lots of warehouses. The heavy industry is also based around the area for good access to the trading ports and the urban market. Steel factories, oil refineries, and power plants are built there for the same reason. Once you sail off shore, you’ll soon find lots of small fishing boats, huge tankers and enormous freighters on the water.

When I completed the final assignment and turn around to the marina right before twilight, I missed the sea very much. I loved running on the water in the sun.

Well, long story short, I’ve got the license. But I will have to pass the next challenge soon. The sea chart looks tricky. The mouth of the bay is very narrow with shallow water and hidden rocks. It is difficult to cross the sea lanes with heavy traffic of tankers and freighters. Barges are running around and about at high speeds. Under the water, fishing nets would trap the keel of a boat. What an exciting adventure!

[Photo] Walk in Kawagoe, Japan

The Main Street

Kawagoe is an old town on the northwest of Tokyo, about a 40 minute ride on a train. It became one of the successful satellite towns of the capital city 400 years ago when the military government was established in Tokyo after a long wartime period. It stood out as a major commercial hub for the urban market at that time.

Old Warehouse Buildings

Typical narrow-frontage house

Entrance

Traditional Sweets

Plaster Wall

Kumano Shrine

Pot on the street

Pickles Shop

Yokosuka Naval Port Cruise

The Naval Port

“That’s technically California State of the United States. If you accidentally drop off the boat, please remember to swim back to the portside park which belongs to Japan. If you want to travel abroad, you can swim to California with your passport. You may also need US dollar in that case.”

The cruise started with that humorous announcement. The pier is located between Japanese naval facilities and those of the U.S. just behind a shopping mall on the main street in Yokosuka, which is famous for the largest base for the U.S. Navy in Japan. That is the only cruising boat allowed to sail through their facilities watching warships while any private boat is prohibited to enter the area.

“The main spectacle of this naval port is the aircraft carrier George Washington of the U.S. Navy. Unfortunately, it’s not here today. What’s disappointing, many vessels of the U.S. are gone as well. That’s because they have to escort George Washington for security. The carrier is so large as to embark 5,000 crew members. When it goes out, around 10,000 people are gone out of this city as it takes its fellow ships out together. So, you don’t see many American sailors around the port today. Otherwise it feels like an American city with English as the first language.“

We had no time to be disappointed by the absence of George Washington and its family. There were many other things to see. The boat sailed along the U.S. side of the port to see their dockyard and the so-called “hotel ship”. When a vessel is in the dock for maintenance, the sailors are to stay in the hotel ship. Actually, one vessel was in the dockyard that day. Probably the hotel ship was full of booking accordingly.

The boat was leaving the U.S. when it was passing by the two huge cranes. “The name of the larger crane is Yokozuna, and the smaller is Oozeki. They are named after sumo divisions by the U.S. Navy just because they are so huge. The sailors have a sense of humor, don’t they?”

In contrast with the vacant side, there were many ships anchored in the Japanese area. Some of them were warships for national defense purpose and the others were ocean investigation vessels. “Finally, I can show you what you’ve expected from this cruise. You can shoot photos of those warships. But remember they are so large that your lenses may not capture the entire figure.”

The boat turned around the cape to see different angles of the port. When the boat was sailing into the industrial area, we were welcomed by the huge shipbuilding crane. Literally, a Japanese welcome word was written on the crane, “Yo-U-Ko-So (welcome).” The guide explained humorously, “We are too far from the crane to realize how big it is. But the data says the frontage is as wide as 100 meters. You can see the welcome word on the face of the crane. It costs 10 million yen to print just one letter on it. So totally it costs 40 million. You can imagine how huge it is, cant’ you?”

Passing by the oceanographic survey center, the boat turned into a somewhat rustic area. Then we found some fishing buoys floating. Thanks to the complicated coves around the water, the area used to be a rich fishing village. Even today, that tradition lives together with the modern military accommodation. That’s a unique view of the city.

When the boat entered the narrow channel, the surrounding views changed. Both banks of the channel were covered with forests, which had been used for secret storage of military supply such as ammunition in wartime. This area, at the entrance of Tokyo Bay, had been the very hub for defense of the capital city. It felt somehow isolated with no sign of life. In the quiet solitude of the forests, the boat was slowly heading for the pier.

We were getting back to the entrance of the naval port, and the guide was finishing his joke, “the heliport carrier in front of us is named Ise. Look. The name is printed on its huge stern in so small letters. I love that funny contrast.”

It was a wonderful 40 minute cruise from California to Japan with the unique naval view.

The U.S. facilities