Greetings from the Crossroads ("Believe I'm sinking down")

[Anohito]

My experience with Japan began in early summer of 1975, when I was stationed aboard the USS Midway, for two years, at Yokosuka, Japan. In the early 1980s I made a couple of trips to Tokyo from Hawai'i. In 1983 & 1984 (actually, January 1983 to January 1985) I was stationed at US Naval Base, Yokosuka with Commander, Fleet Activities. At the end of that tour I left the US Navy. I spent longer in the Navy than I really wanted to for complicated reasons I won't go into (at least not now). By the time I got out of the Navy (it was MY decision to do so), I was quite alienated from the organization and most of the people I met in it, so I was very glad to get out of the Navy. Part of what I post here will probably be from my 1983-84 diaries. Oddly, although I took many rolls of film in 1975-77, I made very few notes about what I did. During the 1983-84 period I took only one roll of film, but kept a detailed (about certain things) diary. I've uploaded many of my photos from my Navy days (and some more recent photos) at edgarjlaw.smugmug.com
I returned to Tokyo as a tourist in 1987 and 1990 (photos at Smugmug). I enjoyed Japan very much and would love to return some day.
That's a little bit about me to start off with. I look forward to participating here.

 

[nice gaijin]

Always nice to get a fresh face with some experience in Japan in one sense or another. I look forward to reading your accounts.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

Welcome to JREF !!

Anyone with a cat avatar and a former anchor clanker/squid can't be all bad, LOL. Greetings from another former Navy hater(they weren't all bad, sent me to Japan for 2 years).

Uncle Frank

 

[Anohito]

Anyone with a cat avatar and a former anchor clanker/squid can't be all bad, LOL. Greetings from another former Navy hater(they weren't all bad, sent me to Japan for 2 years).

The avatar is a cropped photo of our own cat. You can see more photos of him and his late sister at edgarjlaw.smugmug.com (there is no www--also, since I cannot yet add links to third-party web sites, that URL is in text--there are also plenty of other photos/images).
For those who may be expecting something that won't happen, I should say here (and will repeat it once I staart posting from my diary) that for better or for worse, I was by no means a typical sailor. There will be no tales of partying. My interests were quite different from those of typical/average sailors.

 

[Tay]

What are the interests of an atypical sailor?
And I still have a firm grasp on my manners, so I do say: Welcome!
*although I am newer than you are

 

[Anohito]

What are the interests of an atypical sailor?

Well, the interests of this particular sailor (especially while in Japan) were (in no particular order) pretty much as follows:

Food
Kabuki * & bunraku (2 forms of tradional Japanese theatre)
Western classical music (widely available in Tokyo)
Art (Western, Japanese, and other Asian)
Sightseeing
Japanese history & culture in general

*I eventually found and joined the International Friends of Kabuki in Tokyo

 

[Pachipro]

Welcome Anohito! Nice to see you here at Jref also!

 

[Tay]

Japanese food is my life.
And I'd love to see Kabuki and Bunraku...heck, I may have even seen examples of it already. What would one see in works of Kabuki and Bunraku?

 

[Anohito]

Japanese food is my life.
And I'd love to see Kabuki and Bunraku...heck, I may have even seen examples of it already. What would one see in works of Kabuki and Bunraku?

Love, death, revenge, ghosts, the struggle between duty & human feelings--all the good stuff!

 

[Tay]

Ahhh! It's so romantic! Not to get too off topic, but that is what I'm learning about in English at the moment. Through Shakespeare's plays, to be precise. And I love it.
I think it's time for Tay to watch some Kabuki and Bunraku!

 

[MajideSaiaku]

Welcome!.

Cant say I was in any navies myself, but it makes these types of things more interesting.

 

[Anohito]

Hemmy, the amazing flossing kitty!

This is an experiment to see how the "attachments" function works.


Hemmy loves to chew on string, and he has decided that "people string" (dental floss) is good, too.

 

[Absolute Zero]

Hello and welcome, new person. Welcome to the site and enjoy your stay at Jref.