I finally got around to sorting, editing, and uploading my Japan trip photos. They're organized into sub-albums, so be sure to go through all of them.
I've also updated the various entries in this blog with direct links to the appropriate sub-albums.
(Update: I've uploaded Nagasaki photos) My last day in Japan, Sunday, was the nicest day of the trip (of course). Joe & I drove from Sasebo to Nagasaki, about a 2 hour drive. The U.S. dropped it's second atomic bomb on Nagasaki on 9 Aug 1945. We visited the Peace Park, the hypocenter cenotaph (monument at the center of the blast area), and the Atomic Bomb Museum. It was a very moving trip.
Tomorrow I fly back to Seattle.
Japanese love English, even if they don't speak it well. Most often this combination results in odd translations, or simply non-sensical words put together on a sign or t-shirt.
But sometimes you get some very funny results, like these I saw on my trip:
Born to be chicken (seen on a restaurant)
I love BBQ, it's mine (seen on a restaurant)
Not Sleeping Around (on the front of an oversize t-shirt worn by a woman in her late 30's with two kids)
The smell of Asian resort. Hotel Ubud. (A sign on a lightpost, and also their website)
Check out Engrish.com which collects lots of funny Japanese English.
(Update: I've uploaded Korea photos) When we got back from the DMZ tour, Joe & I visited the Korean War Memorial. This was a Smithsonian-scale museum. I thought it was going to be only about the Korean War, but a third of it covered Korea's military history from 1000 AD up to the Korean War. In addition to the history aspects, the memorial had a wide variety of military hardware on display — everything from ammunition to a full-size B52. And they had a lot of it. I don't think I've ever seen so much military hardware on display outside of a military base.
The trip back to Japan on Friday was smooth and uneventful. On Friday night back in Japan, we went to a grill-your-own-meat restaurant. Every table includes a built-in gas grill. You order the meat and vegetables. The meat is sliced into thin strips, and the vegetables are also sliced. Then you grill it yourself. Since it's sliced thin, the food cooks pretty quickly. It's like doing your own bbq minus the boring/annoying parts: no prep and no clean-up.
Sasebo is well-known throughout Japan for their hamburgers. Not sure why/how they got famous, but even in Tokyo people know about the hamburgers in Sasebo. There are a lot of hamburger places, so on Sat we went to the busiest one, called "Original Hamburgers". They were tasty but a bit different from American hamburgers. In addition to the usual lettuce, tomato, etc, the burgers come with an egg, kind of like the egg you get on a breakfast sandwich. Another difference was the hamburger patty — it was very thin.
The weather was nice enough on Saturday, overcast but no rain, that we finally got a chance to do some local sightseeing. After finishing our hamburgers, we drove up to the top of
Mt Yumihari (a little over a 1000 ft high) which had a nice overlook of Sasebo and the 99 Islands.
For dinner Sat night, we went to another cook-your-own-food place. Instead of a grill at every table, there was a hot-plate at every table with a 4 quart pot. The pot holds clear chicken broth. Just like the grill-it-yourself place, you order the meats & vegetables already sliced up. Then you cook it in the pot. Tasty, but I liked the grill place a bit better.
(Update: I've uploaded Korea photos) On Thursday Joe & I took a USO tour to the Korean DMZ. I thought we were only going up to the edge of the DMZ, but it turns out that we actually drove out to a complex in the middle of the DMZ. In fact, we got to briefly cross over onto the N. Korean side of the DMZ. Read on…
The tour started at the USO office in Seoul. We boarded a bus and drove 1 1/2 hours north to the DMZ. We learned that the DMZ consists of a Military Demarcation Line (MDL) set during the 1953 armistice. The DMZ itself extends 2 km to the north and south of the MDL. The bulk of the DMZ is essentially wilderness and is unoccupied. Because it is demilitarized, there are no landmines or any other military apparatus (although there are minefields etc outside of the DMZ). Within the DMZ is the Joint Security Area (JSA) where North & South Korean military face each other every day. The JSA spans the MDL, and consists of several buildings on both sides of the MDL. When N & S Korea meet for talks, they meet in a small, single-room building that spans the MDL.
The tour bus took us into the JSA. Things were very strict. In most places no photography was allowed. We had to sign a waiver that included the following: "I understand that the tour … includes entry into a hostile area which may possibly result in injury or death as a result of direct military action". Not your usual waiver text.
When we got into the DSA and got off the bus, they usually had us walking in two lines. There was a military jeep with armed soldiers escorting the bus. While we were in the JSA, the soldiers stationed there were more clearly more alert. We were not allowed to point or gesture in any way to N Korea. While we were there we saw a few N Korean soldiers just outside their buildings only a few hundred feet away. Some of them had binoculars watching us. It sounds like sometimes N Korean personnel will be all the way down to the MDL, but not today.
The tour then had us walk into the small building used for talks between the North and South. This is one of the buildings that spans the MDL. While in this building we actually were able to stand on the N Korea side of the MDL. So in one sense, I actualy visted N Korea. I hope that doesn't blow my chances for a security clearance some day. :-)
Some other interesting history that occured in the JSA include:
Also in the DMZ is the S Korean village Daeseong-dong where people actually live and work. There is also a N Korean village, Gijeong-dong, but it is purely propaganda — there are many nice looking buildings, but nobody lives there.
In addition to the JSA, the tour took us to one of four discovered tunnels dug by N Korea to get in to S Korea. This tunnel was found in 1978. It's 2 by 2 meters, 1600 meters long, and 70 meters underground. After discovering and blocking the tunnel, S Korea turned this tunnel into a tourist attraction. They used a boring machine to drill a 3 meter diameter tunnel at an 11 degree slope down to the N Korean tunnel. We were able to walk about 250 meters of the N Korean tunnel up to the point where the South blocked it off. Trying to be clever, the North painted the inside of the tunnel with coal dust to try and claim it was a coal mine. They've also tried to claim the South dug the tunnel, despite the fact that all blasting was clearly done from north to south. There are most likely other undiscovered tunnels under the DMZ. Some estimates put the number of tunnels at twenty or more.
The other major stop on the tour was a brand new train station just outside the DMZ. In the last few years there has been hope in the South for reunification (despite recent N Korean missile tests). There have been talks between the North and South that progressed to the point where a rail line was constructed through the DMZ. The South built a train station, the Gyeongui Railway Transit Office, just outside the DMZ in anticipation of the formal opening of the line into the North. However, the opening has been delayed by the North for the last 2 years. Despite the delay, it looks as if the train station will actually be used for travel between the North and South in the near future.
(Update: I've uploaded Sasebo photos) Monday was my first full day in Japan. We went to one of Joe & Gwyn's favorite local sushi places for lunch. It was one of those conveyor belt places where the sushi loops around the restaurant. One interesting twist was that each table had it's own hot water spigot for making your own tea. That afternoon Joe took me on a tour of his ship, the USS Essex. Although Joe is on vacation, nearby typhoon Ewiniar means that Joe had to spend a bit of time at work that day. For dinner that night we went to a local kabob-type grill place. The owner was very friendly.
Unfortunately, the weather has not been cooperating with my vacation plans. It was cloudy and rainy both Monday and Tuesday. For Tuesday we had hoped to do some local sightseeing in the hills, and also tour the 99 Islands. But rain put a damper on those plans. Instead we went into the shopping district in downtown Sasebo. For dinner that night we went to an Italian restaurant. The Japanese version of Italian is interesting — for example, one of the pizzas available was tuna, corn, and mayo.
Prior to the trip, Joe & I decided to make a trip up to Seoul for a tour of the Korean DMZ. Next to Cuba, it's one of the last remaining pieces of the Cold War. It makes even more sense considering the bad weather in Japan. Rather than flying to Seoul, Joe suggested we take the Beetle hydrofoil from Japan to Korea, then take the Korean bullet train to Seoul. So on Wed morning we headed up to Fukuoka to catch the Beetle. The hydrofoil rode more like an airplaine in light turbulence rather than a boat. Although it lifts up out of the water at speed, the transistion is so smooth you can't even feel it. The peak speed on the Beetle was 50 mph. The bullet train ride was also pretty cool. Most of the ride was at around 80 mph, but on some of the longer straightaways we got up to 180 mph (300 km/h). It was a very smooth ride, although Joe said that the Japanese bullet train was even smoother. The bullet train ride was surprisingly inexpensive — about $45 per person for the 2 1/2 hour ride.
So tomorrow we see the DMZ, then head back to Japan on Friday. Hopefully the weather in Japan will have improved a bit for the local sightseeing, and also a trip to visit nearby Nagasaki.
(Update: I've uploaded travel photos) I got a nice surprise for the start of my trip. The cheapest way to the airport is to use a shuttle van, but I find they're too much of a hassle because they stop and pick up others it increases the travel time. Rather than using a taxi, I've found that the "executive car services" only cost a few bucks more. So on Friday night I opened the yellow pages and picked out one of them. Told them I needed a car at 4am for the airport. So on Friday morning when I step out the front door, there's a limo waiting! Same charge as for the sedan. I guess it was easier to schedule things that way for them. Regardless, it was a nice way to start the trip.
The flight left Seattle on-time at 6am. We arrived at San Francisco a few minutes early. When United ticketed me in Seattle, they could only get me a seat through to the Narita airport in Tokyo. Since I had plenty of time at San Fran (4 hour layover), I headed over to the ANA ticket counter to see if they could get me the seat assignment for the last Tokyo/Fukuoka leg. Turns out it was still too early, and the flight was not yet open for seat assignments. But they were able to switch my middle seat to a window seat. I sat down in some chairs nearby. I was surprised to see the lady from the ticket counter coming over to me a few minutes later. Turns out somehow we had gotten that last window seat while another passenger was in the process of taking it. I guess we were so fast that even though they had started before, it still showed as open and we finished first. She apologized, and gave me the opportunity to keep the seat, but asked if I'd be willing to take another. There was a different middle seat that was much better than most middles, because this middle was next to a seat they reserve crew use. Usually the crew rarely use this type of seat.
Like the lady at the ticket counter said, the crew seat was only occupied for maybe 30 minutes once in the entire flight. The plane was a 777 which is the first time I've flown on one. The business class was certainly better than economy, but it was the older style business class. I'd been hoping for something more up-to-date. The flight itself was fine. It was a little over 9 hours but the time moved along well. I watched Glory Road and Ice Age 2. They were not great, but they certainly passed the time. I'd recommend Glory Road over Ice Age 2.
We got into Tokyo Narita on-time. No problem for the transfer since it was a 3 hour layover. It was a brand-new terminal that had just opened in June, so it was still nice and shiny.
The time-difference and lack of sleep finally caught up with me on the 2 hour flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka. I was trying to stay awake for as much of the trip as possible so I'd be able to fall asleep that night. I'd been up for about 22 hours at that point, with just a few hours napping on the cross-Pacific leg. But on the last leg to Fukuoka I couldn't really stay awake, and dozed for most of the flight.
We got into Fukuoka on-time. Got down to my luggage and picked it up quickly. So quickly in fact that Joe & Gwyn still hadn't made it to the airport. So I waited around out in the passenger pick-up area for 20 minutes, and admired the neon light show right outside the airport. Then it was an 1 1/2 hour drive to Sasebo. We got to Joe & Gwyn's apartment around 10:30pm local time, and got to bed at 11:30 or so. By that point I'd been up for over 26 hours with just some napping, so I had no problems getting to sleep despite the time difference.
My trip starts bright-and-early Saturday morning. My flight leaves at 6am, so that means I'll probably be getting up at 3:30am. Ouch.