Yokohama Navy Exchange was where?

It is the shrine buildings at Ise (Naiku and Geku) that are completely rebuilt every twenty years. I was fortunate enough to visit during a time when the consecrated shrines and the replaced shrines were both still standing, and a friendly guard tipped me off that it was permitted to photograph the obsolete shrines, which no longer contained the sacred treasures and were therefore not required to be treated with the reverence of the active buildings (which may not be photographed).

As for rebuilding of residential areas, I find it disorienting to look at Google Earth of my old neighborhood in Hayama. Even the streets (which were lanes, really) are not in the same locations as they were 50 years ago, so all the beautiful houses in my little section must be completely gone.

Hello, there

Yokohama is a little cold, today is raining.
The lowest temperature is 35F. Little snow fell in Tokyo yesterday. That's earlier than ordinary year.

I'm anxious about iced storm on US northeast coast, Japanese north area and Hokkaido are heavy snow.

Maybe you saw this link already, try it;

"YOKOHAMA LATE 1940'S & NOW"

http://www.yohidevils.net/kanto/landmark.htm

I had almost forgotten about this link. Thanks for reminding us about it. I never cease to find it amazing about the modern transformation of the ''old Yokohama''.

Here we have had several winter storms even though it is still officially fall. Several power outages, one of 5 days duration with frozen pipes. Things seemed settled for now.

Belated Thanksgiving to all.

I have been remiss with my Haikus.

Best to all and thank you Kaoru-san.

Christmas eve in Yokohama. I was 10 years old.
Listening to FEN radio do the coverage of Santa's visit to Japan.
Army radar picks up the first shadow of the reindeer pulling a sleigh and a jolly gentleman headed south from somewhere (Korea ?)
An hour passes. Santa is confirmed over Hokkaido. How many kids can there be in Hokkaido ?
I drift off at 9:30. Dad wakes me up.
It's 10pm.
Santa's been here and I missed him AGAIN !

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year!

May this year be happy and fruitful.

Happy New Year to all my friends..

Both of you .

May all have a fruitful,enjoyable, and largely uneventful (!) 2015.

Belated wishes to everyone for the holidays and for a great 2015. I had this website appear on my Facebook today mentioning Yokohama in 1954 when I lived in Yokohama as an Army dependant. It brought back many good memories. http://www.militarybrat.com/yokohama.cfm

I remember seeing this "intoduction" to Japan many years ago. Good memories from the 1950s.

I made six back and forth trips from Seattle to Yokohama, 1951-1961 with the final trip arriving in Oakland.

Five different MSTS ships and six trips. Must be some kind of record...

These are Honnmoku PX, Navy housing.

Unchild Melody isn't Righteous Brothers, singer from Yokohama is singing this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbQVNc-JLfQ

Looks like you hold the record for trans-Pacific ship crossings. I did three trips by ship. Over on the Mitchell in '52 and back on the Anderson in '54 as an Army dependant. My last ship crossing was on the Sultan in '64 down in the troop compartments as a Marine. After that I flew across seven more times. The ships were more fun.

Six crossings on five different MSTS ships. They were:
Gen. William O. Darby
Gen. G. M. Randall
Gen Edwin D. Patrick
Gen M. M. Patrick
General W. A. Mann

Two weeks at sea for each crossing.

In Japan in 1968, I heard that servicemen could take a ship back to the States if we wanted, instead of flying. I think some of our officers with families did, but I didn't and now wish that I had. I think the name of the ship was the USS President Cleveland.

For me it was air both ways. No choice given.
Oakland Ca [didn't see a single oak] to Anchorage [ I didn't know runways could be so bumpy] to Tachikawa, then by bus to Zama.

Coming into Japan one guy said " hey theres Mt Fuji" and everyone, including me went to the other side of the plane just to see it.

I was messed up with jet lag so I asked a guy on the ground what time it was, he said
six o'clock. I didn't ask him if it was AM or PM. No body used military time.

Coming back it was Tachi to Wake Island for a brief refueling in the middle of the night.

There was a display about the battle there but I couldn't get to it as it was jammed with other guys looking at it. I bought a coke. Big shock. It was two bucks. Welcome back to the world. Then on to Hawaii for a 45 min refueling stop. The airport was beautiful, tropical asked myself. Why am I leaving here ?

Back to Oakland and " separation" from the Army. A huge warehouse of a place with a big sign on the wall.. " Cooperate-Separate. Made sense to me. On the way out the door there was a police officer recruting for the LAPD.

My father was stationed at North Pier and I lived in Area I from 1960 - 64, went to school at Nile C. It has been great reading comments. I remember the Mina bird in the pet store across from the bowling alley. He whistled at the ladies and was bilingual. I remember many mornings on the then beach by the ball fields in Area I, Sankien Gardens, JNRA at the racetrack bldg. at Neigishi, and going to the Seaside and Zebra with my parents. Went over on the Mitchell and came back on the Gaffney. Then lived in Sagamihara from 67-70 and graduated from high school at Zama. They were great times!

Interesting story, Peter Saunders. I wish I were as sure as you are of the details of my one round trip via MATS. I know on the way over (1961) we stopped at an island in the middle of the night. I have since (in the 1990s) asked someone who flew for MATS and he couldn't tell me for sure whether it was Wake, Midway, or Guam. I think it must have been Wake though. We were bussed somewhere (still in the dark) and I couldn't tell if we were on an atoll or a more substantial island. I don't remember anything about a battle display. Of course I had an unhappy small baby with me, who wouldn't have been too interested....

If you were at Wake I am surprised you refueled in Hawaii, though. I would have thought they would have military planes fueled at Wake. Since Wake is at the tip of the Hawaiian archipelago (and surrounded by islands of the state of Hawaii) and "only" some 2000 miles from Honolulu and Pearl Harbor, it seems sort of pointless to hop once to refuel. I know we only stopped once on each of our trips. (Honolulu on the return.) What made me think our 1961 stop was on Guam was it seemed like the bus ride lasted a L-O-O-N-G time. Perhaps you can tell that I am asking you, as such an experienced trans-Pacific commuter, what you would guess our stop was?

Wata

Hi, I am not an "experienced" trans pacific traveler, having done it only twice. But I will help you as much as I can.

- Wake is 2,305 miles from Hawaii. Not part of the Hawaiian archipelago. Marshalls. It is a small island and probably not where you had your long bus ride. If you had come from Conus it might have been Hawaii.

I myself wondered why they would go to Wake rather than go back on the great circle route to SF. perhaps it was the weather over the North Pacific or logistical requirements that I was not aware of.
Guam is pretty far south so I don't think It could have been that. Also Okinawa.

The display I spoke of may have been a model of the island. I did not get a good look at it as I said. On the wall was a reference to the battle. You might have surely missed it given the circumatances. Also the terminal we went into might have been different. This one seemed to be designed for large numbers of soldiers at one time, Perhaps not for familys, not sure.

So. I have not been of much help. If you could tell us where you took off from and where you landed we can re-create where that stop was.

Dave-san is the expert here as his numbers of travels across the Pacific will help Im sure.

I am certain we landed at Wake. it was the middle of the night [time ?] We re- boarded
and flew at least 10 - 12 hours before we landed in Hawaii.

Sunrise over the Pacific at 30'000 feet was one of those magical experiences that transcend words.

When we probably were near the international date line, at sunrise, the guy next to me asked what time it was, we looked out the window at the sunrise, beautiful clowds and the sea far below, I answered...who cares ??
He totally agreed. We were beyond space and time.

You dumb a**, you were probably drunk the whole trip, and didn't have a clue where you were!

I can't help you. I was never bused anywhere on an island stop. I recall landing on Wake Island in the middle of a beautiful day and walking a short distance to the terminal and memorials. There wasn't much there.