Yokohama Navy Exchange was where?

Kozue-san, Thank you for enlightening us China Nights artists and the finer points of the Japanese language. I had wondered if Hamako Watanabe was from Yokohama and you explained it. She must have been a neighbor to those of us who lived in Yamate-cho.
You have given me greater respect for Peter-sans "bar" Japanese and less respect for the comprehensiveness of my on-line dictionary. It's good to know that Yopparatta and stinko are good words and also to learn Pachi-Pachi and Pichi-Pichi. Although I didn't know the word Pichi-Pichi I should have because I suspect I would have described many of the beautiful young ladies I met during my stays in Yokohama.
Welcome Patti-san. I'm looking forward to hearing more of your memories of Yokohama and Japan. I lived in Yokohama as an Army dependant 53-54 and was a Marine stationed at Atsugi 63-65 when I made many trips back to Yokohama which was already much different from the Yokohama of the mid-50s.

Finally after all this time I find out the meaning of the phrase pati-pati..I am glad it wasn't too off color, the Japanese seemed to be a little shocked when I used it. Perhaps it was that I knew the phrase at all.
What is your native language? You are obviously conversant in English and Japanese both. I loved my little red Jibiki and carried it everywhere, I bought three of them, one for myself, one for my wife and one for my parents when they came to visit. My mother was only intersted in one phrase..ikura desu ka ?..Which is our word of the day.. anyone ? Kozue this is not for you, you obviously know this.
No complaints about the cold in New Hampshire..we are close to the warmest place in the country, except for south Florida..poor mid-west brrr..global warming my..roba [jp] probably a mis-use I will stand to be corrected.

Dave-san I am humbled. I have known all along that all of those nights at the Peanut Club were not wasted..only I was the one who was wasted.
Have an idea for a theme bar..Yokohama July 1969 where all the grunts get to punch out the doggies.

How much does this cost?

I, also, did a lot of shopping when I lived in Japan. If the shopkeeper didn't speak English or didn't think he or she spoke English well enough, my questions would be answered in writing. Of course, always with extreme politeness. (And "sahn kyu beddy much")

May I suggest our next vocabulary word:
ten-in

very good Lori ! that was easy..ok ten in is something like shopkeeper ne? which is close to tenki which we will not go into as I will be bragging. Lori must be a tensai.

Peter-san, Bars were great places for meeting young ladies and practicing your social skills. You crude Army guys never did understand that and instead would drink too much and then want to fight. That's why I tried to stay out of places that were full of doggies. Army in bars dame-dame, numba ten thou!

Dave-san, you are no doubt correct from your point of reference. I would tell you that I never saw a fight in any bars in all my time in Yokohama, nor did I hear of any.
The Zebra club, located on Yamashita park would have been a prime case but the men I met, Army, Navy and there may have been some Marines, were just too caught up in having a good time, forgeting the war and buddies kia. Funny, i don't remember seeing any MP's either but they must have been there. Were there some thick doggies, yea, of course, but I was fortunate, the guys in my outfit were just regular nice guys from a similar background as myself [mostly]. My first day there I introduced myself and was asked where I came from. Surprisingly a good handful came from less than 200 miles from where I lived and one guy came from the next town over, so culturally we all spoke the same language and had the same values, that may have helped. I never understood fighting anyway..good way to loose your teeth, and fortunately I guess everyone was a happy drinker. Who can dislike a fellow soldier when we had Richard Nixon to dislike. So as much as i can joke about it, the bar fight stuff was right out of the B movies. Now Yokosuka, that might have been different.

Peter-san, I was just following up on your comment, "Have an idea for a theme bar..Yokohama July 1969 where all the grunts get to punch out the doggies" and pulling your leg when I said, "Army in bars dame-dame, numba ten thou." I don't think I went to many bars in Yokohama where there were a lot of American servicemen. Peanuts was more international and the other places I went to were mostly Japanese. I usually went to Yokohama or Tokyo by myself on the weekends and there were so many other places to go and things to do that I didn't have any reason to hit the usual military places. Having lived in Japan before had its advantages.

When I got to Japan I hit it cold.. no prior reference..Dave -san you didn't and that makes your experiences very interesting. Occasionally we would hit the military places as the prices were so good and I had friends there, but we went to a lot of "local" establishments. In three years I don't think I ever went bar hoping [alone] in Tokyo.. there were just too many places in Yokohama. What did your having lives there as a child give you a leg up when you came back as a adult.
Sadly some guys I knew didn't venture out at all, perhaps they were scared or just didn't want to bother with the language or were afraid to be ripped off.. not sure. One guy I used to know never got out and the week before he was due to ship out he realized everything he missed, not just the bars but all the cultural sites, temples museums mountains, little villages, Japanese firends. He was in tears. I felt so badly for him. he was angry about being stationed away from his home and couldn't get beyond it. Oppertunity lost, there were probably lots of those. The military might have done a little better job at opening up these oppertunities, but that wasn't there job. I would have loved to have read a pamphlet on life in Japan while on the plane over..little stuff like that.
Dave-san are you always up a 2 am ? I noticed. And no offence taken..I was ok being a doggie. I saw Full Metal Jacket..no thanks.

Okay, you guys have touched on a subject that I am probably the resident expert on--Bars in Yokohama. First of all Dave-san, the Admiral put all the bars off-limits that didn�ft have English written on them, so you were breaking military law by going into the Japanese bars. But, join the club, I went into them too, as well did many other GIs. All branches of service got along pretty well at most bars and especially the military clubs, like the Zebra Club, because the NCOs wouldn�ft put up with any fighting. However, the Red Shoes Bar in Chinatown was like a battleground. I stayed out of fights at the Red Shoes, but used to go there just to watch the Saturday Night Fights. Even one of our doctors got in a fight there with a jarhead who made a pass at his wife. I never saw a fight at the Peanut Club or the Cow Bell, or any of the big, popular clubs, but I did get in one fight at an all Japanese bar owned by the Yakuza. The fight was started by a Norwegian merchant marine and I just happened to walk in on it, and one of the bartenders even pulled a gun on me. Otherwise, the Japanese bars were a nice change of pace, they were quiet and relaxing, and the bartenders and waitresses were always friendly.

Thanks so much for the welcome and allowing me to participate in your unique club.
Actually, though my father was in the Navy during WW2 in 63 he was in the civil service and along with my mom and younger brother he transfered to Yokohama for 2 years from RI. Now I live in NC where it's suppose to be warm and not freezing like it is! I work for a major airline and plan to go back to Yokohama in March. I was trying to find information on the area where we all knew and lived when I came upon this web-site.

Yes Peter san, I am still a Beatle fan but in 1963 when they first came out I was a fanatic. I took guitar lessons from a man named Endo-san.
Though my dad was in civil service we still had all the privilages of the military. That black and white picture of the PX blew me away. I wish I could remember my address. It was up the Sagiama Hill where my dad would park the car in a small lot. Then we would walk down 2 paths on the left to our house. I want to find it when I visit.

Hello everyone. I have a question. I just want to write a fan letter to a music company called ''Avex'' i have the adress of the company but i don't know how to write it down so that they know for which group the letter is.Could anybody explain me how i have to write it down? i need a quick answer please help me!!

sorry i didn't want to write a question down -.- i'm new here so i don't know how it works to ask a question....I'm really sorry

Wally-san, This is the first time I've ever heard that any place in Yokohama was off-limits when I was there in 64-65. In 54 there were off-limits areas that were clearly marked with signs put up by the occupation forces but you know how kids are - we figured they didn't apply to us and went anywhere we wanted to go with no problems. I never heard of the Yakuza until I read this thread. Peanuts was awesome in 64-65. Open 24/7 and always jumping. There was a big eatery, a real dive, a couple blocks away with a Japanese name that I've long forgotten that I would hit in the middle of the night when I got hungry. I never heard of the Red Shoes or the Cow Bell. Chinatown was within walking distance of where I lived in Yokohama in 54 and very familiar but I never hit any bars there in 64-65 although I did eat in a couple places there on occasion. Who could resist "real American pizza or hamburger ?" You couldn't get anything exciting at the military facilities. I was only in the Zebra Club one time that I recall. Who needs an American snack bar in Yokohama? I went to the Navy Exchange once and never went inside. When I lived in Yokohama it was the Army PX and all the buses the Army ran originated there making it possible to go to all the military installations in the area. Once I realized the days of the free Army bus service were gone had no reason to go back there.
When I checked into Atsugi I didn't tell everyone I had lived in Japan before. We had a "short" sergeant named Smity who decided he should show me Yokohama and get me initiated. So we caught the train and he took me to his favorite bar on Four-and-a-half Street and told everyone he was bringing in a "new guy" who was his replacement. I was pretty savvy when it came to GI bars because I had been all over the Mediterranean aboard ship and deployed to the Caribbean numerous times in my five years service prior to hitting Japan and had also pulled MP duty in all the liberty places I visited in the Mediterranean and Caribbean. Hitting the sailor bars on MP duty was the best education on bars you could get. I learned to keep my money in my pocket and stay relatively sober and enjoy the scenery and entertainment. So here I am, mister new guy on my first night back in Yokohama, in a bar on Four-and-a-half Street explaining to all the girls that I couldn't buy them a drink, and searching for words, when my forgotten Japanese took over and I explained that they were all kawaii josan but I had sukoshi okane. Everyone thought it was pretty funny when they figured out I wasn't exactly a new guy and found out I had lived about a half mile away ten years before. I think Smity ended up buying a round of drinks to redeem himself. I don't think I ever went back there or to any of the GI bars in Yokohama or tourist bars in Tokyo either. Believe it or not, book stores were my reason for going to Tokyo. I could spend all day in a good one. There weren't any books worth reading at the military PX's.

Dear Turkishgirl52

To Ask a question on that subject..
Go up to the left and find Forum Catagories
Message boards then click on questions. Go to the music catagory you will find help there. Good Luck.

You are going back ! Fantastic..Hey try this site here. Yokohama is under Kanto and has gobs of information. I am told to not get ones hopes up as much if not all has changed. And you don't need our permission to join in, have at us.

Wally-san I have little question that you excell in the area of expertise that you profess. You may have hit them all.

Dave-san that is the type of story I was thinking you'd have. Sometimes its better to play dumb..works for me all the time.Wally does not have to agree with this.

Today its beautiful in New Hampshire..the sun is out and the breezes hint at mild tropical influence, I may sit by the pool for awhile. Or do some gardening. Much warmer than North Carolina[thought you'd like a break from my griping]

Very good, Peter! Ten-in is shop keeper.......and no I'm not a genius. In my dictionary tenki is weather.. Hopefully you are not teki. I sincerely hope you are just a regular guy.

Lori. Puzzled by your choice of words.
Anyway, I am a regular guy, and a tomodachi
to hopefully all I meet.
Admit I had to look up shopkeeper. My Japanese is not as good as I thought.

Whoops, it was 64 when the Beatles came to be. I remember it was about 3 months after the Kennedy Assasination. Our gardner told us and it was hard to be in a country where everything didn't stop. We stuck close to the base during those long days in Nov. where the mood was more somber.
Thanks for the tip about being under Kanto because everything is about Tokyo and we are spending all our time in Yokohama. I need to know about accomadations, eating and getting around.
Oh yea, another memory, we went over on the USS Mitchell and I threw up for 16 days.YUK!