Bill and Eric, thank you for the toy info. Actually, there is a Thai restaurant I go to in Tokyo, and they have these little airplane figures that are apparently made from Coke cans. I suppose they were something like these.
When I was little, shops didn't hand out plastic bags, so my mother would take her basket along and have groceries handed out in old newspaper. Today the only business that uses this system is probably the "yaki-iko-ya-san (pebble-baked sweet potatoes vender)" and all the other shopkeepers use the "American style" plastic bags. Of course due to ecology consciousness, today's people have started to refuse these bags and bring their own to reduce waste. It was like everything was quite ecological but inconvenient when I left Japan in 1969, and when I came back in 1973 everything was American-ly disposable and convenient due to the high growth of economy, and now they're (or hopefully WE are) trying to get it right.
Travelling story tellers and puppeteers no longer exist, sad to say. But a few years ago, I did see a young (in fact, handsome) man in the streets of Vietnam who showed tricks and gave sweets for a few pennies.
The silk industry is practically over, but there is a Silk Center, a museum right in front of Yamashita Park, and some brick buildings related to silk have been preserved here and there.
Fujiya Hotel is a very famous hotel that still is running in Hakone which is a touristical spot that every visitor to Tokyo prefers to drop by. Here is the official website of the hotel.
http://www.fujiyahotel.jp/english/index.htmlInteresting how Eric discribes Sankeien gardens, btw. Today it's a major and traditional touristical spot that mainly attracts elderlies, families and foreign visitors. Do you happen to know why you call it K-S Gardens? The term is new to me. I mean, why K-S and not S(an)K(ei)?
And is anyone interested in historical photos of Motomachi?
http://www.motomachi.or.jp/html/amhis/amhis01_e.htmlHi Rick. And sorry, but I am no expert. Just a curious person dropping by :) So I hope that anyone with more info can answer your question in a better way, but from a quick internet check, I notice that Nile C. Kinnick High School was located in Yokosuka. So your father must have been stationed to the Yokosuka Navy Base which is still there.
http://www.cfay.navy.mil/Here is a Japanese map of the area. The gray part is all U.S. Military Base.
I'm not sure what Avenues A or D represent. Guessing from everyone's posts, it sort of seems that it was a combination of several Japanese roads that were used for military purposes. The current "Route 16" however does pass by Yokosuka Base, and then (not right in front but very close to) Yamashita Park and on to Yokota Air Force Base in Tokyo. But then again, my father said that the street Tsunashima-kaido used to have a lot of U.S. Miltary trucks going back and forth. Anyway here is a map of Yamashita Park area which is still a major touristical spot.
http://map.yahoo.co.jp/pl?lat=35%2F26%2F23.671&lon=139%2F38%2F15.466&layer=1&sc=3&mode=map&size=l&pointer=off&p=&MR.x=6&MR.y=12The pink little line in the middle of the bay is Hikawamaru which is always open to the public with the cabin that Charlie Chaplin stayed. Now it has archade games on one part of the deck. Left from the Park is China Town, and the square green at the left edge of the map is Yokohama baseball Stadium. The lower green part of the map is Motomachi and Yamate area where a lot of expats live today. There are a lot of Christian (Japanese) girl's schools around the very lower part of the map.
If anyone can discribe a specific street figure or area on any map, someone like me will be able to read the Japanese name on it. Also, for more and accurate details you can try contacting the municipals or historical museums, but it would be fun to discuss these things casually on this forum!