Yokohama Navy Exchange was where?

Dave that map is awesome. The boundaries and shape of the milk plant location are a bit different than when I was there. When I was there was a railroad yard to the south of the milk plant. Perhaps some part of it was technically plant property... but, it was definitely outside the fence. Perhaps some trade was made to get more land behind the plant.

As I think I posted previously the plant went basically all the way back to the railroad tracks behind the plant. That was visible on the photos of the plant that you or somebody linked to. Now there are some buildings there -a new kindergarten and some others... So if you have a look again at the park on the Google map and extend the back line of the plant property back to the train tracks it makes more sense.

Keep in mind, there were and are three sets of tracks there. One behind the plant, one between the plant and a few civilian buildings and another set just west of the civilian buildings.

I am really can spell and even write on occassion - just not when sleep deprived as I have been.

The following was meant to be deleted.

[Keep in mind, there were and are three sets of tracks there. One behind the plant, one between the plant and a few civilian buildings and another set just west of the civilian buildings.]

Peter-san: I think you signed your 2009/9/30 "Pictures" post as Dave-san.
The area on the 1956 map off Ave A marked BOQ D40 BWOS must have become Bayside Courts.
http://yohidevils.net/kanto/1956yoko/56yoko01.htm
I don't think I would recognize the picture of the German lady but post it and her name and business and someone else may have some information on her.

Spelling..? whats wrong with your spelling ..? [must be a food inspector thing .]

Yes Dave I typed in the wrong box, sorry, thanks for the correction..was a simple mistake..who's sleep deprived ?

You are correct the BOQ B 40 area is indeed what later became Bayside Courts. You can click on it for a closer view. There is an area to the south end that denotes "warehouse" . That was not there to the best of my memory.
Marines to Guam ?? Oh my..

Today I was using a computer at a public library, and when I accessed this forum via the all-encompassing general forum, I noticed another forum listed as 1950s Japan and found the following link to 1950s pictures taken in and near Yokohama:

http://www013.upp.so-net.ne.jp/shikinokai/frameshashink...

Be sure to notice the many additional pictures listed in the left hand column. Unfortunately the picture captions are in Japanese, but many of the pictures are self-descriptive.

For anyone interested in the discussion, click Forum at the top of the page, go to the Others category, then click 1950s Japan.

Barbara;
Thanks very much for the tip.
Mr. Riki certainly loved cameras.

This past Saturday's WSJ featured a page 1 feature on some of the ethnic minorities in China.
While Han Chinese make up 91 percent of the population, Manchu, Xibe,Uighur and 50 other minorities are counted as Chinese citizens but with a special designation on their ID cards.
Japanese from Okinawa have a slightly different vocabulary than is spoken by mainlanders. I've read about people from Japan's north who have different customs.
Has another read up on this subject?

Thinking of the Ainu ?
You get the Wall Street Journal in Missouri ?? How upscale is that !

Eric and Peter, I posted something about the Ainu people in northernmost Japan on page 86 of this forum -- I know a doctor who lived among the Ainu for several years. A video featuring the very interesting Ainu people can be found on YouTube. And for more on this topic you can type Ainu into the search box of this forum and get additional comments.

Earlier someone (Eric, Wally, Peter?) mentioned the U.S. agreement with Japan to move the U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam. Did anyone see the recent article at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33129102/ns/us_news-military/

"At the center of the debate is one of the biggest construction projects on the U.S. government�fs �gto do�h list: a roughly $15 billion military base expansion that is expected to require some 20,000 construction workers starting next year. Guamanian Americans will fill some of the jobs, but most are expected to go to foreign workers from the Philippines, China, and South Korea."

Yes, Peter. We get the WSJ by mail down here. We also enjoy paved roads, running water and the old outhouse is just a fond memory.
I recall that Japanese folks from the countryside could be understood by their city cousins but the city folk immediately knew rural people from their speech habits.
One day in the late 50s, our maid, Masako answered the door and welcomed in a "country girl," looking for work. She wanted to scrub floors, wash windows, etc. And she was hungry.
My dad noticed that her hands were calloused like a long shoreman's. After her introductory meal she scrubbed, washed and then went out and raked the gravel in our yard. Dad paid her in Yen and she never returned. 12 or 13 years after the war, there was still a lot of poverty and tough times for many Japanese.

When we were traveling, the local Japanese people could tell that we were from Yokohama as apparently we had some "accent".
I think it had to do with the difference between summimasen and our suimasen.
Eric I loved your story. What a sad tale.

Yes!! That's the clock that was in Isezaki-cho. I wonder if it's still there.....

In case you may be interested in an Itzhak Perlman concert, I'm posting here the info for a benefit concert he's doing to help end polio. Sure wish I could attend! I learned about the concert because my husband belongs to a Rotary club. www.rotary.org/endpolioconcert

Is Jeff still in Japan? You mentioned that he visited Kyoto, and I thought it would be funny if he stayed at the Otowa Hotel, which is where I stayed forty-one years ago. Did he mention what hotels he was staying in? I would like to hear of his impressions of Japan, if you wouldn't mind relaying them to us.

Lori - no, I didn't know about the concert. I'm glad he's doing this - tickets should sell quickly and the Rotarians should do nicely. One little anecdote - Perlman lives in my old neighborhood, on Manhattan's Riverside Drive. He is wheelchair-bound when he isn't on stage, and we would often see him zipping along on our busy avenues in his electrified wheelchair - at top speed, out in the street with the cars - quite a site. Since he's so recognizable, I guess he wasn't worried about being run over.

Hi Dave - yes, Jeff's still in Japan. In Kyoto he stayed in a couple of small hotels, then also with our friends Michiko and Yoshi, who drove him around to see the sights that were hard to get to without a car. I'll find out if he stayed in your hotel. He has since moved on to Osaka, then Nara, and now he's on his way back to Osaka which according to him is a great base for day trips to some interesting places, then back to Tokyo and Yokohama before returning on the 20th. He has been on the "bluff" and has visited my father's grave, and given the staff our contact information - but he will return to the area and spend more time. It's been a full two month trip. He doesn't give much info about his impressions - he's a man of few words.

He has said: he loves Japan, especially Kyoto; in general, in Japan almost no one speaks English, and when they do, it's unintelligible, though everyone is very helpful and friendly; travel is easy because trains/buses have necessary info written in English as well as Japanese; he's staying mostly in small inexpensive hotels, which seem to be plentiful, some western and some Japanese, as well as some hostels, which nowadays are quite grand by former standards, and cater to families and adults as well as students. The food is delicious, especially in Osaka, where it is also relatively cheap. He does not complain about prices, or anything else. He says he'd like to go back again, but if he planned on staying for any length of time, he would definitely have to learn the language. Weather has been cool and comfortable - heat and humidity didn't happen - great luck. He experienced his first earthquake last month, and first typhoon the other day - but didn't seem rattled by either.

So, maybe we should all be revisiting this interesting country? Tempting, but I'm not sure I can sit in an airplane for 13 straight hours - how do people avoid cramps and claustrophobia?

By the way, Japan time is 13 hours ahead of ours here in the eastern US, so when it's 10 pm here on Thursday evening, it's 11 am Friday morning in Japan.

Dave - I'm afraid he didn't stay at the Ottowa Hotel. Besides staying with friends, he says he stayed at the Gojo Guesthouse, in the Higashiyama-Ku section of Kyoto, then moved on to the Ichi En Sou Guesthouse, which he describes as "a shared hostel in a beautiful private house" not far from the Gojo.

His impression of Kyoto: "City area mere minutes away from shopping area mere minutes away from classic Japanese neighborhoods all surrounded by temple/shrine areas mixed into the city, with beautiful hill surroundings within walking distance from all of the above."

...how do people avoid cramps and claustrobia..??
10mg Valium every two hours and look out the window... LOL

Thanks Steffi for the update on Jeffs trip.
What a lucky guy.. and am a little surprised at the English speaking ability of the Japanese..thought it would be more common. Maybe there learning Chinese.