My family lived in Japan for over five years. It was a
wonderful experience and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. My husband and sons
learned some Japanese but I was grateful that the locals knew a little English so
I could get by with a small knowledge of the language. My husband’s business
linguistic was English so the Japanese engineers who worked with him also had
to speak our language.
Although we weren’t active duty military, we were still there
on a Navy contract so we had access to base privileges in Sasebo for everything
but housing. This included E. J. King High School for my sons, the Commissary
for groceries, the Exchange for clothes, shoes, etc., the Hospital for medical,
the Officer’s Club for dining, the Chapel for Sunday services, and other
activities such as the gym, automotive, movie theater, etc.
My
oldest son even had his high school graduation ceremonies on the hangar deck of
the U.S.S. Belleau Wood*, an aircraft carrier that was stationed in Sasebo at
the time.
Sightseeing
was a given. Our first trip upon arrival (June 1992) was to see Mt. Unzen, an active volcano. We went all
the way to the top where we saw smoke billowing into the air. Major eruptions
had occurred in 1990 and 1991 which resulted in 43 deaths and forced temporary
evacuation of hundreds of others. If I had known the extent of this activity, I
doubt if I would have traveled up the mountain to peer inside.
Then
it was off to Shimabara Castle which
contained five floors of museum artifacts.
A
year or so later Ron and I rode a hydroplane to Goto Island for the wedding of one of his co-workers to a Japanese
girl whose family owned a hotel on the island. All guests were invited to stay
overnight but we declined as we still had children at home.
Japanese
customs are quite different from ours. Monetary gifts are given to the new
couple and they, in turn, give gifts back to the guests. Each chair at the reception
had a beautifully wrapped package. My husband had a large china bowl and I had
four matching smaller bowls. I happened to see this same pattern at the Navy
Exchange later and they were each $50 . . . which means it cost much more in
the Japanese economy.
The
bride changed four times during the wedding. She wore a beautiful Japanese
kimono for that portion of the ceremony, then an American wedding dress for her
American vows, then an informal gown for the reception, then her going away
dress. Ron and I were privileged to be invited to the Japanese ceremony which
was limited to a small group of close friends. We, of course, were friends of
the groom.
Later
I went with friends to Nagasaki to see ground zero. I could not, however, enter
the museum for I was told the pictures were too devastating so I stayed in the Peace Memorial Park outside of the
building.
Other
trips, many other trips, were
made with friends to the Noritake Factory
in Nagoya where we all bought china. Some bought several sets of china for it
was about one-tenth the price than stateside. Shopping at the factory was like
going to any mall on a Saturday . . . lots of browsing through china patterns
to find just the piece you were looking for to complete your set. The salesladies
wrapped each piece but you had to bring your own box or bag to carry it home.
I
had a set of china in storage back in MS and felt I didn’t need another so I
started just a teacup collection. Five years later when it was time to packout,
Ron told me if I ever wanted Noritake china, I better get it now . . . so he
went with me and the only complete set I could find on such short notice was Mendelsen. It was blue and I liked
Hunter Green but you take what you can get. I wished then that I had started my
buying much sooner.
We
also ventured to different little towns in the area for one reason or another.
There were lots of china stores and annual china sales that lined the streets.
Our
Bible study ladies had several picnics at Peacock
Park which was just up the road from our housing area of Hario.
And
then there was the pirate ship tour around the many islands of Sasebo.
One
of the most interesting of landmarks was the highway sign going from our
Hiagashisonogi Prefecture to Nagasaki. We were on the same longitude as
Charleston and Baghdad . . . very interesting. It brought a little bit of home
to Japan to see that Charleston was only a half a world away.
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