1961: Started Making Cars In Yokosuka ... Nissan Oppama Plant

In 1961, Nissan automobile manufacturing company finished construction of a large factory , facing Tokyo Bay, in the northeastern section of Yokosuka City called: Oppama.

The Oppama Plant was built on the site of what was formerly the Japanese Imperial Navy's Yokosuka Air Station ..... and after Word War II, it was called U.S. Naval Air Facility Oppama.

This is from a 2014 Japan Times newspaper article:

"Even as Nissan increasingly shifts its manufacturing base overseas, its factories in Japan still play a vital role in spreading production know-how and training workers in other countries .... Nissan manufactured about 80 percent of its vehicles in Japan in the early ’90s .... Last year that figure was only about 20 percent .... 'The global role of Japanese plants used to be to function as the production base, but they have now become a base to develop manufacturing technologies and train people and have them spread the knowledge globally,' said Nissan Vice President Fumiaki Matsumoto .... For instance, the Oppama plant is tasked with finding ways to make production lines more efficient and sharing the know-how with overseas factories .... Also, the manufacturing process for new cars is first tested and tweaked at the Oppama plant before being introduced overseas, the firm said .... Rounding out the strategy, workers from abroad are brought to the plant for training in such skills as painting and parts assembly, as well as management .... about 1,500 Nissan workers have attended training sessions at the plant so far .... While the Oppama plant can churn out 240,000 cars a year, due to lack of demand it is currently operating at only about half that capacity"

Nissan's Oppama Plant is leading-edge, and one of Yokosuka's largest employers .... It also offers free factory tours.

2009 News Story on "Yokosuka Navy Burger"

Below is a U.S. Navy News Service story on the launch of Yokosuka's "Navy Burger" in January 2009 ..... As things turned out, the Navy Burger became a real hit product, and is now one of Yokosuka's top-level tourism items, drawing thousands of visitors from Tokyo and up the Keihin Kyuko tracks, especially on weekends and holidays.

The U.S. Navy Burger joined the Japanese Navy & JMSDF's "Navy Curry Rice" as popular specialty foods of Yokosuka. 

(* And just for the record .... I am the one who came up with the idea for Navy Burger, while working for RADM Kelly's staff .... I even wrote the recipe, after talking to some U.S. Navy cooks .... but it was others -- especially Yokosuka City government staffers -- who took the idea and gave it wings and made it fly...)

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YOKOSUKA, Japan (NNS) -- Local restaurants in Yokosuka are now offering the public authentic American style burgers, using a recipe provided by Commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan (CNFJ).  The burger, named "Yokosuka Navy Burger," is a new specialty food for Yokosuka.

Prior to launching initial sales of Yokosuka Navy Burger, the city of Yokosuka hosted a taste testing event at Tsunami Mexican Restaurant on Dobuita Street January 23, 2009.

"The purpose of the specialty burger is to promote tourism and to liven up the community," said Yokosuka City Planning and Coordination Division Director Kenji Yasuda.  "Yokosuka is well known as a U.S. Navy base town with an American atmosphere, but when tourists came to visit Yokosuka, we didn't have any special food that they could only eat here.  They tended to go to Yokohama's China Town or other places after stopping by Yokosuka.  So we would like them to stay longer in Yokosuka and enjoy food here."

After Yokosuka Mayor Ryoichi Kabaya received a recipe for the Yokosuka Navy Burger from CNFJ Rear Admiral James Kelly in November 2008, Yokosuka City officials asked restaurants around Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka to cooperate with the city's revitalization project.  Four restaurants started offering the specialty burger January 30, 2009.  By the middle of February, customers will be able to order them at 10 local restaurants, according to Yasuda.

To be authorized by the city of Yokosuka to make and sell the Navy Burger, restaurants need to abide by the following rules:

  - Meat has to be 100 percent beef with 20 percent fat.
  - Don't use too much spices, but use salt and pepper.
  - Buns need to have white sesame seeds on the top.
  - Don't include ketchup and mustard on the burger but have it available for customers to use if desired.
  - Don't mix milk, bread crumbs and eggs into the ground beef (usual for Japanese burgers).

According to Yasuda, city officials wondered if all the restaurants would come up with the same taste.  But they didn't.  All the restaurants successfully made their own unique Navy Burger.

Tsunami Restaurant owner and Chef Shigeru Iida and his wife Keiko searched for the best way to make the Navy Burger following the rules.  Iida said it was very challenging to make unique burgers which would stand out among others.  Iida put a lot of time and labor into producing their high-quality Navy Burger.

"We use natural marine yeast of Miura [Peninsula] for our buns, which is chewy and very tasty," said Iida.  "We also make ketchup and special mayonnaise using American mayonnaise.  So, hopefully it will be new [not only for Japanese] but for the Americans as well."

Iida also came up with unique naming for his burgers. In recognition of the 7th Fleet, Iida will have seven kinds of Navy Burgers at the restaurant.

"The biggest burger's name is 'George Washington,' which weighs about 500 gram (17 ounces)," Iida said.  Smaller sizes are also available.

"We also would like U.S. servicemen and their families to come out into town and enjoy eating out and shopping," said Yasuda.  "With more Americans out in town, more tourists can enjoy the American atmosphere, which will also help liven up the community."

The Shogun Navy's first sail and screw-driven steamship --- Kanrin Maru 咸臨丸

Built in the Netherlands, and delivered to Japan in 1857, Kanrin Maru was the escort ship that accompanied the Japanese diplomatic members on their voyage across the Pacific Ocean.

In January 1860, the ship departed Uraga (Yokosuka) with approximately 90 crew under the command of Commander Settsunokami Kimura and Captain Rintaro Katsu.

It was a Japanese crew's first experience making such a long voyage and they faced considerable hardships, including severe weather, during the difficult crossing.  But with the aid of an American naval crew, and its officer Captain Brooke, the Japanese sailors were able to arrive safely in San Francisco on February 22nd, 37 days after their initial departure from Japan.

The crew of the Kanrin Maru was warmly welcomed by the people of San Francisco who were very impressed by the spirit of their unusual guests from Japan.

Repairs were made to the ship, and on the 19th of March they set sail for their return to Japan.  On May 5th, this time without facing any major storms, the crew arrived in Uraga.

The first voyage and return across the Pacific by a group of Japanese had been successfully completed.

Among the crew the vessel was the interpreter John Manjiro, and Yukichi Fukuzawa, who is remembered for founding Keio University.

Kanrin Maru, en route the U.S., in a bad storm

Kanrin Maru memorial, located in Atagoyama Park in Uraga

Oto Tachibana Hime (弟橘媛) --- A woman who sacrificed herself for her husband

At Yokosuka's Hashirimizu Shrine, there is a monument related to the "King Arthur-like" Yamato Takeru...

Yamato Takeru, Japanese folk hero, noted for his courage and ingenuity, who may have lived in the 2nd century AD.  His tomb at Ise is known as the Mausoleum of the White Plover.  The legendary son of the legendary 12th emperor Keikō, Yamato Takeru was supposedly responsible for expanding the territory of the Yamato court.  He subdued two uncouth Kumaso (barbarian) warriors by cleverly disguising himself as a woman and, at a banquet in his honour, killing them while they were drunk.  He cut away the burning grass of a fire set by the Ainu tribesmen with the miraculous sword "Kusanagi" and escaped.  His adventures ended on the plains of Tagi, where he was stricken with illness and, according to legend, changed into a white plover and disappeared from the world.

Here it is:

The monument is in the shape of a ship's rudder, and it is said to offer protection and safety to those who make their living by sailing on the unpredictable and dangerous waves of the ocean ..... and the figure shown in the metal plate picture is: Oto Tachibana Hime ..... who, back in the legendary days, was the wife (or concubine) of Yamato Takeru...

So, here is the story .....  Yamato Takeru, deployed on one of his barbarian-bashing military campaigns, was returning on a ship (along with his retinue) crossing Tokyo Bay from the Chiba-side to the Kanagawa-side (Yokosuka) ..... and then a huge storm occurred, which threatened to sink the ship and drown everyone aboard ..... until, that is, when Oto Tachibana Hime jumped into the sea, offering herself to the ocean god ..... at which point, everything calmed down, and Yamato Takeru & Co. made safe landfall at Yokosuka's small (but important) Hashirimizu Bay....

           














This legendary story about female sacrifice & loyalty, as well as offering good luck for mariners, has been taken up by Hashirimizu Shrine, which has become a popular "power spot" in Yokosuka, selling charms and amulets to a host of visitors ..... Of note, the shrine, and its story, was also inspirational to the Japan Imperial Navy, which erected a large stone monument (endorsed with calligraphy from Russo-Japan War hero, Admiral Togo, and others) at a spot overlooking Tokyo Bay....

動物愛護の碑 Dobutsu Aigo No Hi ..... Animal Protection Monument

There are several interesting monuments located in Suwa Park, which is located on a small bluff right across from the main gate of Yokosuka navy Base

The one shown below is unusual, as it is not related to the Japan Imperial Navy or an important famous person ..... It is called  動物愛護の碑  "Dobutsu Aigo No Hi" ..... Animal Protection Monument.

It turns out that back in the early days of the 20th Century, a small zoo was located at the current location of Suwa Park ..... reportedly Japanese soldiers and sailors returning from the war with Russia brought back some bears, goats, sheep, monkeys, and pheasants ..... and  those animals were put into what became the zoo ..... the three bears, in particular, were very popular with the local Yokosuka people.

Sadly, however, during World War II, it became harder and harder to feed and maintain the animals, especially the meat-eating bears, there was also worry that the zoo could be destroyed by an air raid ..... so, in 1944, the bears were shot and the zoo was closed.

In 1985, the above-pictured monument was built as a to remember the shot bears, as well as the souls of pets, and those of other animals killed by accidents caused by humans and automobiles, etc.

Of note, even unto this day, every year, the first Sunday of November, the Japan Humane Society holds a memorial service at the Dobutsu Aigo No Hi, which is said to be built on the site where the bear cage used to be located....