Yokosuka's New Connection With Nepal

For those who have lived in Yokosuka over the past 10 years, one noticeable trend has been the appearance of numerous Indian Curry restaurants .... There are over a dozen of them now, all small businesses, and often built in old Japanese shops which had closed .... Names like Nirvana, Delicious, Sarina, Gorkha Palace, Lotus, Kalika, etc.

And it turns out the people who run these establishments are actually from Nepal.

Japan is aging and its population getting smaller, so it is beginning the experience a serious labor shortage, and the government has revised immigration laws to allow more foreigners to come work and live in Japan.

Not sure how things developed, but looks like some of the Nepali restaurant managers must have reached-out to Yokosuka City government with a proposal to help actualize the National Government's new foreign labor policy.

What subsequently happened is that Yokosuka signed a three-year immigrant labor agreement (memorandum of understanding) with Bharatpur City in south-central Nepal. 

Yokosuka Mayor Kamiji traveled to Nepal (15-19 October 2019) to meet with National Government officials, and then went to to Bharatpur for a signing ceremony with Mayor Dahal.

Don't know the details of the agreement, but its intent is to bring more Nepalis into Yokosuka to work at local small- and medium-sized Japanese businesses which are suffering due to the overall labor shortage.

         

                

No Summer Fireworks In 2020

According to a 05 December 2019 Kanagawa Shimbun newspaper report, Yokosuka's large annual fireworks ( 花火 Hana-Bi ) display, which happens during the early-August  会国際  "Kai-Koku-Sai" festival, will be cancelled in 2020.

The reason being that most of the Yokosuka-area police will be up in Tokyo helping with security for the 2020 Olympics.

Kai-Koku means "Opening of the Country" .... and it refers to the arrival of the U.S. Navy "Black Ships" off of Yokosuka (Uraga Bay) in 1853, which served as the historic first step to "open" Japan to international trade and relations, after over 220 years of isolation.

The Kai-Koku summer festival is Yokosuka's largest, and draws over 200,000 visitors to see thousands of fire works getting launched, as well as parades, concerts, and performances .... Additionally, both U.S. Navy an JMSDF bases and ships are opened for public visitation, which is a big draw for visitors from outside of Yokosuka and all around Japan.

     

       

2020 Tokyo Olympics Training Spot In Yokosuka

For some of the Olympic shooting events athletes, training is available among the greenery & flowers of Yokosuka's  くりはま花の国  "Kurihama Hana No Kuni" .... Kurihama Flower Park .... An area which was formerly property of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the converted into a park (like some other places in the City.)

From the website: 

"Kurihama Flower Park Shooting Range standards are approved by the National Rifle Association of Japan.  This indoor facility is a converted air raid shelter fitted with electronic targets and soundproofing to maintain stable conditions that will allow you to stay completely focused while training.  In addition, a training room, pool, and gym amenities are available within walking distance, to ensure multiple types of training necessary for competitive air rifle shooting (the training room and pool near the park are about 500 meters away from the shooting range, and Minami Gymnasium is about 800 meters away).  Meeting rooms are also available in Kurihama Flower Park Pool and at Minami Gymnasium.  Every year, competitions to decide Japan's air rifle and air pistol ranking are held in Kurihama Flower Park Shooting Range."

https://pregamestraining.tokyo2020.jp/en/module/camp/facilities/8784fe18e8659839c7af7e235544a909

Four Former Imperial Navy Ports

Below is the symbol for the four Japanese port cities which hosted major bases and shipyards for the Japan Imperial Navy (JIN).

They are: Yokosuka, Sasebo, Kure, and Maizuru.

In Sasebo, Kure, and Maizuru, the former JIN shipyards, maintenance facilities and dry-docks were taken over by private companies.

In the case of Yokosuka, however, things remained under U.S. Navy control and managed as a Naval Ship Repair Facility: https://www.srf.navy.mil/

The U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility Japan Regional Maintenance Center (SRF-JRMC)’s proud tradition and "root" were firmly implanted in 1865 under the patronage of the Tokugawa Shogunate when the "Yokosuka Iron Works" was established.  Since that time, the shop and waterfront facilities have been extensively developed and expanded.  During World War II, the shipyard was one of the largest shipbuilding and repair sites of the Imperial Japanese Navy, employing over 40,000 people and building over 100 combatant ships.  Among these were the 62,000 ton carrier Shinano, along with 10 other aircraft carriers, the 33,800 ton battleship Mutsu, and six other battleships, six cruisers and 20 submarines.

The facility was opened by U.S. Forces on Apr. 28, 1947 as the "Ship Repair Department" Fleet Activities, Yokosuka, with an Officer-in-Charge and a staff of 75 U.S. Navy personnel and 576 former Japanese Imperial Navy employees.  At that time the facility occupied about 72 acres, approximately one quarter of the former Imperial Japanese Naval Shipyard.

On Aug. 15,1951, the facility was officially designated the "U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility" by the U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, and a Commanding Officer was assigned. 

Today the facility employs both U.S. military and U.S. civilian personnel as well as over 2,000 full-time Japanese Nationals who are assigned throughout the organization, including top management.

Dry-docking facilities can support timely dry-docking of most ships in the U.S. Navy inventory. Facilities include six dry docks with a combined displacement of 530,000 tons, 19 wet berth locations, 10 industrial buildings with combined workshop space of 730,000 square feet, and 15,300 combined feet of pier to support maintenance.

Small And Right In The Middle Of Urbanity

Walking after exiting the very busy Keikyu Yokosuka Chuo train station, and only a few blocks away I came across a small shrine, sandwiched between a busy road and a large parking lot .... a tiny bit of green serenity in the middle of all the concrete .... even with a tree loaded with Japanese みかん "mikan" citrus fruit...

     

Multiple vermilion-colored 鳥居 "torii" gates .... Inari shrines typically have many torii because those who have been successful in business often donate in gratitude a torii to Inari, kami of fertility and industry .... so I walked inside to pay respects...

The wash basin for ritual cleansing before approaching the altar .... marked with the characters 奉納 "Ho-no", meaning to make an offering or dedication...

     

I later talked to a local historian who said that in the old days, there were many large gas and fuel tanks situated in what is now the adjacent parking lot, and the regional headquarters building of Tokyo Gas Company (owner of the tanks) is still located close-by .... The small shrine was likely built to pray for safe operations in handling the gas .... and has remained in place while everything else around it transformed... 

O-Mikoshi Parade

This past October, on Sunday the 20th, Yokosuka City held its 43rd Annual Portable Shrine ( お神輿 "O-Mikoshi" ) parade

Dozens of shrines & neighborhood associations from around the Yokosuka and Miura Peninsula areas participate .... and the O-Mikoshi's are carried down the main street and then into the U.S. Navy and JMSDF base

And, I believe this is the only place in Japan where one of the portable shrines is exclusively carried by Americans -- mainly sailors and civilians from Yokosuka Navy Base

Last Days Of A Political Art Object

There is a large and distinct-looking memorial located on a bluff overlooking Yokosuka's downtown harbor district.

Part of Yokosuka's 中央公園  "Chuo Koen" or Central Park .... really good view from there, overlooking Tokyo Bay .... the site was originally developed & used by Japan Imperial Army's coastal defense heavy artillery regiment

Earlier related post in this blog:

https://deepyokosuka.blogspot.com/2017/09/mysterious-monument.html

Well, a decision has been made by the City to remove the monument in January 2020 as part of a park renewal project .... Lack of maintenance and safety cited as the cause.  But it will be replaced by another "Hope For Peace" monument during 2020.

The soon-to-be removed 20-meters-tall structure is an artistic statement against atomic bombs .... And it was funded as part of Yokosuka City's declaration to be "Peace City For Abolition Of Nuclear Weaapons" in 1989

Made of stainless steel, the monument was erected in 1992, at a cost of about $1.4 million (about a fourth of which came from private donations.)

It was designed by a famous Yokosuka native sculptor, the late-Hiroyuki MOGAMI.   

Also designed by MOGAMI, at Yokohama's Landmark Tower 

     

Tri-Color Battleship

Yokosuka's Mikasa Park .... And the old memorial battleship is being lit-up, Red, White, and Blue, from 06-13 December 2019.

Part of a collaboration with the Yokohama Marinos soccer team.

Yokosuka also is closely tied to the Yokohama DeNA Baystars baseball team.

Homes for Americans

The U.S. Navy (over 20,000 personnel) has been operating from Yokosuka for over 70 years .... American influence can be seen (felt) in the Dobuita (Honch) shopping & entertainment district located downtown, just outside the main gate to the Navy base...

The other, noticeable, evidence of U.S. presence in Yokosuka are the high-rise housing buildings which have been built in the downtown area.

A prototypical example is Liberty Cove House .... a huge apartment building which was erected right next to JR Yokosuka Station....   

http://www.liberty-cove-house.com/

Liberty Cove's Blog also introduces temporary American residents to Japan's culture...  Some examples...

http://www.liberty-cove-house.com/blog/?p=4120

http://www.liberty-cove-house.com/blog/?p=4118

Sukajan ... Yokosuka's Bomber Jacket

One of the America things which has sort of worked its way into Yokosuka's (and Japan's) cultural fabric is the  "Sukajan"  スカジャン

You can read more about it here:

https://www.nippon.com/en/guide-to-japan/gu900245/

Yokosuka Original

Emblazoned with intricately embroidered images of fierce tigers, glowering hawks, smoldering dragons, and myriad other creatures, Japan’s iconic satin bomber jackets are eye-catching items. Known as sukajan, their distinct designs—an amalgam of Japanese and American fashion—have garnered generations of loyal fans and inspired versions by the likes of Louis Vuitton and Gucci.

Sukajan have evolved to become their own fashion genre, but their roots can be traced back to a shopping arcade in the Honchō district of Yokosuka in Kanagawa Prefecture. It was along Dobuita Street, which sits at the doorstep of a major US naval base, that “Yokosuka jumpers”—later shortened to sukajan—first appeared in the early postwar period.

===============

Basically, in the late-1940's, during the U.S.-led Occupation of Japan, local merchants in Yokosuka used brightly-colored cloth pieces from kimonos to sew-together jackets and shirts .... The jackets came to be called Sukajan, using the "suka" from Yokosuka and "jan", short for jumper (jacket)

Sister Cities

Yokosuka has an active international sister city program with the municipalities shown below...

City of Corpus Christi (/Texas, the United States)
Partner October 18, 1962

City of Brest (/Finistere, France)
Partner November 26, 1970

City of Fremantle (/Western Australia, Australia)
Partner April 25, 1979

City of Medway (/Kent, the U.K.)
Partner August 26, 1998

https://www.city.yokosuka.kanagawa.jp.e.rb.hp.transer.com/2210/g_info/l100050650.html

Shogun mini-series being reborn at FX

https://winteriscoming.net/2018/08/07/game-thrones-director-adapt-shogun-fx/

This is from the link above (can't wait to watch it):

According to Entertainment Weekly, FX is adapting the "Shōgun" mini-series, and they’ve tapped "Game of Thrones" director Tim Van Patten to helm multiple episodes.

Van Patten directed the first and second-ever episodes of Thrones, so he didn’t stick around Westeros long, but he made his time count .... Novelist and screenwriter Ronan Bennett will write the FX’s adaptation .... Here’s the network’s official synopsis:

[Shōgun] charts the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai: John Blackthorne, a risk-taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him; Lord Toranaga, a shrewd, powerful daimyo, at odds with his own dangerous, political rivals; and Lady Mariko, a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties, who must prove her value and allegiance.

Hollywood has come under fire in recent years for its depiction of Asian characters, and a story about about Japanese culture that revolves around a white guy may not be the best way to course correct .... however, the new adaptation will focus on a diversity of viewpoints, rather than zeroing in on Blackthorne’s perspective, as the 1980 adaptation did

The story will be told from multiple points of view .... there’s an opportunity to tell the story of two cultures in a way that wasn’t done before...

The Life of William Adams turned into a novel and TV mini-series

Just a couple stops to the north of the large/central "Yokosuka Chuo" Keihin Kyuko train station are "Hemi" and "Anjin-Zuka" stations .... both are located in the fief which William Adams was granted by the Tokugawa Shogun .... The scenic hills which loom above the stations have hiking trails, and some lead to the park where Adams and his wife are memorialized by large gravestones .... apparently, the locally-famous grave site was sort of lost to outside history/attention until being rediscovered by an Englishman from the foreigners settlement in Yokohama, during the late-19th Century...            

= = = = =

"Shōgun" is an American television miniseries based on the 1975 novel of the same name by James Clavell, who also was the executive producer of the miniseries. It was first broadcast in the United States on NBC over five nights between September 15 and September 19, 1980. To date, it is the only American television production to be filmed on location entirely in Japan, with additional sound stage filming also taking place in Japan at the Toho studio.

The miniseries is loosely based on the adventures of English navigator William Adams, who journeyed to Japan in 1600 and rose to high rank in the service of the shōgun. The miniseries follows fictional Englishman John Blackthorne's transforming experiences and political intrigues in feudal Japan in the early 17th century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shōgun_(1980_miniseries)

William Adams --- Miura Anjin --- An Incredible Story

If you want to learn about the amazing real-life saga from the early=1600s, about  "三浦按針 Miura Pilot" or "Blue-eyed Samurai William Adams", here is the first thing you should read (published by Yokosuka City Government):

Link to PDF:  Sans titre (clvaw-cdnwnd.com)

More below...

= = = = =

William Adams, known in Japan as Miura Anjin ('Pilot'), is thought to be the first Englishman to have set foot in Japan.

Born in Gillingham, Kent in 1564 Adams started work as an apprentice in a shipyard in Limehouse, London at age twelve. After twelve years of study of astronomy, navigation and shipbuilding, Adams joined the Royal Navy under the command of Sir Francis Drake and saw service against the Spanish Armada in 1588.

Aged thirty four, Adams joined a Dutch expedition of five ships to the East Indies as a pilot. After various adventures off the coasts of Africa and South America, only one ship of the original flotilla, the Liefde, with a crew of just twenty, starving men arrived off the coast of Kyushu.

Resisting pressure from Portuguese Jesuits, who wanted the men put to death as pirates, the surviving crew were imprisoned in Osaka Castle on the orders of Ieyasu Tokugawa and the Japanese authorities.

Summoned to meet Ieyasu, Adams impressed the future Shogun with his knowledge of ships and navigation and was released from confinement.

In 1604, Ieyasu ordered Adams to build Japan's first western-style vessel and over time the two men's relationship strengthened as Adams built more ships and lead trading expeditions, the so-called "Red Seal" voyages, on behalf of the Shogun to Thailand and Vietnam in South East Asia.  Eventually Adams was granted the title of "hatamoto" -- a samurai in direct service of the Shogun -- and granted lands and servants in Hemi, near present-day Yokosuka.

Although married in England, Adams took a Japanese wife, possibly called Oyuki, the daughter of a highway official, with whom he had two children - Joseph and Susanna. Adams also had a consort in Nagasaki with whom he had another child born after his death, as during the latter part of his life Adams became estranged from his Japanese wife.

Adams was influential as a translator in the setting up of Dutch and English trading stations in Hirado and Nagasaki, though the English 'factory' at Hirado (1613-1623) proved unprofitable and was abandoned.

Adams was unable to establish a good relationship with the English representative in Japan, John Saris, who disliked Adams for his adoption of a Japanese lifestyle and habits.  Adams advised against Hirado (a small island off Nagasaki) as a permanent trading post and favored Uraga (Yokosuka) much nearer to Edo (present-day Tokyo).  Adams refused to return to England with Saris, due to his dislike of the man.

Adams died in Hirado aged 55 and his tomb and memorial stone look out over the sea. A stone from his wife's grave in the UK was brought over so the two could be united in some way.

Adams was largely forgotten in Japan after his death and is mostly known to Westerners nowadays due to his depiction in James Clavell's best-selling novel Shogun, and then the TV mini-series of the same name.

https://www.japanvisitor.com/japanese-culture/famous-japanese/william-adams

Take a closer look at Yokosuka's scenic Tsuka-yama Park, which is the site of a memorial gravesite for the "Miura Anjin" .... The Amazing Story of Williams Adams.

A sculpture by the famous Sumikawa

Here and there, around Yokosuka are works of art, mostly sculptures .... called オブジェ (Japanization of French: "objet d'art")

One such sculpture is located a few block away from Keihin Kyuko Yokosuka Chuo Station, located on a corner of the intersection leading to Yonegahama (in front of a CoCo Ichiban Curry Rice restaurant) .... It is entitled 譜 ("FU", which means musical note or score) .... and sure enough, it is shaped like a musical note

"Why a musical note?" .... Well, Yokosuka has prided itself on being one of the birthplaces of modern jazz music, as Japanese musicians flocked to Yokosuka after the end of World War II to learn and play jazz & big band music to entertain U.S. sailors and troops in places like the "EM Club" (see the earlier entry in this blog)    

Turns out that this work of art 譜 was created by Kiichi Sumikawa, who is totally famous in Japan .... born in 1931, very prolific, winner of numerous prizes & awards, served as president of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts & Music .... and, he was the design director for Tokyo Skytree...

Link about Skytree:  https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3064.html

Return Gift from U.S. for Cherry Trees: Dogwood Trees

For as long as the U.S. Navy has been located in Yokosuka, there are remarkably few permanent signs of its presence, which mostly is confined to the areas inside the base fence-lines ..... Yes, there is the Dobu-ita/Honch bar, restaurant, and entertainment district in the downtown area ..... but apart from that, not much to show that 23,000-or-so people from America have been living and working here for over 70 years...

However, there ARE the 25 dogwood trees, brought all the way across the Pacific Ocean, and planted along Route 16 in front of Yokosuka City Hall in December 2014 ..... They are still small and several years away from blooming, but some day they will, and then they will be eye-pleasing symbols of Yokosuka's ties with the U.S.

Here is the story:

Quote:

In 1912, Tokyo gave the United States a gift of 3,000 cherry trees as a token of friendship between the two nations.  Over time, these beautiful trees have become an iconic symbol of our nation’s capital and a very visible reminder of the deep bond between the United States and Japan.  Even though the average life-span of a cherry tree is 60 years, some of the original trees are still living today; they are an emblem of the longevity and strength of our bilateral relationship.

In commemoration of this gift, and in anticipation of the next 100 years of U.S. – Japan friendship, the people of the United States would like to express our gratitude by offering a gift of 3,000 dogwood trees to the people of Japan through the Friendship Blossoms Initiative.  These dogwood trees will be planted in Tokyo and all over Japan, including in the Tohoku region recovering from the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, as an enduring symbol of our friendship.

Twenty-five Friendship Blossoms dogwood trees were planted along Route 16 and in Yokosuka Shiyaku-sho-mae Park in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture on December 10, 2014.  Since 1962, Yokosuka has been a sister city of Corpus Christi, Texas and for the last 42 years has exchanged two high school students annually. The dogwood trees were requested with the goal of increasing awareness of cultural and educational exchanges between the two countries.

Unquote.

Friendship Blossoms—Dogwood Tree Initiative — United States-Japan Bridging Foundation

The dogwood tree is famous in the Southern region of the United States for its flowering beauty and cool shade.  The blossom, a four pointed white blossom tinged with red at each edge, is the state flower of North Carolina. In the fall, the leaves turn brilliant shades of scarlet to reddish purple and bright red fruit appears in small clusters.  The fruit is not very tasty for humans, but is usually devoured by birds.  Dogwood bark has long been considered to have medicinal properties as a fever reducer.  The wood of the dogwood tree is very hard and durable and has been used to make various items including tool handles and golf clubs.

Newly-planted dogwood sapling, 12/10/2014

A view of the tree planting ceremony

Former Mayor Yuto Yoshida in the middle 

       

The Kamikaze Base that changed into a Family Facility

In 1945, Japan Imperial Navy built an airfield along the west coast of Yokosuka .... Nagai Naval Air Base .... It was supposed to help defend against an invasion of mainland Japan by U.S. & Allied Forces, including preparations to for Kamikaze attacks using the "Oka" manned bomb-plane .... as it turned out, WW-II ended before Nagai Naval Air Station was actually used .... after the war, it was converted into a family housing area for the U.S. Navy, and it was used that way until 1983 .... more recently, a large portion of the land was turned into a children-oriented "Le Soleil Park" (Soleil No Oka Koen)...

https://en.japantravel.com/kanagawa/le-soleil-amusement-park-yokosuka/4011     

Undated photo shows Nagai Air Base runway  

Post-WW2 photo of "Oka" manned bomb-plane

How the Oka was supposed to be used

Overhead view of USN Nagai Housing Area

Another view of Nagai housing ... Look At The Cliff !!

Yasuura Park

安浦公園

A tall, pole-mounted, clock
Stands next to the tree,
Both measure time's
Passing differently,
The clock's face is
Simple and stark,
Above a memorial to the
Dead who made the park,
Which used to be ocean
Before it was filled,
And during that work
The men were killed....

https://carllafong.blogspot.com/2018/12/blog-post_30.html

Much of the eastern part of Yokosuka City, facing Tokyo Bay, sits on land reclaimed from the sea .... the landfill work really got started back in the 19th Century, after Yokosuka was selected to be the site of a major Naval Base .... and it continued, in stages, all the way through 1992...

(Light-yellow hatched areas are landfill, Navy Base is gray)

A Look Back at Christmas, as Viewed from Yokosuka....

So this is Christmas...

"BLUF" (Bottom Line Up Front) .... It is many things, but not a vacation .... This year, Japanese people will go to work on Christmas Day, as if it were a regular, non-special, Tuesday .... and the week which follows will be real busy, as preparations go into full-gear for the New Years holidays and celebrations...​​
​​
But Christmas certainly is observed in Japan, and the whole thing starts on 01 November, the day after Halloween .... Japanese love to arrange, decorate, and wrap things in paper, especially in concert with nature and the changing of the seasons .... there is also a long-standing tradition of gift-giving...​​
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So, in recent years, Halloween has become an occasion to decorate one's home with all sorts of exotic & spooky objects, in the autumn colors of orange, yellow, brown, and black .... there are also parades and street parties where people in costumes frolic into the late night hours...​​
​​
Then Halloween is finished, and, up-next is Christmas .... and since there is no Thanksgiving in Japan (no turkeys either), the stores put away the Halloween merchandise and quickly bring-out the Christmas stuff .... and thereafter, for the whole month of November and into December, Christmas decorations, trees, lights, knick-knacks, gifts, and music become part of the fabric of each passing, increasingly cold, day...​​
​​
Nighttime lighting, e.g., neon, has always been a thing in Tokyo .... so, as Christmas started taking root, the idea of stringing-up colored lights as part of a holiday decoration was enthusiastically accepted, and, along with the introduction of energy-efficient LEDs, resulted in the emergence of "Illuminations", which are incredible & humongous, holiday light displays .... this link shows some of the best ones in Tokyo:         ​​
​​
https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/top-10-picks-for-best-winter-illuminations-in-tokyo/ The Top 10 Picks for Tokyo Winter Illuminations 2018 | Tokyo Cheapo - Tokyo Cheapo | The Ultimate Guide To Tokyo

We’re not trying to squash the romance and wonder of the season, but Tokyo winter illuminations have become something of an arms race with the various districts trying to out-gun each other with more and more fantastically produced illuminations.
tokyocheapo.com
​​
The Illuminations start by mid-November, with some going through Christmas Eve, some until New Year's Eve, and others continuing into January & February .... So, by late-November, Christmas merchandise & decorations are in the stores, PA systems are playing loops of holiday music, and there are gorgeous night-lights here and there around the city .... it is becoming sort of ubiquitous...

In particular, this odd song by Paul McCartney:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9BZDpni56Y​​

So, what is this all leading to...?​​
​​
Well, a slight detour must be made for TO-JI (冬至)　Winter Solstice .... It is observed in Japan, as are all major milestones in Nature's calendar .... but TO-JI never evolved into a special celebration or festival, and instead is apparently observed by sitting in hot bath with a bunch of floating YUZU (柚 a type of citrus fruit)​​

Right after the Solstice, on 23 December, is the Heisei Emperor Akihito's birthday, which is a national holiday .... and this day off allows the Japanese to, in effect, start celebrating Christmas, with the focus being on Christmas Eve...​​
​​
At this point, several things start happening .... all of them activities, or "traditions", which Japan has worked into its own and unique version of Christmas, and they occur during the mainly evening hours of 23-24 December:​​
​​
  (1) Christmas cake: The prototypical Christmas cake is two or three layers of vanilla sponge cake with white cream frosting and covered with strawberries .... there are also chocolate versions, and some other variations .... but the point is to buy the cake and eat it with your family, or loved one(s), on Christmas Eve (and no later) .... lots of cakes are made, and there are special booths which sell them, and a lot of time-challenged people lining up to buy them, before the clock strikes 12...     ​​
​​
  (2) Kentucky Fried Chicken: Since most Japanese homes do not have ovens, especially those large enough to cook a whole bird .... and, Japanese are vaguely aware of Americans eating those "huge" turkeys .... well, the Kentucky Fried Chicken company definitely saw a business opportunity, and it started selling "holiday" buckets of chicken, with all the fixings .... needless to say, you just can't walk into KFC and expect to get one of those on Christmas Eve .... No, you need to order your special/festive fried chicken meal in advance, or otherwise stand in line to get some (just like those in the other line for the Christmas cakes) ​​
​​
  (3) Santa Claus & Presents: Many Japanese families with small children have adopted the tradition of faking-out their kids about the existence Santa Claus and setting-up a Christmas tree and buying presents, etc., but the majority of the trees are definitely made of plastic (most with LED lights already embedded) .... and not all parents do the gifts-below-the-tree thing, and instead take their children to "Toys-R-Us" (yes, it still exists as a profitable company in Japan), and let the kids choose .... then, it's off to KFC and the cake store...            ​​
​​
  (4) Christmas Eve Date Night: I don't know how this one came about, but, if you are a Japanese person in your late-teens or early-20's, it seems that you are REQUIRED to go on a romantic date during Christmas Eve .... pretty much all the nice restaurants are totally booked, well in advance, by guys trying to make a good impression .... and one thing which might have contributed to this phenomenon is that many Japanese companies pay year-end bonuses during mid-December, so there is some disposable income available to pay for expensive meals, gifts, and hotel rooms...​​
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So, that is it, Christmas (Eve) in Japan .... and I would like to take this opportunity to wish a Merry Christmas to all of you Japan-gazer readers .... and best wishes for 2019!

High Culture at Kannonzaki

It may be a bit of a surprise to some, but Yokosuka City has a very well-conceived and constructed Museum of Art ..... here is its website:

http://www.yokosuka-moa.jp/information_english/

One person who visited the museum a few years ago had the following to say:

"Located off of seaside Route 16 ..... The museum is surrounded by natural beauty ..... the main entrance faces Tokyo Bay with walkways along the perimeter that lead to a secondary access located on the rooftop terrace surrounded by lush Yokosuka mountains ..... The steel-grated rooftop walkway design reminded me of a splash of water with its unexpected curves leading you to the sky blue views of the bay and observatory entrance ..... The exhibit spaces are nested in white boxes with circle shaped cutout windows, all encased in glass walls that invite in the natural light ..... Traditional Japanese fabric dividers, “noren”, hang between the Special Exhibit Halls on the main floor ..... The rest of the gallery can be viewed at basement level where most of the pristine white walls stretch to the second floor ceiling"

The rest of the description is at this link:

https://en.japantravel.com/kanagawa/yokosuka-museum-of-art-acquamare/6017

Yokosuka's Museum of Art opened in 2007, in the rich natural surroundings of Kannonzaki Park, and as part of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the foundation of Yokosuka City ..... It has become well-known as a top-level "Scenic Art Museum" in Japan ..... it also hosts “ACQUAMARE”, a high-class Italian restaurant ..... I remember that the museum came to be built due to the insistent leadership of then-Yokosuka Mayor Hideo Sawada ..... although some of his constituents were opposed to spending so many millions of city funds on an "impractical" facility, Sawada strongly felt that an blue-collar navy town like Yokosuka deserved to have some high culture, and so he pushed the project through to completion...

叶神社 Kano Jinja

There are a pair of famous old Yokosuka shrines which face each other across Uraga Bay.

East Kano Shrine and West Kano Shrine.

"叶"  the kanji character used in the name of the shrines, is normally pronounced "kana-u", and means to have a wish or prayer come true.

West Kano Shrine is adorned with some very intricate and beautiful woodcarving decorations of dragons, elephants, and sumo wrestlers.

It was founded on the current site back in the 12th century, and the current building was constructed in 1842.

A large copper lantern was presented to the Shrine and paid-for by contributions from the local red light district.

The Kano Shrines are considered “power spots” ... and many people buy good luck charms and amulets during their visits.

They are rivals, but also have a business arrangement where you buy a lucky stone (maga-tama) at the west shrine, but then you need to go to the east shrine to buy the small decorative cloth bag to contain it ..... and there is a cool WATER TAXI which can take you across Uraga Bay to complete the purchase.

Here is what a maga-tama looks like:

The shrine's Japanese website:

http://kanoujinja.p1.bindsite.jp/