Colors of Sasebo

Our trip to Japan was not really a planned one. It so happened that Sherwin's Kairos Travel was able to hook us up with PAL fares on sale and the fact that we've missed Manami and Reggie terribly helped us come to the decision to go. The cherry blossom season was a very pleasant coincidence in all this. Our visit, from March 29 through April 26 was the longest we've vacationed in Japan and we loved it! We were able to escape the hot and humid weather of the Philippines for a few weeks.


Below shot was taken in the same spot a few days before we left.


With cherry blossoms:


With green leaves:


We had to do a little bit of research to find a church we'd be able to hear mass on Sundays. With Manami's help we found Miura-cho Catholic Church and it takes less than half an hour walk for me and Donna. After Saturday's anticipated 6 pm mass, we call Reggie and he picks us up and most of the time we go out to dinner afterwards. Of course, the whole mass is in Japanese but the ritual for Catholic masses all over the world is the same so we can follow the basic routine. One difference is that women church goers wear veils on their heads. The inside of the church is carpeted so parishioners have to leave their shoes in the foyer. Another thing worth mentioning is that the pews do not have any kneelers. People not seated on pews tend to squat on their legs Japanese style. Notice Donna (in white) is the only one kneeling?

Miura-cho was built on a hill which necessitates parishioners to climb up three flights of stairs to attend church. It's said that its roof was painted black during the war to prevent it from being bombed.


Whenever Reggie and Manami are not available to show us around, Donna and I take it upon ourselves to walk around Sasebo. There was even a time when we walked in the rain. Well, with umbrellas, of course.


Pictures below show the swollen creek and cherry blossoms on the ground.


But of course, a steaming bowl of ramen is an excellent conclusion of a cold and rainy day.


Robert made a comment on Facebook about a picture I took asking if it was the Tamaya Mall. At the time, Donna and I were at the Yonka-cho. At 1 km, it claims to be the longest straight covered shopping arcade in Japan going through 4 towns. Tamaya Mall is actually part of Yonka-cho.




I can't explain it but whenever I'm in Japan, I'm fascinated with graveyards and Japanese graves. The tombstones almost seem like sculptures and not what they actually signify - death.


What I'm going to miss most is the quality time we spent with Reggie and Manami. A day after we arrived, Manami quit work which made it better for us because she was able to be with us when Reggie's out working. We walked around Sasebo together, window shopping at the mall, picking up goodies at the 100 yen stores, shopping at the commissary and Navy exchange. Donna showed her how to cook more Filipino dishes. In fact the night before we left, Donna cooked so many dishes they wouldn't need to cook for weeks.


Here we were appreciating their gifts to us. Donna's watch, my cute leather bracelet with an 'M' which stood for Manami but now means Maniago after its change of ownership and of course the two really cool photo albums, not to mention my really light, thin and great Casio Exilim Z330! Right Manami?

Happy Mother's Day to all Moms!
Happy Birthday, Dan!
Happy Birthday, Reg!
Eph, yours is coming up soon!

Nagasaki

Last night, I watched the movie Death Proof on HBO by Quentin Tarantino, one of my favorite directors. Well most of it anyway. I think, I might have missed a few scenes while I was messing around with my computer. I remember seeing the last few minutes of the film before, but now having seen most of it, I love it! Zoe Bell, a stunt woman in real life, played herself in the movie and was one of the main characters. She doubled for Uma Thurman in the Kill Bill movies.

Note to Pareng James: can you please snatch a Death Proof DVD if you happen to see one at the swap meet? Thanks!

Sometime in 1976, when I was still in the Navy, I remember our ship, the USS White Plains AFS4, going underway from Yokosuka and pulling into Sasebo for some minor repairs, if I'm not mistaken. I can recall going on a tour with my shipmates to visit the world famous Nagasaki Peace Park. I may still have the grainy photographs, stored in Eph's garage somewhere, as evidence of the fact. But that was over 30 years ago so our trip to Sasebo this time was great. It's as if I'm visiting a brand new place.

A few weeks after their wedding last year, Reggie and Manami moved to Sasebo because he got transferred there to manage the newly opened Chili's Restaurant.

We got up early one morning to catch the 10 am bus ride to Nagasaki. It took about an hour and a half. It was a lot of walking after we got off the bus.

The first stop - The Peace Park

All I can remember is the Peace Statue, everything else is new! I don't remember the Fountain of Peace and the Peace Symbols Zone - pieces of sculptures donated by different countries as monuments of peace.


After taking a bunch of pictures at the Peace Park, we walked a block or so towards the A-bomb Hypocenter and Museum. This is new as well. Sorry, no picture taking allowed inside the museum.



It was already past noon when we finished and we headed towards Chinatown. We had lunch in one of the restaurants over there where we had Chinese food for a change. It wasn't Japanese but it wasn't too bad.


After lunch, we walked around some more, soaking in the City of Nagasaki, towards the general direction of the bus station. Manami and Reggie went to a huge mall next to the station before we finally got on a bus towards Sasebo.


And if you have more time after all that, check out the rest of my pics here.