Midway (CVA 41) - Naval Cruise Book

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It stands to reason that Japan is the high point of any ship ' s Western Pacific cruise. Here is a way of life so different from ours that each day is full of new experiences, sights, sounds, and, of course, smells. Yokosuka, our first contact with the Orient, is, there is no doubt about it, a tourist trap to end all others. Souvenir Alley is an ingenious spider web spun solely to lure the happy-go-lucky grasshopper in search of fun and frolic. The only warmth on this street comes from the hundreds of garish neon signs beck- oning the loud, laughing, (but lonely) white hat. Painted smiles on painted lips fade quickly when the pockets become empty. But this, despite its geographic location, is not Japan. A quick trip on the modern electric trains, and one finds himself set back several centuries. At Kamakura, we find something new and strange. At one time the capital of Japan, it still remains a city of prime importance to the religious of the country. The giant bronze statue of Buddha is world famous, and during an average summer season, sixty thousand pilgrims a day tread the ancient paths to pay homage to their god. Kimono-clad women are a feast to the eyes, and the clip-clop of thousands of geta-ed feet is a symphony that is played no where else in the world. Perhaps one of the most striking facts that hits a foreigner is the hap- piness and pure fun that is so evident in the family expeditions. The squalor in which they live is forgotten, and, at least for a day, the heavy loads are eased from their backs as four generations have their picture taken together in front of the great Buddha. The natural color of evergreens and mountains is a fitting backdrop for the magnificent montage of vivid colors of shrines and shops. Back on the train, and another half hour ride brings us to Tokyo. By now the largest city on the face of the earth, it is a unique city. The sparkle of the night lights is a dazzling and memorable sight. Skyscrapers and modern buildings are as fine as any in the world, but turn down any side street, and at once you ' re lost in a maze of narrow, dirty, terrifically over crowded alleys. A ride in a kamikaze cab is an experience not soon forgotten. The only rule of driving is to get where you ' re going as fast as possible. If this means driving on either side of the road, cutting off every other car on the road, causing pedestrians to flee for their very lives- — well, so be it. The cry of the sweet potato man, the flute of the noodle man, the bell of the garbage man, the horn of a careening cab — these are the sounds of Tokyo. The pungent odor of drying squid, the stench of open sewerage, the aroma of fresh baked bread — these are the smells of Tokyo. A small child hula-hooping in the street, an old mama-sen shopping with her tiny grandchild on her back, shoes left at the front door- — the sights of Tokyo. And if these things are Tokyo they are Japan. Truly a land of intrigue and excitement, as untouched today as centuries before. 274