Blue Ridge (LCC 19) - Naval Cruise Book

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Yokosuka, Japan Yokosuka, Japan was the scene of a busy 30 hour visit, BLUE FUDGE ' S first foreign port on her third deployment. There was the Staff to bring aboard — our reason for going there in the first place. There were stores to be replenished after the long trans- Pacific journey. For the crew, there was the famous Yokosuka Navy Exchange, base clubs and facilities, a bustling Japanese city with sights to see and the first chance to do their laundry. New crew members found out what an exchange really is: a place where you exchange your money for things you never knew you needed. Many staggered back under mountains of stereo gear, dishes, jewelry, cameras and other buys. Old timers talked about how Yoko had changed. First time visitors learned something about mountains — while the Swiss climb them and the Norwegians ski down them, the Japanese dig holes through the middle of them. Yokosuka had a unique blend of American and Japanese culture. There was courting of the sailor ' s ■ 20 ■ mrtqmwpy

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dollar, there were signs in English expressing Japanese thinking and others in Japanese with slightly understood pictures. The crafts and eating habits of Japan were on display for all to see. Portrait painters worked in fine detail, laboring in phone booths sized shops. Meats and vegetables were sold on the streets. There was a familiar side of Japan too — SONY, AKAI, NIKON and so many more brand names that ARE Japan to most Americans. Prices seemed astronomical until the prospec- tive buyer realized 300 Yen equalled one dollar. Rapid division disclosed the truth — some prices were still quite high. Life was hurried in Japan. Traffic moved with seemingly reckless abandon. Taxi drivers seemed to be would-be Gran Prix drivers. But then almost too quickly, BLUE RIDGE departed for the home of the newly acquired Staff, Okinawa, 700 miles to the south. 22 nnp|nnBB