Flint (AE 32) - Naval Cruise Book

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(LEFT) FLINT crewmen on liberty in Sasebo. Notice the spotless streets, typical of , Japan. (BELOW) Picking up a few things on the way home. A Japanese sailor flirts with some schoolgirls. A group of boys im- provise on a torn-down set of monkey bars. When they ' re young, Japanese children have more freedom than their American peers. 45

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A line of wooden barges stretch as far as the eye can see. An old man and a pack of dogs are the only attendants. An example of Japanese ingenuity, the curbside rear-view mirror. Quaint wooden houses can be seen in its reflection, skyscrapers in the background. Port Call: Japan FLINT visited three cities during her cruise through the Japanese Islands. First was Sasebo, a quaint, sea-side city on the isle of Kyushu, and an important base for the old Imperial Fleet. From there we sailed the Shimonoseki Straits to Iwakuni, passing small islands covered by a single factory, connected by an incredible network of large and small craft. Next we headed for the Bungo Suido (straits) and Yokosuka on the big island of Honshu, a scant 40 miles from metropolitan Tokyo. Travel in Japan is easy, by train, bus or car. Visitors soon discover how friendly the Japanese can be if approached the same way. Two thousand years of history have molded Japanese society. If you could pick out one golden rule it would be respect for others. The sailor who discovers this has glimpsed the real Japan. 44

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Busy Fleet Street, where sailors learn the art of haggling. FLINT Visits Kaohsiung Walk down a street in Kaohsiung, past noisy factory shops, the sound of smithy ' s hammer over- whelmed by the horns of cabs and the whine of motor bikes. Everyone seems busy and quite unconcerned with you until you stop to look at an item in a store window. The owner comes out smiling, and chances are his English is better than your Chinese. You point and he barks out a price you both know is too high. No way, no way , you say with your head and hands and start away but change your mind and quote a price much lower than his. Now it ' s his turn, gesturing about how unreason- able you are and coming down from his original price. You grab your chin, looking thoughtful, but think better of it and name a figure not far from his. It ' s up to him to split the difference and close the deal. If it happened any other way, someone would lose face. A sailor on liberty learns by meeting people. He sees the contrast between cultures and if he ' s wise, he doesn ' t compare them but tries to understand. Many of us were thoughtful as we left Kaohsiung. We ' d shopped and walked and seen as much as we could. But there ' s always so much more to learn.