Lowry (DD 770) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 22 text:

,. , M AHA, Suki aki, Sake, and.,, You sit down, dozo. Takusan sukiyaki Here he is again. Who are those three very quick catchee.' friends, O'Sullivan'? A Japanese Girl-sans in Oriental and Oc- cidental clothing. P rounding 'Sasebo. Enjoying a sake partyv in the hills sur-

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f ' 'f V ' ' ..1.-,i -. .nw---H O O O ,. ,..u-n.D1:Z 9 - , ese women in natw lggggn one Of the Parks' and 15116 y-mu Japan never ceased to be a constant source of amazement to most of us. Although we spent most of our time in the ports of Yokosuka and Sasebo, we had the opportunity to spend one weekend in Kobe, and those of us who were more inclined to travel found Yokohama, Tokio, Atami, Hakone, Nara, Kyoto, Arita, Nagasaki, and Hiroshima more or equally interesting. There was no limit to the amount of diversion that we found in our off hours. With the help of well-qualified native teachers, many learned to speak and even write a little of the Japanese language. Takusan and sukoshi became as much a part of our own language as big and little, and soon it was only second na- ture to walk into a restaurant or inn, order a Japanese meal, and settle down on the deck eat- ing with chopsticks. One of the highlights of our stay in Yokosuka was the ship's party held in the large dining room of the Komatsu Hotel. The hotel's own troupe of Geisha girls sang and danced old Japanese songs to the lilting rhy- thms of the samisen, a Japanese string instru- ment. In Tokio, some of us went to the local e dress strolling l ' 1' an. Every' 5 iw .Move out of the Way' O u body can See Yom, .I Takurazuka theater and witnessed a musical extravaganza that would have made a Holly- wood producer envious. The local night clubs were always amusing... Kinji Moriyama and his combo now present that old American favorite, 'Come ona my uchi,' sung by Ya- mamoto Youko-san. We had not been in Japan more than a day before hearing that ichiban song on the Nipponese hit parade, Shina no Yoru, and not manydays passed before we too were singing or whistling the tune. Many of us learned to enjoy Japanese foods, the most pop- ular of which was Sukiyaki. Japanese bever- ages were also to our liking .... Nippon, Asahi, and sake. Of course, the thing that most of us will remember about Japan is that indescrib- able creature, Baby-san, whether she be named Youko, Teruyo, Suziko, or Suzy. Japan was a souvenir hunter's paradise, and we managed to load the ship with almost every commodity available...Chinaware, dolls, kimonos, geta, um- brellas, fans, chopsticks, sake bottles Qless the sakej, tea sets, and a desire to return some day.

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Wha i tsamattan ou, Joe? ' ff, ,f , I ff, F: 4- Thes . We also remem- T ber many Baby-sans. e are baby-sans he evening f eedi ng of the deer, or i Shika, in Nara Park. W n 'A i , I I Honorable Paymaster-san surroundedby An old papa-san weaving 'tatarni in Japanese businessmen. i his small Yokosuka shop. 5 i .Ai