Japan 1983 (Part 4)

October 8

If you understand everything, you must be misinformed. ~ Japanese proverb

Depend on your walking stick, not on other people. ~ Japanese (and Fat Boys Walking Club) proverb

When last we left you we were in an as yet unidentified ryokan in the Japanese Alps . . .

[In my Facebook tease, I noted that I couldn’t remember what it was that I liked so much about Japan – and then I ran across these photos . . . ]

[So, what’s not to like about women valets helping you to dress before dinner?]

[A little tuck here, a little tuck there . . . ]

[Et voila . . . ]

[You’re good to go . . . ]

[With Randy and Marsha, guess who’s going to dinner? Your classic kimonos for men and women over the yukata tied up with an obi . . . ]

[Our valets got a big laugh out of my trying to put my size 10 1/2 gaijin (foreigner) foot into about a size 7 slipper . . . ]

[Though not always the case – chairs at the dinner table! Woo-woo!]

[The neighborhood from our perch . . . ]

There’s a reason that there are oodles of young Aussies, Germans, Japanese, even Chinese backpackers traipsing around the world. They are unencumbered by debilitating student loans. No such luck for the American Theater Arts major with $120,000 in loans. ~ J. Maarten Troost

[To my knowledge, I don’t recall being on a submarine though Roy looks such . . . ]

[OK, now either as a result of incredible piece of sleuthing, or more likely pure dumb like, I believe I have discovered where we were. Go back up to the slipper photo. I noticed writing on the shower footwear underneath the slipper. And from that a scouring of the Google machine led me to discover the Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu. The current hotel looks like it has had a makeover from its appearance 37 years ago . . . ]

[Roy and I both had top secret-crypto clearances in the Army. Accordingly, he is necessarily out of focus on some pictures. . . ]

It’s a myth that generally Asians are mostly vegetarians. The Japanese are the kings of red meat, but it’s expensive. The Chinese and Vietnamese love their pork. Many Indians, especially the Muslims, can’t live without their lamb. ~ Wolfgang Puck

[And now we’re heading down out of the Alps . . . ]

Thanks to the Japanese and Geronimo, John Wayne became a millionaire. ~ Pat Morita

[Back at sea level . . . ]

[I have reason to suspect this may be Atami City on Sagami Bay . . . ]

[But I probably wouldn’t put a lot of yen on it . . . ]

[My next best estimate is that the following photos will be along the 50-mile route from Atami to Shimoda along the eastern coast of the Izu Peninsula . . . ]

Forget sushi, yakitori and tempura, ramen is what really gets the Japanese excited. ~ Rachel Khoo

My fake Japanese was smooth enough to earn me the title of ‘The Emperor of Pleasing Graciousness’ in that country. ~ Wolfman Jack

[I guess this is s’pose to be a shot of the curvy coastal road we’re on . . . ]

[It may be raining, but I love a parade . . . ]

[I’m not sure what this is about, but I hope it was joyously associated with the parade . . . ]

[We were probably getting a little tired of this November weather . . . ]

I didn’t understand the American fascination with the Japanese schoolgirl. No, I don’t think I can, really. ~ Chiaki Kuriyama

[It looks like we’re approaching a port city . . . ]

[Very much Japan . . . ]

[Ryōsen-ji is a Nichiren-sect Buddhist temple in the city of Shimoda. It is noteworthy as the location of the signing ceremony for the Treaty of Amity and Commerce (also known as the Harris Treaty) between the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan and the United States of America on July 29, 1858. Due to this connection, the temple grounds and main hall have been designated as a National Historic Site by the Japanese government (Wikipedia).]

[The temple grounds . . . ]

[The Shimoda Ropeway is a Japanese aerial lift in Shimoda. The line is also called Nesugatayama Ropeway as it climbs Mount Nesugata. The observatory has a view of Port of Shimoda and Pacific Ocean. The line began operation on April 1, 1961 (Wikipedia).]

[Would have been a beautiful view on a beautiful day . . . ]

[Shimoda is a city and port located in Shizuoka Prefecture. As of 1 August 2019, the city had an estimated population of 21,402 in 10,787 households. In the 1850s, Japan was in political crisis over its increasing inability to maintain its national seclusion policy and the issue of what relations, if any, it should have with foreign powers. For a few years, Shimoda was central to this debate (Wikipedia).]