Where art thou, David Dow?: 2009

Mount Yumihari

I drove my motorcycle up to the top of Mount Yumihari, which overlooks Sasebo. I accidentally left my lights on and I couldn't start my bike when I went to leave so I found a nice Japanese couple that didn't speak any English but helped me with their jumper cables.

View of the Kyujukushima (The 99 Islands) and my neighborhood.

My ship in the bay.

Sasebo city from the mountain.

Japanese friends

Dan, Mike and I had some Japanese friends over for dinner at my house. After dinner we went out to the bars for Karaoke.

Hunda Bay, Philippines

During a day off in Puerta Princessa, Philippines, a few of us took a trip to Hunda bay and spent the day snorkeling and island hoping to various beaches.

On an island beach overlooking Hunda. One of the best views since I came to Asia, I think. We were the only people on the beach for most of the day. High 80s and sunny. Life is hard... but not today.

Tim, Whitney, and Dennis swimming in the ocean

Dennis and Max on a boat going to the beach.

Golfing the day after Thanksgiving

Huis Ten Bosch Country Club near Sasebo, Japan. The first course in Japan designed by Jack Nicklaus. It's up in the mountains over looking the islands of Kyushu. The three tall radio towers far in the distance are the ones from which the attack on Pearl Harbor was ordered.

Not a bad view, right?

Okinawa for a day

Yoshihachi's Sushi restaurant in Ginowan, Okinawa. Best fish I have ever had.

Okinawa Country Club at Kadena Airforce base.

Subterranean River National Park, Philippines

Sabang, Philippines. Subterranrean River.

After taking a bus through the mountains of Palawan island for about two hours, I arrived at a dock surrounded by floating catamarans. I waded out to the nearest one and a guide took me on a boat ride, passing more mountains and oceanside cliffs, to a beach. It was private and adjacent to tall cliffs with white sand beaches and tropical fish.

This is the beach with the boat in the background.

I then took a walking path through the jungle to another dock on a river that contained these smaller catamarans for the underground river tour.

The entrance to the cave.

We travelled a few kilometers into the river. At some points the cave ceiling was over 60 meters tall. Massive stalactites and stalagmites covered the cave walls with large bats that swooped down over your head to eat the waterbugs and mosquitoes. There was no lighting so you could see only with a spotlight at the front of the boat.

Ship Operations Pictures

Two LCAC operations (Hovercraft used for quick beach assaults and offloading of marines, tanks, etc) off the coast of Okinawa.

Our current ARG (Amphibious Ready Group)- The USS Tortuga and USS Denver in the distance. Subic Bay, Philippines.

A CH-53 Sea Stallion landing on our flight deck. We usually have the CH-46 Sea Knights, not the stallions, on board (the ones you see in movies with the two rotary blades). In fact, we have five embarked right now.

Nagasaki Kunchi

The Nagasaki Kunchi is the most famous festival in Nagasaki. It began as a celebration of autumn harvests in the late 16th century and became a shrine festival when Suwa Shrine was founded in 1642. One of the most famous performances of the festival is the "Dragon Dance."

We were visiting Suwa when we came across the Dragon Dance by chance. We were pretty lucky to be able to watch the whole thing and then visit the shrine afterwards considering we stumbled upon it.

Hiroshima, Japan

I took the bullet train to Hiroshima for the weekend.

Overlooking Hiroshima from an adjacent mountain I climbed ... via taxi. Haha, give me a break, I had been walking for almost nine hours!

View of the Genbaku dome beyond the eternal flame. Ground zero is across the street from the dome, and even though almost every building was destroyed, the dome remained standing as it appears today. Unlike in Nagasaki where ground zero is marked with a monument, in Hirosima, they built a hospital over the site and the park and memorials are built instead around the Genbaku.

The moat surrounding Hiroshima Castle, rebuilt after the bombing.

Near the center of the park is a concrete, saddle-shaped monument that covers a cenotaph holding the names of all of the people killed by the bomb. The cenotaph carries the epitaph, "Rest in Peace, for the error shall not be repeated." Through the monument you can see the Peace Flame and the A-Bomb Dome. the park is built over what was once the busiest commerial district downtown. There is also a peace museum at the end of the park which advocates nuclear disarmament.

Saga, Japan

Dave, Josh, and I took a day trip to Saga city, the capital of the Saga Prefecture. We all fell asleep on the train and woke up at the next stop so we had to get off and get back on. Unfortunately, it was about ten miles away.

I am taking a walking tour of the Saga castle. The castle's floor was composed of entirely Tatami mats and one walks barefoot throughout the tour.

Saga Castle from the outside

After eating dinner, we saw a large plume of black smoke in the distance. We followed it to a baseball diamond in which hundred of high school boys were singing songs in unison and beating large taiko drums around a bonfire. The walls to the field were lined with Japanese high school girls trying to watch. We asked this group in the photo what was going on (High school students and businessmen have the best chance of knowing English). Apparently there was a large men's track and field event going on the next day with a rival school and this was the Japanese version of a pep rally. After the songs were done, more fuel was added to the fire and the boys ran around and sang until the sun set.

Hirado, Japan

Hirado is a city on an island about an hour north of Sasebo.

While walking around the town shrine and monastery, a woman approached us and asked if we wanted some tea. She brought us to a little open-air pagoda behind the shrine in the woods. It was made completely by tying the wood together and with glue- no nails. She served us a very strong, hand-milled green tea with a little sticky cake. The wall behind us is normally closed and one has to crawl through the little hole to the women's left to enter. This is an ancient tradition started because the warriors could not get through the hole with their swords on their belt or on their backs. This ensured no weapons were brought in and signified this as a place of worship and respect.

On the top of the castle overlooking the bay and Hirado bridge in the background.

Hirado Castle from across the bay by the city shrine.

Fukuoka, Japan

During my brief time in Japan I went to Fukuoka, the largest city on Kyushu, a few times. Each time the weather was rainy so I didn't get many good pictures. But the food and shopping made the trip worth it, especially at the Tenjin and the Canal City Hakata.

My friends from the Harpers Ferry and Birgitta from the USS Tortuga get some dinner. OUr waiter was dressed as a frog. We couldn't figure out why.

Marius (Dennis's son) and I found a robot at the mall.

Dennis and I getting some world famous Hakata Ramen.

The "Sky Dream" Ferris wheel. Tallest one in Japan and tied as the 4th largest in the world at 120 meters. It overlooks the entire city and the bay. It was a cloudy day so the pictures aren't great.