The old days

For some reason I started thinking about the days when I lived in Japan -- and I was googling some stuff. For 3 years, 67-70, We lived on Hakata Tri-Service base on the northwestern side of the southern island of Kyushu (about 100 miles from Pusan South Korea.) Above is a pic of the place (peninsula) taken from atop the mountains on a neighboring island called Shikanoshima.

I recall we used to get a few of us kids and get a cab down to the ferry station in our neighbor town, Saitozaki (Pronounced Sat'-uh-za' key -with the "a's" as in "bad") and then take the ferry over to Fukuoka. Fukuoka is one of the largest cities in Japan (it now ranks at number 8.)

Anyway -- it cost 70 yen each if we had 3 kids (20 cents to us -- in those days it was 360 yen to the dollar) for the cab -- plus tip -- then 70 yen each for the ferry. Then we'd either walk around or get cabs or take the trains, depending on what was up that day. Who knows how much it costs today -- that was in 1970.

This is the ferry station -- it was at the end of a long, straight, road ... and the starting point of adventures many ... mostly of finding and flirting with the Japanese girls -- which was easy because they always wanted to practice their english. English was required for all four years of high school in Japan. Also -- everyone went ape if you had American cigarettes -- which I didna -- but some of my friends did.

This is the bay side of the little peninsula we lived on. Sometimes, (I seem to remember about once per year) the Japanese peeps would set little boats onto the water -- 2-3 feet long -- and they would put stuff on the boats -- like fruit and lit candles and food and money -- and they figured their dead relatives would get it off the boat. Anyway -- these boats would wash up on this shore and it was a big problem if anyone caught you touching them. The cops floated them back out on the outgoing tide.

Another time of year, horseshoe crabs would wash up and be all over this beach -- some dead -- some not. Extra weird looking creatures were they.

On the other side of the peninsula was a cooler beach -- with cliffs and a wide sand area before the water. Some times of year we'd be all stung-up from the jelly fish. Too funny -- cuz, even though everyone with a nose was getting stung, everyone (the kids) went on in the water anyway. And the cries of the wretched grew louder and more plentiful as the day wore on. Course -- the big kids weren't allowed to cry after getting stung -- but, uh -- it REALLY hurt, capisce?

Above -- this was the wide beach where everyone went swimming. It was also one of the few places in the world where Paper Nautilus wash up. If you went early in the morning, you could find them now and then -- and a medium size unbroken one would fetch about $2,000 yen (around $5) back then and go up from there.

Below: Dead center of the pic is the base and Saitozaki - slightly left of that is the green island of Shikanoshima - not really an island cuz you can get there by car on a long, narrow piece of land -- like a sandbar that was made in a storm long ago. To the lower-right of center is Fukuoka. We had to take a school bus about an hour thru Fukuoka to go to school.

Zooming in closer on the base and Saitozaki, I found the golf course on which I learned to play. Our house was in the center - toward the top - among all the trees.

I really enjoyed my time in Japan.

I hope you enjoyed my reminiscing.

Here's a few more pics of the area: