Shutta Crum

We are home-with some sadness at leaving new friends and a beautiful country. I will forever be indebted to the PTOs of the great schools of the Depart. of Defense who hosted my series of author visits with their students.

We took hundreds of photos. I can only share a few here. I hope you enjoy these sights as much as we did!

(Above: me with a young fan who was the proud caregiver for M.C. Perry School’s rubber chicken mascot for the day.)

(Left) My husband Gerry and I on a sail through the many islands off the coast of Kyushu while we were at Sasebo naval facility.

 

 

 

The “Chicken Shack!” in Iwakuni. (Near the marine base where we stayed.) We were treated to a wonderful meal in our own tea room here. No shack! Gorgeous.

 

 

The famous Kentaikyu Bridge outside Iwakuni. The center section was built without nails so it could be pulled down if necessary during a raid. On the mountain top is the Kentai Castle.

  

 

A bullet train-the high-speed trains are super fast, comfortable, quiet. What a great way to travel!

 

 

 

 Red torii gate in Hakone. Wherever there is a gate there is a shrine or temple.

 

 

 

 

 An elder statesman of a tree in Hakone.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Billie Dysinger (one of my hostesses) and me at the Sadako Memorial in Hiroshima. Behind us in the glass cubicles are just a few of the hundreds of thousands of folded cranes sent by school children from all over the world.

 

The Hiroshima Dome stands as a stark reminder of the horror that happened here. 

 

 

 

Temple in Kamakura we visited while at the naval base in Yokusuka.

 

 

 

 

A small sweet statuary from the temple grounds.

(In Kamakura.)

 

 

 

 

The giant Buddha in Kamakura. Wow! And visitors can go inside it as well.

 

 

 

 

 

A traditional wedding on the Meji Temple grounds.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

Just one of the many beautiful kimonos seen whenever we came upon a special occasion such as a wedding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A colorful assortment of dried beans in a vendor’s stall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assorted fresh catch from sea urchins to octopus.

  

 

You choose your food and then rent a hibachi to cook it. Fresh fish, and scallops still in their shells-yum!

  

 

And handy vending machines are everywhere! This one offers fresh eggs.

 

 

A delightful dragon on a Chinese gate in China Town in Yokohama.

 

  

 

 

 

Gerry with a VERY BIG kite on Boy’s Day. (In Zama.)

 

 

 

 We caught up with the cherry blossoms while at the air force facility in Misawa. These are just outside of Japan’s oldest Kabuki theater in the north of Honshu. 

 

 

Carp kites flying in Tokyo in honor of Boy’s Day. (Traditionally, one is flown for each male child. Now-a-days, a kite is flown for each child in the family.)

 

 

Tokyo at night. In the distance is the spire of the Tokyo Tower lit with golden light.

 

 

 

Arrigato! A big THANKS to the many new friends we made while touring the schools on the military bases . . . so many I can’t name you all, but you know who you are and that you now own some space in my heart!

Shutta