Summer Time in Yokosuka

When Bern and I first got to Yokosuka back in March, people warned us how miserably humid the summer months can get here & boy were they right! As soon as you step outside, you just start sweating and glistening. It's so hot Bern bought a UV protected umbrella & I had to start carrying around a face cloth (handkerchief). Thank goodness our place has AC, it's practically ON all day. The only bad part is our electricity bill doubled from around $80 USD a month to about $170....

 

I guess that's why I haven't really been posting lately, all we've been doing is staying home. But there have been a few occasions we decided to bite the bullet and go out. One day, we were craving Chinese food so decided to take the train up to Chinatown. But before eating dinner, we stopped by the Nissan Headquarters in Yokohama.

 

 

At the main floor of Nissan was a showroom that displayed all of their newest models including the turbo-charged Skyline GT-R, a few of their classics such as the Datsun Fairlady Z, and even a few concept vehicles like the one Bern and I actually got to sit in.

 

 

 

 

Even got to test drive a Nissan Skyline GT-R ...in the video game Gran Turismo 6.

 

 

Another time we went out this month was for the annual Yokosuka Friendship Day on base.

 

 

This is a special day when the military base opens it's gates to all Japanese visitors...and do they ever take advantage of this opportunity. Thousands of Japanese nationals came out to take part in the day's festivities which included a car show & special performances by the dance group Tokyo Dream Girl & Che'Nelle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite all the entertainment, I think the real reason why so many Japanese people came out to Friendship Day was for the American style pizza. From the moment we got there until the time we left, the line for pizza was crazy long. We saw people with three or more boxes of pizza; some were even smart enough to bring hand carts to carry all of their pizza home.

 

 

 

 

Apparently it's not the taste of the American-style pizza, but the size & price. For instance, one night we ordered a large pizza from a Japanese pizza chain "Pizza-La" With tax and delivery fee, it came out to $30 USD. Grant it that we did order a specialty pizza with pepperoni, sausage, & get this...hot dogs in the crust. But despite all that, a large Japanese pizza is about a medium size. A large pizza on base only cost them about $15 so that's why it's so popular with many of the Japanese people.

 

 

And finally, another unique summer experience occurred as we were heading home one day from running errands.... we got to watch our first arm wrestling tournament. This was something you don't see on the streets back in the States. There was a sizeable crowd watching guys arm wrestle, but one match I want to highlight was between this big Japanese guy and a skinny Japanese guy. As they made their way on stage, everyone started laughing (us included) thinking the skinny guy had no chance of winning. But sure enough, he surprised everyone and beat the big guy...it wasn't even close. It just goes to show that it's not the size of a dog in a fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.

 

 

Living by the old adage "When in Rome..." Bern and I also decided to buy his and her Yukata's, which are basically summer kimonos. Anything to beat the heat right! Well, hope you all are staying cool during these last few weeks of summer. Stay tuned for our first Obon Fesitval & our trip to Hiroshima.

 

 

 

 

Ja Mata Ne- See you Later!