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Keikyu Yokosuka-Chuo Station platform, arrival from Tokyo. 京急横須賀中央駅
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Keikyu Yokosuka-Chuo Station. This is Yokosuka's main train station. The major shopping areas as well as the US Navy Base are nearest to this train station.
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Upper deck ("Y deck") connects the train station with a shopping complex. Central Yokosuka is quite compact, and almost everything is within walking distance.
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Yokosuka is a "Curry Town." Curry rice was popularized by the Japanese Imperial Navy in the 19th century.
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Banner marking the 10th anniversary of Yokosuka's self-proclaimed "Curry Town." The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force eat curry rice for lunch every Friday, including those in Yokosuka. It's called "Kaigun curry" (Navy curry).
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Banner near the train station congratulating Yokosuka-native Nishiyama Rei for winning the gold medal in women's softball at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
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View of Yokosuka Chuo Street, the main drag lined with shops and restaurants.
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View of Yokosuka Chuo Street at night.
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Inside Mikasa Plaza, an indoor shopping arcade along Yokosuka Chuo Street.
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Street sculptures of jazz musicians along Yokosuka Chuo Street. Yokosuka has a jazz history.
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Yokosuka Chuo Street.
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Club Alliance and gate to the US Navy Base.
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Shopping center where most people shop in central Yokosuka. Despite this megamall, the other shopping areas in town are still thriving. Yokosuka has a vigorous atmosphere. Not economically depressed.
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Route 16 in Yokosuka, the main road.
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Yokosuka Post Office
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"Mikasa" is a key word in Yokosuka.
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Arch at the entrance to Mikasa Park.
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Mikasa Park. A short walk from the train station is this waterfront park featuring the Battleship Mikasa preserved on dry land as a museum.
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Statue of Admiral Togo who led Japan to victory during the Battle of Tsushima over Russia in 1905.
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Statue of Admiral Togo
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Battleship Mikasa, the flagship of the Japanese Imperial Navy during the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. 三笠
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Bow
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Middle
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Aft with the Rising Sun flag.
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The ship has been very well restored. It was built in 1902 in the UK. It became a memorial ship in 1926, later fully restored in 1961.
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Gold Imperial crest on the bow.
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Guns
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Lifeboats
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The bridge
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Bow deck as seen from the bridge.
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Outside the bridge.
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Inside the Battleship Mikasa.
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Conference room
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Captain's quarters
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Lower deck
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Display of model boats by elementary school children on the lower deck.
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A winning entry. Model of the Mikasa.
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Waterfront of Mikasa Park. The Navy base can be seen.
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Sarushima island as seen from Mikasa Park. Sarushima means Monkey Island. No monkeys there though. Too bad it does not look like a battleship. The only natural island in Tokyo Bay.
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Ferry terminal for Sarushima island, next to Mikasa Park. Only 15 min. to Sarushima. 1,200 yen round trip. Boats run once an hour, 8:30 am to 5 pm.
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New cars being driven into the car ship for export.
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Even this apartment building has a battleship motif.
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Verny Park is on the waterfront facing the Navy Base.
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Military protests are held here.
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You can see the navy base from this park, but can't really see the US navy ships.
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Rose garden
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Verny Park gives a view of one side of the navy base.
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Submarines of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force.
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Tower of the USS George Washington aircraft carrier. This is all you can see of the carrier while it is in port.
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Old guard posts of the Imperial Navy in Verny Park.
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Verny Park waterfront. People tried to see the USS George Washington arrive, but in vain. The Verny Commemorative Museum can be seen in the rear.
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Inside the Verny Commemorative Museum is a giant steam hammer used to stamp metal objects. Free admission.
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Sign says "No gatherings without permission." Such "gatherings" refers to protests against the military.
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Busts of Francois Verny and Lord Oguri Kozukenosuke Tadamasa who laid the foundation for Yokosuka.
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Bust of Francois Verny, a French engineer who established the Yokosuka Arsenal. The park is named after him.
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Navy monument in Verny Park
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Navy monument in Verny Park
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Navy monument in Verny Park
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The famous Dobuita Street with military shops, bars, etc. "Dobu" means sewer, and "ita" is plank. They once had wooden planks covering a sewer gutter running down the street.
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Dobuita Street wasn't so impressive. Looks very well cleaned up though. I figure most people instead go to Yokohama for night life.
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The street was likely more raunchy and infamous during the 1960s.
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Yokosuka jackets
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Profanity is bad for the children...
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Old porn theater in Yokosuka. Pretty amazing to see one these days, in the age of DVD/video rentals and Internet. It's almost a cultural icon.
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Kannonzaki Park juts into Uraga Channel, the mouth of Tokyo Bay. It is a large park on a cape with walking paths and a lighthouse. 観音崎公園
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Kannonzaki Park
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The shore is rocky.
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Lots of ships pass by here.
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Cape Kannonzaki is at the tip closest to Uraga Channel, the narrow mouth of Tokyo Bay. Ships must pass through here to enter or depart Tokyo Bay.
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Container ships, oil tankers, passenger ships, navy ships, etc., all pass through here. Anybody have a picture of an aircraft carrier passing by here?
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If you like ship watching, come to Kannonzaki. This is the Nippon Maru cruise ship. にっぽん丸豪華クルーズ船
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Walking path around Kannonzaki Park.
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Cave
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Lookout point at Kannonzaki Park.
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Looks like the devil's washboard.
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Walking path around Kannonzaki.
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This park is closed for some reason.
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Types of ships that pass by.
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Map of Kannonzaki drawn by Commodore Perry when he first arrived in 1853.
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Kurihama in the distance.
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More ships
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Kurihama in the distance.
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Tatara-hama Beach
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Shaped like a lighthouse.
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Kannonzaki Lighthouse built in 1925. It stands 19 meters high, and 56 meters high from sea level. 観音灯台
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The Kannonzaki Lighthouse is a short uphill climb from shore. The original lighthouse was Japan's first Western-style lighthouse built in the late 19th century by Verny. Destroyed by an earthquake in 1922, and again by the 1923 Kanto Earthquake.
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Light of the lighthouse.
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Spiral stairs inside the Kannonzaki Lighthouse.
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View of Uraga Channel from Kannonzaki Lighthouse
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View of Uraga Channel from Kannonzaki Lighthouse
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View of Uraga Channel from Kannonzaki Lighthouse
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Lighthouse artifacts displayed outside. Foghorn on the far right.
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Other lighthouse monuments
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