My Army Experiences, Part III

SEEING JAPAN FOR THE FIRST TIME:

Continuing my army experiences from the last post in this thread...

Fall 1957. Now that I was safely assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Army Security Agency Pacific at Camp Oji, Tokyo, I joined a few of my fellow soldiers in exploring this very strange and exciting country.

The easiest place to get to, outside of downtown Tokyo, was Kamakura, home of the Great Buddha, known as Daibutsu. That's him on the left, with a tiny me at the bottom. You can climb up inside if you wish. This Buddha is getting along in years, having been cast in bronze in 1292. The train ride there takes about an hour, and then you walk about a mile or so through the town.

Soon after this little venture, we got bold and journeyed to Kyoto in a dilapidated old Studebaker on roads that were sometimes almost non-existent. That ridiculous adventure, where everything that could go wrong did, deserves an entire post by itself, which is up now.

Another interesting trip was to Chiba, a rather rundown industrial town on Tokyo Bay, east of the city. This was also a center of fishing, and four of us went to meet some of the fisherfolk and drink beer with them while squatting on the deck by their boats. That's my friend and co-worker Jim Webb with two of the friendly locals.

Before that first winter set in, it was time to take a spin around the base of Mount Fuji, the sacred mountain of Japan. Three of us took a train to Kawaguchiko, a resort town on one of the five lakes surrounding the (inactive) volcano. There we rented scooters and explored the lake country. That's me on my "Rabbit," with Fuji in the background. Later, in the summer of 59, three of us conquered the mountain. On foot all the way. All 12,395 feet of it. I'll tell you about this two-day climb on a later post.

As 1957 came to an end, Jim Webb and I took a train north to Nikko, where we stayed at a real traditional Japanese inn (Ryokan) for a few days. It snowed, of course, and the inn's walls were made of paper. But the bath, similar to a hot tub, was really hot, so we immersed ourselves in it and drank hot sake. That's me, in a traditional robe, standing on the bridge to the bath. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THAT TRIP.

While there, we explored the fantastic complex of shrines on the mountain behind Nikko, made all the more beautiful by a covering of fresh snow.

Yes, join the army and see the world.

CLICKY HERE for an account of the near-disastrous trip in an evil Studebaker.

AND HERE for our 1959 Climb of Mount Fuji.

AND HERE for all about Nikko.

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Comments

[Don Lindemann]

Hi:
Thanks for sharing your bio at OJI.

I was there 1956 - 1957 and at Chitose 1957 - 1958. Spent a few months at the end of 1958 assigned to a Machine Records Unit at Camp Zama working in Machine Aids. I did take some of the trips you have mentioned. Brings back a lot of memories for me. Did enjoy my stay in Japan

Don

[John Cheek]

Hi, Earl:

First, I want to say that you have one of the very best personal websites I have visited. Excellent work - Wish I had a portion of your talent.

Enjoyed your military and travel stories. Have your site bookmarked for future vists also.

My time in ASA was a few years before you and I had the dubious honor of spending the last few months of the Korean War in a listening bunker - LLVI in ASA lingo. Two positive things came out of my three years in the ASA.
1) I used the GI Bill to get a degree in Civil Engineering and had a successful career in engineering.
2) Fifty years after my army duty I used that experience as the basis for a novel, STAY SAFE, BUDDY. A synopsis of it is on my website: www.jcharlescheek.com

Again, great site.

Stay safe, buddy
John