7/18 Kure

One of the places I had been wanting to go for a LONG time, even before I had ever gone to Japan, was the city of Kure. It is a small city that is the only other stop on the way to Hiroshima. It was famous for the massive naval shipyard and Japanese Navy base there. It just so happened that Rin was from there, and she and her Mom were going to take me and her friend Airi on a little tour.

I think that we all met up to take the train to the ferry terminal, and we definitely all rode together. The ferry was super nice, and we had our breakfast on there. We arrived in Kure at about 10:30 and were picked up by her Mom, Mrs. Shimizu. After some driving around we parked in some structure and I made a joke asking if it was some type of historical structure and they were laughing saying "no, no, no!"

We were now on a walking tour of the downtown area, and the first stop was a coffee bean shop. On the way we walked over a dry canal, and saw a type of boat restaurant. Apparently Rin's family knew the owners of the coffee shop and they were talking for a little bit. Eventually I introduced myself and they had us try their famous coffee jelly. It was strong, but good! From there we walked through the Renga-dori and PALS shopping street that were relevantly sea themed. They wanted to take us to a shop called "Chinraiken" which was famous for a local dish called "Kure reimen" or Kure cold noodles. Man there was a long wait at 11:30 in the morning, but all good things must come to an end and eventually we had our seats inside. So yeah, the noodles were served cold, and were refreshing with a little bit of cucumber on top. It was good and filling.

Next up was a fry-cake stand, so we were having dessert already. It was still on Renga-dori and was this old-school little place. From there we went back to the car, and Mrs. Shimizu took us on a drive through the city. We went past Rin's old high school and stopped at a small park. There was a running track there that apparently she had also used when she was in high school. But we weren't there for that, we were there for the ice-cream monaka shop just past it. This was another staple, and yup it was good. I am not sure if I have described monaka before, but it's like mochi. Usually there will be sweet bean paste in the middle of a crispy shell. But this one had ice cream!

We ate our monaka while walking alongside a creek, where we made friends with a dragonfly, and then were off to our next stop.

Next up was Irifuneyama, the "former official residence of the the Commander-in-Chief of the Kure Naval Station." There were a few buildings and they all had very elaborate designs. They were mixed European and Japanese architecture. You can see some of the photos below. They were served very good food there, and lived "fashionably." In another small building they had scale models of some of the naval vessels like the Akagi aircraft carrier and wartime posters. It was cool.

There was a time in Tokuoka's seminar class where we somehow got on the topic of "the war" because there was no escaping it as an American. I shared with Rin that the only involvement my family had was that my great-grandpa came to Japan to deliver ice to people, and that was it. Rin said her grandparents (or great-grandparents) remember learning how to ask for chocolate in English, because the American soldiers would always give some. That was a good laugh.

Next up we were going to view the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (navy) submarines. They were lined up along a pier and as we watched a couple of soldiers went into them and  others came back out. While we were taking pictures someone went up onto the top of a submarine tower and was looking at us through some binoculars. We waved to him, and we got him to wave back at us! There was also a seabird that was hunting for fish right in front of us, so we had a show as well. We got to see a helicopter-carrier as well which was neat.

We went across the street to the temporary exhibit for the Yamato Museum. That was a place I had wanted to visit for a long time because the Yamato was the largest naval vessel ever constructed, and it was right here in the Kure shipyards. The museum had some of the artifacts, but unfortunately they didn't have the 1/12th scale model (which is huge). Next up was the "Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Kure Museum." If you hadn't figured it out yet, the JMSDF is the modern Japanese navy. The museum was located inside a massive submarine that was formerly used by them. The problem was that we ran into an unfortunate problem when Mrs. Shimizu came to pick us up. We were going and then all of a sudden we started hearing strange sounds from the car, there was a flat tire! So, she called the Japanese version of AAA to come help her, and the three of us took the bus. 

We walked past the unfortunately closed Yamato Museum and into the JMSDF museum. There was sooo much in there and it was really neat. Exhibits highlighted the mine-sweeping role of the force's early days and modern international and domestic peacekeeping operations. Including when they were deployed to Kuwait and other countries. They don't do much fighting nowadays, but instead assist with reconstruction in fighting zones and providing healthcare abroad.

We were able to go into the former submarine, which proved very fancy. I didn't take too many photos as I didn't want to accidentally take one of the other visitors, but it was really cool inside! We were given a little card that we could take and stamp a part of it at certain areas throughout the museum. The product was a very cool design of the submarine and (I think) some fish!

Last but not least we went into the large department store next-door called "YouMe Town." Inside there were tons of souvenirs of Kure and its naval history. I bought some snacks to take back to the US. Unfortunately I didn't have time to try the famous Kure Naval curry, but that just meant that I can go visit another time. They took me to the ferry terminal and they lined up with me. Eventually the ferry came, and it was time for me to head back. But not before a group picture! I took one of the three of them, and I remember that someone took a photo of the four of us, but it seems I don't have it. Anyways, it was just me leaving as Rin and Airi were going out to a firework festival.

When I got back, it turned out that there was a computer-driven bus that ran between the ferry terminal and the last train station. You had to buy a pass before riding, or use an IC card, which I didn't have. I think it cost 500 yen, and someone from the back had to come out to sell it as apparently that wasn't common. It was a weird experience with their being no bus driver, but it was still good. When I arrived back downtown, I was still craving curry so I went to my favorite place that was open until 3am, Kau! I ordered a cheese curry and it was delicious. When I was walking back to the dorm, I stopped at Fuji and bought a water, and was surprised by the long receipt I received.