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WHere in Japan is Kure Naval Yard?
Sasebo Naval Yard?

My understanding is that sending them to Japan the ships end up in one of these two.

Kure and Sassebo are cities in Japan. Find a Japanese map, on-line or real life, and you should have your answer.

Yamamoto

Kure is a small city in western Honshu (the biggest of the Japanese islands), which is today more or less a suburb of nearby Hiroshima. The naval yards are still there actually, as it's a working naval base - you can quite often see military vessels there. The town of Kure also has a monument to the crew of the Yamato.

How do I know all this? I live about 25 minutes from Kure by train.

Wow, a Japanese player! I think that's a first! Break out the band! We love ya!

IIRC the JDF Navy is one of the most modern navies afloat? I well remember see a couple of JDF DDs in Melbourne a few years ago.........not one spot of rust to be seen! And they sure have this nice dark grey paint job.

Verehrte Ardle,

Does Sasebo Naval Yard ring a bell? This one may be in the inland sea, where ever that is. What is your impression of the Japanese today?

Originally posted by SoulBlazer
Wow, a Japanese player! I think that's a first! Break out the band! We love ya!

Well, thank you sir....only I'll have to disappoint you because I'm not Japanese - just a long-term resident here. Nice band, though

But there are wargamers here, judging by the games available in retail stores - Combat Mission, East Front, plus several home-grown WW2 strategy games and a ton of flight sims for Japanese WW2 aircraft.

Originally posted by Raverdave
IIRC the JDF Navy is one of the most modern navies afloat? I well remember see a couple of JDF DDs in Melbourne a few years ago.........not one spot of rust to be seen! And they sure have this nice dark grey paint job.

Yeah, you could be right - the ships I've seen down at Kure were looking to be in pretty good nick, too. Despite Japan's constitutional disavowal of all things warlike, the jieitai (Self Defence Force) must be up there in the top 10 or 15 most powerful and well-equipped forces in the world.

Originally posted by zed
Verehrte Ardle,

Vielen Dank - sehr höflich!

Does Sasebo Naval Yard ring a bell? This one may be in the inland sea, where ever that is. What is your impression of the Japanese today?

No, Sasebo is on Kyushu the most south-western of the 4 main Japanese islands. It's just north of Nagasaki, and it's still in use as a naval yard, by the US, if I remember correctly.

The Inland Sea is the expanse of calm water seperating Honshu, the main island, from Shikoku, the smallest and most southerly of the 4 main islands.

What is your impression of the Japanese today?

In what respect? In general, or with regard to the military and/or WW2?

Originally posted by Ardle


jieitai (Self Defence Force) must be up there in the top 10 or 15 most powerful and well-equipped forces in the world.

Yeah something like that..........they never seem fazed about spending a buck on defense. So how the hell do you manage to afford to live over there? Last time I was there (4 years ago) it cost an arm and a leg. Mind you to was really cool that you could sit in MacDonalds and light up a smoke

OK, here's a little map to help clarify where all these places are....sorry about the quality...

http://home.att.ne.jp/air/ardle/map.html

Godammit, how do I put an image up here instead of this stupid link?

Originally posted by Raverdave


Yeah something like that..........they never seem fazed about spending a buck on defense. So how the hell do you manage to afford to live over there? Last time I was there (4 years ago) it cost an arm and a leg. Mind you to was really cool that you could sit in MacDonalds and light up a smoke

Well, tax is pretty low - national and local tax together only comes to about 9%, which certainly helps! And Japan isn't really that expensive - eating out is cheap if you know where to look, and the government, bless 'em, subsidises beer 'n' cigarettes to keep the masses (and me) happy. Things in general have really come down in price since the end of the 80's 'bubble economy', so I seem to have a fair amount of spare cash available even though I don't earn much. Of course, marrying a rich, propertied young lady probably helps too

-IIRC the JDF Navy is one of the most modern navies afloat-

LOL, well, yea, its like they started from scratch after, let's say, 1945?

Oh, sorry about the confusion -- thought you were native.

But we were just talking about the other day -- if the Japanese do have wargames, how come there's no Japanese players of this game? Is the game just not available in any way over there, or is the memory of the Second World War for them still too painfull? I have friends in Germany, and it seems that if the Germans can play WWII European games, the Japanese should be able to play WWII Pacific games. We wish there were Japanese players here on the forums. It's pretty one sided between Americans, Australians, and Europeans.

This is my first post. Most of the time I just read what you all write and learn by what all of you post. This is an incredible game! I am in the military and have been in Okinawa and Japan for 5-6 years. We do a lot of training with different countries military including Japan. Their Navy is small compared to our own, but very modern. The only reason it is so small is its job is to defend Japan. Ardle has more info on the Japanese culture than me, but it seems down here that they very respectful nice people with a peaceful nature. Until you have to drive! The other part of it is
politics. WWII is still a large factor over here as far as other countries trusting Japan. Especially countries that were occupied.
I think that China and Korea would be a little concerned if they had a few carriers.

Mogami, Raverdave, and U2 keep posting! Maybe I will learn not to lose my carriers so quickly!

Alder I was stationed up at Iwakuni for awhile a long time ago..
Good to here from someone from that area. Hiroshima is Awesome!

Cutman

Hi there. I was stationed at Camp Haig Okinawa in 74-75. We went for training at a base on the side of Mt Fuji. I spent all my extra time riding trains and sight seeing. I went to Yokuska (the old Midway was there. I thought she was a large ship. Then 7 years later I joind the Navy and the FFG I was on escorted the America around (poor little Midway). I spent a lot of time in Okinawa and Japan bowling with Japanese people. (hustlers)

Mogami,
Good to hear from you.
Camp Haig has went away and has been given back to the okinawians awhile ago Mid 80's I think. Sound like you had fun here. They still love to bowl and there are quite a few bowling alleys still overhere. I was here in 87 and came back again 3 years ago and a lot had changed for me. All the way from Naha to Kadena area is now all housing, malls and other tourist traps.
This place really exploded during the 80's. Now it is slowing down a little because of the economy...The Yen Rate is a lot worse too. It is about 120. What was when you were here?
Camp Fuji is still there and we all go up thier and freeze every
winter. Keep up the post on you vs U2. I have never been on a
carrier, but I have been on a lot of amphibs/gators. Which the LPH's/LHD's are now bigger than wwii a/c carriers!
Cutman

Hi, If I recall correctly the exchange rate was between 240 and 280 yen per dollar. I went to Korea and got over 500 won per dollar (All I remember was it was 16 beers for a buck)

We thought it outrageous that on Okie we had to pay a dollar for a beer out in town.

The scariest thing that ever happened to me on Okinawa was going into a club and the band played "Paranoid" and sang it in Japanese. All the locals were dancing only it was "line dancing" everyone was doing the same steps (this was years before I saw line dancing in US-it still scares me because of that experiance. It assumed nightmare proportion when without break the band played "War Pigs" still in Japanese. I have never been the same.

And now A beer in Korea is about 3 $ won rate 1200.
The girl have got a little more expensive too!

Originally posted by Cutman

...I was stationed up at Iwakuni for awhile a long time ago..
Good to here from someone from that area. Hiroshima is Awesome!

Yep, Iwakuni is indeed just down the road. And I agree with you about Hiroshima - not too big and intimidating like Tokyo or Osaka, but still lots going on. That's why I've been here nearly ten years already...

Cheers,

ARDLE.