Dolls from Japan – 1978

February 13, 2018February 13, 2018Chris and Carol 2 Comments

These lovely dolls were handmade for us while we were living in Japan between 1977 and 1980. A wonderful artist came to our home and we helped “design” the dolls we wanted.

Specifically, we lived in a Western-style home in Honmoku, Naka-ku, Kanagawa Prefecture – just south of Yokohama City proper.

doll 2

doll 1

doll 3

The artistry and attention to detail are amazing.

Thanks for stopping by!

C&C ^.^

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Sankei-en… Yokohama’s Beautiful Gem

January 24, 2017Chris and Carol Leave a comment

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Escape the hustle of the big city – Sankei-en is Yokohama’s beautiful gem.

Soon the sakura and azalea will bloom. Photographers will come. School children and couples. Families love Sankei-en.

It was a pleasant ride to Sankei-en from our house so we went often.

Admission – 100 yen. All smiles.

Sakura from long ago. Avenue D in Naka-ku, Honmoku. 1979

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Spring returns to Sankei-en soon. The blossoms will be everywhere. Come to this spot and enjoy!

Images from 1978 and 1979. Canon F-1 and Canon AE-1. Kodak Kodachrome film.

Thank you for your visit.

Chris & Carol ^.^

Yokohama 1979

January 23, 2017January 5, 2019Chris and Carol 7 Comments

Carol and I lived in Yokohama from 1977 to early 1980. We have such wonderful memories of our time living there – memories that still make us smile today. Specifically, we lived in US Navy Housing Area 2 (283-D) which was in Honmoku, Naka-ku. Back then it was an industrial area with a refinery (see pic below) close by and of course the port with its thousands of automobiles and small trucks waiting to ship out to the States.

Oil refinery as seen from a hill near our house.

Here, in no particular order, are some street scenes in and around ‘Yoko’. We can tell from our Google Earth visits, that the area has changed dramatically since the Navy left in 1982. There’s an elementary school where our house once stood and the houses we see now are big by what we considered big for Japanese houses back in the late 1970s. All of these images were shot using my Canon F-1 or Carol’s AE-1. We used Kodak Kodachrome and Ektachrome slide film as shooting with color negative film was beyond my Sailor’s pay.

Enjoy this trip back in time and please forgive us if our memory of the exact location is wrong. ^.^

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Avenue D, 16, headed straight to Sakuragicho and right to Kamiakin and Yamashita.

A gas station along Avenue D, located just across the road from our base housing. We would tell people who were coming to visit us to be on the lookout for the ‘humpin’ turtle’ sign as it was near the turn into the housing area.

A little too close to the local Keihin Kyuko train in Sugita.

We know… a pay phone with a dial!

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Driving through one of the many tunnels along Avenue D (16) from Yokosuka to Yokohama.

Area 2, US Navy base housing, Yokohama. Our house is the middle of the three two-story houses on the left. The bay, port and the refinery can be seen through the haze in the distance. Honmoku Elementary School 横浜市立本牧小学校 is located here now.

Thanks for your visit – time travel can be such fun! We have a video on Sony Betamax tape that we will have transferred to digital (soon). Lots of neat shots around town with rides on the bus and trains and a walk through a local shopping street. Stay tuned!

Chris and Carol ^.^

Yokosuka and Yokohama

January 20, 2017January 21, 2017Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Memories of our time in Japan – 1977 to 1980. We lived in Yokohama, Naka-ku. Lovely place. Wonderful people. Every day an adventure. As I read current blogs from Japan, it strikes me that so many signs are now in English. Back in the day (as they say) that wasn’t the case. These two signs were within walking distance of major U.S. Navy installations. No English. No problem. I’m sorry to say that we never learned to read kanji or katakana but we at least learned what the kanji characters looked like for where we wanted to be.

Yokosuka train station, Keihin Kyuko Line schedule heading north to Yokohama.

I always tried for the “green” trains at 15, 35 and 55 after the hour. These were the fastest to Yoko!

Waiting for Bus 8 to Yokohama train station. We knew to look for the kanji character that looked like an old style camera on a tripod as that was Yokohama. Hey it worked!

Bus driver giving me the look.

This was the only sign that I can remember that had English on it near our house in Yokohama. BTW, it was a hot, hazy and humid summer day on the Kanto Plain that day.

Anyway, no complaints here, but as you can see not much in the way of English (none actually). That was Japan in the late 1970s. We had a blast!

Thanks for your visit!

Chris and Carol ^.^

More Kamakura… 1979

January 14, 2017Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Senja-fuda… “I was here”…

Calm…

Canon F-1 (1978 version) on Kodachrome 64. Kanagawa Prefecture, Yokohama, Japan.

Kamakura

January 13, 2017Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Peaceful place. Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan… July 1979

Canon F-1 on Kodak Kodachrome 64.

People Pics… Japan 1977-1980

December 25, 2016December 27, 2016Chris and Carol Leave a comment

These images were mostly taken in and around Yokohama and Tokyo with my Canon F-1 (1978 version). I used Kodak Kodachrome 25 and on occasion some Kodak Ektachrome 64 (I believe). They are in no particular order and will jump around quite a bit in both year taken and location. Enjoy!

Early morning commuter at the Yokohama train station.

Cute little spot of color at Ueno Zoo Tokyo.

Pigeon racing – Ueno Zoo Tokyo.

In keeping with red clothing as the central theme, my lovely wife Carol at Sankei-en (Gardens) in Naka-ku Yokohama. The admission was about .45 cents US for an adult which made visiting Sankei-en a regular past time for us.

Motomachi shopping street Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. A favorite spot for shopping. As always, the local police assisting lost citizens.

“You watchin’ me… I’m watchin’ YOU”! Watchful shop dog in Honmoku, Naka-ku.

Fast service at a local shopping “street”. A very small back street in Sugita just down the street from the then JNR station. Yokohama, Isogo Ward (Isogo-ku).