Looking up at the sky, I imagined what it was like standing here and watching more than 100 heavy bombers fly overhead. Tajimadake, a high hill with the city of Sasebo spread out before it, housed a battery of anti-aircraft…
Mutsu: Japan’s Most Visitable World War II Battleship?
After World War II most of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s battleships were at the bottom of the sea or scrapped, leaving the pre-dreadnought-turned-memorial ship Mikasa, victor of the 1905 Battle of Tsushima, as Japan’s sole survivor. Yamato is Japan’s most…
Reenacting America’s Nisei Soldiers in Japan
(Note: There may be another story with the same title in Stripes, that one is a greatly condensed version of this.) Awhile back I was offered the chance to join a group of Japanese World War II reenactors on a…
A Series of Adventures at Summers End
As many of our regular readers know, Wayfarer Daves is two photographers named Dave who enjoy writing and travel. Regulars, or those who have read past articles, will also know that we each live on different Japanese islands with…
The Japanese Home Front VI: Safe at School (Mukyudo)
This series is about the Japanese home front in and around Sasebo, Japan during World War II. It is not a condemnation or critique of actions taken by either side during the war but rather a look at the civilian…
The Japanese Home Front V: Kawatana, Home of Shinyo and the Fish-Shaped Water Bomb (Katashima Torpedo Testing Facility and Shinyo Memorial)
This series is about the Japanese home front in and around Sasebo, Japan during World War II. It is not a condemnation or critique of actions taken by either side during the war but rather a look at the civilian…
The Japanese Homefront IV: From the Beginning to the End: Hario Wireless Transmitting Station and Uragashira Repatriation Center Peace Museum
This series is about the Japanese home front in and around Sasebo, Japan during World War II. It is not a condemnation or critique of actions taken by either side during the war but rather a look at the civilian…
The Japanese Home Front III: Sasebo Air Defense Command Center
This series is about the Japanese home front in and around Sasebo, Japan during World War II. It is not a condemnation or critique of actions taken by either side during the war but rather a look at the civilian…
The Japanese Home Front II: Shizue-san the Welder
This series is about the Japanese home front in and around Sasebo, Japan, during World War II. It is not a condemnation or critique of actions taken by either side during the war but rather a look at the civilian…
The Japanese Home Front I: Learning About the Sasebo Air Raid at the Sasebo Peace Museum (Air Raid Reference Room)
This series is about the Japanese home front in and around Sasebo, Japan, during World War II. It is not a condemnation or critique of actions taken by either side during the war but rather a look at the civilian…