Also in Chiran, Japan there is a Peace Museum For Kamikaze Pilots during World War II. We had to go!! It's always interesting for us to learn history of another country. However, this time we were a part of the history!! The musuem is filled with pictures, relics, and fighter planes that were used during that time.
I think those pilots were brave just to ride in the airplanes!! There wasn't much to them!
A LITTLE HISTORY: In 1945 the war situation became serious and Chiran, Japan became the southernmost airbase for Kamikaze. These pilots were trained to fly on Kamikaze missions which involved steering their airplanes carrying bombs head-on into enemy ships or other targets during the decisive battle for Okinawa at the end of the war. The number of young pilots died during the Kamikaze operation of Okinawa was 1036. All departed knowing there was no chance of return. One of the pictures above shows the soldier's sleeping barracs for the night before their mission. This was the place that they wrote good-bye letters to their families. After the war, Japan agreed that they would never start a war or resort to military force to solve an international dispute, but that the country had not given up the right to defend itself. Thus, the Self-Defense Force was born in 1954. Although the SDF consists of ground, maritime, and air self-defense forces, has fighter planes, tanks and surface-to-air missiles, it is not actually referred to as a military organization.
In a country with so much history, we've only scratched the surface! We haven't yet visited Hiroshima or Nagasaki. As a child Angie was able to visit Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. It's very interesting to learn about both sides of the story.
THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES....
As all of us continued to travel through the southern part of Japan, we saw a lot of farm land! If you know Angie's family at all, then you know this was right up their ally. Angie's dad is a 3rd generation fruit farmer and her brother is the 4th! So, it was hard for us not to stop and take pictures.
We finally got a chance to see where all that Japanes Green Tea comes from. Green Tea is all the rage in the states right now. However, Japanese Green Tea has been around for centuries. It's the beverage that is served to guests when visiting any Japanese home. There are also special "tea times" that are often held after gatherings of sorts. It tastes a lot different than Lypton Green Tea. If you ask Angie's brother, he says it tastes like grass! Of course, it's healthy! That must be the reason that coffee is starting to take the place of many Japanese "tea times." When Nick's mom comes for a visit we'll have the opportunity to experience a Japanese Tea Ceremony. I'll definitely post some pictures for you!
The pictures to the right have green tea bushes in the front and drying out in the background is a vegetable called Dikon. Dikon is a large Japanese radish. It's average size in length is about 2 feet. This pecular radish can be made into every kind of pickle known to man! Also, radish salads are very popular here....just add dressing! I've never eaten so much radish in my life!!
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