Sasebo: Day 2 or "99 Islands and a Beach Ain't 1"

On our second day, we got an early start. Since Sasebo is a port city, fishing is a big industry and every day there is an open air market by the water near the station. We got there at about 8:30, but I guess that's not early enough for a morning market. They were already cleaning up and just a few people remained trying to sell their produce or fresh fish...and some of the ugliest crab/lobsters you've ever seen.

Yes, one adorable cabbage, please

Our mission of the day was to go to the hilltop where Grandpa took more pictures of himself and Haruko when they were living together in Sasebo. We also wanted to visit that library again and see if we could get some more details about the Masuda family.

We took a shuttle bus to the hotel at the top of the hill where there is a hotel resort now. It's a nice looking place, and from the balcony, we found ourselves in the exact same position as the pictures of Grandpa! The viewpoint looked right out over the 99 Islands.

We had some time to kill before the return shuttle, so we went uphill to an observation deck. Mom and Dad spotted a few of the landmarks like the Navy base, the Army base by the 99 Islands where Grandpa was stationed, and the Jyajima "peninsula" as well as the radio towers.

When we got back, we were starting to get a bit peckish. Lunch time! And what else do you eat in Sasebo but the famous SASEBO BURGER!

Oh, Sasebo burgers, you glorious Frankensteins of history, culture and progress. When the Americans first came to Sasebo, homesick men introduced a staple of American cuisine: the burger. The Japanese, always striving towards progress while keeping tradition alive, morphed the American classic into the great and wondrous Sasebo Burger.

Very large and insanely delicious, the Sasebo Burger is a hot commodity. Stores actually have to be certified to call what they make the real deal!

Ready for some certified burgers!

And because they're so big, there's a method to the madness: you have to press the burger with the palm of your hand for 10 seconds. Everything then blends together: the crispy bun, the gooey sauces and the thick, juicy meat.

Then, you abandon all propriety and dignity and just dive in. Bliss on a bun, people.

The Army Men are a nice touch

After lunch, we decided to check out the market street. Everything from aprons to fake and real flowers, fruit, tea, and the biggest tubs of miso I've ever seen was for sale.

At the library, our primary objective was to get city records like censuses or family properties so we could find out where the Masuda family may have lived. My Japanese is not what I hoped it would be at this time, but I did my best and was able to ask a librarian if they had records from before the war. I explained about Haruko and Mom and Grandpa and asked if we could learn where the Masuda family house was.

Unfortunately, the woman told me that most of the records were destroyed. They just didn't have census records at their disposal. (Maybe city hall or a historical center would have them, but I'll have to go back later and try that myself) Instead, she took us to the back of the library and a younger woman pulled out some very old maps of Sasebo that showed properties and war damage. I tried to tell her we didn't know where the Masudas lived, but wanted to know if the city had records.

Again, we hit a wall. We thanked the librarians for their time and left. We learned a lot about Haruko, got a few new details and Mom and I finally saw a bit of her world. The rest will come later.

After a long morning together, we went our separate ways for a few hours. I wanted to check out a temple hidden behind some store fronts on a hillside. The temple is large and airy.

As I walked down the stairs, I looked into a building to the left. It must have been a modern ceremony hall: it was pretty modern, with large glass windows on one side. Inside was a young couple, dressed formally, holding a baby. They smiled and bowed to me and I bowed back. I think they were there to have the baby blessed.

Down the stairs was a low, long building with thin glass windows and sliding doors. The building was empty, but inside I saw a large kettle on a table. It was a tea house!

I spent a few more hours walking around Nimitz Park then through the shopping arcade before heading back to the hotel to meet with Mom and Dad. I went back a little early because I'd stopped in a bookstore and found some books I thought they'd like to look at before finding dinner. Dad does some carving as a hobby and wanted a book of Japanese family crests to experiment with. And Mom is always looking for patterns she can use in paintings or quilting.

They found both. And I got a couple late Beatles CDs.