This blogpost covers the day of March 29th, 2023 while in Yokohama & Yokosuka.
Happy Birthday to me! (Canada time).
It’s a new day, having woken up at 8 AM. Two friends wished me a happy birthday. Thank you! Japan was indeed a birthday to myself, as I’ve noted many times prior, during, and shall do so after. Had myself an allegedly “large” breakfast meal, according to the Japanese standards. I tried getting it as advertised by image, instead accidentally getting more than I desired.
Today was the day to seek out the Mikasa Museum Warship. A day dedicated to mainly seek out Mikasa, and to possibly explore around her scenic areas.
Related Blog Posting (Japan Travel):
[Day 1] – [Day 2] – [Day 3] – [Day 4] – [Day 5] – [Day 6] – [Day 7] – [Day 8] –
Walk to Yokohama Station seeking out a Daiso. Even the Hotel lobby staff were even trying to guide me around telling me how to get to the Daiso. Thank you! I eventually made my way to a Daiso, stared at souls for shoes, even placing it in my shoe to head to Yokosuka. Bought a few extra gadgets for my gadgets.
(I forgot to take images during my Daiso shopping trip. Sorry!
Yokosuka – Yokosuka-Chuo:
Yokosuka (at a glance) appears to be a bit rough around the edges. It seems to be modern, yet rough around the edges. I wouldn’t say poverty (though that may not be far from the truth). It appears more like this area has seen its fair share of struggles. Maybe from Western external harassment. Disregarding that (digressing) I genuinely enjoyed what I saw of Yokosuka. It’s similar to how it was portrayed in various Anime. I enjoyed the vibe of Yokosuka through-and-through on a more Japanese level of things.
I was following Google Maps taking me this way.
Mikasa Historic Warship Museum:
At last! I finally arrived, even reached Mikasa! A few years having desired of wanting to visit her, I finally had! What a sight to behold. Awesome! I savoured the sight to both Tweet and Vlog on Twitter swiftly before taking some Busou Shinki images, and to tour her.
I even desired to visit Mikasa during the special Mikasa-Azur Lane collab anniversary.
I stayed here from 11:32 AM till 2:49 PM (14:49).
Prepping to tour the lovely Mikasa.
After some confirmation by the upper info ticket booth I was given a tour map. Nice! Now I was able to walk around Mikasa as much as I desired, even recalling the Yostar Azur Lane event Anniversary having taken place at Mikasa.
I’m a plane, train, boat, and navy otaku. If it functions, I admire it.
I can finally be proud of something, and I genuinely am. Proud of my various European trips, Cuba trip, and now Japan trip. Yes, even if it pains people I genuinely am proud of what I finally had accomplished.
(Even to the point people want to speak ill of my accomplishments and my plans.)
This makes me so happy! Touring everything, as I had with HMCS Haida.
I had one of those “god damn it!” moment when the local wouldn’t joke with me. I even gestured to the guy to fire the gun at that boat, knowing full well it wouldn’t fire. Just pretend. Humour me. Anything.
I guess I’m just an “Baka gaijin” being “maji kimoi”. Or maybe the dude just wasn’t in the mood. I was disappointed he didn’t humour me.
(Note: Baka Gaijin = Idiot foreigner & Maji Kimoi = Very Creepy. My blog doesn’t handle Japanese lettering characters.)
Look! If I can retain information I’m more than willing to learn about historical facts. I can’t be a nerd, yet I can try to remember what I can. Yes, even if there is a language barrier I try to learn as much as possible.
These headsets seen much better days, I can tell you that for sure. I put one on in an overly reluctant manner, yet used one while firmly thinking back to my VRChat days. Was given a visual tour of Mikasa’s formation, how they stood on the bridge, and etc. Other folks were there commentating their experience as well.
It was at this point (the above image) I was asked where I was on Mikasa by a tour guide. Caught me WAY off guard by his question. Pausing for a moment, I then pointed roughly where I assumed we were on the vessel. Maybe equally as surprised, he then guided me to how to tell where on the vessel we were by the beams on the ceiling. Each one was marked. You could tell where you were on a vessel by the upper support beams.
Satisfied (or maybe even dissatisfied), we parted ways.
Yeah, it was a shame I was prevented from seeing more of battleship Mikasa having to stay in the authorized areas. I genuinely wished and desired to visit, even being disappointed with what Google Translated told me.
The guy (above image) saw me resting (the one pointing) so he decided to ask me more questions of what nationality I was, what (twinned) vessels I saw, and how he himself knew naval commanders in Ottawa. He noted if I saw certain vessels twinned with Mikasa. I sadly do not, to the disappointment of the kind & helpful tour guide. He wanted me to know of more vessels, I however told him I was on HMCS Haida, whatever that meant to him. He knew of a naval commanders in Ottawa. He mainly noted he knows vary important Canadian navy folks also in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Good stuff!
I fear I may have been too eager conversing with him, scaring him a tad, in my excitement to the point he decided to hold back and wander off at times. I was happy to converse, yet feel bad I may have scared him a bit in my excitement. It’s a learning process.
(Side-note: I didn’t tell him, I however know someone who works in DND always hearing how broken Canada is. Nobody wants to work, even in DND. People always taking holidays shoveling their work onto other people, or parts not being ordered properly, among other crazy stuff. Canadian military is a mess, and it’s publicly known via news outlets etc, even without me noting it. I didn’t tell him this, I’m however certain he knows how broken Canada is on his end as well with the implied sources on his end.)
Masafumi Arima? Kaoru Arima? It’s another one of those tug boats.
When people make note of Ottawa I now view it in shame. I hate being a part of Ottawa with how I’ve been outcasted by Ottawa (for the most part, not fully), and most specificially how Ottawa treated your honest-to-god truckers delivering goods overly poorly (poor treatment of truckers thanks to misinformation & disinformation by the Canadian Trudeau government) during the ‘Canada Freedom Convoy’ period. Without the truckers people wouldn’t be sourced properly. I’m more proud knowing Japanese folks connect with British Columbia more than Ottawa. That’s just me now. I feel slight pride when people know of Ottawa, just not so much now with how brainless Ottawa is. If I’m representing Ottawa then it’s on MY terms.
I’m proudly Canadian, I however feel ashamed to be affiliated with Ottawa; Born and raised in Ottawa, yet people in Ottawa are the dumbest bunch of people always resorting to guilt trips, bullying, and allowing themselves to be placed into masochistic situations without fighting back. It’s why you see me boasting more with Vancouver than Ottawa, also because Japanese people know of Vancouver than they do of a morally corrupted hick-town than Ottawa.
Hypothetically, I’d rather be drafted for the Japanese Military than the Canadians, but that’s just how I was treated in Canada. I was given a few outlets to enter via Canadian Cadets (joined for 1 day), dropping out shortly after. I viewed it as not my thing. Granted, if I’m ever allowed to properly connect with my Canadian pride I wouldn’t mind flexing via a Canadian aircraft, vessel, or similar; Physical or virtual. If I’m allowed to connect with my Canadian naval WW2 vessels I wouldn’t mind boasting about them, even via KanColle and Azur Lane, or a friendly showcase on some simulator, or whichever. Whatever I’m allowed to pride myself with, I’ll pride myself with on MY terms, or neutral Canadian terms.
Was looking for a quiet place to vlog for Twitter. Found a neat place, even admiring this lovely park.
I tried recording a vlog, even attempting to upload it. It may have found its way onto Twitter, or it may have taken so long causing me to abort the video uploading. Either way, I basically vented how I admired Japanese parks so much more than what Ottawa labels as parks. Far fancier, far neater, and more enjoyable than Ottawa’s parks. More attention put into the detailing.
I also vented how much I dislike Westerners (North Americans & Europeans) for their arrogance and sliminess, especially in that Japanese context. Most specifically in that Japan context. I’m aware I’m one of them, I however came to Japan FOR Japan, not to waste my time with other foreigners. It’s why you also hear cases of foreigners hating one another, even desiring to ghost one another while in Japan. I don’t mind with being properly minded “down-to-earth” foreigners, it’s the “uneducated” which ruins it for the rest of us. Foreigners tend to be arrogant, and Japanese folks are WELL aware of this, even to the point Japanese girls get violated as a result in extreme cases. I tried my best to keep my cool while in Japan, and even thankful my videos more-or-less failed to upload. I respect those who respect myself and Japan in general. Every video would have been me venting about other foreigners, and that’s what I basically ended up doing regardless in other outlets. I’m glad my venting videos failed to upload.
I simply desire my tranquil bubble. If people can behave as humans then I genuinely don’t mind being with them, but if they’re crude and rude then I want nothing to do with them. The more honest an individual is then the more honest we can be.
(side-note: Upon the return to Ottawa I was asked by a coworker as to why I hold so much negativity. I don’t desire to be negative, people made me this way. I want to be positive. I was GIVEN that negativity by those in Canada, and in Ottawa. Especially those in Ottawa. I want nothing to do with negativity. The world showed me what betrayal and pain was on numerous occasions, and still does. I have to have a barrier up or else I’d find myself at a suicide forest in either Canada or Japan. I’m only negative because that’s what people feed me. I desired to escape to Japan, even if it was one month.)
(Still attempting to record and upload videos. It refused to upload, or maybe it had uploaded.)
Verny Park:
At first, it took me awhile to figure out how to get across, eventually realizing there is a specific set of stairs elevating you to the other side with a bridge (as shown in above image). A very funky design, yet a lovable one in hindsight. This area is also obviously very American in that Japanese manner. It’s not really surreal, just messed up and ghetto thanks to Americans screwing things up, and their presence. I mean, Americans pride themselves on blowjobs given to them by Japanese girls, what can I say?! Hard to be neutral.
(Disclaimer: I don’t hate Americans, I dislike Americans who tarnish and damage Japan, and even Yokosuka. I dislike Americans who shove fake pride, and even violate Japanese. Being crude, and boasting about blow-jobs from Japanese girls.)
I was still in a mission mindset simply desiring to check off my checklist/bucketlist. I’m simply sharing my inner thoughts disliking the Americanization of Yokosuka, yet admiring everything Japanese about it. I had a mission of acquiring Azur Lane AR images of the nearby monuments I had made note of prior to my trip to Japan, even having bookmarked it prior to this moment. With the weather even worsening I was unable to bring out Umikaze for Umikaze park. I even had plans going further out along the coastline to visit other parks, beaches, and slightly more ‘remote’ areas. I was stuck in Verny Park after Mikasa’s touring.
Did you know?
I visited Mikasa for the Kantai Collection & Azur Lane vibes. My Verny Park trip was to pay tribute to Kantai Collection, and the next blog posts following this also pays respect to KanColle.
And on a side note to my previous vent:
“If you don’t want to see Westerners, why travel to Yokosuka then?”
For the military ships. I know how it appears, I came for the military goodies. The more human people can be then the more I can respect them.
(Side-Note: The two AR modes relating to Takao & Nagato probably need to be flipped. I hastily kept referencing my reference sheet from Google Drive. It’s the thought that counts, correct? I tried to pay my respects via Azur Lane’s AR mode. My KanColle account was MIA (No log-in, no client) at the time having to rely on Azur Lane)
Vessels noted to be in the area:
IJN Izumo, Maya, Kumano, USS Howard, USS Ronald Reagan, among others.
All because Kantai Collection influenced me I’m now here admiring the beauty of museum and active military vessels. I’m even desiring Canadian vessels, and have visited HMCS Haida, and other museums.
Kumano reincarnated has appeared! WOOOO! I enjoy my Kantai Collection shipgirls, it’s however the developers don’t like their own game. It turned me into a navy nerd, even to the point of using marine tracker (whichever tracker decided to work at the time).
It was nice seeing Kumano enter, be turned around, and reversed into place. It’s not until I started blogging I noticed the tradition of waving to shore upon return. You’ll see what I mean. View my other Kumano images (above images) with how the sailors are waving their hats.
Possibly at this point I noticed USS Ronald Reagan, if not, maybe even earlier.
76? CVN-76 = USS Ronald Reagan.
I originally desired to have Umikaze AR mode at Umikaze park, instead having to do it at Verny Park thanks to time restraints, and all that lovely jazz. Too many restrictions at this point keeping me where I was, at Verny Park. I would have to choose another day, something which still eludes me in the future.
If I was allowed to fly my drone from here I would have been able to obtain some neat captures. Shame Japan is anti-drone, ruining all the fun and games for people.
Decided to simply leave at a random exit. The first exit I could find leading me to this view……
Made my way to a nearby FamilyMart which had a cashier speak in English to me, to my partial surprise. Yokosuka is in an Americanized region so it makes sense. You can barely see the FamilyMart logo shining through slightly to the middle-left of the image. Conbini’s are a godsent, especially when other restaurants and places are packed full to the brim, or just can’t be bothered.
For my actual dinner I went out to see what was nearby. I went exploring to see where I could actually eat, to which I ate at this place.
I was treated well, even given an English menu by being suggested to view it instead of the Japanese menu. I was fine choosing blindly, having the English menu however works nicely. The meal was alright, and I did pay. It was enjoyable, to a point. I didn’t know how to eat the more liquidy-sauce stuff. I however felt sick afterwards. I felt like I was going to throw up all night, and into the morning.
I decided to head towards the Pachinko to see what’s up.
I toured the place briefly before asking for help. They guided me in using one, even using translators, and EVERY bit of patience they had to make sure I understood. They gave me a booklet showing me what I had to do guiding my hand every step of the way to the best of their abilities (language barriers). They told me where to shoot, how to shoot the marbles. They even summoned other folks to help out.
They went above and beyond in helping me. I chose a different machine later, giving up and heading home for having my Pachinko fill, and to simply find comfort in my broken stomach. I genuinely sat in my hotel ready to throw up. Yes, even after I ate some of my FamilyMart bentos.
That’s another day accomplished! Happy Birthday to me! Birthday visiting Mikasa, Yokosuka’s Verny Park, having fun with Azur Lane, and paying respect to the Kantai Collection influences. Good times. Now to rest my stomach while considering my plans for the next day.
Onwards to naval victory!