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Well, I will be the first to say that the Japanese were so foreign to me, their culture, everything, that it was a constant source of baffling and non-standard (to me) behavior!

Suffice to say that for an eight year old gaijin kid, Japan was a very strange place. Odd toilets that you had to squat over...open sewers...the smell of fish...large groups of people walking around wearing face masks, pachinko ball machines...restaurants with bizarre plastic food in the front windows...

But one of the oddest things to me was that whenever an aircraft carrier came into port, there would be these HUGE demonstrations outside the base.

At around 9:00 AM several hundred Japanese riot police would assemble in a field near my house, then on cue shortly thereafter, the crowds would assemble outside the fence near the main gate with banners and megaphones...I seem to remember large groups, but it might have only been 500 or even a thousand. They would get vocal and demonstrate for a while, then again, on cue, some of them would go over and begin climbing the fence. The fire trucks inside the base parked nearby would begin spraying the demonstrators on the fence with fire hoses, knocking them off, then they would begin spraying the other demonstrators through the fence.

Shortly thereafter, the demonstrators would disperse, the area would be quickly cleaned up, and when the water evaporated, there was no indication that anything had transpired.

When I think of it now, it seemed like one big, huge, ritualized kabuki dance. Everyone knew their roles on both sides, the whole thing went down like clockwork, and then it was over until the next time.

I remember my brother and I going over and talking to a bunch of the Japanese riot police, and inviting them back to our house after the demonstration was over. We went into the cabinets and opened up a bunch of cans of stuff and poured them into bowls. I recall that we had maybe ten bowls of things like chick peas, corn, whatever.

My mom came home, and politely told the Japanese guys to leave, which they did. I have no idea what my mother thought of that. I think she must have thought we were just crazy.

“I think she must have thought we were just crazy.”

What a great story. I bet those Japanese riot police were also wondering what the heck was going on - getting hosted by a couple of 8 year olds!

Speaking of food, I used to sneak out of the house on Sunday mornings to avoid going to church. Always ended up at the old couple’s house opposite our back yard and two doors down. Just about the time I had finished off my pancakes my Dad would come walking over. I’m guessing I was only 4 or 5 or something. Never did get out of missing church!

Oh what a great story. I suppose for a kid, the Japanese would be really bewildering. I was stationed at Yokota in my mid-20s and I saw all of that, except for the demonstrations at the gate. But I enjoyed their politeness on the street, eating at the one-price restaurants where you could grill your own food, the noisy pachinko machines, drunk men on the train, nodding off after midnight. I thought the plastic food in the window was genius!

I did go to Yokosuka one year for the open house at the base and the USS Independence was in port and open for tours to the locals. I don't know if there was any trouble at the gate or not. But I loved living over there.

I'm cracking up at your hospitality toward the cops and your mom not sharing the joy :-)