[rlmorel]

When I was a kid living in Yokosuka, Japan, I used to sneak under the fence to go off-base right near this:

I guess there are still a few of these old ships around...this one, the Mikasa, was the flagship of the Japanese fleet at Tsushima Straits. She somehow survived WWII (one can imagine American aviators in 1945 seeing that thing and planting bombs on it, just to be sure) and Admiral Nimitz helped fund her preservation after the war.

Interesting stuff.

[jboot]

The Mikasa was on George Marshall's Do Not Bomb list, along with numerous religious and historical districts and even a few entire cities.

Our boys did a good job abiding by that list so Japan got to keep (some) of their culture.