Trip to Japan – What to see

I would try to JASDF museum in Hamamatsu.

http://www.karo-aviation.nl/photo/pages/hama05.htm
http://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=10&p=193514

They have a Zero on display.

This list might help to find some others in japan though.

http://www.j-aircraft.com/misc/SURVIVE.HTM

Most of the Japanese warbirds I saw were displayed at the Udvar Hazy museum in Washington DC……:rolleyes:

Yasukuni Shrine & Museum

I unreservedly recommend a visit to the Ysukuni Shrine and its attached Museum.

The shrine is extraordinary, as is the museum.

Lots of interesting artifacts as this website notes, but more than the completely different take on everything is an absolute mind game.

Brilliant place. Allow a few hours. D

Smith.

Would you mind expanding a little on the comment “the completely different take on everything is an absolute mind game”? I suspect as much but it would be interesting to hear your view on their view, as it were.

Regards,

kev35

^ Seconded

Thanks for info!
I think I had better start getting my hands on some more media cards as I think I’ll need them!

Phill
www.outflankeduk.com

Yasukuni Shrine

Smith.

Would you mind expanding a little on the comment “the completely different take on everything is an absolute mind game”? I suspect as much but it would be interesting to hear your view on their view, as it were.

Regards,

kev35

Hi Kev

It’s difficult to put in a few words but I’ll have a crack at it. As I’m sure you know, the shrine is an environment that reveres (and hosts the spirits of) those who have died in warfare. Reveres is too little a word, but I can’t pull a better one out of my head right now. We have war memorials of course, and remember those who will forever remain young etc., but Yasukuni Shrine takes this concept to another level.

We remember and respect the dead (and those who fought without dying) and we have, here and there, War Memorial Museums. We also have many military and/or technology oriented museums. Typically they contain, for the visitor’s edification and education, all sorts of machines, medals, uniforms etc. that one can peruse and get a sense of what “things” were used by those who fought.

Amongst a few other things, the Museum at Yasukuni presents actual artifacts (aircraft, weapons, shredded uniforms etc.) that were used by those who have died. We might find that disrespectful, here it is the opposite. There is a pile of twisted metal that is the remains of a kamikaze aircraft. There is the extraordinary huge cannon that was one of the built in defence guns at Okinawa. It is huge, and it it is pitted and mangled and smashed. It was one of the last guns firing by (some regiment who’s name escapes me) until it was hammered into submission and all those defenders were dead. Looking at it, and imagining the hell that put it into the condition it is in, took my breath away.

One gets (I got) sucked in to the sheer intensity of battle and you get a sense of the depth of respect for the dead being “lived” at the shrine. I understand why no Japanese leader could fail to go to the shrine at appropriate occasions, notwithstanding the international negativity about those actions.

There is also the remarkable alternate view of Kamikaze that is the Special Attack section at the shrine. I wrote something about that elsewhere here … ah, here it is, this post of this thread.

It is a very very moving place. I was lucky enough to be there on a day at which some sort of remembrance was underway, I sat and watched a NO “play” being enacted, etc. My Japanese was only sufficient to order food and say thank you (at various levels) so I don’t know what was going on … but …

My advice … when you get a chance, go there. You will never forget it.

regards Don

I wonder if perhaps some of WWI battlefields would have similar impact?

If you find yourself on Kyushu you could aim for the Tachiari Peace Memorial Museum in Fukuoka. Not a huge amount there but they do have the one and only Ki-27 (Nate) which would be worth seeing.

Anne (Who is not jealous…no sir…not when she has always wanted to go on an aviation tour of Japan)

I hear Nagasaki is nice…….now; haven’t they got a B29 preserved there?

Thanks Anne, thats another one added to my growing list! Not heard of a B-29 over there, but if there is I wanna see it!

Phill
www.outflankeduk.com