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A person was sitting on these steps waiting for a bank to open. Only their shadow was left after their body was instantly incinerated by the blast.

A watch is frozen in time at 8:15 AM, the moment the bomb detonated.

At the reception thrown for us on Etajima. Cheers to the Japan-US friendship! Kampai!

The Mustin's captain exchanges ballcaps with the superintendent of the Maritime Officer Candidate School.

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Making friends at MOCS. Something magical happens after the 4th or 5th JSDF sponsored umeshu.

LT Yukako Ikeda is one of the detailers at MOCS, responsible for the training and disclipline of the students.

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Japanese rifle drill. Note the guy that breaks bearing at the end of the first squad.

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Karate.

We had to make our racks, fearing a room inspection or "junken".

I pose with Takeshi in front of our Japan-US Friendship Tree.

We had no idea how serious our visit was. Here we planted a tree to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the US-Japan alliance. We were on national TV and newspapers!

At first we laughed because the Japanese had lifeboats in case the island sank. Then we learned about the pain of "cutter races". At any moment, loudspeakers could announce a cutter race. Students would have to sprint back to their dorms to change into the appropriate uniform, then hop into the boats and race.

My glorious bed.

This is what happens if you fail the room inspection. The officers literally disassemble your bed. Borrowed from Nicole Uchida.

Judo.

Kendo.

Martial Arts demonstration!

Takeshi and I at the tea ceremony demonstration at MOCS.

JMSDF Etajima MOCS souvenir canned bread. I'm not even kidding. JAPAN IS AWESOME!

The Yamato museum in Kure featured an intricately detailed, huge model of the battleship. Too bad we sank the real thing, it would be one heck of a museum.

Hiroshima castle.

Shogun Tran.

I get an awkward photo with a JMSDF recruing booth. They gave me a free paper hat.

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Samurai Tran.

The atomic bomb peace park in Hiroshima. This park and its adjacent museum should be a manditory visit for all Americans and all citizens of the world. There should be no way you could walk through it and still advocate the use of nuclear weapons.

Diorama of the city after the bomb. The red ball is where the bomb detonated.

The museum was fair and balanced. It did not blame the US for dropping the bomb, and focused on a message of using the event as a lesson to never use atomic weapons again.

This clock counts the time since the last atomic bomb test.

The atomic bomb peace park in Hiroshima. This park and its adjacent museum should be a manditory visit for all Americans and all citizens of the world. There should be no way you could walk through it and still advocate the use of nuclear weapons.

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We went out for all you can eat Korean Barbecue in Kure with some MOCS students.

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Simakaze! One of my favorites from Navy Field, lol. They should ditch the guns and go full on TW.

The naval ensign from the battleship/carrier Hyuga. They should display this on the modern "helicopter destroyer" Hyuga.

No Battleship Yamato museum is complete without the Space Battleship Yamato. What do you expect, it's Japan? =D

The JMSDF Submarine/Minesweeping museum in Kure.

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