I'm sorry that I have not written for over a month.. I write almost every day in the Japanese blog, but it's not very easy to write in English. Now I try again to write more regularly!!
Today I want to introduce my hometown Yokosuka (横須賀) to you where I lived more than twenty years. Yokosuka is located at the mouth of Tokyo Bay on Miura Peninsula (三浦半島). Unfortunately this city is not very famous here in Germany, so when someone in Germany asks me where I'm from, I normaly answer "I come from a city which is located a little south from YOKOHAMA (横浜)"
Compared with Yokohama or historical city Kamakura (鎌倉)(it's also near from Yokosuka), there are here not many to see for tourists. But I think it's comfortable to live there. The climate in Yokosuka is a little milder than in Tokyo and you can enjoy eating fresh fish! Tuna landed in the neighboring city Miura (三浦) is especially famous. Besides Yokosuka played an important role in the Japanese history of modern age.
In 1853, United States naval officer Matthew Perry arrived with his fleet of black warships ashore Yokosuka. At that time it was a big suprise for Japanese, because Japan had had no diplomatic relations with foreign countries since 1641, apart from a few exceptions with Dutch merchant in Nagasaki (長崎). Perry asked the Japanese Government to open the ports and conclude the trade relationships. In 1854 the Japanese Government accepted his request and that's how the Japanese modern history began. This (photo) is the monument in Kurihama (久里浜) to indicate that Perry landed here.
It is the Nobi shore (野比海岸). I lived near here in my childhood. So I have many memories in this area. If you are a film-fan, you might have seen the film "HANA-BI" from Takeshi Kitano (北野武)? A scene of a seeshore in the movie was shot at this beach. In this photo you can see mountains across the sea in Bo-so Peninsula (房総半島).
