View of Fuji-san from Kamakura, Japan

View of Fuji-san from Kamakura, Japan, a photo by HertzaHaeon on Flickr.

THIS IS A MASTERPIECE. Since leaving Japan in 1963 after nearly three years, I have longed to return someday to see Mt. Fuji. If I cannot make it, this photograph is almost like seeing Fuji-San in person.

You have captured this scene in a manner that makes it appear as it might have been seen a century ago.

Your lighting, framing and attention to details has made this scene one of the best I have seen during the past 50 years. Thanks for sharing this memory.
__________________________________
My gratitude to Mikael Tilly for such a great photograph.

THE PEANUTS CLUB---PART OF MATCHBOX COLLECTION

THE PEANUTS CLUB---PART OF MATCHBOX COLLECTION, a photo by roberthuffstutter on Flickr.

Part of my matchbox collection of Japanese bars I frequented. The PEANUTS CLUB has some very special memories for me. It was there where I would meet a young Japanese girl I would remember for the rest of my life.

THE PEANUTS CLUB IN YOKOHAMA: 1961, 1962, 1963...four floors with an elevator of live music..(日本語ロック論争,

THE PEANUTS CLUB IN YOKOHAMA: 1961, 1962, 1963...four floors with an elevator of live music..(日本語ロック論争,, a photo by roberthuffstutter on Flickr.

THE PEANUTS CLUB IN YOKOHAMA: 1961, 1962, 1963...four floors with an elevator of live music..(日本語ロック論争,

Unless one really knew about the Peanuts Club, or heard the music playing all night and all day, one might walk by the somewhat austere fascade where the arrow pointed up. But really, one had only to be in the service or in their teens to know about the Peanut or Peanuts Club. It attracted the likes of my type, a young guy in the service, Japanese teenagers in their late teens and dependents in their late teens who lived at the Yokohama Housing for U.S.Service and Government employees. It was the coolest musical pub and coffee bar or pub in Yokohama.

WHO REMEMBERS THE WIEN COFFEE SHOP?

WHO REMEMBERS THE WIEN COFFEE SHOP?, a photo by roberthuffstutter on Flickr.

I told her I did not know where the Wein Coffee Shop was located. She wrote the address or directions on a piece of paper and told me to give it to taxi man. "He knows, I know," she said. "We meet at noon, okay?" I squeezed her hand and smiled. She returned my smile.

pond at sankeien

pond at sankeien, a photo by Molly Des Jardin on Flickr.

THIS PHOTOGRAPH BY MOLLY DES JARDIN is a marvelous capture of a special memory. Her photo seems to have captured the park exactly as I recall seeing it for my first time, in the autum of 1962.

Sankien Gardens is the first place my new friend and I went.
We had both discussed how we liked to sketch, thus we decided to meet at a nearby coffee and wine shop and proceed from there.

I told her I did not know where the Wein Coffee Shop was located. She wrote the address or directions on a piece of paper and told me to give it to taxi man. "He knows, I know," she said. "We meet at noon, okay?" I squeezed her hand and smiled. She returned my smile.

Did I believe she would really be there at noon? I hoped she would be. I was already in love with this young lady who still had on her blue Middy blouse. I escorted her down the stairs to a waiting taxi. We did not kiss good night. I waved as the taxi pulled out into the Yokohama traffic of the wee hours of the morning.

Wow, I thought, I might have finally found the young woman of my dreams. I returned up the stairs of the Peanut Club as a western band and singer were doing a Patsy Cline version of "I Fall to Pieces."