Lunch outside

Lunch outside, a photo by kasa51 on Flickr.

LUNCH OUTSIDE
This is a great photo with the couple ordering lunch, the graphics provided by the menus--it is a slice of life. Editor
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Lunch outside by kasa51

In their girlish day

In their girlish day, a photo by kasa51 on Flickr.

It is so good to see the girls still wear their uniforms. This is a photo full of genuine joy. Thanks for sharing this photo.

YEN WAS 360 PER 1 U.S. DOLLAR IN 1962, JAPAN

YEN WAS 360 PER 1 U.S. DOLLAR IN 1962, JAPAN, a photo by roberthuffstutter on Flickr.

YEN WAS 360 PER 1 U.S. DOLLAR IN 1962, JAPAN
This receipt reflects the cost of an elegant dinner in yen when 360 YEN equalled one U.S. DOLLAR. FUJIYA HOTEL AT MIYANOSHITA,HAKONE,JAPAN. To summarize, the dinner was slightly over ten dollars

WIEN COFFEE SHOP, YOKOHAMA 1962 & 1963

WIEN COFFEE SHOP, YOKOHAMA 1962 & 1963, a photo by roberthuffstutter on Flickr.

It was really only during my first few months in Japan that I traveled with my service buddies. I believe this was the case in most of our tours.

Once we became accustomed to the country and were able to find our way around, we found seperate interests and let our personal preferences be our guide as we met new friends.

Finding Japanese friends was not difficult. Youth our age, both male and female were anxious to befriend us and learn about American culture and the English language. On a typical Saturday, one could walk around Yokohama all day and never find a lonely moment.

The city parks were among the best spots for meeting Japanese friends our age. Most of us were in our late teens and early 20s, thus our new friends were in the same age range. I enjoyed the cultural exchange, the friendships.

However, Yokohama was full of small and intimate coffee shops where the atmosphere was created to give one a European mood or attitude. One particular cafe became a favorite and many of my Saturdays began there at noon when a beautiful young lady entered and walked toward my table. French music was always playing softly. I would stand to welcome her. In that era, there was no public hugs as there are today. There were hugs, for sure, embraces really, but they were reserved for intimate times when the time for mutual affection and romance became the focus of the meeting for awhile. Romance was a very personal and emotional event, at least that is how I recall romance so many years later. French music and the aroma of coffee will forever take my mind not to Paris, but to the Yokohama of 1962 and 1963. As one grows older, memories are meant to be recalled; they are reminders of our youth when our energies and dreams were part of our daily life. It is good to have memories that will create warmth in the mind and heart. In some ways, they are the rewards of a youth we do not regret, memories of times that probably were not meant to last a lifetime, but memories that are remembered for a special tenderness that we sometimes wish that lasted but didn't. Nevertheless, they were memories that made one recall youth and a foreign love affair very special. Only those who have experienced what I am speaking of can totally understand my feelings on this specific type of romance.

SAGAMI OTSUKA OUTSIDE NAS ATSUGI 1961

SAGAMI OTSUKA OUTSIDE NAS ATSUGI 1961, a photo by roberthuffstutter on Flickr.

SAGAMI OTSUKA OUTSIDE NAS... by roberthuffstutter

Match Box Label

Match Box Label, a photo by gr8plunder on Flickr.

Match Box Label by gr8plunder