Pearl Harbor 80th Anniversary: What To Watch and What Not To

In six days, the 80th anniversary of the December 7, 1941 Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii will be observed. This was the catalyst that thrust the United States into World War II.

It will be tempting (no doubt movies on the attack will be scheduled to commemorate the anniversary) to pop in a movie on the the attack.

There are two movies that should be worth noting on which to watch and not to bother with, if one is so tempted.

To avoid:

Pearl Harbor (2001) is a bloated soap opera approach to the attack that is heavily weighed down by bad acting and scripting of a love story. The attack was computer-generated and has been given high marks. The good thing about seeing this on home video is that one can fast-forward through the glop to the attack (the movie is a little over three hours long). At the time of its release, Pearl Harbor was universally panned for good reason. Time has not made this movie any better. 

To watch: 

Tora, Tora, Tora (1970).  Despite its clinical direction and wooden acting, at least this movie has the benefit of looking at the attack from both the American and Japanese perspectives with good historical accuracy. I'll probably pop this one into my video machine. 

By the way, “Tora, Tora, Tora” was the Japanese code to begin the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was transmitted from the Hario Wireless Towers near Sasebo on the Japanese island of Kyushu.

Otherwise...

Above, the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Better yet, if one can, go to Pearl Harbor to see for one's self the battleship USS Arizona Memorial and the battleship USS Missouri.

Visit Old Japanese Naval Port Towns of Maizuru, Kure and Sasebo

Above, the Hario Towers near Sasebo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Back in 2007, I took a trip down to Kyushu to visit several places of historical and kaiju history.

While there, I visited Kumamoto, Mount Aso Volcano National Park, Sasebo, Nagasaki and Fukuoka.

Tokyo Cheapo has an article on visiting Japan's old port towns, which includes Sasebo. In the Sasebo portion of their article, they focused on the Hario Towers, purportedly the towers that transmitted the signal to the Japanese fleet to attack Pearl Harbor. Near the towers, is the Saikai Bridge that was featured in Rodan (1956).

Above, the Saikai Bridge near Sasebo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If you are a submarine fan, there is a port town (Kure) where submarines can be viewed and a museum dedicated to the Japanese battleship, Yamato.

They begin their article with:

Many visitors to Japan limit their sightseeing to the country’s major cities, like Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima. Beyond those hot spots, however, exists a wealth of history and culture in local areas that can offer unique tourist opportunities. Consider Maizuru, Kure and Sasebo—three old Japan port towns chock-full of natural beauty, historical attractions and nautical adventures.

To see the full article, go here.

Dark Tourism, A New Japan Travel Magazine

Above, the Hario Towers, which transmitted the coded message to the
Japanese fleet to launch the Pearl Harbor attack. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A new magazine has been introduced in Japan called Dark Tourism, which focuses on less conventional sites for visitors to Japan.

According to Inside Japan Tours:

For many people planning a holiday to Japan, sacred shrines, geisha tea rooms and sushi restaurants are high on their list of travel priorities, but another side to tourism in the country is emerging.  

Dark tourism refers to visitors who would prefer to see go and see less conventional sites and therefore gain a different insight into Japan's history.  

These may include nuclear reactors, leprosy islands and landmarks relating to conflicts such as the second world war.  

A new magazine entitled Dark Tourism has been published in Japan to shed light on such places and highlight the value of visiting them.

To read more, go here. 

June Los Angeles To Tokyo Airfare Check

Above, the historical Hario Wireless Towers in Kyushu near Sasebo City. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

We're now in a new month and this is the first airfare check for flights from Los Angeles to Tokyo.

The Los Angeles Times Travel section reported yesterday airfares from Los Angeles to Tokyo ranged from the low end at $884.00 to the high end of $1,062.00. These fares are before any taxes and fees are added in.

After seeing this, I checked my favorite source for airline tickets, GatewayLAX to see what they could come up with. I set my search for a June 20 departure and a June 28 return.

Here is the cheapest direct (non-stop) airfare they came up with:

Looks like the Los Angeles Times' source(s) did better with lower fares this month. Unless there's a major or interesting change in airfares, the next report will be in July.

L.A. To Tokyo Airfares Unchanged

Above, the Hario Wireless Towers near Sasebo City in Kyushu. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Things may be settling down as far as airfares from Los Angeles to Tokyo are concerned.

The prices the Los Angeles Times Travel section came up with in yesterday's edition are unchanged from last week's.

As was the case last week, the price range of airfares came in at a low end of $1,006.00 and a high end of $1,593.00. These prices are before any fees or taxes are added.

If airfares remain the same next week, the next report will be posted the day after the first Sunday in October, which is only two weeks away.

H.I.S. May Buy Island Near Theme Park For Casino Resort

Above, many islands dot the Kyushu coast and may be candidates for a casino resort. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Sasebo may be known more than just the Saikai Bridge and the Hario Towers (featured in Rodan (1956)) if casino resort developers have their way.

The Japan Times reported:

H.I.S. Co.’s Dutch-themed Huis Ten Bosch amusement park along the Nagasaki coast is considering buying a deserted offshore island in an expansion to boost its appeal as a possible site for a casino resort. 

“We are planning to buy new land to offer more games at the Huis Ten Bosch theme park,” Hideo Sawada, chairman of the Tokyo-based travel agency and park operator, said in an interview last week. “There are a lot of deserted islands nearby.” He said at least ¥100 billion is needed to fund a gambling resort at the park. 

Huis Ten Bosch and sites across Japan are preparing to compete for possible gambling resort developments before the nation ends a ban on casinos, with preliminary legislation expected to be passed in the coming months. Global operators from Las Vegas Sands Corp. to Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. have said they are prepared to invest billions of dollars should they win permits for casinos in the world’s third-largest economy. 

Japan’s casino market could eventually generate $40 billion in annual revenue, trailing only China’s Macau as a gambling hub, CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets estimates.

Above, the Shin-Saikai Bridge near Sasebo City. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Huis Ten Bosch is near Sasebo City (the train I rode on passed it while on the way to Sasebo in 2007) and is twice the size of Tokyo Disneyland, according to the article. There are many offshore islands near Sasebo, Nagasaki and Fukuoka, so any one of them could be a prime candidate for a casino resort.

To read more, go here.

"Rodan's Saikai Bridge" Article Link In 9Pages

Above, the Saikai Bridge. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

9Pages.com has posted a link to my article at JapanTravel (formerly JapanTourist) on "Rodan's Saikai Bridge." They have a full page on Saikai, in Nagasaki Prefecture in Kyushu.

In case you are unfamiliar with the Saikai Bridge, it was featured in Rodan (1956) when the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (航空自衛隊, Kōkū Jieitai) (or JASDF) pursues one of the Rodans to Sasebo City and then later to Fukuoka City. Also featured during the Saikai Bridge sequence were the Hario Wireless Towers, which transmitted the orders (in code) to the Japanese fleet to attack Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Above, the Hario Wireless Towers. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Saikai Bridge and the Hario Wireless Towers are near Sasebo City, Kyushu.

To view the page on Saikai, go here.

The Saikai Bridge and Sasebo are spotlighted in The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan on page 48.

72nd Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Attack

Above, the USS Arizona burning after attack.

Today is the 72nd anniversary of the attack on the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

To commemorate the anniversary, the Huffington Post has posted "5 Facts You Didn't Know About Pearl Harbor, On The 72nd Anniversary."

One of them (you'll have to read the full article to find out what are the other four) is:

5. Many tourists from Japan come to visit the memorial: 

While most school children can tell you that the Japanese were responsible for the attacks on Pearl Harbor, not everyone realizes that the Japanese now visit the memorial in droves. Japan, now one of America's strongest allies, is the largest source of international tourists to the state of Hawaii. They pay their respects at Pearl Harbor just as Americans do, and ironically, the economic vitality of Hawaii today depends largely on tourism from Japan.

Here's an additional tidbit of Pearl Harbor trivia:

Above, the Hario Wireless Towers in 2007. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The station in Japan that transmitted the coded message to the Japanese fleet to initiate the attack came from the Hario Wireless Towers in Kyushu just outside of Sasebo City. The towers are a short distance away from the Saikai Bridge on the Hario Straits that were featured in Rodan in 1956. The towers were also shown in the movie (photo below).

I visited the Saikai Bridge in 2007 and photographed the Hario Towers. A radio room of one of the towers is now open for tours. These are spotlighted in The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan on page 48.

To read the full Huffington Post article, go here.

Papers That Pushed The Pacific War Found In Safe

Above, the Hario Wireless Towers near Sasebo City.  It is said that the message to the Japanese
fleet giving the go-ahead for the December 12, 1941 attack on Pear Harbor, Hawaii was transmitted
from these towers.  One of them is now open to tours.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This is interesting. Papers that pushed for the Pacific War have been found in a safe.

According to The Japan Times:

The key was lost and the safe remained locked for 22 years after the 1989 death of its owner, former Lt. Gen. Teiichi Suzuki of the Imperial Japanese Army, who had been the last surviving Class-A war criminal of World War II. 

Suzuki, who died at the age of 100 in Shibayama, Chiba Prefecture, was among key Cabinet members when Japan started the Pacific War with the Dec. 7, 1941, surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. 

Two years ago, Suzuki’s relatives had NHK open the safe. Inside were diaries, notebooks and other documents, including a 16-page typed manuscript that the general had read out in front of Emperor Hirohito and national leaders at an Imperial Conference on Nov. 5, 1941, to detail Japan’s logistical strengths. 

Suzuki, who headed the Planning Board, a government body in charge of allocating resources for the army, navy and civilians, concluded that Japan, which was already at war in China, would be able to still wage war against the United States, Britain and the Netherlands.

The contents were known, but the manuscript that was used in the Imperial Conference is a new discovery.

Above, U.S. sailors pose in front of the Nijubashi Bridge at
 the Imperial Palace in 1945 during the occupation of Japan.

To read the full article, go here.

Hario Tower Near Sasebo City Open To The Public

Above, the three Hario Wireless Towers near
 Sasebo City in 2007.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Back in April 2007, I made a tour of kaiju sites in Kyushu that included Mount Aso Volcano National Park, the Saikai Bridge near Sasebo, Fukuoka Tower and Fukuoka Yahoo! Dome.

Mount Aso and the Saikai Bridge were featured in the 1956 Toho production, Rodan.

While I was at the Saikai Bridge (that crosses the Hario Straits), I also saw the nearby Hario Wireless Towers.  Those were also shown in Rodan.

Above, the Hario Towers are shown in "Rodan" with
one of the Rodans flying in the background.  Toho Co., Ltd.

The Mainichi Daily News reported that one of the three Hario Wireless Towers is now open to the public for tours:

SASEBO, Nagasaki -- One of three antique radio towers here that played a small but important role in the beginning of Japan's war against the United States was opened to visitors on June 9. 

The radio towers, known as the Hario broadcasting station and named an important cultural asset by the government in March, were part of the former Imperial Japanese Navy's communications network, and are thought to have broadcast the code phrase "Niitakayama nobore" ("climb Mount Niitaka") to launch the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 

The towers, each 136 meters tall, form a triangle 300 meters on a side with telegraph wires strung between them.

The Hario Wireless Towers and the nearby Saikai Bridge are spotlighted in The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan on page 48.

To read the full Mainichi article, go here. 

Hario Towers

Above, the Hario Towers in 2007.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese fleet in the mid-Pacific Ocean launched an attack on the navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  This attack ushered in the entry of the United States into World War II.

The order for the attack was transmitted in code (“Climb Mount Niitaka 1208”)  by wireless shortwave radio from the Hario wireless telegraph station near Sasebo, Kyushu.  

The three Hario wireless towers stand at 446 feet.  Construction on the towers began in 1918 and completed in 1922.  The towers were decommissioned in 1997 and are now in the care of the Japanese Coast Guard.

Plans are underway to preserve the towers as cultural assets to teach future generations about World War II.

The towers were shown in Rodan (1956) during a fly-by scene of one of the Rodans (above) and during the aerial chase with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.

I visited the area where the towers are located in April 2007 when I went to see the Saikai Bridge (featured in Rodan).  The towers are not far from the bridge (left).

The Hario Towers and Saikai Bridge are spotlighted on page 48 in The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.