Glenn left this morning for Iwo To (formerly Iwo Jima) for a few days of FCLPs. I had no idea where he was going so I just had to google it. So it looks like he's mostly south of here.
We weren't sure what the communication situation would be like so Glenn asked a few guys at work this morning before they left and they just laughed at him. So I'm guessing that means I won't be talking to him for a few days. Once I googled the island, I now see why. It looks like an island with only a runway. I guess that's all they need for FCLPs though. Glenn says the runway has arresting gear on it too which really makes sense, cause if there's a problem on the runway, there's nowhere else to go, you gotta land. Who thought of this idea?!
Iwo To/Jima has a lot of history though so hopefully Glenn will have a chance to check things out and see a few of the caves before he comes home. Miss you already, baby!
Some history:
Iwo To, formerly known as Iwo Jima, island of Japan, largest of the three Volcano Islands, in the western Pacific Ocean. About 9 km (6 mi) long and 4 km (2 mi) wide, the island is mountainous and volcanic in origin. Mount Suribachi (161 m/ 528 ft), an extinct volcano, is the island's highest elevation. The Volcano Islands, south of the Bonin Islands, were annexed by Japan in 1891.
During World War II (1939-1945), Iwo To was the site of a Japanese air base. The island’s civilian population was evacuated in 1944 as U.S. forces battled Japan in the War of the Pacific. Japanese naval officers mistakenly referred to the island as Iwo Jima, and that is how it became known when the United States Marine Corps invaded the island in 1945 (see Iwo Jima, Battle of). Under the peace treaty signed between the Allies and Japan in 1951, the Volcano Islands were placed under the provisional administration of the U.S. Navy. They were returned to Japan in 1968 and are under the jurisdiction of Tokyo's prefectural government.
In 2007 the Japanese Geographical Survey Institute announced that it was renaming Iwo Jima as Iwo To, the name given to the island by its original Japanese inhabitants. Translated into English, Iwo To and Iwo Jima both mean Sulfur Island, a reference to the island’s sulfur mines.
Since Glenn was gone this past week and not much was going on around here, Laura and I decided to start having adventure days and picking somewhere new and going to see it. On Thursday we went to the Kirin Beer Village for lunch and to go on a tour of the factory. The factory was about 75 minutes away by train in Yokohama. It was FREE and they give you two beers. Good times. Except for when they give you 20 minutes to pretty much chug two beers and then take your table away.
The tour was given by a very nice Japanese lady who knew some English, but the tour was conducted in Japanese. She new enough to point us to the correct page of our English guide that we were following along with. Here was the page on how to properly pour a Kirin beer. 70/30 ratio of beer to foam.
Little known fact, Kirin beer was started by an American with German roots so the restaurant was German food mostly. The first Kirin beer was made with ingredients from California. I had a beer coctail and lunch. Beer and gingerale. It was good!
