The Bay of Mitsukue:
I'll write about a Japanese historical fact which is not well-known even to Japanese people. You see the Bay of Mitsukue in the picture. Several months before the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy, a training camp started at this bay. 10 young men were chosen and trained here on how to handle the special purpose submarine to invade Pearl Harbor from the sea. This bay is near the military port, Kure, and away from view at the same time. 9 of 10 were killed in the attack, and now a memorial service is conducted every December 8th, the day of the attack on Pearl Harbour.
Ibusuki City:
My plane flew over Ibusuki City in southern Kyushu, which is famous for its characteristic hot spa and one of the popular destinations of hot spa enthusiasts. One more hour's flight will take me to Okinawa. Here occurred an idea about Kamikaze, special attack corps in the Greater East Asian War. The display in front of me showed that my aircraft's velocity was 800km/h, which was twice as fast as the Zero fighter. That is, the Zero fighters took 2 hours from Kyushu to the battlefield around Okinawa. They soared near here with one-way fuel and an enormous bomb to kill enemies along with themselves. What did they think for TWO hours viewing the scenery which they would never see again.
(Vocabulary)
special purpose submarine 特殊潜航艇
away from view 目に付かない
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