Wednesday, June 09, 2004

Navy

After work yesterday I decided to go for a ride off in a direction I haven't been yet towards a town called Zushi. I heard that there was a marina there, so I wanted to check out the town. It was only about 30 minutes away, but by the time I got there, I was tired, and stared heading back. There was a map at the station in Zushi that had some trails to various temples and stuff in the area, so I decided to try to find one on the way back. After about 20 minutes, I came to what looked like a park. There was green grass, and trees and stuff, so I turned that way, but as I approached the gate, I realized that it was being guarded by a guy in camo carrying a large gun. Whoops, this isn't Japan anymore! I didn't actually get to the gate, though. I didn't realize that there was another military base in this area. It's on the opposite side of the peninsula, and there are mountains in between, so I don't suppose many come over here.


In Japan, it is almost impossible to have a gun. There are special licenses for hunting and sport guns, but they cost a lot of money, take a lot of training to get, and are heavily regulated. Even some police don't carry them, and those that do are required to follow strict protocols, including firing a warning shot into the air before shooting someone. It is extremely rare for a police officer to shoot at a suspect.