Recently I quoted letters from a university English writing class commenting on a column about General MacArthur. That prompted a letter from longtime resident G.A. Chandru who has done much over the years to promote his adopted city of Yokohama as well as Indian culture and products. A few years ago when I complained about the poor quality of typewriter ribbons now that nylon has replaced cotton, he sent me several cotton ribbons from India that produced the clear, dark letters I remembered. Today he adds to our store of knowledge about MacArthur. He tells us that the general landed first in Yokohama and until he moved to the Dai-ichi Insurance building in Tokyo, he used the Hotel New Grand as his office/home. His room was on the third floor and Chandru says he sometimes takes people interested in Yokohama's history there to see it. He reports that the bed, desk and chair are the same ones used by MacArthur.
The Hotel New Grand, a longtime Yokohama landmark across from Yamashita Park, holds its own against the spectacular new hotels that have been built in the Minato Mirai beautification project. Several years ago it was renovated, but many of the old traditional fittings were kept while interiors were modernized to meet today's expectations. During the process, one of Yokohama's best restaurants, the shiplike Normandie, opened in the new New Tokyo Grand next door. Try it sometime while you are exploring Yokohama.
A reader asks about the ship in the harbor in front of the hotel, one that is now firmly land-locked. The Hikawa-maru has had a varied history. Once it was a luxurious cruise ship. Later, during the war, the Imperial stateroom became the captain's cabin and the first-class dining room the officer's galley while her lounges were wards for the wounded. It had become a hospital ship and was in Truk as the Japanese fleet faced annihilation. Its markings probably saved it as other ships were sunk, many now visited by underwater explorers vacationing in Micronesia. Her various cargoes included, in addition to passengers, such things as treaty documents, gold, oil, actors, princes and fish. Now you can buy a ticket and go on board, but your entertainments are limited to game machines and an assortment of snacks and light meals. Once you could order replicas of dinners served in the elegant dining salon when it was a luxury liner, but today's visitors seem to prefer things like curry, rice balls and beer. Times change.