Japanese Sailor Embraces US Culture With Traditional American Tattoos

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PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – Ask any number of the Japanese tourists wandering around for their opinion on America, and you might get a thumbs-up or an apologetic bow acknowledging the attack here 73 years ago. Seaman 2nd Class Hikiro Tamagotchi, on the other hand, has a full-blown case of the red, white and blue fever, and the only cure appears to be more freedom.

Tamagotchi, 18, hails from a small, idyllic hamlet on the outskirts of Kyoto and is stationed aboard the JS Kongō (DDG-173), making port in this vibrant and historical American city.

“I’ve never left Japan before,” Tamagotchi says, wearing a gaudy, vertigo-inducing Tommy Bahama button-down and a New York Yankees ball cap – what he calls "traditional American garb."

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