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."

“That’s part of the reason I joined the Maritime Self-Defense Force. I want to see the world.”

Asked on what aspect of American culture he finds most fascinating, Tamagotchi seems to have trouble knowing where to even begin.

“I can’t quite put my finger on it,” he muses whi…