I went to Yokosuka U.S. Military Base Friendship Day to buy an energy drink.

First, Waiting in Line for Ages

At Yokosuka Base, there was a metal detector gate and a simple baggage check, so I ended up waiting for about 30 minutes under the blazing sun. I think heatstroke was a real concern. It's impressive that people target the U.S. military base open days to buy American snacks, including energy drinks. I knew Yokosuka would be crowded, but waiting in this heat was hellish, haha.

U.S. military bases attract many enthusiasts of ships, planes, and American culture, so it’s quite a challenge. Actually, there are other places like this, and I’ve been to one of them before, so I didn’t have to wait in line then (´・ω・｀).

hmmm...f**kin smell..

Once I entered the premises, I bought a random drink because it was hot and took refuge in the food court building. It was cool in there, but the smell immediately hit me, reminding me of being back home with an overwhelming stench of cheese, sauce, ketchup, and oil (*´ｪ`*). I know a lot of people dislike this smell, but I love it, especially when it comes to energy drinks.

As soon as I opened the door, I whispered "OMG..." in my mind, inhaling this nostalgic, overpowering odor. I haven’t eaten anything yet though, haha.

I also went to places like Subway, but here I just grabbed drinks. I refilled three times to stay hydrated and avoid heatstroke. I saw some high schoolers bringing water bottles to refill, and I was a bit taken aback.

Personally, there are foods you should avoid at Friendship Day, like steak, primitive meat (turkey), and pizza. These may look great because they seem very American, but they can be pretty tough to handle.

Steak is hard to cut with plastic knives and forks, and it’s hard to eat with paper plates.
Primitive meat is difficult to cut and eat, and the portions are so large that you get tired of it halfway through.
Pizza looks big and cheap, but the portion is huge, so you need to share with a group, and the toppings are pretty sparse.

I think it’s easier to buy things like burgers or hot dogs that you can eat on your own, so that’s what I went with this time. I got nacho cheese, shared it, and it was a perfect snack.

Cars with NOS

At the back of the event, there were some seriously customized cars, and I walked around in the blazing heat saying "Wow! Amazing!" while looking at them. I’m not an expert on cars, so all I can say is they looked crazy! Personally, I was drawn to this one with NOS. There were also other cars blasting loud sounds, and for a moment, I was tempted to get a car like that (ｕ_ｕ*).

I also went into some nearby theaters, churches, and fitness centers to cool off and really enjoyed myself.

Energy Drinks at the Stalls

While browsing through food, I also checked out the energy drinks. It seems that the Monster Ultra series is the most popular, and they were sold everywhere. Prices ranged from 200 yen to as high as 400 yen at some places. With the current energy drink boom, they’re probably selling pretty well.

These are the energy drinks I bought. There are some protein cans mixed in too (；´∀｀). By the way, the pull tab color on the Ultra series cans was different.

While eating, drinking, and strolling around, I had a great time soaking up the American vibe. I’m not sure if I went into every building at the Yokosuka Base, but I would have loved to check out the bar if there was one. There were also a lot of bowling lanes, so it seemed like a fun place to visit even just for leisure.

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