Science is one of the great masterpieces of humanity, and today I got to pay homage to the brilliance of those who’ve come before me. Our first stop on our tour for the day was JAXA; the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Association. Basically NASA but for Japan ;) We were given a tour of the facilities by a sweet Japanese lady who spoke fairly decent English. As she showed us the steps Japan had taken from the start of its space exploration period up until now I was reminded of all the reasons I really love space.
My favorite part of the tour? Getting a glimpse at the isolation room in the astronaut training zone. As we looked into the small apartment-like space, our guide explained how when they had narrowed the candidate down to 10 they put them all in this area for two weeks, cut off completely from the outside world, in order to test their abilities to get along with these same 10 people in long isolation.
I’d like to think I could handle a challenge like that ;D
From Jaxa we took a trip to AIST, where all of Japan’s most innovative new technologies are being researched and produced. As we walked among the showcases we were treated with examples of some of the fun and cool new technologies being worked on. Of course what was one of the first things we got to see? Robots duh! Everyone want to see robots ;P
As cool as it was to see how much they were progressing down the road of robotics, I gotta say it kind of creeps me out….. I like humans….. haha I say go humans! But all the same it’s awesome work and can lead to many improvements in our everyday lives.
In addition to the robotics we got to see several other things, including new security technology and new green screen techniques. After being shown around we had a little break where we could wander the showroom and examine the various projects on our own.
For dinner we were taken to what I can only describe as a pancake house. Only these weren’t you’re ordinary pancakes. Here you ordered bowls full of egg and flour and various veggies and meats and then you mix them up and lay them out on a square griddle in the middle of your table and cook it to perfection. We ordered several bowls and then divided each pancake between us so we could all try the different kinds. A couple of my favorites, were one that tasted just like pizza, and another that was a sweet red bean pancake that came with a yummy warm syrup.
As I curl up for the night I begin to get a little nervous about how close it is to being time to leave this beautiful place.
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