Day of activity: July 16th 2015
Today, following a delicious lunch at a steakhouse, we visited the Isehara science center.
While some of us waited for the rest to arrive, we played some children’s games we had picked up on our trip.
There was a lot to see and try inside the center. It was physics, biochemistry, evolution, and illusions. It was so much fun trying everything! The only problem I had was that the instructions and posters were all written in Japanese. It made it hard to understand some of the machines. But when I managed to use the machines and understand what just happened, I immediately wanted to try three-four times more.
After 30 minutes of looking around, we met outside the planetarium. There was a show planned for us, where we got to see the starry sky over Japan. We saw many constellations, including the scorpion, Sagittarius, and other characters.
Then we got to see a short film based on a Japanese fantasy novel called ‘Ginga Tetsudo no Yoru’, by Kenji Miyazawa. It was fun to watch. The effects of the planetarium and the animation were incredible. But because of the Japanese voicing, I did not understand what was happening. It was hard keeping my eyes open throughout the film because the music was so relaxing. I saw that some of the other participants actually fell asleep.
When the film was over, I asked Hiro Nishimura about it, and he told me about Kenji Miyazawa and his novel. Remembering its long and difficult name, I looked it up on the Internet. The story is actually very interesting and one I want to read now after watching the film.
Tomorrow is personal day, and the plan is to visit Akihabara and one of its electronic stores with 6 floors! I’m really looking forward to that!
Marius Einmo (Norway)