Day 3 in Japan! After two days of exploration, it time to dive deep into the science present in Japan. This morning’s weather was terrible, the wind was very strong. The direct wind blowing in my face was enough for me to find a human windshield. However, the problem was not solved as the wind decided to come in all directions, hitting me with a blow. Since the issue could not be resolved, I decided to surrender and embrace the weather. It was actually pretty cool and refreshing, however, I do not know how long I will be able to last.
View from the monorail to the destination.
Finally, we reached the monorail station and headed to our destination – Miraikan. Miraikan also known as the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, is Japan’s major science center located Daiba. Before, arriving our destination, we were able to take a photo with the huge unicorn Gundam in front of DiverCity Tokyo Plaza. The new life-sized Gundam statue is 19.7 metres! That is about xx times of my height! It was magnificent and exquisite. From this, I could sense the major interest of Japanese. After two days of experiencing the Japanese culture, I realised they were very psyched about figurines, cartoons and fantasies. This is very different from other countries where things that could psyche the whole nation was limited or hardly achieved.
HUge gigantic statue!
Moving with our schedule, we got our tickets and proceeded to the science center. The group of us decided to start from the highest floor (5th) before proceeding to the 3rd floor. It was a wise and great decision as I enjoyed the exhibition better on the 5th floor than the 3rd floor. I am very interested in the universe, discovering the beginning of the universe, was it really the ‘Big Bang Theory’?
Through this exhibition, I was able to look into the universe, life and lab work. The study of universe was carried out by introducing observations on neutrino, the study on elementary particles and universe with the particle accelerator. There was a spaceship model, where they showcased the interior of a space shuttle. It was my first time being up close with the real space shuttle. There was a compartment for waste management, a dedicated personal room where their astronaut suit and personal entertainment can be found. Other than the spaceship model I only learn that Japan has come out with evacuation plans in case of a disaster. This is very applicable to Japan as Japan experiences huge temperature differences and more prone to diameters. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other natural disasters have caused great damage to many lives. Plus, science, technology and transportation have developed bringing with them unexpected new types of disasters, as nuclear disasters, weather abnormalities and the spread of epidemic diseases. I felt that Japan make use of opportunities whenever possible and it was a learning experience each time a disaster happens.
Disaster repsonse step/learning outcomes.
After soaking up the knowledge on the 5th floor, we proceeded to the 3rd floor where we discovered our Earth. Using latest scientific data and tools, we were able to discover the connection between the planet and life. Is it then possible to make Earth sustainable
Overall the science center was very informative and is it possible to get educated despite the short exposure time at the science center.
Spectrophotometer components.
After lunch, we proceeded with Uneo where we explored the Museum of Natural Science. It was great to see how Japanese use science to interact with the museum visitors. Japan adopts a more interactive experiment based approach where visitors get to experience carrying out the experiments by themselves. Giving visitors the full control of the science, I had a deeper impression and memory of the area. Despite the short time duration allocated, I was able to connect with my limited Chemistry knowledge with Japanese words. There were a lot of inference made but to verify them, we had to google the setup and some concepts involved.
Telescope used for space observatory.
Overall today has been a fun, enriching but rush day. I hope I will be able to fully immerse and enjoy the Japanese culture in the days to come.
Nanotechnology Study Tour - 2018 
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