Today’s report is by Kai and Mikayla
Today we went to the oldest temple in Tokyo (Sensooji in Asakusa) when we got off the bus it was in the middle of a residential district. We walked a few blocks until we got there. The gate was hidden behind some tall buildings.
Nitemon Gate was built in 1618 and was for the Tokugawa Shogun when they visited the shrine. Everything was huge and beautiful. Passing under the next gate was supposed to purify the soul from the outside world. We went to the washing well and purified again (our months and hands) before entering the temples and offering prayer. After that we walked around and took pictures. Some people threw smoke to make good luck for whichever feature they wafted the smoke at (like their face for looks, their head for intelligence, etc.). Others participated in this thing where you shook a container and got a fortune message. Most people had good luck with that. Some people bought souvenirs and then we got back on the bus around 10:00.
Then we went to the Tokyo Edo Museum. As soon as we got there we watched a video presentation about the exhibits and Edo era in Tokyo and Japan. We walked around the exhibits for about half an hour and stopped by the gift shop for five minutes before hurrying to the bus. Next we went to a restaurant and ate tempura before our next destination.
After that we went to a disaster prevention center at 2:00 and experienced an earthquake simulation, from level four all the way to the real earthquakes that have caused the most damage in Japan’s history. We also went through a burning-building simulation to practice escaping a smoke filled room.
A burning-building simulation
Exhibition of a kitchen after an earthquake
The next destination was the emperor’s palace. We took group pictures and then went to our debriefing session.
We filled out surveys and then organized a quick presentation (given by Nathan, Megan, Sam and Mikayla) that talked about the changes in perspective of Japan, our most valuable lessons learned, and how we can prevent disasters in America.
The presentations were done by 6:30. Dinner was soon after that. It was a long, exhausting day, yet fun!
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