Japan - Day 4 - Museum of Maritime Science
23rd December, 2007
Today is the Emperor's Birthday.
It's one of two or three days a year the Imperial Palace is open to the public.
So our plan was to be part of the adoring birthday well-wishers for the Emperor.
But we woke up a bit late. That, and we did some research and saw very
long lines to greet the royal family. On to Plan B. Yesterday on our trip to the Museum
of Emerging Science and Innovation, we noticed a prominent structure next to the
train line. it's the Museum of Maritime Science. So that's the main
item on our itinerary today. We had a great time here also. So far,
we've had a fantastic trip seeing the sites of the city. And Tokyo is HUGE!
It took us three train rides, each about 30 minutes, to get to the museum today.
After the museum, we were all hungry
so we headed to AquaCity for dinner. Along the way, we noticed a statue of
liberty replica. Funny what you see around the world... After our
$45 dinner of hamburgers and popcorn shrimp (We chose an "upscale" mall...so
what do you expect.) we went outside for views of the Rainbow Bridge. Then
it's back on the train for the ride home. The pictures below are probably
more interesting than anything I can write.
Some pictures are below. Click on a picture to see a
larger version.
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A monitor on the train gives the occasional "1-minute
English Lesson." |
An old-time steam engine on display outside one of the
train stations. I took this one for you, mom. |
The Museum of Maritime Science. Yes, it's the
shape of a big ship. |
David at the controls of a Japanese sub inside the
museum. |
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Devin at the helm of one of the boats on display. |
Family Portrait Number 1. |
David by the prop of the Yoteimaru. |
Inside the Yoteimaru there were displays for a
"world's fair" type expo this boat visited in 1992. Off the wall, but
interesting. |
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More of the display. |
David posing. |
David at the bridge of the Yoteimaru. |
A small shrine set up in the bridge of the Yoteimaru. |
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Family Portrait Number 2. |
The icebreaker Soya. |
The Rainbow Bridge. (You can barely see the
Statue of Liberty replica on the right.) |
One of the train maps. Notice all of the lines
converging in the upper left corner. That's typical of the bigger
stations in Tokyo. |
