Earthquake Preparedness

It’s been over three years since Japan was hit with the Tohoko earthquake, the “big one.” Last week, Tokyo experienced one of the largest quakes since then and we had another shaker this morning  I’m sure for many who are new to Yokosuka, and have never felt a quake before, it can be quite a scary experience. I know it got my heart racing!  Do you know what to do during an earthquake? Are you prepared to ride one out?

Down in Yokosuka, not far from City Hall, is the area Emergency Preparedness Center. This is a great little facility to check out and learn about disaster preparedness here. Yes, it is all in Japanese, but the pictures are pretty obvious and the staff very helpful.  If you can go with a Japanese speaker, even better.  KPHS took a field trip here last year that was a fantastic experience. 

The facility’s main attraction is the earthquake simulator.  Here you can ride out a 6.5 earthquake and really get a feel for the power of Mother Nature.  Although only a few of the kids were here in 2011 to feel the big one, they all enjoyed the safe experience.  For another few, this was their first time feeling the sensation.

Earthquakes here are frequent.  Some are small, some have been pretty good, such as that last week.  The buildings here are built to sustain large quakes, and that is a comfort to know.  (Down at the Edo Museum in Tokyo, you can see just how they’re built.) It is always a good idea to know your surroundings.  To have flashlights at the ready; be prepared. Check out Ready.gov for earthquake preparation and what to do.  To get information about an earthquake, visit the Japanese Meteorological Agency. This is the picture from today's quake. It was a 4.9 in Chiba.

Hiking Around Yokosuka

Here are some hiking trails in the area.

Daibutsu hiking trail. This is a longish trail in Kamakura that can be hiked in several different segments. We started in Hase (near the Great Buddha), hiked the ridgeline, then came down into town and hit a couple of the Kamakura shrines. You can also hike all the way up into Kita Kamakura. Pretty gentle hike once you get to the top of the ridgeline, but would be very slippery when wet. More walks and hikes in Kamakura

This is my source for other hikes around Yokosuka. The site is in Japanese, but I use Google translator. The trail maps are all in Japanese and don't translate, but I've had pretty good luck by matching up the kanji for the train stations to figure out where the trail goes. These range from easy city strolls to trail hiking.

Last week we did the hike from Keikyu Taura to Yokosuka. This one is about 5 miles, but has a lot of change in elevation. It goes up to a plum forest park in Taura that has a really great kids' playground if you are taking younger kids as tag alongs. We hiked this one by taking the train to Taura and hiking back to the base. Lots of vending machines along this route, so you don't have to carry a ton of water. There are also drinking fountains and bathrooms at both parks where you can refill water.

I also like the Dollars to Yen blog for hiking and park/playground ideas. The blog author lived in Ikego for a couple years and recently moved down to Okinawa. She has posts with good pictures of several of the local trails.

Books in the base library that are useful include 40 Day Trips Around Tokyo and 40 More Day Trips Around Tokyo as well as Trails of Two Cities. Another fun book is Kamakura: Fact and Fiction. This has wonderful history tidbits about what you will see all around Kamakura. All of these are in the Japanese interest section beyond the internet computers.

Boy Scout Troop 15 in Tokyo has a series of historic trails laid out through the Tokyo metro area. If you hike three of the trails, you can then buy one of the historic trail patches. (Trails are about halfway down the page.) This page also has a good reference for plants and poisonous animals in Japan.

Yokosuka Area Attractions

I found some cool tourist brochures when we were out at Kannonzaki Park this weekend. There are several different guides, each on a theme (flowers, history, seaside attractions, etc). Turns out that they are actually produced by Coco Curry, a local chain restaurant. If you go through the website and use a translation program like Google Translator, there is quite a bit of local history and information on local Yokosuka attractions hiding here.

I even found a few Yokosuka area hiking trail maps like the trail over Takatoriyama (I think it starts at the Oppama station) or a trail around Taura that starts near the Yokosuka JR station.

Meigetsuin Temple in Kamakura

Another great temple to see hydrangea and iris flowers is the Meigetsuin temple in Kamakura.

To get to the temple, you head on the JR train to Kita-Kamakura, one stop past Kamakura. From there, you cross the tracks (coming from Yokosuka), make a right, and a pleasant, short walk until you reach the end of the street. Turn left and you'll run right into the temple entrance.

The fees into the main part of the temple are reasonable at Y500 for adults and Y300 for students. There is a fee for the "hidden" back part of the temple, another Y500 per person. If you like iris flowers, it might be worth going into once.

There are several varieties of hydrangea all over the temple grounds.

The historical aspect to this temple is interesting.

All in all, a beautiful temple.

Kris

Hydrangea Time

June brings the hydrangea to the area. I'm sure you've seen them along the roads in all their incredible colors. The place to go, though, is the Hasedera temple in Kamakura, not far from the Great Buddha. I went up there yesterday on a photo safari and boy were we treated to a surprise of color. The temple was crowded, but it was well worth it. In addition to the hydrangea, there were also many irises in the ponds. I've been to the temple several times during different parts of the year, and I have to say this is one of the most colorful. I never knew there were so many different varieties of the flower. At the top of the temple, you can get a free fan with a map of the area and photos of the various varieties.

To get to the temple, you take the JR line to Kamakura then connect to the Endoshima Line and exit at Hase station. Exit the train station and go up the hill towards the Buddha, turn left at the Hasekannon intersection. The temple is at the end of the road--just follow the crowds! Entrance is 300 yen for adults and 100 for children 6-11.

Vivire a Pompeii

The art exhibit Vivire a Pompeii at the Yokohoma Museum of Art will close in a couple weeks (13 June). The exhibit is about life in Pompeii before its destruction by the volcanic explosion of Vesuvius in 49 AD.

The exhibit is in Japanese with little to no English explanations or audio guides. However educator resources and an audio guide to a similar exhibit, A Day in Pompeii are available at these links.

http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/pompeii/sites/wamuseum.com.pompeii/files/pompeii-junior-explorers-trail.pdf

http://www.smm.org/static/pompeii/teacherguide.pdf

http://www.sdnhm.org/pompeii/v_tour.php

Directions to the museum.

Train:
· Minatomirai station (Minatomirai Line) / From the "Museum" exit, 3 minutes walk on foot
· Sakuragicho station (JR, Yokohama subway) / 10 minutes walk using "moving walkway"

(Look for signs once you leave the station.)

Car:
· From Sakuragicho station, take the road leading towards the Nippon Maru, or turn right at the Sakuragicho station Momijizaka crossing, enter the MM21 area, and proceed towards the Museum.
· From Yokohama station, take the Takashimacho MM21 area entrance and proceed towards the Museum. Either takes approximately 3-5 minutes. (Use the Minatomirai ramp from the Expressway).