National Museum of Nature and Science 国立科学博物館

We completed Markus big "3" birthday weekend with a trip to the National Museum of Nature and Science 国立科学博物館 on Sunday, February 3. It snowed heavily that day and many of the roads driving into the city were slushed with wet snow - the perfect day to venture to an indoor museum. Along with the many reasons why I love Japan so much, it offers a plethora of museums. Literally, there are hundreds in Tokyo alone.

Museums are always a great learning experience, especially at The National Museum of Nature and Science. Markus thoroughly enjoyed many of the exhibits, as he generally does for most museums we visit. In 2007, the museum celebrated its 130Th anniversary. The museum consists of two main galleries: Global and Japan Gallery. In the Global Gallery the main focus is on the history of life on earth. Of course Markus' favourite part was the Animals of the Earth exhibit, which showcased many stuffed life-size animals. The Japanese Gallery describes the environment of the Japanese Islands and its history. For a small fee, I rented a PDA Audio Guidance of the museum. (Just in case you're wondering, it's the blue contraption I'm wearing around my neck.) Listening to the highly informative explanations from experts in the fields, made the experience more worthwhile.

GLOBAL GALLERY

Skeletal figures of terrestrial life

On the second floor, we had fun participating with hands-on experiments in the Science and Technology Exploration Space. Markus and Rodney enjoyed playing around with magnetism.

Markus powering the Light and Senses exhibit.

Here, Rodney and I experiment with moment of inertia while sitting on a swivel stool. Tilting the spinning wheel to one side forces you to turn in the same direction.

Rodney and Markus squirm at the many species of beetles. Nearly two years ago, I learned that having beetles for pets is a popular hobby for children in Japan. During a visit with our friends, the Wakayama family, I remember when Junki and Naoki first showed us their huge pet beetles, I nearly jumped on my seat in fear. But soon learned that these low maintenance creatures are very gentle and most importantly, they don't bite.

Strolling through the Marine Biodiversity section

Exploring the Woodlands Wonder ecosystem

Face-to-face with a Siberian Tiger

As mentioned, the Animals of the Earth exhibit was the highlight of Markus' day. He was so anxious to see all the animals and mammals. He walked around the room naming the animals in Japanese. Here, we learned about way of survival and animals on the brink of extinction. Just a note, all the animals on the display were once living creatures. They were preserved and stuffed true to size.

The dinosaur exhibit was most fascinating

Tyrannosaurus Rex

JAPANESE GALLERY

At the entry of the main hall in the Japanese Gallery, is this mounted skeleton of the dinosaur Allosaurus. This is one of the museum's most important exhibits in the museum's 130 year history, because it was the first dinosaur skeleton ever on display in a Japanese museum. Coincidentally, Allosaurus celebrated it's 130th anniversary last year since its scientific name was created in 1877, by paleontologist O.C. Marsh.

Just a glimpse of the many beautiful creatures found in and around the Japanese Islands

Holy "crab"!

This slimy looking blob is an octopus...eeks!

This photo above describes the Nature of the Japanese Islands from North to South. There are four zones: Subtropical Zone, Warm Temperate Zone, Cool Temperate Zone, and Subarctic Zone. Within the same exhibit we learned more about plate motion around Japan. Interestingly, the Japanese Islands belongs to four tectonic plates, which are: the North America, the Eurasia, the Pacific, and the Philippine Sea plates. There is of course, more scientific explanation involved, but this is the main reason for the frequent earthquakes and tremors in Japan.

Fossils of deep sea organisms found in the geological framework of the Japanese Islands.

Taking a much-needed break overlooking Ueno Station railways, prior to heading home.

We were very happy with our visit to the National Museum of Nature and Science. I thought maybe the several exhibits would be a bit overwhelming for Markus, but I'm proud to say that he showed such an interest and behaved extremely well. My sweet baby is growing too fast.

A Birthday Celebration for Our Sweet Markus

What's a birthday without a party? Probably not a whole lot if you ask a 3-year old boy. Therefore, we wanted to be sure to make Markus' third birthday a memorable experience to share with our great friends in Tokyo. I find myself overwhelmed with bittersweet happiness when I think of how quickly three years has passed.

On Saturday, February 2 (the day after his official birthday, February 1), I invited Markus' close circle of friends - most from Jidoukan to attend his special day. Since most three-year olds are notorious for having extra loads of energy, I reserved the recreation room in our apartment, which offered lots of space for fun play. We cranked up the music and the toddlers enjoyed crafts and crayons, balloons and games, which kept them busy and entertained for hours.

Markus' big boy pals, Junki & Naoki did a great job helping entertain the younger kids!

For lunch, we enjoyed tasty sashimi, sushi rolls, salads, dips and finger foods. Of course, many of the mothers contributed with wonderful Japanese cuisine, which is always so oishii!

Cake time!

I hope all your birtday wishes come true, my love!

Chihiro-kun anxious to dip into the icing

Funny Riko-chan swiping a piece of Moet-chan's cake, while she's turned away.

Rinna-chan, Ryota-kun and Taro-kun munching away on the cake.

Presents galore!

This is how Markus signs "3". How cute, eh!

So far, the transition from two-years-old to three hasn't been such a big difference. Though the tantrums have subsided, he seems to be more demanding. He still doesn't sleep the greatest, but that's been since birth, so I'm just so used to it. Some nights when he sleeps through to the morning, I find myself gettting up just to check on him. On a positive note, he is beginning to understand consequences to his actions. Reasoning with him has become easier. We've really enjoyed his creative side. Lately, he enjoys strumming his guitar trying to make music while singing. He continues to love jigsaw puzzles, books, anything related to animals, and music. He often asks us to play music from our computer, while colouring or playing with his trains and cars. Most of all, he's such a happy and loving child.

Happy 3rd Birthday Markus! Otanjoubi Omedetou!

Mt. Bandai & Malrunuma Ski Resort

View of Bandai Alps

Rodney journeyed up north for a couple more snowboarding trips with friends. He, along with co-worker Yoshikawa-san and friend, Travis headed to a resort near Mt. Bandai on January 26. Two weekends later on February 16, Yoshikawa-san invited Rodney again to Malrunuma Ski Resort.

This year, the conditions were perfect for any winter-sport enthusiast. Here are a few photos of Rodney's recent trips. As you can see the views were phenomenal.

An immaculate view of Lake Inawashiro from high atop the gondala ride. This is the same lake where Rodney and Yoshikawa-san jet skied last summer.

Travis and Rod take a quick look at the mogul course just before crashing all the way down.

Travis chillin' at the summit of Alts Resort near Mt. Bandai

Malrunuma mountainscapes

Below, a couple of short video clips of Rodney and Yoshikawa-san

The Railway Museum 鉄道博物館

Our first view of the History Zone, looking down from the second floor terrace.

For most toddlers in Japan, especially boys, there seems to be a deep fascination with trains. So of course, taking Markus on a trip to The Railway Museum (鉄道博物館, Tetsudō Hakubutsukan) in the Saitama Prefecture turned out to be a hit. Like many of his friends, he has memorized many of the trains' names. It was pretty impressive when he was naming the models in the current train exhibits.

The Railway Museum opened in Saitama last October 2007. Previously, it was known as The Transportation Museum and orignally located in the town Chiyoda, Tokyo. The museum serves three purposes including an informational resource of the history of the Japan Railways, an educational resource, and lastly, a facility to preserve and research historical railway documents.

From the moment we stepped into the museum hall, Markus was captivated. Everywhere you look - trains! Old trains, new trains, model trains, bullet trains, and so on. He was so excited and happy to pose for pictures throughout the day (without me pleading for him to stand still). There were multi-levels to the enormous space with the main History Zone displayed in an ambient dark setting.

The Benkei 7101 steam locomotive was imported from the United States and first operated in Hokkaido in 1880. This locomotive was among the few active during the Meiji era.


"Toki" (right), is classified as a Kuha 181 Electric Railcar. During and after WWII, trains were modernized with power transmissions throughout each carriage, instead of the conventional method of pulling passenger carriages with a single locomotive. These commuter trains were known as "hotels on the run," which provided superior service.

Inside the Toki Limited Express bound for Niigata Prefecture.

This exhibit contains the Locomotive No. 1 (Class 150), one of the very first passenger trains, active during the Meiji era. It served between Shimbashi and Yokohama since the start of the Japan railway system. The builing beside is a replica of part of the Shimbashi Station during the same time operation first commenced.

We were able to wander freely into most of the older train cars on display, which was very cool. Back then, most of the interiors were made of wood including the walls and flooring. Seats were covered with thick plush velvets.

Here, Markus is aboard a Commuter Transport carriage that operated during the golden age of railroad during Showa period, pre-World War II. While walking through a few crowded cars, it was interesting to learn that you were allowed to eat in the display trains, just as folks were having their obento lunches (boxed meals). Some were even asleep in their seats. Note: Sleeping in the trains is commonplace in Tokyo. I'm often amazed to see people awake just before their stop.

Another view of the History Zone from the second floor.

For over 30 minutes, we waited patiently in the cold to ride the mini-shuttle shinkansen, which connects the the North wing and the Park Zone. I wasnt' too impressed by the short length of the ride, neither was Markus. It lasted all of two minutes. But neither of us were up to waiting another 3o to ride it again.

All smiles when we finally got into the mini-shinkansen

Outside in the Park Zone were mini-operating trains you could ride. However, I wasn't aware reservations had to be made in advance to take the special ride. (What a bummer!) Nevertheless, Markus enjoyed watching several of the train cars ride the tracks.

We spent nearly four hours at the museum that Saturday. Many exhibits were interactive including a train simulator where you could manually operate the controls as an engineer would. There was plenty to enjoy and learn just as we experienced.

Thanks to our wonderful Keiko for the recommendation!

SUICA Penguins

These penguins can be seen in advertisements all over Japan. SUICA is the electronic mobile ticketing and e-cash system used for trains and subways in the greater Tokyo area, as well as several other areas of Japan. Conveniently, Suica cards can be used as cash toward purchasing goods and products at stores within train stations and surrounding areas.

My Suica card...I never leave home without it! (I know, how cheesy!)