Earthquakes in Skyscrapers

Video footage of the earthquake in a skyscraper

A friend of our's husband videoed the earthquake from a skyscraper in Shinjuku. His office is on the 51st floor. Our office is on the 18th floor, but the effect was similar - with a large 'sway' and the chairs rolling across the floor and back again!

I thought this was really good footage becuase most of the footage we had previously seen was taken at ground level with a vigourous shaking; in the skyscrapers, it was much more of a large sway!

the voice you hear is, I think, that of the building tanoy - this was scary, becuase it was difficult to understand what it was saying!

Kidzania

One thing that Felix really likes about Japan is having school holidays when Japanese kids are at school!

 Today, we went to Kidzania - kind of a theme park where each 'ride' is a job. You have 20 - 30 mins in each 'job', all with your proper uniform, and at the end of each 'job' you get paid (in Kidzos), which can spend either on a service (like getting your nails done) or on gifts (some of which cost so many Kidzos you'd have had to have lived in the place - which presumably, therefore, some poeple do!) Some of the jobs are working in a restaurant, and so you get paid slightly less, but get a 'free' lunch. There are two Kidzania banks with ATMs, you can drive, but you have to take a driving licence, you get a Kidzania wallet in which you store your money, and you get a 'certificate' for each job you do. You also get debit cards and driving licence cards - all very realistic! Parents are not allowed in any of the 'workplaces' so the kids do everything!

There were around 50 - 60 jobs available. I think on a normal day (when it's really crowded) each child probably gets to do around 4 - 5 jobs, today, they all got 8 jobs!

So Lubi and Branny (in Felix's class) picked us up in the car and drove us there at 7:45am, for a prompt start at 9am. They were on the go undtil 3pm which is closing time. The kids absolutely loved it!

Neve's favourite job was the beautician, Felix the DJ, and Branny the pilot!

 Neve waiting for the beautician's to open

 The dance before the start - all the staff seemed to join in!

 Here are the beauticians dancing!

 Washing hands before starting work

 Neve talking to the beutician lady

 Neve opted to do her nails - if it had been busier, she would have done a child's nails (who had paid by her Kidzos!)

 Felix and Branny in the aeroplane (a real ANA replica!) on video getting ready to be pilots!

 Neve waiting for the Coca-cola bottling plant

 The lady shoowign them howt o make Coke

 They washed, dried, filled with concentrate, filled with soda, bottled, then chilled their Coke - then got to drink it!

 Felix and Branny parading around as Security guards (Felix was most proud of the truncheon!)

 Neve in the Cooking Studio

 She made an onagieri (rice cake) decorated like a lion

 Neve waiting for her term in teh Frency Pattisserie

 Felix on Radio Kidzania (we got a CD - which really sounds quite good!)

 Felix's Japanese co-pilot

 Branny was the show producer

 Branny buying his brother a present at the department store with his Kidzos

 The Garage - Felix and Neve are taking their driving test - apparetnly it was really boring - you can see them on the video screen

 Bottom RHS is F and N taking their test - they did have an English Sheet.

 Branny donning hairnet to be petrol pump attendant

 Felix being training to be a car mechanic

 Felix tinkering wtih the car!

 Neve being the petrol pump attendant 'Orai, Orai' (keep coming, keep coming)

 All dressed up in Pizza-LA

 Felix, Branny and Neve making pizzas

 ..rolling the pizzas

 And eating the pizzas

 Felix and Branny with the Kidzania Mascot

 At the frozen ready meals job - they mixed the food, then the lady put dry ice in, they had to shake it, it became frozen, went in the boxes, then the microwaved, it adn the kids ate it!

 Here are the boxes - with Western and Japanese names!

 Neve Shaking her dry ice

 Branny covered by dry ice

 Frozen food!

 Pay day

 The kids also became a vet - but I didn't get pics, so I took these of some other kids - the dog was not real, but it moved. You had to check  to see if it was healthy, then pick some medecine for it

 You could operate on this cat (it was plastic!)

 Branny showing Neve how to use the ATM

Felix withdrew most of his Kidzos, and is counting them here in the department store to see what he could buy (actually, he didn't buy anything, but Neve bought a rubber!)

Here is Neve's Kidzania Wallet, her orange job card, her two bank cards, her driving licence, all her job 'certificates' and the rubber she bought - no money coas she spent it all on the rubber (5 - 8 kidzos per job, and 50 to start with, a rubber costs 100 Kidzos!)

Heiwajima adventure playground

Today I had another day off from work to look after the kids. This time we went to Heiwajima park along with three other families.The park has a great adventure playground/assualt course. There are 40 obstacles to clamber over including lots of obstacles over the water.

As the Japanese kids are still at school we had all the obstacles to ourselves.

We could even have races across all the obstacles. Last time we went here you had to queue up for some of them.

The kids had loads of fun running around. I think we managed to wear them out completely.