The sun was shining. The kids were excited to get out of the house. I had all the information on what trains to take to get there and back on my ipad. I also had my google map app ready to go so I would know where to walk. We were set. It was going to be a great outing.
And then, I met a very strange man at the Hiroo Station. He was very feminine and had three adorable little Japanese kids with him. (he was white) I think he was these poor kids' nanny, and from the look of his teeth, he's done drugs frequently. He struck up a conversation with me and was curious to know where we were going and if all of these kids were mine or my cousins. When I told him they were mine, he grabbed his belly and exclaimed about the stretch marks I must have. We were a little put off by him, to say the least. He told me that I was going the wrong way to get to Yotsuya, and then took my ipad and messed up all of my information. As we raced through Tokyo on the Stupid Metro, he told me how HE would get there and then gave me back my ipad.
Well, we got off that train as soon as we could, and then I found another line that would take us to Yotsuya Station. We had to walk a mile more than I had planned, but we found the Fire Museum thanks to the gps on my Google map app. The kids were grumbling by the time we got there.....
The Fire Museum is set in the Fire Dept. Station, and it's a huge building. The museum is mixed with the fire dept. offices, and the museum part covers 5 floors. The kids learned a lot and had a blast!
They dressed up in the fireman clothes....
...marveled at the helicopters and....
...old fire trucks.
This hose had a bamboo basket on the end of it. That was so they could strain the water.
Checking out an ambulance.
These fire trucks were from 1929.
I loved that they had the cranks on the front to start the engine.
We also noticed that one of them had the steering wheel on the left side instead of the right side. Not sure why? In Japan, the driver sits on the right side of the car, and they drive on the opposite side of the road from the Americans.
Pretending to drive a fire truck.
Tayla and Chris got on the gear so it would feel more authentic.
There were videos on the training of firemen. It was awesome to see them climbing walls, putting on gas masks in record time, and practicing with their hoses.
All of the kids enjoyed this display. It was a model of a town, and there were buttons to push to maneuver a fire truck through the town. A blinking light would go off somewhere in the town signaling a fire, and you had to drive the fire truck to the fire, put it out, and then drive it back to the fire station and park it.
The fire truck was cute.
And the highlight of the museum was this helicopter. There was a screen right in front of the windows, and when you pushed a button, it would play a video that made you feel like you were flying over Tokyo. A bunch of smoke would start billowing in front of you, so then the helicopter lowers. You watch a fireman on a rope in the air rescuing someone from the top of a high building that is on fire, then you fly off into the sunset. The kids thought it was the best thing ever!
Here is the simulation at the beginning.
Logan and Christopher flew first.
Tayla said she was "Uncle Derek", which meant that she sits behind the pilots and watches for any electrical issues that arise.
Nathan and Caitlin watched from the back. This went on for a few simulations, and then they changed seats.
Nathan and Audra's turn to fly the helicopter.
Nathan and Audra flying us around Tokyo Tower at night after a hard day of rescuing people from burning buildings.
This display was pretty creative, and we spent a lot of time here. It was a movie about fire safety and what to do if your house or your neighbor's house catches on fire. The movie was playing on the screen above it, but it was also being acted out in the display below. There were screens on the homes that showed the action. The house in the middle caught on fire. When the family got out, the bushes in the front of the house flipped around and you saw the family outside in the p.j.'s waiting for the fire trucks to arrive. The fire trucks, a police car, and an ambulance suddenly came out of no where and drove out on tracks. They saved the day and then went back to the fire station, with the ambulance heading off to the hospital with the family. It was in Japanese, but was done so well, that all of the kids understood the message anyway.
This is a display of how fires were fought during the Edo period. There wasn't really any type of organized team to fight the fires that would break out. If a fire happened, it was up to the feudal lord to take care of it on his own property. In this display, the feudal lord is riding the horse....
....and his subordinates would walk with him bringing tools and supplies to fight the fire. See that big thing they are carrying?.....
...It's a water pump. They had one on display.
There were several scrolls that were very old that described fighting fires in times long ago. For centuries, Tokyo was always burning down because they mainly built out of wood and paper.
It was the job of samurai to fight fires as well. They would wear special clothes to protect them. These are some of them.
This box had wheels on it. I've seen these here at antique shops. During the Edo period, people would have a box like this in their home, and would put their valuables in it. If a fire broke out, the people would push or pull the box out of the fire to save their precious possessions. However, these boxes were forbidden after 1683 because they would get in the way on the street and increase the damage from the fire.
We didn't know what these things were, but they looked cool and must be important because there were a lot of them.
That big fork would be used to break down doors when there was a fire so that the feudal lords and their servants could get into the burning buildings to fight the fire.
There was a play area, had to take your shoes off before getting on the mat.
On the top floor, there was an observatory where you could look at views of the city. Had a good view of the Tokyo Sky Tree--the world's highest stand-alone communication tower.
While we were up there, we heard a siren and looked down to see what was going on. We saw an ambulance trying to get through the traffic. It amazes us how the traffic doesn't get quickly out of the way of ambulances and other emergency vehicles here. It took way too long for this ambulance to be able to move through the traffic.
We also had plans to go to the Tokyo Toy Museum, but we spent way more time at the Fire Museum than we thought we would. When we got there, it was only going to be open for another 30 minutes, so we decided to forego it and went out to play on the playground for a few minutes before heading back home.
I didn't have any instructions on my ipad thanks to the weirdo on the Stupid Metro, but in spite of being lost, we managed to get back to Ebisu Station. When we were about two blocks from home, Tayla realized that she had left her camera on the bench at the Toy Museum playground.
We went home and I grabbed Ray (he had spent the day studying at the house with Kirstin) to go back to the museum with me. We went on the bus since I had learned that day that it was an easier way to get to the Fire Museum than the Stupid Metro. We got to the Toy Museum almost 3 hours after we had left it.
Now, I know that Japanese people have a lot of integrity. They leave stuff all over and people don't ever take it. But, I just couldn't believe that someone wouldn't take Tayla's camera. I hoped that it would be there, but wasn't sure.
We checked the playground, but it wasn't there. We went into the museum and Ray asked some gentlemen if Tayla's camera happened to be in the Lost and Found. Wouldn't you know it? It was there! I was so relieved that I started to cry. Tayla was so upset when she realized she had left it. I DID NOT want to go home without it and see her disappointed face. The men were surprised by my reaction. Raymond explained to them that in America, that camera would be long gone. There is no way that it would ever be turned in to a Lost and Found. They were surprised by that, and bowed to us as we said our thank you's and good-byes.
There are three big things that we have often talked about as a family that amazes us about Japan. This is arguably the largest city in the entire world--and yet....
1. Japanese people are honest to a fault. It is refreshing and makes one feel liberated! You really don't have to worry about anyone taking your stuff.
2. They are so respectful. Japanese people bow to each other in greeting, doesn't matter who you are or who they are, doesn't matter if you are a friend or a stranger, a bow is a common courtesy--it's like saying hello.
3. They are so clean. They sweep their streets, sometimes even mop them. We can't get over how tidy and clean everything is.
These things leave us to wonder--Why can't America be more like this? Why can't we get our act together and be more honest, more respectful to each other, and pick up after ourselves?
Something to think about.
Here's what the kids thought about the Fire Museum:
Caitlin: I thought it was going to be just looking at fire trucks, but it ended up being much more entertaining. It was funny to see Chris in the helicopter. He was in his element.
Tayla: Most of it was boring, a few parts of it were fun, like the helicopter and the fire truck that you could drive around the town. I also liked the top where you could look out and see Tokyo.
Christopher: I want to go back to see the helicopter again...really bad. I thought it was a lot of fun. I liked the helicopter because I felt like I was actually flying around and it was like it was real. I like the ambulance but the driver was creepy. I liked the fireman uniforms that we got to put on. I liked the house that taught about fire safety and taught us that we shouldn't leave cigarettes around and stuff like that. I liked driving the little fire truck around the town. I liked the samurai fighting helmets and learning about fighting fires through history. When are we going back? Can we go back?
Logan: I thought it was cool, awesome to see the old fire trucks and the old things that they used to put out fires in Japan. I liked the water pumps.
Nathan: I liked the whole thing!
Audra: Good. There was a big truck! I drive a little bit. I drive a helicopter. A little bit. And I come back to see you. I loved all of them! I liked the movie and the helicopter. It's so cute.
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