Asama & Stuff

Jo folks,

has it already been two weeks? Sorry that I didn't stick to my schedule of one post per week. So be prepared for a lot of  variety this time.

The weekend before the last started with the open campus of AIST, the research institute I am working at. All the different institutes had stands where they showcased their current research or just basic science stuff. There were a lot of kids after all. In the case of the Geological survey you could smash rocks with hammers and take the result with you as a keepsake. Who wouldn't want to do that? I've got myself a piece of  red obsidian. Pretty neat. There was also a very rudimentary version of the baking soda volcano. It was a huge mess. Glad I didn't have to clean that up. Anyway, here are some pictures:

Cute

This is Japan for you. It is simply not possible in Japan to have any public event, advertisement or anything else involving public relations without some cute characters. In my not so humble opinion, the secret message here is that men don't understand women. Don't quote me on that though. It could also indicate the questions science answers, but that is highly unlikely...

People standing (too close) to the miniature volcano.
At least Shinji is wearing a helmet.

On the next day Isoji took me somewhere special. Maybe you can figure it out from the picture itself:

That's right, we went to a brewery.

The location: Kirin's largest brewery in Japan, and I can confirm, it is pretty huge. We even had a bus that drove us around on the premises. I also good to taste their beer. Good stuff.

The next stop was a giant Buddha statue!

Meet Ushiku Daibutsu, 120 m tall.

Thanks again Isoji, for taking me to places I wouldn't have seen otherwise!

Alrighty, I was pretty excited for Thursday last week because Shinji took me and a researcher from France to Asama, a volcano of course. It is famous for many reasons. For one, it is the deadliest volcano of Japan. The eruption from 1783 killed 1491 people and caused a famine that killed thousands more. The same eruption produced Ashfall, Pyroclastic Flows and Lava flows at the same time. Nobody really knows how that is possible in the first place. Not to mention the massive debris avalanche that moved boulders of up to 60 m in diameter tens of kilometers away from the volcano. Enough with the talking, lets show you a picture of this majestic piece of rock.

What now?

I don't know about you but I see a pattern evolving here. There should be a volcano in this picture, somewhere...

Ah well, we didn't see the volcano itself due to heavy fog, but we drove around and had a look at some outcrops. Here are some pictures:

Ashfall deposit. The bright stuff is from 1783.

Not all outcrops are easy to get to...

A drainage comprised of ash, black sand and pumice.

Welded pyroclastic flow deposits.

Look what the debris avalanche left here.

Then we went to see the famous lava flow. When I say lava flow I obviously don't mean molten rock. You know, that stuff cools down eventually and what stays behind is one of the most unique landscapes I have ever seen:

Nature is claiming back the territory.

Is the fog getting thicker or is it just me?

Shinji for scale.

Mystical

I am somehow glad they've built that path there.

Pretty ominous.

Shelter in case rocks come raining down. Just volcano things.

There is a rather sad story to the eruption from 1783. There was a village that lost 4/5 of it's population to the debris avalanche. The only survivors were the ones that managed to climb up the stairs to the village shrine. In the 1950s they excavated the parts of the stairs that had been buried by the avalanche and found two skeletons. A woman carrying her elderly mother on her back. They were just two steps away from safety. There are stories that the woman's daughter made it to safety just in time, being a few steps ahead of them. Here is the infamous shrine:

1/3 of the original extend of the stairs remain.

Last Sunday Isoji had the idea to try out Zen Buddhism. So we went to a small temple at 8:30 in the morning to pray and meditate. I am not a very religious person but if I had to choose between Christianity and Buddhism I would choose the latter.

The interior of the temple

There were a hundred people or so in that small temple and we meditated for 35 minutes. If you fall asleep the monk will hit you with a piece of wood. Then you have to be thankful that he woke you up again and he bows to you. Pretty funny if you ask me. I think there was a loud "POW" every 2-3 minutes on average. I really enjoyed it even though it was incredibly exhausting to sit in an upright position for such a long time. I would have liked to not being able to feel my legs and feet, it could have dulled the pain.

The temple had a really nice stone garden as well:

I like.

That's it for today. The next trip is already planned. Let's hope no cloud or fog will obstruct my view again...

Cheerio

Nils