A Most Tsukuba-like Racing Event- on November 18th and 19th- The Tsukuba Challenge 2010
Thrills, chills, and plenty of spills- one of the entrants in the Tsukuba Challenge 2010 being cheered on by enthusiastic supporters
They`ve been getting ready for the big race for weeks, months, maybe even years. Training, training, and then more training- working to improve speed stamina and coordination: knowing that every SECOND will count in the pursuit of victory.
And it all comes down to Thurday and Friday of this week, at an event for which they will be converging on Tsukuba from all over Japan. For victory. For the prize. For the glory!
No. I am not talking about the famous and very popular Tsukuba Marathon, which will be held later this month ( on the 28th), and in which thousands will run. I`m referring to the 4th annual Tsukuba Challenge, also known as the Real World Robot Challenge- in which about 70 robots- on-wheels of various design will try to negotiate a course around Tsukuba`s Central Park. This year the course will run a gruelling 1.1 kilometers, from Tsukuba`s Expo Center, around the pond at Tsukuba`s Central Park, then over the pedestrian bridge to Nova Hall! There will be various designated stopping points along the way.
If you think this sounds difficult, IT IS. In fact, last year only 5 out of 72 teams could complete the course, which was much shorter than what they will have to navigate this year.
A practice run over the pedestrian bridge between Tsukuba Center and the Expo Center
If you`ve been around Tsukuba Center over the past few months, more specifically on the pedestrian road between Nova Hall and the Expo Center, you have almost surely seen the curious sight of some of the teams practicing the course with their robots. It is a strange sight indeed to see groups of two or three green-capped, name-tag wearing OTAKU (computer nerd) types clustered around the odd looking, diminutive, wheeled vehicles ( often made using wheel chairs, of all things!), making their way along the path at what could only be called a SNAILS PACE.
The Tsukuba University team ironing out some technical problems during a practice run
Starting tomorrow( Thursday November 18) at 10 AM at the Tsukuba Expo center will be a trial run which will be held over a 240 meter coure. Those who successfully complete it, will be able to take part in the FINALS on the following day, also starting at 10AM.
Passing by the Tsukuba Library on a practice run
Since Tsukuba is Japan`s SCIENCE CITY, and is now perhaps the capital of cutting edge robot technology, this event seems to me just perfect. Much more appropriate for the city than the Tsukuba Matsuri ( in which the main theme is a group of floats which are taken from a very famous festival in Aomori prefecture-after they have finished using them there), or even the Tsukuba Marathon, since there are many marathons held all over Japan ( a dime a dozen!).
So come on out tomorrow and the next day for a unique, TRULY TSUKUBAN event. Join the nerds cheering the robots on! At the rate they go it will take quite a long time. They will need plenty of encouragement to make it to the finish line!
In fact, however, the finishing time will be 4PM tomorrow and 1:30PM, the next day.
See you there!
One of the many robots entered in the race which make use of a wheel-chair
The starting point- at the Expo Center
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A Way to Pass the Time
Again, this is not really related to Tsukuba, but Google Image Labeller is kind of fun if you have a few minutes to kill.
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Farmer Causes a BIG STINK Near Tsukuba Center- by accidently dropping a load of PIG MANURE at a major intersection!
Clean-up crews work feverishly to clear the road of a load of pig manure which had fallen off the back of a truck ( Tsukuba August 23rd 2011)
Just another day in the SCIENCE CITY-
I had reached the big intersection on foot, and since the light for pedestrians was red I came to a stop- right where two of Tsukuba`s most important thoroughfares , Higashi O-dori and The Tsuchiura- Gakuen Line meet. A young women was standing next to me as I waited for the light to turn. Suddenly, I sensed a strong, foul ( yet familiar) odor in the air. I quickly looked around for any trucks carrying pigs or their manure ( a popular fertilizer in these parts) which might be idling ( or on the move ) nearby.
Disappointed not to find the offending vehicle, I noticed that the girl next to me was wiggling her nostrils in discomfort. She also shot me a glare. I became self conscious, and was worried that she would think that it was ME who was fouling up the air.
And foul it was! Instead of the passing wiff of PIG which one often fleetingly catches along Tsukuba`s roads, this smell did not dissipate into the air. In fact, it grew to be almost suffocating in the few seconds ( though it seemed like ages!) that had passed.
When the light finally did change, the girl rushed off to cross ( probably trying to get away from me!), while I took my time getting to the other side, carefully looking around to find the cause of the mal-odorous situation.
Eureka! Looking over to the north-western corner of the intersection ( nearest to the Shinonome Grand Hotel) I spotted the source of the trouble ( which had been blocked from view by the azalea bushes growing in the dividers)- a big load of PIG MANURE had dropped onto the road!
Police had already arrived on the scene, and had cordoned off one of the lanes. A clean-up crew with a VACCUUM CAR ( the tank lorries which come to clean out cesspools) was busy trying to vaccuum up the steaming black pile.
None of those on the scene were wearing any masks, and I kind of felt sorry for everyone involved .
And no, I didnt stick around to ask anybody for the details of the accident!
Anyway, if you too detected SOMETHING IN THE AIR- now you know what it was!
For more on pig manure in Tsukuba read my older post:
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In Japan, it doesn`t have to be Halloween for a good GHOST EXPERIENCE!
It was early on a Sunday morning. Very early. Five-thirty, in fact. When the door-bell first rang, the slumbering Mr. and Mrs. T, who reside in Tsukuba`s Kukizaki district, both thought they were dreaming. When it chimed again and again, it was finally Mrs. T who reluctantly got out of bed, put on slippers and robe, and went over to the intercom to see just who the heck it was.
'Donata desu ka? (who is it?)', she asked with genuine curiosity. 'Yamomoto desu (Its Yamamoto),' said the male voice that answered.
But since Mrs. T was closely acquainted with more than a few people with the family name Yamamoto, one of the most common in Japan, she still could not figure out who it was.
'Doko no Yamamoto ( Which Yamamoto) ? ', she asked with some irritation.
'Katsushika no Yamamoto ( the Yamamoto from Katsushika, a part of Tokyo`s Shita Machi district)`, he answered.
And she realized immediately who it was. One of her husbands regular golf partners.
Though a bit relieved, the situation was still puzzling- she was unaware of any golf appointement her husband had for that day, and anyway, even if he did what was Mr. Yamamoto doing there so early?
Half asleep and freezing, she let all her doubts pass, by passing off the situation to her husband. She called up to him-' ANATA ( honey) ! Its Yamamoto-San! '
Grumbling, maybe even cursing under his breath, Mr. T went downstairs and opened the front door.
Nobody there. He stepped outside into the cold and dark. Nobody out front either. And no cars parked out on the street. Strange.
He went back inside for his cell phone and gave ol` Yamamoto a call. No answer.
Bizarre. But not enough o as to keep him from heading back into bed and getting back to finsh that good Sunday sleep.
Later in the afternoon, the couple remembered what had happened a few hours earlier in the day ( though it did seem like that had been ages ago), and they decided to give Mr. Yamamoto of Katsushika another call.
This time they got through. Not to Mr. Yamamoto, but to his wife. What they heard from her sent a chill down their spine-
You guessed it. Yamamoto-San, Mr. T`s long time golf partner, had passed away in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
Just another typica,( true)l ghost story that one is likely to hear at any time of year in Tsukuba (or anywhere else in Japan, for that matter).
I heard this one a few months back from Mrs. T herself. Though one other woman at our little lunch gathering gasped in surprise at the story, another woman, Mrs. Sato, was nonchalant and said-"oh yeah. A similar thing happened to me."
I have been saving this little story for Halloween. But as I have already mentioned, it is not the only one of its sort that has come to my ears. In fact living in Japan, I hear true stories of the supernatural on a regular basis.
Im saving some of the other CHILLING stories for future Halloweens! Make sure to check for them!
Musings on Halloween in Japan
I find the growing popularity in Japan of American style Halloween with all its accompanying paraphanalia extremely IRONIC. If people thought about this festival more deeply, I am sure that more than a few Japanese would find it offensive.
This is because Halloween as it is now celebrated in the U.S. can be seen as a kind of PARODY of a system beliefs which are in fact central components of Japanese culture-specifically its seems to be making fun of Japanese ancestor worship, and the important O-Bon festival in particular.
The Japanese have traditionally believed that during the O-Bon period ( which is usually held in mid-August), the spirits of ancestors return to their native homes( guided by lanterns lit in front of each home). The living then proceed to entertain these spirits for a few days- with what are similar to tricks and treats- food and entertainment.
Halloween is an obvious spoof of these customs.Scary yet funny lanterns are carved out of pumpkins to attract the ghosts (little kids dressed in scary costumes) The ghosts are then given food. Once they have gotten their treats, the ghosts go away!
Though the distant roots of America`s Halloween customs remain obscure, it seems clear that they are a continuation, in mock form, of ancient beliefs in spirits which come back to visit this world who need to be fed. Naturally, the church did their best to suppress such beliefs and customs. Their great popularity, however, made them difficult to wipe out and as the centuries have gone by they still survive, in VERY distorted form.
In Japan, however, even today many DO believe that their ancestral spirits come home for some nourishment, company and consolation- and thats not something we should make fun of, is it ?
Halloween decorations at a city run community center in Hojo, Tsukuba
Happy Halloween
An original Halloween creation by Junko Takasaki of Tsukuba- a Jack O` Lantern shaped bread filled with kabocha pumpkin and adzuki beans!
And for those of you who would like some creepy music for the occassion- I once wrote a song ( along with Ascelin Gordon and Tom Debor) called KANASHIBARI. It has been recorded by both Xenophonia and The TenGooz.Listen here:
http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/17116
and
http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/5701
Enjoy!
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Math Lesson
Okay, this is unabashedly off topic, but so cool I couldn't resist sharing it with you.
Math Lesson: A new way to multiply
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