[Date and Time] Friday, February 26, at 13:30-15:00
[Visitors] 17 foreigners, with 1 from China, 2 from Korea, 2 from Thailand, 1 from Myanmar, 1 from Bangladesh, 1 from France, 1 from Serbia, 1 from Mexico, 1 from Peru, 4 from Jordan (including 2 children), and 2 from Indonesia
[Attendants] 23 KSGG members
[Visitors] 17 foreigners, with 1 from China, 2 from Korea, 2 from Thailand, 1 from Myanmar, 1 from Bangladesh, 1 from France, 1 from Serbia, 1 from Mexico, 1 from Peru, 4 from Jordan (including 2 children), and 2 from Indonesia
[Attendants] 23 KSGG members
At JAMSTEC, we could see research vessel Natsushima and other similar vessels including deep sea research ones. JAMSTEC is an independent administrative institution that studies marine extreme environmental biosphere, global environmental change, and the dynamics of the earth. We could see Shinkai 6500, which is a manned submersible research vessel,” deep-sea cruising probes, and automatic probes. We also saw such facilities as a dive training pool and a hyperbaric chamber. What I wondered at were deep sea organisms which look like long twigs in the water tank. They are extremobiospheres without any mouth, esophagus, and digestive organs. Everybody was really astonished to see them. In the future, we could even build a deep-sea station in addition to the space station.
Impression of a foreign visitor
We are from Indonesia. Today we had a wonderful experience about JAMSTEC and interesting conversations with some Japanese. Thank you very much for having arranged this event. We will be happy if we can join KSGG’s other events next time.
Impressions of a student from China studying at Yokohama National University, who joined a field trip to Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) on February 26 (Translated from the original Japanese)
The tour started in the hall of the institute with an intent explanation of a beautiful guide speaking comfortably with a rich voice and a bright smile. I didn’t understand her explanation at first as I was not good at English. Then, with the party formed in groups of English and Japanese, we went to the maintenance plant of research submersibles. I got in the cockpit of a life-size model of “Shinkai 6500,” a manned research submersible that can dive into the deepest part of the sea in the world, enjoying myself as if I were a pilot. When I saw “Shinkai 2000,” the real first manned research submersible in Japan, I was astonished at its highly advanced Japanese technology. Also, when I saw pieces of equipment broken and glasses deformed by high water pressure, I realized how strong water pressure is. I could understand a bit what the state-of-the-art scientific technology of Japan is. During the tour I could talk with some Japanese people to find again how serious, kind and friendly they are. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to SGG members for giving me a good chance like this.