Day 6: Mizkan Museum, Nagoya Castle, SCMAGLEV and Railway Park

THE Aichi prefecture experience will not be complete without visiting the iconic Nagoya Castle, immersing inside the interactive exhibits in Mizkan Museum, and catching a glimpse of the fastest bullet train in SCMAGLEV Train Museum. This prefecture boasts its warm and welcoming culture despite the shivering cold weather of Nagoya! ALSO, we’ve been able to witness and discover the largest port and shipment of Toyota vehicles in Toyota City in Aichi.

The delegation started of the program by visiting Mizkan Museum. Ever wondered about the ‘Sake’ made by Mitsuha from the famous Japanimation Kimi No Na Wa? MIM (Mizkan Museum) is the right place to answer that question! MIM is an interactive museum where you can learn about the history and the creation of vinegar (sake) by Mizkan.

The MIM tour will start on a journey through time by entering ‘Room of Earth’ in which you can learn how they traditionally produce Sake Lees Vinegar through the 9 steps from the 18th century, and the present. Strength, precision and dedication. These words are the things that you will learn from the process of producing sake. Several barrels and factory workers are displayed to demonstrate the making of the vinegar.

After entering the ‘Room of Earth’, the delegation proceeds to the ‘Room of Time’. A huge replica of the ship that is used in carrying Mizkan’s vinegar will greet you upon entering the room. The exhibit will take you back to the year 1805 as Mizkan create and export Sake Lees Vinegar! The delegation was able to board the replica of the boat and watch the history of MIM. After boarding, the delegation proceeds to a room where you can SMELL different types of sake. To end the MIM tour, we were able to learn and master the art of making sushi.

AGAIN, the Aichi prefecture experience will not be complete without visiting Nagoya Castle! In 1610, this castle has been constructed under Tokugawa Ieyasu and was used as the residence of the first feudal lord of Owari Province. During the WWII, almost all of the main precincts was burned down and was rebuilt in 1959 as a result of the citizen’s growing wishes for its reconstruction.

As you go inside the Hommaru Palace, some of the rooms are covered with gold. According to the translator, Hiromi-san, workers work day and night pounding the gold leaves to cover some areas of the palace.

After visiting the castle, the delegation went to the SCMAGLEV and Railway Park in Minato-ku, Nagoya. This establishment is the home of the fastest experimental shinkansen (bullet train) and the latest magnetic levitating trains! SCMAGLEV (Superconducting Magnetic Levitation) Museum is developed by the Central Japan Railway Company and the Railway Technical Research Institute.

As a delegate from a third-world country, visiting these establishments creates a bridge to new ideas that we hope our country, the Philippines, will adapt. Even the slightest hope can make a huge possibility for us to develop and innovate technology that can help the country’s well-being.