Message home from Japan Super Science Fair

DAY 1: Friday 3rd November

After 3 flights we arrived in Japan. Door to door it took a whopping 35 hours to reach our destination!

Exhausted, but exceedingly excited, we've had a number of firsts. Some have been incredible, such as gigantic calligraphy displays choreographed to Japanese rock music. Some, however, have been a little more divisive, such as the abundance of fish in every meal, including breakfast!

This morning, we met our fabulous Japanese buddies Miu and Manaho in person who have taken really good care of us.
A whirlwind day of musical performances, traditional tea ceremonies, icebreaking activities and fascinating scientific presentations followed. Now can't wait for our turn to present tomorrow and keen to find out if Mritsa's team have made it into the final of the AI in Education competiton, having won their heat!
With 20 different countries attending, we've already made so many new friends, shaken a plethora of hands and posed for countless selfies! 

DAY 2: Saturday 4th November

The girls completed both their project presentation and poster presentation.

Both events were very well attended and they were asked and answered a lot of questions. We have also had the chance to eat Japanese street food as there was a festival at the university and had a tour of some of the research labs. Finally, we attended a lecture on Physics Phenomena.

We're tired but excited for tomorrow!

Day 3: Sunday 5th November  

Day 3 saw us head back to Rits High School.

Some fascinating talks about astrophysics, micromachines and the atmospheric conditions in the Antarctic preceded an awesome lunch party. A huge Conga line was formed, the universal dance of the Macarena followed and the party culminated in a giant, highly competitive game of Kahoot. Rhea’s team was victorious!  

The afternoon was all about sharing our culture with other schools. Each school had a booth and we toured round, getting a short snapshot of numerous cultures, enjoying a multitude of interactive activities and edible offerings! This was rapidly packed away and we got to spend the next hour immersing ourselves in Japanese culture, being taught calligraphy by students, dressing in traditional Yukata and enjoying numerous games!
A science showdown followed where our pupils joined many different nationalities working in small teams to build gliders and tested them out in the giant auditorium. We then headed back to the university for a delicious dinner and plenty of socialising with all the other schools!  

Day 4: Monday 6th November  

We started the day with some fascinating industrial tours, we got access to some of the most cutting-edge research institutions in and around Kyoto.

Andrea and Mrs Reade were greeted by a talking robot at AGR who once acquainted can remember faces and names indefinitely. We got to walk around the gigantic sound-proof chamber over 12 metres high where all the research on wireless technology is carried out. Emphasis was placed on innovation - required to be at the forefront of the telecommunications trade culminating with a 15 minute challenge to build the tallest freestanding tower out of 9 chopsticks, Mrs Reade won with 91cm!  

Our next stop was Fushimi Inari temple. We were blown away by the beauty of the Torii gates and immersed ourselves in all the practices, praying to Shinto (the Fox God), using prayer sticks to wish for successful endeavours and having our fortunes told. These can be both positive and negative. Dr Rees was relieved when everyone received good and not bad news, as that possibility had not been factored in on the risk assessment!  

The evening was spent exploring down-town Kyoto with our buddies, Miu and Manaho. An extraordinarily long time was dedicated to selecting stationery, with bubble tea, fascinating local shops and a plethora of animal cafes also vying for our attention.
We would have happily stayed for days!