Disaster Drill

On Friday, November 22, Tohoku University held a disaster drill for all people who were on campus that day. At 11:50, the bell rang and an announcement told us that an earthquake happened and that everyone must evacuate the buildings.

When doing so, all staff and professors wore helmets, and escaped quickly in a group. Students did not have helmets, but joined this event and listened to a speech given by Prof. Kimio Hanawa who briefly explained about what to do in the event of a real earthquake.

On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake happened. Since then, many people became aware of disaster-prevention measures. Everyone took this disaster drill not just as practice but as an occasion to realize that disasters really do happen, so preparation is more important than anything.

Everywhere in Japan is prone to earthquakes. There is an English guidebook regarding disaster prevention on the internet, so please check it out!

Day-Trip to Naruko for Autumn Foliage

 The FGL students went to Naruko-kyo Gorge to enjoy the colorful autumn leaves on Saturday November 9th. Naruko-kyo Gorge is in Osaki City, which stretches between the north east and west areas of Miyagi prefecture. As you know, the Japanese love to experience the four seasons, and seeing autumn foliage is one means of doing so.


 
 Before visiting the gorge, we stopped by the Kankaku Museum (感覚ミュージアム). Founded in 2000, this is the first museum in Japan to be themed on the five senses—vision, hearing, smelling, taste and touch. It consists of two spaces, the monologue zone (瞑想空間) and dialogue zone (身体感覚空間). In the monologue zone, you feel various things by varying the lights or immersing your body in a room with an awkward shape. In the dialogue zone, however, you can feel something else by using tools and touching physical materials by yourself. Many of the students were delighted and we could hear them saying "Wow!" and "Ah!" everywhere.



 Then we stopped by Katanuma Lake for lunch. This time, we brought boxed lunches and dined along the lakeside in the sunshine. On the way to this place, students were already able to see autumn foliage. When they arrived at the gorge after lunch, the whole landscape was so beautiful. While enjoying seeing the gorge, the students did not miss the food stalls, which were like those at the university festival. As is obvious, the appetite of some students was even greater than the grandeur of nature. Overall, however, all participants seemed to enjoy the whole schedule, and there was constant laughter and glee among students and professors through the day.

International Festival this weekend!

 This weekend, another festival will be held, but this time, it will be primarily run by international students—the Tohoku University Foreign Students Association (a.k.a. TUFSA). This 28th Tohoku University International Festival will start at 11:00 on Sunday, November 10 at Sanjo Junior High School, which actually sits just next to University House Sanjo (most FGL students live there).
 A big stage will be prepared, and you will be able to see a fashion show of various ethnic costumes, singing and dancing by international students. If you look around, quite a large number of food stalls can be found. They will offer international cuisine, and you will have the opportunity to taste cooking from more than 20 countries.
 Entrance is free. For the food stalls, you can pre-order food tickets for 1,000 JPY from members of TUFSA, or buy them online (currently tickets cost 1,200 JPY).
 This is a great chance to experience many different cultures at once, so why don’t you join us?!? It will be fun!!

Festival at Tohoku University!

 November is a festival season, which means the 65th Tohoku University Festival was held!

 The Kawauchi Campus was filled with so many booths. At each booth, students cooked something special. Here are some shots.

This booth is run by students from Aomori prefecture. Here they cooked and sold Senbei Jiru (せんべい汁), the most famous local dish in Aomori. The ingredients include lots of vegetables (and chicken in some case), but the major one is Senbei—round rice crackers! Except crackers, everything is placed in a huge pot and cooked for a while, and the crackers are added last. Even though they are cooked in hot soup, they do not become too soft.

At this booth, boys tried cooking an Italian dish—risotto.
Original amusing leaflets were put all over their tent,
and the likeness looked similar to both male students.

At the plaza, performers showed their talents on stage.
The Mr. and Ms. Tohoku University contest was held there too.

The cosplayers were in bloom!
These students were selling Chinese-style chicken.

International students did a great job too.
For halal eaters, the Indonesian students showed their strong solidarity. 

They cooked and sold nasi goring for 300JPY.
Egg and shrimp were added to it, and professors stopped by to buy it.

 If you become Tohoku University students in the future, please open up a booth at the University Festival and cook your national food to give us a chance to experience different cultures!