We made our trip to Japan and among the many places we visited was the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel (首都圏外郭放水路 shutoken gaikaku hōsuiro). It went exactly as described on this blog: http://blog.japantwo.com/2010/06/25/700 but there were a few exceptions.
The Japanese guide was very speedy in her speech and although I knew what was coming and understood the general gist, I was taken aback when she suddenly posed me a question and the whole tour group stared at me, waiting for a reply.... "Wakarimasen...", I had to say, because I really had no idea what this part was about. It was very embarrassing! Luckily we could join a Scotsman and his Japanese wife who was translating for him as the guide went through the '"you will descend 116 steps and you cannot take pictures until you are down at the bottom"-story, which was the part I did understand. In any case it was a good excuse to chat more with other English speaking tourists, and a good encouragement to study more!
The Ryukyukan where the tour starts is filled with moving models and maps, showing how the installation works and which area it affects. There is a special movie theater with walls similar to the underground concrete pillars and sound effects of water dripping, making you experience the discharge channel as if you were already there. The movie itself is mainly about how the discharge channel manages to tame the slightly aggressive 'blue river dragon'. The building also has a wall filled with pictures and signatures of famous people making movies and commercials inside the tunnels.
Given that this tour is free and you get so much information, and the chance to experience the huge, dark and damp underground atmosphere of this hidden mega construction, it is certainly worth a visit.
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