Experiencing an earthquake with an intensity of 7.

Our guide welcomes us to the Western Chiba Prefectural Disaster Prevention Center.

I recently had a chance to visit the Western Chiba Prefectural Disaster Prevention Center (千葉県西部防災センター) in Matsudo.

Just as the name describes, it's a public facility designed to raise awareness about how to keep yourself and those around you safe in case of an emergency. It might not sound very interesting at first, but it's actually super interactive and really, really cool.

It's a bit difficult to describe, so I'll let the photos (albeit pretty blurry ones here and there) do the the explaining!

Earthquake car.

After watching a short video introducing the center, our guide led us upstairs to where are the awesome interactive stuff is. Right off the bat, we were going for what I wanted to try out the most - the earthquake car.

I've tried the portable version of this before - basically like a U-haul truck that has had it's wagon section cut open to resemble a plain, empty room. Here's an example (I rode an even older, plainer version though).

This took the earthquake simulation to a whole different level. They have recreated a living room (minus things that are actually in danger of falling down and seriously hurting someone) on a platform - think of those spaceship rides at the amusement park? Except that unlike this one is designed to realistically recreate the same kind of shaking you would experience in an actual earthquake.

Earthquake car/machine from the outside, as well as a description of the variety of strengths the machine can recreate.

This machine can simulate earthquakes with a intensity (震度) range of 0-7. Our guide had us try an intensity of upper 5 (震度5強) - the intensity experienced in many parts of Chiba on 3.11, followed up by an intensity of 7 (震度7) - which is the maximum, and was recorded intensity for hardest hit areas the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.

In all seriousness, I was terrified enough during the intensity of 5 simulation - it reminded me way too much of 3.11, something I never want to experience again. But 7...was far too intense. Even though I knew it was a simulation, I am pretty sure I was screaming because it was so terrifying. I guess it might be good to experience as a simulation, and just hope that you - or anyone else - will ever have to experience for real??

Braving the typhoon simulation!

The numbers on the wall are the wind speed and rainfall - pictured here is the maximum, with a wind speed of 30m/sec and rainfall of 30mm/hour. Don't worry though - at least they have full rain gear for you to change into before challenging this simulation!

Practicing CPR.

If you take the extended 90 minute tour (compared to the 60 minute tour), you can also learn basic CPR techniques and how to operate an AED.

Staying calm while reporting a fire.

Next, there was this neat activity, which checks to make sure you can report a fire or call for an ambulance as quickly and calmly as possible. Follow the prompts and read the dialogue displayed on screen within the allotted time. Our "leader" passed with flying colors!

Also not pictured here because there was no way for me to get a decent photo, but our guide took us through a dark, smoke-filled hallway to have us learn how to protect ourselves from smoke during a fire and escape as quickly as possible.

Putting out that fire.

Our last hands-on activity, and perhaps the biggest stress reliever of the day...putting out a fire with a fire extinguisher! Mind you, the extinguishers actually only had water in them, but it was a lot of fun nonetheless.

Final stop before the end of the tour.

But before we were done, the tour ends here - a room filled with these smaller closet rooms! It's actually a simulation to test how much information you've actually retained over the course of the tour. You watch a movie, and choose either red or blue during a timed prompt to guide the main character's course of action.

Not-so-random sign.

I took this photo because I wanted to note the 備蓄倉庫 - according to the introductory video they show you at the beginning of the tour, they store tons of emergency rations and supplies in the warehouse here. I wish we could have seen it, but I think it's off-limits to the public. D:

Presents to take home from the tour - multilingual pamphlets from the Center, as well as an emergency whistle and alarm from Kamogawa International Relations Association, the event organizer.

Presents to take home from the tour - multilingual pamphlets from the Center, as well as an emergency whistle and alarm from Kamogawa International Relations Association, the event organizer. Particularly, I'd never thought about needing a whistle in an emergency, but I learned that it's a pretty common thing to have ready here in Japan, in case you are trapped over fallen furniture, etc. in an earthquake and are calling for help. This is opposed to screaming, which 1) may use up limited oxygen and 2) cause you to inhale smoke/dust/rubble.


A few other notes about the Center - I am pretty sure you actually have to take the guided tour in order to look around, as most of the interactive stuff are like rides at an amusement park and need to be operated by staff. There are displays too, but why settle for that when you can do all the fun hands-on stuff?

Another cool thing - admission to the Western Chiba Prefectural Disaster Prevention Center is totally free! Tours are only available in Japanese - but you have a decent handle on Japanese, you can get the gist of things and figure out the rest through the hands-on activities.

I drove to the Western Chiba Prefectural Disaster Prevention Center by car from Chiba, and it was a nice 1 hour drive. The center has free parking for visitors. If going by public transportation, you'll need to take the bus from either JR Matsudo Station (bus bound for Ichikawa Station) or from JR Ichikawa Station (bus bound for Matsudo Station or Matsudo Shako). Either way, get off the bus at Matsudo Nichu. You can also walk, but it's a 25 minute hike from JR Matsudo Station.

List of things to prepare and have on hand at home in case of an emergency.

Anyway, visiting the center was a great experience, and reminded me of a lot of things I needed to reconsider at home and other places I spend a lot of time at. Generally, you are the one most responsible for protecting yourself. Just taking a little time to make back-up plans and take precautions in case of an emergency could make all the difference, so why wait until tomorrow when you could have done it today?