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Fans of rockets, ships and big machinery in general will find a lot to see in this two-story technology museum run by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Exhibits focus in particular on the realms of aerospace, deep-sea exploration and shipping. There's lots of hands-on activity - everywhere you turn there's a button to press or a handle to crank, and nearly everything is bilingual in both English and Japanese.
Young visitors can marvel at real rocket engines in the Aerospace Zone, and life-size models of mini-submarines (er, deep-sea submersible research vessels) in the Ocean Zone. Simulators of helicopters, airplanes, trams and subs give you a chance to sit in the pilot's, conductor's, and captain's seats for a few minutes.
The actual simulations, though, are fairly tame for anyone who's ever played a videogame - in the sub you use a joystick to submerge the vehicle and net a fish, while the tram simulation consists of pulling the brake lever and pressing a button for the windshield wiper.
Upstairs, the History of Vehicles room shows off dozens of scale models of big ships, airplanes and trains, while the Technology Quest area demonstrates how cranes and forklifts apply basic technology like gears and levers. The small but eclectic gift shop sells scale-model ships (ranging in price from Y8,000 to Y100,000) and tiny airplanes. You can also take home tasteful packets of space food inspired by zero-gravity astronaut fare - these include takoyaki, shrimp gratin, ice cream and "space curry."
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