EN: Yes, I had visited JAXA before. That was the headquarters in Chofu. And that’s where I found out about other JAXA field centers, one of them being close to Tokyo, in Tsukuba. It’s called Tsukuba Space Center and as the name indicates, it has something to do with space – I mean quite a lot. There is a 24-hour control room where KIBO space module is controlled – the largest module on the International Space Station. This control room is directly connected to NASA and therefore the visitors must undertake the security check, you can’t take your phone or camera with you and you definitely need your passport. The life-sized copy of KIBO module, which was developed and tested here in Tsukuba, can be seen in the exhibition hall called Space Dome. This place is impressive, you can admire plenty of space crafts, you can find out something more about Japanese space program and the evolution of rockets. For the fans of anime – there are quite a lot of souvenirs available in the local shop which are related to the Space Brothers TV show, which was consulted with JAXA, just as Planestes, Robotics;Notes and Steins;Gate in the past. I should probably warn the tourists – there are really not that many foreign visitors in JAXA, as it’s quite far from Tokyo for a common tourist (I was not a common tourist, I had enough time to waste), so you need to call them in advance and book your place before the visit. You will avoid some confusion and you will be able to get English speaking guide, which is always a nice bonus. This is a must-see place for a geek and anyone who likes this kind of space stuff.
SK: Áno, v JAXA som už raz bol. Navštívil som Chofu, centrálu celej agentúry a práve tam mi jedna z milých zamestnankýň poradila, aby som vzhľadom na môj záujem o tieto veci navštívil aj Tsukuba Space Center, teda pracovisko, ktoré sa zameriava práve na prieskum vesmíru. V obrovskom areáli sa okrem iného nachádza aj riadiace centrum medzinárodnej vesmírnej stanice ISS, ktoré funguje nepretržite 24 hodín denne a kontroluje hlavne japonskú časť ISS zvanú Kibo. Je to najväčšia súčasť stanice a Japonci sú na ňu patrične hrdí. V centre Tsukuba je aj kópia modulu v životnej veľkosti, v ktorej predtým kozmonauti trénovali. Prítomné sú aj iné družice a zariadenia použité/používané vo vesmíre. A samozrejme aj reklamy a reklamné predmety anime seriálu Space Brothers, na ktorom pracovala aj samotná agentúra, to platí aj pre Planetes a Robotics;Notes a Steins;Gate. Keďže Tsukuba je od Tokia relatívne ďaleko a mimo atraktívnych turistických miest, pre bežného turistu asi veľmi reálnou destináciou nie je, no pre tých, ktorí v Japonsku zostávajú dlhšie a zaujímajú sa o túto tematiku, by bola určite skvelým spestrením.
