Outdoors

Tanegashima is an island south of Kagoshima city. In addition to hosting a launch site for Japan’s space program, it’s also the setting for robotics;notes.

As expected, r;n is being promoted pretty heavily here. You can see posters for it all over the island (and get free copies of them from the tourism office).

Concrete plant on the Tanegashima shore. The northern end of the island is lightly industrial, but there are a lot of fields, forests and beaches on the southern end.

The local supermarket uses liquid crystal displays to show the prices. They’ll even tell you if the product is currently on sale.

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Tanegashima Space Centre

Tanegashima Space Centre is located on a picturesque golf resort-like beach.

Media gallery building located just outside of the launch evacuation zone. You can get a great view of the launch sites from here.

Medium and heavy rocket launch sites.

Inside the rocket storage shed. You can ask for a free tour (in Japanese) of these facilities.

Used ablative shielding with friction damage.

Command centre. The guide mentioned that most of this stuff is automated now, so the room is actually quite small.

Huge Galaxy Express 999 picture in the foyer.

These fish are descended from fish who were taken into space.

Collection of postcard illustrations for each significant event.

Inside JAXA’s museum.

I bossed this rocket design game.

Space food, including some Japanese staples like seaweed soup.

This nice little internet lounge looks out on to the beach and has a TV connected to the NASA channel.

Carl Sagan

Arthur C. Clarke

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Robotics;notes tour

Launch viewing platform.

Irei corner store.

Kaito and Akiho’s school.

Abandoned go-kart track.

Old Tanegashima Airport and runway. Now an abandoned ruin.

Robot hangar. Currently empty.

Frau’s ‘house’. Currently an abandoned restaurant.

Chikura caves.

Cave with the AR flag.

Lots of cats around here, too.

This is where the disused history building used to be, but it was demolished a few days before we arrived.

Closest thing I could find to Space Candy.

Skal. Pronounced ‘Squall’.

Yoghurppe.