Ikebukuro Life Safety Learning Center — Attraction in Tokyo

Ikebukuro Bousaikan (safety center) is a great place to learn about natural disasters that can occur in Japan. There is a 2 hour long programme for safety training consisting of short movie about earthquakes and tsunami with the focus on Tohoku earthquake few years ago. Then there is a training in using fire extinguishers. Everyone can try to use water extinguisher and pour water on fire.

There also is a small apartment which is full of artificial smoke and a group of 5 people try to escape from the place along fire exit arrows. The last part is an earthquake simulator. This is imho the best part of the programme. Everyone can feel how it is like when 9 degree earthquake appears.

I really recommend to visit this place but you have to make a phone reservation in advance (Japanese...

If you're new to Japan I can't recommend a trip here enough so you understand what an earthquake feels Iike and what to do.

The free 2 hour tour is in Japanese but the film parts are subtitled in English and tyou will easily get the gist from the instructions.

You get a brief history of natural disasters in Japan and then you get to have a go extinguishing a fire (the kids loved letting off a real fire extinguisher). After that you are told how to evacuate a fire and the dangers of smoke, and escape a smoke (fog machine) filled room. Then the bit my kids adored, the earthquake simulation. They run a number, with lower magnitude quakes for little kids, up to the kanto earthquake, and the great Eastern Japan earthquake (I found this...

A really good experience. The film is with English subtitles, the personnel speaks enough English to give you the important part of the instructions. For some of the guidelines they also have English handouts. Knowing some Japanese is helpful but not necessary. The film is an animation taking you back to major earthquakes in the past with some learning from each situation. Fire extinguisher training is only from 9 years on, but smaller kids can watch. The smoke maze is also fun for small kids (ours are 3 and 6). The earthquake simulator is run as 6 with kids on board, as adult you can experience a 7. When you're not grown up in an area with earthquakes, it helps you to get...