First morning view from dorm window to right and down on creek rushing out of mining valley. Old snow and sad bamboo, bridge where the miners of yore walked to work from tiny Mozumi.
View from dorm window to left, towards the deadly Route 41 (bridge), the river, and train on far side.
View from bed, showing old miners walk to the works across the creek and up hill.
The dorm dining room, highway and river in background. Note clock (more later).
gone missing...
Heading up the road towards the Atotsu mine entrance on grim morning at 0730. Note first of snow sheds ahead... snow off Mt. Ikenoyama comes roaring down sometimes.
Further up the road, as we pass alongside the backwater to the damn above Mozumi and are going round the mountain to enter on the other side from Mozumi.
And further... note the lovely hills with lots of snow and both deciduous and evergreen trees. The evergreens are some sort of cyprus, grown everywhere, and almost all trimmed neatly of lower branches.
Just turning left off the main Route 41 onto the little road, ~1km to mine entrance. Note little miners village of about 10 houses.
A little further up the entry road... note drop to creek with no guard rails (so snow can get plowed). A bit scary on slippery days.
At last (well... total transit around 5 minutes in good weather), at the mine entrance with Toyota Land Cruiser cruiser "Hello Kitty", specially equipped for mine driving. We must turn over tags telling folks who is in the mine. Also note hut which pumps in "radon free" (and fresh) air to the experimental area and control room.
At the controls in the mine, Dean Takemori (Hawaii) and S. Tasaka (Gifu). These are the main monitors we must watch to start and stop runs, monitor data harvesting and lots of ancillary items from control of photo-tube HVs, temperatures, air flows, etc.
Another view of main control location, showing lovely large wall mounted flat panel event display.
A view from the entry to the control room. Note second room in background, and remote control TV camera (one of many).
The back room with more toys, plus coffee and tea pots, two uncomfortable couches a bunk bed (though we never sleep), and refrigerator in which to keep the unavoidable bent-o's.
The SKAT, water attenuation length measuring gadget (long optical bench under black cover) built at UH and just recently installed (1/00), with proud father Dean. In background is calibration LINAC cave, which can shoot few MeV electrons into the SuperK tank. This tunnel is on the far side of SuperK from Control Room, and elevated a little.
Not very good picture of detector hall, on top of SuperK tank, taken from top of ladder leaving SKAT/LINAC tunnel. The cavern is about 50m wide here, and perhaps 20m high in center of dome. It is sprayed all over the walls with Mineguard material to seal against dust and nasty Radon. Sorry so dark.
Another gloomy shot, looking into the detector hall, from the Control Room entry tunnel. You can see movable yellow LINAC tower in background, and central electronics hut, where triggers are made and data is gathered from 4 huts with the data acquisition hardware. There is an amazing number of gadgets in that hall now... practically no room left.
Coming back towards the control room, in fact just outside, looking back 30m towards the detector hall. Note projector and screen for showing propaganda video (excellent) to visitors, of which there have been a steady stream this trip (end of Japanese fiscal year I guess).
Getting ready to depart after 1630, carrying the silver suitcase back to the Kenkyuto, from where things will be operated overnight (since Fall '99). This is just back from last shot, out two doors, to prevent entry of radon into experimental area (lots out here... it is a heavy element mine after all).
Starting out in the cruiser... The little dot is the tunnel entrance, 1.8 km away, a straight shot from SuperK, but it would not be a nice walk as there is lots of cold water dripping, and a healthy stream on the left.
Back out and down the entry road again. Note the nice (expensive) retaining wall, which prevents further landslides such as closed the road now and again in the past.
Down the road some more... pretty in a stark way. Will be beautiful and lush green in a couple of weeks. Late Spring this year.
And back to the little miners' village. This tiny town has probably been here for hundreds of years. Lots of fine old rock works everywhere. Little shrine up to right, out of sight.
Getting out to Route 41, with somewhat nasty blind turn onto highway with large trucks barreling along.
Weather still gloomy, looking down the backwater and heading to Mozumi, about 5 km away.
Heading down the pond, snow on the sheds, and rain.
Well, this was intended to show the dam, but did not very well. It is a drop of perhaps 50 m. Must have been a lovely canyon before the civil engineers had at it. Still very pretty though.
Back in the Kenkyuto, a view of the neighborhood from Director Yoji Totsuka's office. The trees are in the next door temple, and the dorm hides behind them across the dreaded Route 41. Old mine works are seen on the background hillside.
Another shot from Yoji's office, more towards the left now, overlooking the river and red bridge going over to the train station.
Looking opposite to the last shot, from the other end of the lab 3rd floor. The dam is there but not easily seen. The road to the mine heads up the valley on the left. It was snowing when this was taken, as in most of the last few shots.
Another pretty view up the valley. You can see houses and garden plots on the other side of the stream.
And yet another view from the laboratory, this time from the "guest professor" office, looking away from the river, and up Mt. Ikenoyama, over the roofs of the metropolis of Mozumi.
From "guest professor" office looking across the town and up the hill a bit. There are lots of roads and trails, old buildings, stone works on the hill. Makes a nice walk, when the weather is nicer.
Supper in Kamioka town with Gene Guillian and Dean Takemori. We are having okanamiyaki which you can see on the table grill. It is a sort of eggy-pancake with various goodies mixed in. Best consumed with beer.
Larger view of the two table restaurant... very cozy on a snowy night.
Back in the mine, at the center of the tank top. The guys are putting in a device for amplitude calibrations of the 11,146 inner detector photomultiplier tubes.
Yours truly sitting at the helm in the control room.
Japanese high school teachers getting a tour with lecture from a graduate student.
View across the river in Mozumi, showing the one car diesel powered train arriving at 7:06 AM. There seems to be only one regular passenger, a lad going to school. The car has a fire place for keeping warm and making tea.
Well, it snowed again... a soft quiet snow which builds up on the wires and can lead to trouble as power lines break. This one did not and melted later in the day.
Another view from the dorm, looking over towards the temple through a nest of wires... very typical of Japan where not many wires seem to be buried.
Looking out the dorm dining room window at the loud speaker on a nearby pole. This is one of very many, which play you a tune (the Mozumi song) at 7AM and 5PM, and also speak to you when the dam releases water upstream.
On the way to the mine, a driver is being rescued from the dreaded "gaijin trap". It is common in Japan to have a ditch about a foot deep and a foot wide, with square sides on one or both sides of the road. Of course, if you stray to the side, you are stuck.
Heading up the Atotsu Creek road again... several people have crashed into the bent barrier at the turn coming up, leading on to the bridge.
Heading up the creek, and one sees the road with no barrier in some places, allowing the unwary to slip into the creek (but permitting easy clearing of the road).
More snow on the trees....
And even more snow on trees leaning over the road, as we approach the tunnel entrance, ahead on the left.
And here we are turning over our tags before going into the mine, with it snowing quite hard.
A pretty picture of the trees with lots-o-snow. I am standing in the entry to the fresh air hut... pumps air into the detector hall and control room, as otherwise the Radon levels are too high.
Mozumi on the back street, across from the old post office, where the US group first had its office and now KamLAND does. The building is a lovely traditional Japanese riokan style, very handsome. It turns out to have been the local brothel until the fifties. (There were lots of miners living there in dormitories up the road).
Another shot of the old brothel, looking into the garden.
A view down the street from about the same location. Note the open sink with running water. People leave things running all the time... water is very abundant there, and one of the charms of the town is the gurgling of the water courses. They have kindly covered over the gaijin traps for our benefit.
Looking up the street, same location in Mozumi. Brothel second building on left. Yes, it is a two lane road, barely.
The tori gate with rope, looking towards part of the temple, not sure what this building is used for.
In the temple compound, looking in the direction across the stream. Lovely gate and main temple in background.
An old stone temple lion in the snow.
A few minutes walk across the bridge to the train station and we have a nice view back towards the laboratory building.
And another shot looking back across the stream towards our dormitory.
Outside a most surprising eating establishment in Kamioka town... a small mining town in relatively remote Japan: a full-on French restaurant, Chez Bois!
Here we are having dinner at Chez Bois. L-R, Mine-san, JGL, Mark Vagins, Atsuko Kibayashi, and Michael Smy.
Well, OK, I got carried away... even more snow o the way to shift another day.
Yes, the snow was getting tiresome. but ever pretty.
This is the nice lady who operates the liquor store, conveniently en-route between the lab and dorm, where I had stopped for emergency sake supplies. They are open amazing hours, and needless to say there is not a lot of traffic in and out.
This is the famous clock in the dorm dining room, which clock was a present to the SuperK group from the town. It plays Beattles' and other tunes, and the clock face descends hourly. LEDs flash and the little conductor waves his arms. Quite an amazing piece of taste.
Heading from the dorm, this shot was taken to illustrate the local way of controlling snow in driveways and such. Leaving water running continuously only works for areas not too cold or it would make ice rinks. This is possible here because of the marine climate.
A view past the Mozumi liquor store, showing the vending machines (red), so omnipresent in Japan. These have coffee, iced and hot at all seasons, and beer and sake. Mighty convenient to grab what you need en-route between lab and dorm.
Looking up Route 41 with one of the %$?@# trucks which roar through town at frightening speeds.
Looking across Route 41 at the entrance to the Kenkyuto, the main laboratory building in Mozumi. Not great architecture, but a convenient and functional building.
From the bridge across Atotsu Creek.
The cruiser coming off above bridge. Actually we were waiting as there was a traffic jam with a van which could not get up the hill... a surprising amount of traffic going to the mine these days.
A view from the office back in Mozumi, looking at some old places on the hillside.
A visit to the KamLAND construction site near SuperK. The inner 1000 m^3 stainless tank was about to be closed at the bottom for water testing.
As in the previous shot, looking up inside the inner vessel. You see all the mounting brackets for the photomultipliers to be installed in summer 2000.
From outside near the bottom of the vessel looking into the surrounding veto region. Terrible lighting, trying to illustrate the scaffolding upon which we are going to have to climb to install the outer PMTs. Going to be fun!
Ditto, bad lighting.
Ditto, bad lighting
Looking down into the same inner vessel from the top now, bottom hatch sealed. What a welding job!
Another view from on top of the detector, looking at the entry neck through which the balloon will be filled with ultra-pure scintillator, and down which will go calibration devices. The worker is installing holders for neck PMTs.
Looking down through an open space at the outer staging.
Laboratory Director Yoji Totsuka giving a lecture to touring Mombusho executives in the control room at SuperK.
I finally got a picture of UH graduate student Atsuko Kibayashi, who is shy. She is soon writing her dissertation on the SuperK data.
Technicians from the telephone company were installing a new 12 fiber link out of the mine, and carefully documenting everything photographically, so I had to get a picture too.
Some of the residents of the US Room in the Kenkyuto, taking a break from tuning their LINUX machines.
SUNY graduate student Matthew Malek in his lair, surrounded with his toys.
Maryland Post Doc Gene Guillian, our present best Japanese speaker, said to speak like a native.
Gene again, in his usual spot.
UW Engineer supreme, Hans Berns, on short term duty at SuperK.
Going away party for the only male cook at the dormitory, Ueda-sansei.
Hiroko Kominami, cook at the dorm.
Noriko Wada, cleaning staff at the dorm.
Sumiko Hata, also cleaning staff at the dorm.
Kimie Okada, cooking staff at the dorm.
Masaharu Abe, ICRR administrator in Mozumi.
Keichi Yokokawa, technician at ICRR Lab.
Masakazu Miyano, professor at Niigata Univ. (We had been on day shift together in the mine).
Chef Masao Ueda.
Katsuko Shimizu, cleaning staff.
Kimie Okada
There was a good deal of toasting... good thing I did not have to drive home.
And smoking too...
Shimizu-san.
Abe-san.
A great meal was set out. Unfortunately Miyano-san and I had just come back from eating in Kamioka town.
Kominami-san.
Chef Ueda reminiscing.
Wada-san.
Ueda gets a going away present.
Shimizu-san offers yet more bieru.
On the way to the aiport on 1 April, with Bill Kropp. It looks as though someone really got caught in the gai-jin trap on the North side of the tunnel nearest Mozumi. It is not obvious how this was accomplished.
On board the ANA flight leaving Toyama airport around noon on a beautiful day. Note the lovely 3000m mountains inland.
Mountains and the rapidly disappearing rice paddies seen as we take off.
Looking towards the mountains and Kamioka. Osaweno is up towards the hills, and Toyamna to our left.
Mountain patterns, somewhere a bit northwest as the plane crosses the Japanese Alps, heading for Haneda Airport in Tokyo
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