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ANA (All Nippon Airways) offers free tours of their maintenance facilities at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. You can see planes in a huge hangar being serviced.You have to make reservations at their website, but everything is in Japanese. They have four 90-min. tours almost daily, but only in Japanese. (Pamphlet has some English.) You should reserve weeks or months in advance because tours get booked up quickly. However, when people cancel their reservations, tours may open up. You have to keep checking. Children must be at least elementary school age. http://www.ana.co.jp/group/kengaku/outline.html
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From Haneda Airport's International terminal, you can see ANA's maintenance hangars at the end of Runway A which is one of the airport's original runways.
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After passing the JAL maintenance hangar, you will see this overpass connecting the ANA buildings.
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On the left is the ANA Component Maintenance Building where you check-in for the tour. Show the security guard your reservations (printout of the email confirmation) to enter the building.
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When you enter the building, you will be in the reception lobby.
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Reception lobby of the ANA Maintenance Facility's ANA Component Maintenance Building. There's a gift shop, model planes, and other exhibits. At lunch time, they sold bento so we had lunch here after the tour.
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Gift shop sells ANA goods.
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Pose
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ANA Gundam in the lobby.
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ANA cockpit in the lobby.
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ANA model planes in the lobby.
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Panel about the 747. ANA retired its last Boeing 747 in March 2014. ANA first flew 747s in 1979. Will be missed.
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In this lecture hall, ANA's tour started with a 30-min. talk and video about flight, their planes, Haneda Airport, etc.Part of ANA's talk was about how planes fly. They demonstrated how wind can lift the wings of a toy plane.
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ANA's lecture hall has some exhibits like model planes.
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ANA's whale plane.
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ANA's Peanuts (Charlie Brown) plane.
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Tire, cockpit window, lights.
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Free souvenir of the tour. Cell phone strap with an ANA maintenance man.
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After the slide show lecture, we wore a hard hat and walked on the overpass to the plane hangars. There were around 80 people in the tour and they divided us into around 15 people per group for the hangar tour. Each group had a guide explaining things in Japanese.
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ANA's airplane maintenance hangar at Haneda Airport. Photography was permitted, but no videos. You can post photos online, but you need their approval. These photos here have been approved by ANA. They don't allow ANA personnel and the other tour participants to be pictured. Also cannot show any non-ANA plane.
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ANA's Boeing 787
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ANA's Boeing 787 inside the maintenance hangar at Haneda Airport.
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Engine removed from the plane.
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Passenger seats were taken out and the cushions replaced.
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Where the tail fits.
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Tires
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Tires
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Tires are not that huge. Tires are inflated with nitrogen, not air (one thing that they always mention).
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They have to replace the tires quite often, every 2 months or so.
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Extra hangar space.
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Jet engine undergoing maintenance.
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Jet engine undergoing maintenance.
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The hangar can get very noisy when they are testing an engine.
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ANA plane
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Always impressive to see a jet plane up close. We see it only on the outside, cannot go inside the plane.
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ANA plane parked outside the maintenance hangar.
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Extra dock in the maintenance hangar.
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Jet engine cowlings.
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How workers get around. Enjoyed the tour.
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JAL (Japan Airiines) offers free tours of their maintenance facilities and their Sky Museum at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. You can see planes in a huge hangar being serviced. You have to make reservations at their website, but everything is in Japanese. They have four 90-min. tours almost daily, but only in Japanese. You should reserve weeks or months in advance because tours get booked up quickly. However, when people cancel their reservations, tours may open up. You have to keep checking. Children must be at least elementary school age. Shin Seibijo Station on the Haneda Monorail. JAL's maintenance hangar is a 10-15 min. walk from Shin Seibijo Station on the Haneda Monorail running from JR Hamamatsucho. http://www.jal.co.jp/kengaku/tour/
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Go to the JAL Maintenance Center 1 Building and show your reservation to the reception. They will give you a pass. You can arrive 30 min. before the tour starts. Use the time to see this Sky Museum.The tour pass is on a JAL cell phone neck strap that you can keep.
*Note that if you take the tour and take pictures and want to post pictures online, you will need JAL's approval. They don't allow photos of JAL personnel and tour guests in online photos. All these photos have been approved by JAL for posting here.
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JAL's "Sky Museum" shows JAL's history, interactive exhibits like a cockpit, first-class seats, and a special room showing special plane seats used by the emperor before Japan got its own Japanese Air Force One. In Japanese only though
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A visitor tries an interactive exhibit for directing a JAL plane to a gate.
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Cabin attendant uniforms throughout JAL's history (including TDA aka Japan Air System that merged with JAL).
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JAL's first cabin attendant uniform appeared in Aug. 1951.
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TDA's (Toa Domestic Airways) cabin attendant uniform (left) and JAS (Japan Air System) cabin attendant uniform. Bot TDA and JAS merged with JAL.
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JAL's cabin attendant uniform worn in the 1970s (left) and 1980s (right).
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History of JAL planes.
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Historical model planes in JAL's Sky Museum. The museum is quite big, and we didn't have time to see everything.
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Model of JAL Boeing 747.
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The same type of happi coat the Beatles wore when they got off the JAL DC-8 ("Matsushima") at Haneda for their Budokan concerts in 1966.The back has the kanji for kotobuki (寿) meaning "celebration." Famous story behind how a JAL stewardess got John to wear the happi coat. "Wearing a happi coat when you land in Japan would make the fans really happy!" "Good idea!," said John who then wore it. The other Beatles followed and wore one too. A major, historic PR coup for JAL.
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Vintage JAL luggage tags.
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JAL's tour also started with a 30-min. talk and slide show in Japanese.
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Wore hard hats and toured JAL's maintenance hangar for about 40 min. JAL's airplane maintenance hangar at Haneda Airport. Huge facility.
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JAL Boeing 787.
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Photography was permitted, but no videos. You can post photos online, but cannot show personnel (I assume faces) and the other tour participants. Also cannot show any plane from another airline which might be taxiing or flying outside in the background.
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The lucky treat of the JAL tour was seeing Japan's Air Force One (actually, Air Force Two). The Japanese government plane that carries the prime minister or emperor.They are normally parked at Chitose Airport in Hokkaido. Flown by the Air Defense Force, but maintained by JAL. Japan's Air Force One/Two will be retired in 2019, to be replaced by Boeing 777. The new Boeing 777 will be maintained by ANA. Photos were allowed, but not allowed to be posted online.
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One corner of the hangar preserved the cockpit/lounge section of the JAL "Fuji" DC-8. This was Japan's first passenger jet put into service in 1960, replacing prop planes. This plane had 104 seats, 36 first class and 68 tourist class.
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About the JAL "Fuji" DC-8.
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First class section of JAL's "Fuji" DC-8.
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Tail of the JAL "Fuji" DC-8. Looks like they are restoring the plane.
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JAL plane parked outside the maintenance hangar.JAL sent out an online questionaire afterward for feedback about the tour. I told them that many foreigners were also interested in the tours so they should provide foreign language info too. I'm told that there are no tours like this in the States.
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Arrival at JR Torahime Station on the JR Hokuriku Main Line.
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Torahime Station platform and sign
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The new Torahime Station on JR Hokuriku Main Line
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Built in a loghouse-style. All wood.
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Torahime Station
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Tiger Princess Shrine at Torahime Station. (Torahime literally means "Tiger Princess.")
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In Oct. 2005, some people came here to pray for Osaka's Hanshin Tigers baseball team to win the Japan Series against the Chiba Lotte Marines who later won the series in a four-game sweep. The Tigers never won a game in the series.
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Be photographed as a Tiger Princess
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Inside the Italian restaurant at Torahime Station.
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Bicycle parking at Torahime Station
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"Torahime Tiger Princess, the Goddess of Victory"
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New event space called "Coco," opened in March 2008, across from Torahime Station
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Tiger Princess statue outside the Torahime Station
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Tiger Princess statue
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Tourist map of Torahime
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Tourist map of Torahime
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The Biwako Marathon or Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon is held annually in March in Otsu. It starts (at 12:30 pm) and finishes at Ojiyama Stadium in central Otsu, near Otsu Shiyakusho-mae Station on the Keihan Ishiyama-Sakamoto Line. Known as one of Japan'a major marathons for top male runners, the Lake Biwa Marathin's 42.195 km course goes along the lake shore and Seta River. The terrain is mostly flat. Before the start of the marathon, there are PR booths near the stadium entrance.
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Another mascot.
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PR for National Sports Festival of Japan to be held in Shiga in 2024.
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PR for Expo 2025 in candidate city Osaka. (Osaka won the bid to host Expo 2025.)
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Stats for the top runners in the 73rd Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon in 2018.
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Police vehicles to be used for the marathon.
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The marathon's lead and end police cars.
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Police motorcycles for the marathon.
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Trucks for marathon staff and logistics.
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Ojiyama Stadium's exit and entry gate for the runners.
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Ojiyama Stadium bleachers. No reserved seating.
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Ojiyama Stadium in Otsu.
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Ojiyama Stadium has served as the start and finish line for the Biwako Mainichi Marathon since 1965.
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Abebe Bikila, the legendary marathon gold medalist of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, ran and won the marathon in Shiga in 1965.
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The runners start walking to the start line.
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Runners walking to the start line as the starting time of 12:30 pm approaches.
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The elite runners are on the front line.
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They paused here first.
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Biwako Mainichi Marathon runners at the start line in Ojiyama Stadium in Otsu, Shiga.
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Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon runners start running after Otsu Mayor Naomi Koshi (in red on the far right) fires the starting pistol at 12:30 pm.
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And they are off!! Good luck to them all!!
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Runners pass by Otsu Mayor Naomi Koshi (standing in red) after she fired the starting gun at the 73rd Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon on March 4, 2018.
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They first ran a lap around the stadium track.
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After 55 sec., runners at the 73rd Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon at Ojiyama Stadium on March 4, 2018 in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture.
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Runners at the 73rd Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon at Ojiyama Stadium on March 4, 2018 in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture.
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Runners at the 2018 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon.
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Runners at the 73rd Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon leaving Ojiyama Stadium.
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About 90 min. later, I went to the Lake Biwa Canal here to watch the runners again. This is a few km before the finish.
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Bus to pick up runners.
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Police cars.
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Lead police car.
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One hour and 49 min. has passed, according to the official timekeeper.
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NHK TV broadcasts the marathon live nationwide.
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Two police motorcycles lead the way for the leading runners.
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The leaders were two Kenyans, Macharia NDIRANGU (left) and Albert KORIR at Lake Biwa Canal a few km before the finish.No. 8 Jake Robertson (New Zealand) is close behind.
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Macharia NDIRANGU (left) and Albert KORIR leading the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon in 2018.
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Macharia NDIRANGU (left) and Albert KORIR leading the 73rd Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon in 2018.
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Macharia NDIRANGU (left) and Albert KORIR.
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Kenyan Macharia NDIRANGU (left) glances at Albert KORIR (also Kenyan) at Lake Biwa Canal a few km before the finish.Macharia NDIRANGU soon won the Lake Biwa Marathon in 2:07'53", and Albert KORIR came in second.
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No. 5 Daniele Meucci at Lake Biwa Marathin in 2018.
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NHK TV truck tracking the top Japanese runners.
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TV cameraman on motorcycle covering marathon runners.
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No. 270 NAKAMURA Shogo (中村匠吾) came in 7th at 2:10'51".
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I stayed and watched the remaining runners.
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Not much of a crowd. No cosplayer runners. This is a serious marathon for elite runners.
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Leg cramps perhaps...
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Ride for runners.
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The last marathon runner followed by the tailing police car and staff vehicles. I later watched the marathon on my video recorder.
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Pickup van for runners.
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End police car.
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