My visit to Japan's Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel

Yahoo! I am going to visit the famous Underground Flood Control Channel in Japan. This exuberance was the result of a long wished desire being fulfilled.

A year or two back, I had first heard of the world's largest flood diversion facility being built underground in Japan, to help drain areas which are prone to flooding. Awed by these facts, this was the first spark for my wish to visit the amazing technological marvel.

Recently, one of the teachers in my school got tickets to visit the Underground Flood Control Channel for about twenty five students and staff of my school. As the number of tickets were limited, we were asked to sign up fast if we were interested. The moment I recieved the mail, my eyes popped out and I ran shouting gleefully towards my parents and immediately asked them to sign me up. I was on cloud nine when I heard that I was one of the students selected for the tour.

About the Underground Flood Control Discharge Channel

Completed in 2006, it is a 6.3 km long facility which connects four major rivers in Japan. The reason the tunnel was built was because the area between three of the rivers is low lying. With heavy rain and the overflowing of the rivers, the whole area could be flooded.  The flood control tunnel has five catching points in order to recieve the water. This water is stored in five containment silos, from which the water travels through a 6.3 km tunnel and is emptied into the fourth and largest river. The pumps in the facility are capable of releasing amounts of water equalling to that of a twenty five metre swimming pool in one second.

This efficient method of flushing out the flood water is helping reduce the damage caused by floods.The government recognized the need for building such a engineering marvel because of the rapid urbanization and the increase of residential areas.

Holding all these amazing thoughts in my mind, I boarded the train heading for the Minami Sakurai station, where a containment chamber is situated. As the train whizzed pass the countryside, I was enamoured by the scenery of the lush farms and small creeks flowing lazily. As the train stopped at Kasukabe station while chugging towards Minami Sakurai, I was astonished to see my favourite anime character Shin Chan's posters stuck up all over the station and town. I was pondering on this, when I realised that the anime is situated in Kasukabe!!  As our train was leaving the station, I could hear the theme song of Shin Chan being played in the background!! This clearly shows how important a role anime plays in the digital culture of Japan.

After reaching the Minami Sakurai station, I met my teachers and schoolmates and we boarded a bus to directly reach the underground discharge facility. We disembarked and found ourselves facing the 'Ryukyukan'. The Ryukyukan is a museum built to commemorate the underground discharge channel. After looking at a huge map covering the reach of the Channel, we were ushered into a mini home theater, where we watched a short documentary on the role the discharge channel has played in helping all the residents in the area remain safe. The thing which struck me the most was they were likening the tunnel to the 'Showa Dragon', a legendary creature which protected the people. 

Finally, the time had come!! Led by our tour guide, we walked for a few hundred metres and then descended a cascade of stairs. As we neared the bottom of the stairs, we took a turn and found ourselves facing the containment chamber.

There was only one thought running across my mind, 'Whoa'!! The chamber was massive, with humoungous pillars each weighing five hundred tonnes supporting the structure. We were led to another spot from where we saw the chamber from top. Over there, we were told that the facility was built so deep into the ground, that a space shuttle could easily fit inside.

After this inspiring and stupendous tour of one of the world's best technological marvels, I returned home still wonderstruck.

In conclusion, the visit to the Metropolitan Area Outer Discharge Channel is one which is dear to my heart, and I would strongly recommend you to visit this wonder😃