Part 32: JAPAN
Vanzilla 2.0 is in Jet Mode and we're flying to our next destination.
We are watching a movie. It was "The Lion King" from 1994 and we were watching the most epic scene in all of Animation.
Mufasa's Ghost: Simba you have forgotten me.
Simba: No. How could I?
Mufasa's Ghost: You have forgotten who you are and so forgotten me. Look inside yourself Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life.
Simba: How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be.
Mufasa's Ghost: Remember who you are. You are my son and the one true king.
Simba was shocked at what he was hearing. He was destined to become the king of the Pridelands and that Scar was never to be the King.
Mufasa's Ghost: (Fading) Remember who you are.
Simba: No! Please! (Runs after him) Don't leave me!
Mufasa's Ghost: Remember.
Simba: Father!
Mufasa's Ghost: Remember.
We all were stunned.
Me: I'll never forget that scene. That was really epic.
Lincoln: It sure was.
Jeri: Scar, you're a monster.
Kion: I just can't believe that Scar would kill Grandfather Mufasa like that.
Bunga: Yeah. My uncles told me that Scar was the worst lion ever.
Beshte: That's what I remember too.
Ono: It's hard to imagine that Scar was that evil. He got what was coming to him.
Fuli: He sure did.
Janeen: Now from what we learned in the Pridelands we have Zira and the Outsiders to worry about.
Kion: That's right. But that's not for a while.
Lola: Scar and Zira are both monsters that belong in the Netherworld.
Lana: That's right Lola.
Nicole: We're here guys.
I turn off the TV and we had arrived at our next destination: Japan.
Nicole: Welcome to Tokyo, Japan.
We had landed in the capital city of Japan and it was one of the most amazing and most crowded cities in the world.
Lori: So this is Tokyo. It's literally so busy and so crowded.
Me: I remember Lori. Tokyo is home to more than 13 million people and that's just in Tokyo. Japan in its entirety has over 127 million people.
Lisa: Correct 2nd Big Brother. Japan has an area of 145,936 square miles and it's on the brink of being overcrowded.
Naruto: It's a small place but it's totally crowded.
Sakura: It sure is.
Fu: It's amazing.
Me: It is. Also Japan is one of the United States biggest trade and export partners. We get most of our cars and technological items from here.
Lynn: I heard that Judo and Kendo are the most popular sports here.
Lincoln: They are Lynn. I don't know Judo or Kendo.
Lynn: No sweat bro. I'll help you.
Linka: I would like to join too.
Lynn: Okay.
Naruto: There's also so much to do here. So I'm gonna make some Shadow Clones and have them go with everyone so we can learn.
Sakura: Same here.
Fu: Me too.
Nicole: All right then. We have so much to do here in Tokyo. It's full of attractions and the food is good too.
Me: That's right.
Our first stop is a temple. We arrived at a really awesome temple.
Laney: Whoa. What a cool Japanese temple.
Me: It sure is Laney.
Naruto saw a familiar symbol on it too.
Naruto: I know that symbol on the side.
Me: We all do. That's the crest of Samurai Jack.
?: That's right.
We turn and saw Ashi and her sisters.
Me: Ashi?
Ashi: Actually J.D. we are the descendents of Ashi and Jack and Ashi's sisters. I am Ashi Hoki XIX.
Me: Wow. You all look so much like your ancestors when we worked alongside them as the Brave 12.
Avi: We get that alot. I'm Avi Hoki XII.
Ami: I'm Ami Hoki X.
Ana: I'm Ana Hoki XVII.
Asia: I'm Asia Hoki XIV.
Ara: I'm Ara Hoki XIII.
Aki: And I'm Aki Hoki XV.
Me: It's a pleasure to meet you all.
We introduced ourselves.
Ashi XIX: It's an honor to meet you all.
Me: It's like a reunion of the Brave 12 set 992 years into the future.
Ashi XIX: (Laughs) It does feel that way.
Lori: J.D. read us your family's book and it was literally amazing.
Leni: Totes.
Luna: It was an adventure worth remembering dudes.
Avi XII: Lets show you inside.
We went into the temple after taking off our shoes as part of the Japanese custom. We saw the family sword and it was still the traditional weapon for the Hoki family. We saw an amazing tapestry on the wall that was Me, Varie, Vince, Naruto, Sakura, Fu, Jessie B, Lincoln, Laney, Lisa, Lily and Jack with Ashi and her Sisters fighting against Aku and in separate squares all over the tapestry were everything we had done, all the people we helped in regaining their hope and courage and freedom and all of our achievements that we did on Earth and planets across the galaxy before the fight to take back our planet.
Me: Wow. It's a tapestry of our adventures as the Brave 12.
Lori: This is literally amazing.
Cody: You guys did all this as the Brave 12? That's amazing.
Zoe: We read Jack's book and it was amazing.
Hercules: It sure was.
Ami X: Yes. This tapestry has been in our family for centuries. Our ancestors fought valiently with you against Aku.
Ana XVII: It was all an amazing fight our family will never forget.
Me: None of us will. It was one of the most amazing adventures that we'll never forget. And it all took place 9,000 years into the future.
Avi XII: It was all an amazing adventure for all of us and it was unforgetable.
Varie: It sure was.
Jessie B: I'll never forget that adventure. It was the most amazing adventure we had ever had.
Me: Yeah. But something has been puzzling me for a long time after all that. Who was the cult leader of the Women of Aku?
Ashi XIX: That was our biological ancestral mother. She was the High Priestess and leader of the cult.
We later saw a picture of a woman with long black hair and a mask of the Women of Aku in her hand and she was dressed in all black.
Ashi XIX: Her name was Amiko Akuma. She was an insane woman and she was the leader of the Women of Aku.
Naruto: So she was the leader of one of our most dangerous enemies when we were the Brave 12?
Ana XVII: Yes.
Carrie: She is like my mother.
Ashi XIX: She was actually worse than your mother Carrie and you have our sympathies for what happened during your ordeal in Maine.
Avi XII: Yeah. That was awful. We're sorry that happened to you Carrie.
Carrie: Thanks Avi.
Ami X: But we've forgiven our ancestral mother and it all wasn't her fault. Aku is the one that did all those acts of evil that poisoned her mind with all that evil.
Lucy: It's hard to imagine that Aku is pure evil beyond its purest form. I may have been born from the Darkness but Aku gives everything that the Darkness represents a really bad name.
Haiku: I agree Lucy.
Linka: It's all absolutely terrible that Aku could do all those horrible atrocities and do them all without so much as a single shred of remorse, guilt, mercy, decency, empathy or any of that.
Laney: Yeah. He was absolutely ruthless and he delighted in causing all kinds of chaos, pain, suffering, terror and destruction.
Nicole: That's right. It's hard to imagine that he is that evil and how he puts even the Devil himself to shame.
Lori: No kidding. It's hard to imagine that he would literally cause so much pain and suffering.
Naruto: I know. We saw it in a dream that was a vision into the past. It showed us that Aku killed all the dinosaurs here and he spread over much of the area like some kind of cancer.
Carnage: That was horrible. I saw that in your memories Naruto. That was awful how he can be that evil.
Naruto: That's right Carnage. He puts even Cletus Kasady to shame.
Carnage: (Laughs) That's true.
Ashi XIX: Nonetheless Aku got what was coming to him.
Me: He sure did. And the Legacy and Deeds of the Brave 12 will forever echo throughout all of history in the world and in planets across the endless reaches of the galaxy.
Varie: It was amazing.
Avi XII: It sure was.
Ashi XIX: We're also planning on moving from Japan to Royal York, Michigan after you leave Japan.
Me: Oh wow. It'll be awesome having you all in America.
Ashi XIX: It sure will.
Later we arrived at one of Japan's most famous volcanoes: Mount Fuji.
Nicole: Here we are guys. Mount Fuji.
Me: I love this volcano. It's one of the most beautiful volcanoes in the world and it's a perfect cone shape volcano.
Lola: It sure is pretty.
Lana: It's amazing.
Laney: When was the last time it erupted?
Jessie K: It last erupted back in 1707. Mount Fuji has been laying dorment for 300 years.
Laney: Oh wow.
Lisa: Correct Jessie.
Nicole: Also Mount Fuji is gonna erupt sometime in the future. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake caused speculation that the volcano is getting ready to erupt. We have strong suspicions that Mount Fuji is going to erupt at any time after 300+ years of dormancy.
Luna: Dude that's not good.
Luan: No it's not.
Lynn: It could destroy all of Japan.
Me: No it doesn't have that kind of power. But everyone has to be prepared should a volcano erupt.
Nicole: That's right dad. They have to practice Volcano Evacuation Drills and know what to do and be ready should a volcano be ready to erupt. When you live on the Pacific Ocean Plate you're sitting on a ticking time bomb. Loaded with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Me: That's right.
Riley: I had no idea it was that dangerous to live here or on any part of the Pacific Ocean.
Laney: It's very unusual Riley. But it's very dangerous here.
Lucy: This volcano is really cool though.
Lincoln: It sure is.
Mary: It's also on the back of the ¥500 Bill. [Holds up a bill] See?
Luan: It sure is. It's one thing to Cash in. (Laughs to Rimshot) Get it?
We all laugh.
Me: (Laughs) That was a good one Luan.
Eddy: (Laughs) Good one.
Raven: (Laughs) Cash in. (Laughs) I just got it.
Cody: (Laughs) That was funny.
Later we were in the small city of Hiroshima.
Me: Hiroshima, Japan.
Varie: This place has alot of history that dates back to World War II.
Jessie K: That's right mom. It's most famous event was the dropping and detonation of the first ever Atomic Bomb created and detonated by the United States. On August 6, 1945 the United States Air Force dropped the first ever atomic bomb codenamed Little Boy onto Hiroshima and it exploded with 15 kilotons of TNT. Killing 146,000 people. Most of them were Japanese Civilians.
Everyone: Wow!
Laney: That's awful.
Me: It was. That was 72 years ago and it brought us into the age of Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Lori: That was literally awful.
Leni: Totes.
Luna: Dude. I've read about that and it was horrible.
Lincoln: But wouldn't this place be rendered completely uninhabitable because of Gamma Radiation?
Me: That would be the case but no. The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are now safe to live in.
Jessie K: I know a strange place here in Hiroshima. Let me show you.
We walk to a place in Hiroshima called the Atomic Dome.
Jessie K: This is the Genbaku Dome. It's also called the Atomic Dome. It's one of the surviving ruins of the Detonation of the Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima.
Me: I remember this. It's amazing that this building survived the explosion.
Varie: The shockwave from the blast destroyed everything here didn't it?
Jessie K: Yes mom it did. But surprisingly this building is still standing after 72 years. We're gonna go in.
Me: Just to be on the safe side, some of us should put on our radiation suits.
We did so and went in. My geiger counter was clicking fast.
Me: There's still Gamma Radiation here.
Naruto: It's still here even after 72 years?
Me: Radiation can last from 10,000 to 1 Million Years bro.
Naruto: That's bad.
Lola: This building is like Chernobyl.
Lana: It sure is. I can't believe that it survived the explosion and is completely irradiated.
Me: Yeah. It's amazing though.
Later we were at the volcano Mount Unzen.
Lily: What volcano is this one?
Nicole: This is Mount Unzen. This volcano is known widely throughout all of Japan and the world.
Nicole took us to a grave sight and on the cross was the name Maurice & Katia Krafft.
Nicole: On this volcano in 1991 during its eruption, a pyroclastic flow killed my heroes in the world of Volcanology: Maurice & Katia Krafft. They were the greatest volcanologists in the world and they will always be my inspiration even (Sniffles) in death. (Voice Breaking) They were the greatest in the world. (Crying) They were my heroes!
Nicole broke down crying and I comforted her.
Me: It's all right. Just let it all out.
Lola: Oh Nicole.
Laney: Nicole I'm so sorry. I know you weren't born back then. But I can tell that they are very important to you.
Lana: I'm so sorry Nicole.
Lisa: Me too Nicole.
Varie: Oh sweetheart I'm sorry they died but it was way before your time.
Nicole: (Crying) I know mom! They are more than just my heroes! They were the reason why I became a volcanologist!
Naruto: I know they were that important to you sis. But their legacy will forever live on in the world of volcanology. They are your heroes and they will always be remembered.
Me: That's right bro. Nicole they were the match that lit the candle that made you into a great volcanologist that you are now. Sure the match is out but the candle will always burn.
Luna: That's right brah. You know so much about the worlds volcanoes that no one else hardly ever knows.
Rita: You are a great volcanologist Nicole and nothing will ever change that.
Nicole starts feeling better.
Nicole: (Sniffles) Thanks guys. I feel better now. You're all right. Maurice and Katia Krafft made me into a great volcanologist and it's part of who I am no matter what. I'm also a Shinobi, an astronomer and a great hero and source of inspiration to many.
Me: That's the spirit Nicole.
We paid our respects to Maurice and Katia Krafft.
Later we were in Ōkuma, Japan.
Me: This is Ōkuma, Japan.
Laney: Where is everybody?
Me: It's been turned into a ghost town because of the 2011 Earthquake.
Jessie K: That's right dad. The Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant exploded after a 9.1 Magnitude Earthquake rattled the area and a tsunami swept the area. The epicenter of the earthquake was off the coast of Sendai. The Tsunami disabled the power plants emergency generators and the cooling pumps were off. This resulted in an explosion that caused a meltdown and lots of radiation was released into the area. It made the city of Ōkuma uninhabitable like Chernobyl.
Lori: That's awful. I literally saw that on the news and that was horrible.
Carol: How much damage was dealt to this area?
Me: $360 Billion in damages.
Haiku: That's awful.
Raven: How many people died?
Me: 1,600.
Lincoln: That's awful.
Lilly: It sure was.
Leni: Totes.
Jessie K: But the people are slowly returning to the city. The Radiation is not as bad as it was 6 years ago. But the area around the Daiichi Nuclear Power plant has been blocked off. The Plant takes up 3% of the area and they excluded the area.
Sakura: That's good.
Fu: Lets hope this town can get back on their feet after such a horrible tragedy.
Hinata: Yeah.
Later back in Tokyo we were seeing that Tokyo is really crowded. I explained that Tokyo is gonna build some future skyscrapers to reduce the Tokyo Land Crunch.
Me: Tokyo's urban problems are huge guys. So they have decided to come up with ways to reduce it significantly.
Lori: How are they gonna do that?
Me: I saw these buildings on some documentaries. One building is called Sky City 1000.
Luna: Sky City 1000?
Me: Yes. This is what it will look like.
I use my magic to show what it would look like.
Me: It's a superhighrise skyscraper that's over 3,200 feet high and it's a multi-purpose building that will house over 100,000 people and it will have lots of jobs, schools and more inside it.
Varie: It's really cool.
Leni: That is totes amazing!
Laney: When will it be built?
Me: It said the year 2160. 143 years into the future. It's gonna take an armada of cranes and lots of building materials to build it.
Lola: That's amazing.
Later we went to Tokyo Bay.
Me: This is Tokyo Bay and it's the future sight for the Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid. This is what it will look like.
I use my magic to reveal what it will look like.
Luna: Dudes! That is amazing!
Lynn: It sure is.
Laney: When is that gonna be built?
Me: It said the year 2110. It's actually a 3,000 foot high structure that will house buildings suspended inside it and it will have a population of 750,000 people.
Lucy: What will it be made of?
Me: It was supposed to be made of glass, steel and concrete. But it would weigh tens of trillions of pounds and it would collapse on its own.
Lisa: Correct 2nd big brother. (Does an equation) Given the sheer amount of weight of all the construction materials and amount of weight of 750,000 human individuals inside the buildings it would all collapse into the ocean after 1 week of being complete.
Me: That's right Lisa. So in order to get around that problem we have to use a lighter material and it's carbon. Carbon is 1,000 times stronger than steel and much lighter. But another problem surfaced. The mega tresses would weigh millions of pounds and no crane would ever be able to lift them. So they turned to world famous architect Dante Bini. He created a lucrative idea to solve a complex problem in architecture: How to build a dome. This was done in the 1970's and his idea was to build a dome using air. This method works well today. His idea for lifting tresses that weigh millions of pounds was to use a huge balloon that would lift them into place.
Lana: That's an amazing feat of engineering.
Lily: It sure is.
Rita: That is ingenius.
Lynn Sr.: It sure is honey. It's gonna be really hard to do all that though.
Me: It is. But in order to make the tresses for the whole thing they're gonna use Robot Factories. They will be spider-like and they will make the tresses with ease. I'm sorry if I scared you Leni.
Leni: No it's all right J.D.
Lincoln: You got to admit though that is so cool.
Linka: It sure is.
Janeen: I have a feeling we're gonna see it in the future.
Lori: But why can't they build it on land?
Me: Because that would cost way too much money. It would cost more than $10,000,000,000 a year. So they decided to build it on the water because it's much cheaper. Plus they are gonna power it with Hydrogen from Algae, Solar Energy from the Sun and wave power from Ocean Waves.
Lori: So it's literally going to be environmentally friendly?
Me: That's right Lori. It's gonna be a huge feat in architectural engineering that's both green and energy efficient.
Laney: It sure is.
Later we left for our next destination after enjoying some of the sights and sounds and the food.
Continues in Part 33.