Osaka Fire Department, Japan

Our family vacation to Japan in April 2009 was filled with incredible strokes of luck, not the least of which was just happening to catch Osaka Fire Department's Ladder 1 doing their apparatus check in an empty parking lot near the castle we were about to visit. As we walked out of the train station, I heard the unmistakable laka-laka-laka-laka of a diesel engine and caught a flash of red out of the corner of my eye. I ran down the stairs and around the corner to see what it was, and was thrilled to see this beautiful aerial pulling in to park.

Thank goodness my dad was right behind me - although I know a few simple phrases in Japanese and can hold a very rudimentary conversation, these guys didn't speak a lick of English so dad had to translate my gazillion questions for them, and their responses for me.

The Lieutenant explained that there is not enough room at their city fire station to set up the aerial, hence they have to come out to this lot to do so. He said this was a 50 meter ladder - at first that didn't register in my brain but, as I watched the operator extend the aerial - and extend and extend and extend it, I realized just how much taller it was than anything I've been on before. We have a 102' platform at home - so at 150', this had ours beat by a long shot! Instead of having a bucket at the tip, this truck has a foldable platform that two people can stand on, and ride to the tip like an elevator.

I couldn't believe my ears when my dad said the Lieutenant was asking me if I wanted to ride to the top. Before I knew it we were strapping in our safety harnesses, and going up! It was an amazingly smooth ride, and within a few seconds we were at the top, and my dad was about the size of an ant, far below us on the ground. I got quite the spectacular view of Osaka Castle and the surrounding city.