This blog post is a photo trivia game! There are 15 photos below. Four of them were taken in Massachusetts this past weekend, as I was lucky enough to visit a beautiful lake, a river, and the Atlantic ocean. The rest of the photos were taken in Japan — in Tokyo, Kamakura, and Kushiro. Can you guess which ones are the American ones? Make your guesses in the comments section below, where it says “leave a reply.” If you are under 18, remember to use just your first name and last initial so that you are being careful about internet safety. I’ll post a comment with the answers on Friday 7/18.
Which photos were taken in the United States and which were taken in Japan?
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4
Photo 5
Photo 6
Photo 7
Photo 8
Photo 9
Photo 10
Photo 11
Photo 12
Photo 13
Photo 14
Photo 15
Could you tell which ones were American and which were Japanese? If not, here’s a little hint. It’s a sign taken at the beach in Kamakura. Notice the different rules — tattoos in Japan are not allowed on the beach. Does this help you figure out which photos are Japanese?
As you can see, there are many similarities between water in Japan and the United States. However, we are lucky that we don’t have to worry about tsunamis like they do. Japan is made up of all islands, and it’s on a fault line, so there’s a big risk of earthquakes. When the ground shakes, the waves can be monstrous. If you live in the United States, be thankful that you can enjoy your coastline without this risk!
Innovation on Earth 
Photos 9,10,12 and 15 are from MA
Pictures 2, 6, 9, and 15 = Massachusetts
Pictures 1, 3-5, 7-8, and 10-14 = Japan
Also, I was wondering why the beach in the first three pictures had black sand?
I don’t know why the sand is black, Athul. Good question! And here’s a hint — both Anna and Athul got some of the photos correct, but neither of you guessed all 4.
ANSWERS: Photos taken in Massachusetts are 6,9,10, and 15. Here’s the scoop:
Photos 1-5: The beach in Kamakura, about an hour outside of Tokyo
Photo 6: A small beach in Lynn, Massachusetts
Photo 7: Tokyo! You can see the Tokyo Sky Tree through the fog, the tallest tower in Japan.
Photo 8: Taken in Tokyo, out the window of a bus.
Photos 9-10: The Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts (While kayaking, I saw a group of guys riding their bikes off of a ramp into the river!)
Photos 11-14: The port city of Kushiro. The cargo ship in photo 11 was heading to the Philippines, and it was really neat to get up so close to it. Also, check out the cool lit up crane in photo 13.
Photo 15: Sunset over Long Pond in Littleton, Massachusetts
Oh! Photo 10 was taken in Massachusetts? Ha! Was it interesting to watch them ride their bikes into the river? Was the ramp slightly tilted upwards too? Because the biker in your photo looks like he just came off a tilted ramp. I hope they didn’t hurt themselves though. Where’s the lit up crane in photo 13?
My guesses were that numbers 1, 6, 9, 10 were in MA and the rest were in Japan. Not bad I only got 1 wrong. This summer my family went to Myrtle Beach South Carolina. And we saw a lot of sea shells and different colored sand then we see in MA. The sand was sort of yellow. I thought the black sand from Japan was very interesting.