Tokyo is one of the biggest cities in the world, and no matter how much time you have there, you might feel you are missing out on something. This is our guide to help you make sure you leave the famous Japanese city with no regrets.

Shibuya Crossing

It’s kind of strange that a street crossing is a must-see landmark in Tokyo, but it has become so iconic you really should. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn that it looks just like it does in the movies. The great thing is it doesn’t take too much time and will leave you free for other activities.

Tsukiji Fish Market

Fish is big business in Japan and the Tsukiji Fish Market is the best place to see what the fuss is about. You have to get there very early to see the frenzied tuna fish auctions, but it’s a great spot for breakfast.

If food is what you’re going to Tokyo for then, you must check out the Robot Restaurant, if for nothing other than the atmosphere. The restaurant is more about the experience than the food, but it’s a great spectacle.

Harajuku

Tokyo teenagers and young adults, in particular, are known for their wild fashion senses, and Harajuku is one of the best places to see that. You will come across the kawaii culture of Japan, but there are also plenty of stores selling fantastical objects that you’ll need to buy.

There are many different types of food on offer, and the district is just five minutes away from the breathtaking Meiji Shrine. The shrine is a great place to learn about Japanese history and Emperor Meiji.

There are so many things to see and do in Tokyo, but these are the ones we recommend you don’t miss out on while you’re there.

Notre Dame was built in 1163, and it has been the heart of Paris ever since. For centuries, the cathedral has inspired people with its architecture, stained glasses, sculptures, and priceless artifacts. However, in 2019, the historical monument faced the darkest time in its history. Read ahead to know about events that followed the Notre Dame fire and the harrowing discoveries that scientists made.

The world watched in utter horror as Notre Dame de Paris was engulfed in fire on the 15th of April 2019. Notre Dame was one of the most iconic landmarks in Paris, and it stood strong through centuries of wars, revolutions, and peace.

However, after burning in horrid flames for fifteen hours last year, the building was left in nothing but chars and ruins. Experts have been trying to renovate the cathedral ever since. Amidst the piles of debris, scientists have made some shocking discoveries.

Before plunging into the recent discoveries, let’s take a look at what truly went down in the cathedral in 2019. April 15th started off as a normal day until a fire alarm went off in the early evening.

The staff immediately evacuated the building. However, it took them a while to locate the fire. As they finally identified the right spot, the staff realized that the blaze had already taken over.

The custodians and staff of the cathedral were living their worst nightmare, as were the Parisians. Notre Dame was built in the early twelfth century, and a major part of its gothic structure dates back to hundreds of years ago.

The stonework in particular was in a very vulnerable state, and the oak beams in the attic were all dried out. These had already raised concerns among those in charge.

As concerns were raised about the wellbeing of Notre Dame de Paris, fire wardens and specialists paid several visits to the building. In fact, the cathedral was under regular monitoring by April 2019.

Unfortunately, even such precautionary measures could not stop the fire from starting out. It was said that a short circuit caused the fire. The entire world watched in shock as fire broke through this ancient monument.

Parisians responded to the fire immediately. Hundreds of firefighters put their lives at risk and were working relentlessly to control the blaze. The first responders created a human chain and were working on removing invaluable art and artifacts from the building.

While they could save many valuables, the fire was still tearing through the cathedral. By the time firefighters tamed the blaze, Notre Dame was nothing but debris and ashes. Paris was left with a mere silhouette.

The gravity of the situation was realized as daylight broke the next morning. The cathedral appeared to have sustained irrecoverable damage. The spire had fallen, and most of the roof had been burnt into ashes.

The spire, in fact, took down the vault with it; it tore through the building, and now the interior was left exposed to the world. Paris was grieving, and so was the rest of the world.

Stories of the staggering loss of Notre Dame were all over the news. Media swayed in to find out what had happened to hundreds of priceless artifacts that used to hang on the cathedral walls.

The world eagerly awaited the latest updates on the cathedral – which valuables could be saved and which were lost in the flames. While Parisians could not yet perceive the scale of the damage, thousands gathered around the debris and grieved.

Notre Dame was hosting many precious relics and artifacts including a Crown of Throne believed to have been worn by Jesus Christ, a 13th-century tunic that was reported to have belonged to Saint Louis IX, and a wooden nail that was used during crucifixion.

Not only that, but the building itself entertained beautiful architecture too. It was home to a massive symphonic organ with about eight thousand pipes, among many other priceless relics.

There were many objects in the iconic building that were associated with the history of Christianity. Onlookers and believers around the world were deeply concerned about the fate of the valuables in peril.

People were restless to know what had become of them and whether they could be restored or not. What happened to the countless bronze statues dated back as far as the thirteenth century and the series of paintings known as “Mays?”

Fortunately, just a few days prior to the fire, sixteen of the bronze statues were removed from the building and were sent away for restoration. In fact, such was the case for many other treasures; they were held elsewhere as parts of the cathedral were undergoing repair.

It was part of the cathedral’s restoration project that started toward the end of 2018. Notre Dame was safe from the worst-case scenario.

A nearby sacristy was housing many of the religious valuables, and luckily, it was safe from the fire. As of those stored within the cathedral, the majority of them were damaged to some degree. While fire could not reach the location where they were stored, many of the paintings and relics sustained water damage.

Thankfully, the responders were quick on their foot and began the conservation process before it was too late. However, they could not save all.

The Observatory for Religious Heritage came forth and told the media that about 10% of the masterpieces were ruined in the fire. The grave fate of the paintings was soon realized in the days following the fire.

Even the ones that were not taken by the blaze were hit by the smoke and water. It was then apparent that the loss sustained was far more severe than was initially estimated.

Notre Dame desperately needed help. Fortunately, in the weeks following the fire, individuals, institutions, and large companies came forward with generous donations to help in the restoration of the cathedral. Others were pledging for donations and help for the cathedral in many forms.

Experts were estimating that Notre Dame would require billions of euros to stand back in all its glory. With the help coming in, hopes were being restored.

The restoration process had finally begun. Numerous teams of experts had started to make their way through Notre Dame’s shell for analysis of the repairs required and protect it from any further damage.

High authorities promised the nation that Notre Dame will be reconstructed soon. It was now up to the restoration specialists to plan out the process. People were now hopeful that they had put the fate of the glorious monument in their hands.

Specialists, as well as the public, were comforted by information on what was spared from the fire. Many sighed with relief to know that much of the sanctuary had been saved, thanks to the immediate response of rescuers.

Aline Magnine, director of Historical Monuments Research Laboratory said in an interview that “What matters isn’t the roof and vault so much as the sanctuary they protect. The heart of Notre Dame has been saved.”

The restoration process was an enormous task nevertheless. The first task would be to keep the place from any further destruction, and the dedicated team from the Historical Monuments Research Laboratory were working day in and day out for the cause.

Once they had planned out how to proceed, the 23 brilliant groups that were working in the field began the reconstruction process alongside constructors. Under their supervision, Notre Dame was being restored.

The teams set out to accomplish a mammoth task and soon realized that they will have to encounter many hurdles along the way. Rebuilding a historical structure is difficult as it is, and the vulnerable state did not make it any easier.

Researchers were having a hard time reaching the cathedral’s stonework as they needed to climb to the top of the vault in order to access it. There were chances that the vault might collapse in the process.

So far, researchers were having a difficult time estimating just how unstable the structure has become. They managed to analyze the color of damaged stonework, and it helped them reach some surprising conclusions.

Experts later explained that the different shades of limestone indicate what temperature they have been exposed to, and researches leveraged this concept to identify the level of damage caused by the fire. They went on to explain the situation prevailing inside the cathedral.

When limestones are exposed to a temperature between 570 degrees Fahrenheit to 750 degrees Fahrenheit, the iron inside decomposes, and the structure faces risks of collapsing. Further increase in temperature turns the color to black.

Nothing but ashes remain of the structure when the temperature reaches about 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. Keeping this information in mind, researchers began studying the stonework and were evaluating the hue of individual stones. You could say that they left no stone unturned.

The fire was not the only problem in the picture. As Notre Dame was burning, water pipes within the building broke and caused a lot of damage.

Not only that but in firefighters’ effort in putting out the water, they had to aim powerful water jets toward the stone vault as it was threatened by the fire. This was another major challenge that researchers had to encounter as they were assessing the stonework.

The cathedral walls are made of limestone – a porous material that significantly absorbs water and increases the weight of the structures – this is a realization that shocked the firefighters trying to douse out the flames. A year later, researchers found that the water in the monument still hadn’t completely evaporated.

Moreover, the water in the stones continues to be in a constant cycle of expansion and contraction – depending on the weather outside, further weakening an already unstable structure.

Restoration and renovation work to protect the unstable shell of Notre-Dame and to revamp it back to its beauty continues. High authorities have assured that the cathedral will be open to the public as early as 2024, after several years of rigorous renovation.

Meanwhile, though, researchers are looking into the blackened landmark – Paris’s majestic landmark for time immemorial. They are collecting data, and inspecting the architecture for traces of damage – both physical and chemical.

Philippe Dillmann is a metal specialist on board with the LRMH. He reported to the Science Magazine that he and his team were analyzing more than thousands of art pieces – some from recent times, and many that are from ancient times.

It seems as though these teams are being taken back to the Medieval Period. Elsewhere, experts have been utilizing the chance to explore the methods and materials of the 13th-century stonemasons who miraculously and almost flawlessly built the cathedral.

Despite the tragedy that ensued with the loss of Notre-Dame’s humongous roof, it has chalked out its silver lining. Experts suggest that an analysis of the remaining ruins, beams, and columns shows that the structure was grown-to-order in a wood region.

The age of the wood was known to scientists, and this implied that the building of the cathedral took a duration of at least a century before the building work actually commenced.

Somehow Notre-Dame had saved itself narrowly by a few minutes and had a miraculous escape. The same cannot be said about the citizens of Paris. Apparently, while the great attic and roof of the cathedral charred, humongous amounts of toxic lead melted and snaked its path into the atmosphere.

Even more shockingly, some of it is yet to be traced, and workers continue to restore the structures in lead-contaminated areas.

Even today, lead is a component in many structures across the world, especially the roofs. It can not only be toxic, but due to its exposure to elements of nature, it often results in numerous physical, mental, and neurological problems including behavioral impairments.

For instance, it’s believed that the toxins can also be the cause of issues such as birth defects, stillbirths, infertility, seizures, and even fatality. Civilians may be threatened for a lifelong suffering without their knowledge.

In the event of the Notre-Dame fire, several citizens voiced out concerns that lead residues draining the roof may have poisoned the regions near the cathedral. Initially, the explanation from the scientists seemed reassuring- it was all under control.

During the first stages, metal specialist Aurélia Azéma, a section chief at LRMH, confirmed that the fire didn’t escalate to the level required for converting the lead to its gaseous state and, hence, was contained.

A significant amount of the molten lead from the roof continued to remain in the cathedral, where it solidified and transformed into stalactites. Officials have been in denial – they refused to disperse public warnings and updates about the issue.

Residents remained in a dilemma about whether they really were safe. However, something more scandalous was gaining form behind the walls of the cathedral; there was toxin everywhere – a clumsy mess that will change the way people look at the ancient monument.

Civilians in and around the site had noticed a yellow light forming overhead Notre-Dame when the flames danced below unstoppably. Thick black smoke engulfed everything in sight. According to several researchers, the blaze did, in fact, cross the temperatures required for lead to react with oxygen.

This is an aerosol effect. This helps bring light to the fact that some of the toxic elements did gain access to the atmosphere in and around Paris.

What’s worrying is where all the lead and the toxins went. The authorities didn’t think of immediately testing the neighborhoods in the vicinity of the cathedral for the next few weeks.

After they finally did, they were shocked to find that a number of schools in the area exceeded normal levels of the heavy metal. Some recreational areas and nearby public buildings gave alarming readings of about sixty times higher than the normal values.

Because of lead’s heavy metal status and toxic composition, French law permits only trace amounts of the substance on buildings to be used as a building material. Rumors of a cover-up of the real scenario have been making rounds, and officials have tried to conceal the levels released by the Notre-Dame fire incident.

A 2019 investigative report by The New York Times alleges that the risk was known within a few days of the catastrophe – but authorities failed to take immediate action.

During September 2019, some members from Robin Hood, which is an environmental organization located in France, conducted tests, collected samples, and announced some grave news. Some residents that lived a mile away from Notre-Dame had asked to have their property undergo lead tests.

Experts working on the renovation discovered lead at levels that were 20 times of the recommended value. Other Parisian locals began to worry about lead contents they were being exposed to.

Lead was detected at a level eight times that of the legal limit at a Paris police station. Public spaces showed contamination readings greater than 60 times the recommended value too.

A union representative Frédéric Guillo said in a 2019 interview with The Daily Telegraph that this proved that lead contamination is a serious problem in old structures where lead was a building material. The Notre-Dame fire is a serious reminder of that, and its long-term effects need to be dealt with to protect the citizens.

While the Parisians are worried sick about the lead concentration in their atmosphere, Notre-Dame itself remains the base point for this toxic contamination. Shockingly, metals expert and chemist Aurélia Azéma detected traces of the material throughout the cathedral – in the objects, walls, and even inside the tubes of an organ.

The aim of the ongoing work is to retrieve all that lead. In some other places in the building, another alarming discovery was made via a technique commonly known as carbon dating.

Wood specialist Emmanuel Maurin, working on the Notre Dame projects and leading a team at LRMH, ran multiple experiments on surfaces made from oak, birch, and other similar materials.

He discovered the levels of lead to be about 70 times higher than the recommended limit. Even after the results were made public, the workers of the charred cathedral weren’t seen equipped without proper protective gear or clothing several months following the fire.

A lot has changed as of March 2020. Researchers involved with detoxifying Notre-Dame continue to adhere to strict decontamination procedures. They’re required to be inside the ruin for at most two and a half hours, claims some reporters working with the project.

The researchers must then discard their disposable attires. They are required to take a long and thorough shower – an activity that they have to complete about five times per day.

Researchers and scientists abide by stringent guidelines and policies. Even then, a certain portion of people claims that the Notre-Dame may have been actively releasing heavy metals, particularly lead, into the environment for several years.

The fire was not the only culprit. It’s widely believed that rainwater may have leached the material from the rooftop into the adjacent areas and into the River Seine. Consequently, the contamination of the area by lead could be happening for hundreds of years, unnoticed.

It’s been reported that the lead content and its rising levels across Paris may be attributed to multiple factors including the use of crude oil products with traces of lead, like gasoline. So, exactly how much of it can be traced back to the fire at Notre-Dame?

Scientist Sophie Ayrault attempts to decode the mystery. She plans to analyze samples taken at the cathedral and compare them with samples collected elsewhere in Paris. As time-consuming and tedious as it is, this vital process is yet to gain momentum.

The team from LRMH has been working tirelessly with the goal of eliminating lead traces from the majestic architecture that was the Notre-Dame. The revival plans include the use of a special putty to extract poison and chemicals and the use of lasers to filter out the porous stones, which have seemingly absorbed some of the toxins.

Véronique Vergès-Belmin, a geologist heading the stone department of LRMH, believes that a variety of techniques and processes need to be done for the cleaning.

A 2019 report on The Guardian shows that the renovation promises that the Notre-Dame is going to be revamped and made more beautiful than ever. However, the repair work will probably take decades and involve tedious work and difficult challenges.

Researchers at LRHM mirror this sentiment. Magnien says to Science Magazine that the Notre-Dame is going to come out of this experience much enriched. Structural engineers, stained-glass experts, French tycoons, stone experts, and the public are showering their donations, advice, and support.