Intro to EXPO
The days are moving quickly here in Japan which means that the 21st, and my birthday, are right around the corner. But due to time zones and the general motion of the earth, I can’t pinpoint the exact time I will be adding another year to my life. In Fiji and Kamchatka (GMT+12) I might already be 19. But who would live in Kamchatka anyway unless they were hardcore fans of the game Risk. The same goes for Irkutst and Yakustk. But before any celebrating occurs, I’ll take you back to last week in Nagoya, for the EXPO World Fair 2005.
The trip began early on Saturday morning. I took a bus from Hachihama to Okayama to catch the 8:22 Shinkansen bound for Nagoya. There are two things absolutely guaranteed when you travel with Rotarians; staying in fancy hotels, and fast, efficient (albeit expensive) travel by Shinkansen. Because in Japan, as was pointed out later by all three (slightly intoxicated) Rotarians accompanying us on the trip, they can spend the extra money to feel comfortable. And I have absolutely no problem with that.
Two hours later, Cori, Aketa-san, two other Rotarians, and I arrived in Nagoya. Janna was attending a Judo meet with her school and would be joining us on the next day. The 4 of us took a newly constructed express train, and then a bus to the grounds of the EXPO 2005. A little background about the Aichi, Nagoya Would Fair:
The EXPO, officially being held in the Nagoya Eastern Hills, is a massive event expecting over 15 million visitors in 185 days. Before the EXPO location was announced two years prior, Nagoya Eastern Hills were 田舎, or “in the middle of nowhere.” Remarkably, an immense amount of buildings and exhibition halls have been constructed on site and when I arrived on the premises I was thoroughly impressed.
Once arriving in the park, the Rotarians told Cori and I to “go have fun,” and turned us loose among the throngs of people attending the EXPO. Amazingly, and by sheer coincidence, Micah was also coming to EXPO that day, but sometime in the afternoon. In the meantime, Cori and I explored.
The EXPO, which has a massive amount of exhibits, can be roughly divided into two categories. The first category is World Booths, which are constructed and run by individual or groups of countries. Examples include the France Pavilion, German Pavilion, Sri Lankan Pavilion, etc. The second category is Corporate Booths, which display the latest technology from companies such as Toyota, Mitsubishi, Hitachi, and Japan Railways. There are also various exhibits that don’t fit into either category, such as an 18,000 year old Mammoth Pavilion and a pavilion displaying the wonders of Natural Gas. Cori and I decided to tour the World Booths first because the lines were not nearly as long (if you don’t arrive at the park extremely early you won’t even get a chance to see the Toyota Exhibit).
Overwhelmed by the sheer scope of the park, Cori and I walked to the nearest “Global Common” area, dedicated to Oceania and Southeast Asia. I had been told Singapore had a great exhibit, so we waited in line for a few minutes before entering the exhibit and being handed an umbrella. I didn’t quite know what I needed it for, but I did like everyone else and opened my umbrella. The inside of the Singapore pavilion was designed like a rainforest, with a large television screen on the far end of the room. A video about Singapore began to play, with flyover images of the country and “wicked guitar riffs” playing in the background. All of a sudden the lights shut off, and with thunderclaps and lightning rain began pouring from the ceiling of the pavilion. Even though I was carrying the umbrella I still got pretty soaked.
After the rainstorm Cori and I headed to the second floor and in the back found the International Café which I heard was delicious. A man standing next to a selection of food asked us (in English) if we were feeling hungry, to which we replied (in Japanese) that indeed, we were. Thus began the ongoing problem of wondering what language to address various people at the EXPO. We later discovered that the man working at the food stand was indeed from Singapore, spoke very little Japanese, but was fluent in English. I happened to be wearing a “New Kids on the Block” T-shirt and he asked me “What happened to those guys?”
We ordered some Singaporean food (no meat for Cori) and sat down in front of three large TV screens in the café for a multilingual video about Southeast Asia. We ate our meals, which were delicious, and after we had finished I asked the man who had helped us order the food how exactly you get a job at the EXPO. He said he knew “The President of the Company.” He then asked me how much longer I would be staying in Japan, and if I wanted a job or not. I said “yes, of course,” and gave him one of my business cards. He said he was meeting his “friend” on the 30th of the month, and was sure I could be given a position. So perhaps I will be working at the Singapore booth in Nagoya sometime soon. Who knows? While we were having the conversation, another man who worked at the Singapore booth walked by, dressed in what I assumed to be a traditional Singaporean outfit. It looked quite interesting, and he introduced himself to Cori and me as well. In his colorful outfit I was expecting the man’s name to be something along the lines of B’wana Memsahib, but it ended up being closer to “William.”
After the strange meeting with the people at the Singaporean Pavilion, Micah called me to say he had arrived at the EXPO. And that’s when the craziness began. If only I could stay up to tell you the rest. Stayed tuned for part 2, and perhaps part 3 of:
Rocky and Bullwinkle’s (or Micah, Cori, and Ben’s) Great Adventure in EXPO, Nagoya Japan
The trip began early on Saturday morning. I took a bus from Hachihama to Okayama to catch the 8:22 Shinkansen bound for Nagoya. There are two things absolutely guaranteed when you travel with Rotarians; staying in fancy hotels, and fast, efficient (albeit expensive) travel by Shinkansen. Because in Japan, as was pointed out later by all three (slightly intoxicated) Rotarians accompanying us on the trip, they can spend the extra money to feel comfortable. And I have absolutely no problem with that.
Two hours later, Cori, Aketa-san, two other Rotarians, and I arrived in Nagoya. Janna was attending a Judo meet with her school and would be joining us on the next day. The 4 of us took a newly constructed express train, and then a bus to the grounds of the EXPO 2005. A little background about the Aichi, Nagoya Would Fair:
The EXPO, officially being held in the Nagoya Eastern Hills, is a massive event expecting over 15 million visitors in 185 days. Before the EXPO location was announced two years prior, Nagoya Eastern Hills were 田舎, or “in the middle of nowhere.” Remarkably, an immense amount of buildings and exhibition halls have been constructed on site and when I arrived on the premises I was thoroughly impressed.
Once arriving in the park, the Rotarians told Cori and I to “go have fun,” and turned us loose among the throngs of people attending the EXPO. Amazingly, and by sheer coincidence, Micah was also coming to EXPO that day, but sometime in the afternoon. In the meantime, Cori and I explored.
The EXPO, which has a massive amount of exhibits, can be roughly divided into two categories. The first category is World Booths, which are constructed and run by individual or groups of countries. Examples include the France Pavilion, German Pavilion, Sri Lankan Pavilion, etc. The second category is Corporate Booths, which display the latest technology from companies such as Toyota, Mitsubishi, Hitachi, and Japan Railways. There are also various exhibits that don’t fit into either category, such as an 18,000 year old Mammoth Pavilion and a pavilion displaying the wonders of Natural Gas. Cori and I decided to tour the World Booths first because the lines were not nearly as long (if you don’t arrive at the park extremely early you won’t even get a chance to see the Toyota Exhibit).
Overwhelmed by the sheer scope of the park, Cori and I walked to the nearest “Global Common” area, dedicated to Oceania and Southeast Asia. I had been told Singapore had a great exhibit, so we waited in line for a few minutes before entering the exhibit and being handed an umbrella. I didn’t quite know what I needed it for, but I did like everyone else and opened my umbrella. The inside of the Singapore pavilion was designed like a rainforest, with a large television screen on the far end of the room. A video about Singapore began to play, with flyover images of the country and “wicked guitar riffs” playing in the background. All of a sudden the lights shut off, and with thunderclaps and lightning rain began pouring from the ceiling of the pavilion. Even though I was carrying the umbrella I still got pretty soaked.
After the rainstorm Cori and I headed to the second floor and in the back found the International Café which I heard was delicious. A man standing next to a selection of food asked us (in English) if we were feeling hungry, to which we replied (in Japanese) that indeed, we were. Thus began the ongoing problem of wondering what language to address various people at the EXPO. We later discovered that the man working at the food stand was indeed from Singapore, spoke very little Japanese, but was fluent in English. I happened to be wearing a “New Kids on the Block” T-shirt and he asked me “What happened to those guys?”
We ordered some Singaporean food (no meat for Cori) and sat down in front of three large TV screens in the café for a multilingual video about Southeast Asia. We ate our meals, which were delicious, and after we had finished I asked the man who had helped us order the food how exactly you get a job at the EXPO. He said he knew “The President of the Company.” He then asked me how much longer I would be staying in Japan, and if I wanted a job or not. I said “yes, of course,” and gave him one of my business cards. He said he was meeting his “friend” on the 30th of the month, and was sure I could be given a position. So perhaps I will be working at the Singapore booth in Nagoya sometime soon. Who knows? While we were having the conversation, another man who worked at the Singapore booth walked by, dressed in what I assumed to be a traditional Singaporean outfit. It looked quite interesting, and he introduced himself to Cori and me as well. In his colorful outfit I was expecting the man’s name to be something along the lines of B’wana Memsahib, but it ended up being closer to “William.”
After the strange meeting with the people at the Singaporean Pavilion, Micah called me to say he had arrived at the EXPO. And that’s when the craziness began. If only I could stay up to tell you the rest. Stayed tuned for part 2, and perhaps part 3 of:
Rocky and Bullwinkle’s (or Micah, Cori, and Ben’s) Great Adventure in EXPO, Nagoya Japan
3 Comments:
Hi Benjamin, due to the time zones, it’s Saturday 21st of May, ante meridiem in Ireland. Just the right time to wish you a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY, health, luck, happiness ... and may all your – sensible ;-) – wishes come true. Take care, Bibi.
By Bibi Blogsberg, at 7:23 AM
happy birthday to you and me!
amalia(andreas sister)
By Anonymous, at 12:44 PM
Happy birthday, Ben. I'm somewhat concerned that I didn't know that EXPO was in Japan this year, so thanks for writing about it. You're doing your part to combat cultural ignorance.
Donna
By Donna, at 1:38 PM
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