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• "Cheap Eats" in Japan
• An Exchange Student's Perspective
• Studying Abroad in Japan
• World Expo 2005 Extravaganza

World Expo 2005 Extravaganza

By N. Kido

During my most recent trip to Japan, we were lucky enough to be in Nagoya during the start of the Expo and saw a multitude of cultural and technological exhibits. From the Toyota Exhibit to the environmentally conscious Japan pavilion, there were many fascinating venues focused on global health.

World Expo officials estimated that somewhere near 15 million people visited the Expo site during the six months it was in Aichi. During our night at the Expo, there weren't many foreigners on hand, but there were thousands upon thousands of native Japanese.

The World Expo 2005 was held in Aichi prefecture in the city of Nagoya, Japan and ran from March 25 through September 25, 2005. This year's Expo theme was "Nature's Wisdom." Because of Japan's dense population and limited natural resources, recycling, waste, and energy efficiency are some of the country's top concerns and prompted the Expo topics. The message at the Expo was the hope of rediscovering nature's wisdom and prospering economically while preserving Mother Earth.

A fascinating aspect of Expo 2005 was realizing how important it was to the city of Nagoya. A section of Aichi prefecture was highly developed to support each country's exhibitions. Backed by large funding from Toyota Motor Corporation, headquartered in nearby Toyota City, a highly efficient infrastructure was created specifically for the Expo and provided smooth communication and transportation between neighboring prefectures. It was hard to believe that five years ago, this area was completely undeveloped and comprised of wilderness and forest.

Our adventure began at the Nagoya train station and consisted of a few train rides to the Expo site in Aichi. There were specially marked trains with World Expo 2005 logos which helped designate trains running to and from the Expo grounds. It was quite an adventure getting from the train station to the Expo site but we were fortunate enough to see many sights along the way including high speed bullet trains, tiny city streets with equally small cars and vans, and a giant Buddha.

Once at the Expo, we were dazzled by the colossal size of the Expo grounds and the large number of people wandering through different exhibits. Some of the more noticeable attractions we noticed while walking through the gates were the sky lifts moving people throughout different pavilions. The huge Toyota Pavilion also caught our eye, perhaps because we had heard that it was one of the best exhibits at the Expo. Visitors were entertained by performances featuring robots, i-units, and human performers and introduced to a new kind of relationship between people and cars. The Toyota Pavilion also featured a giant Ferris wheel which towered around four to five stories high. We were eagerly anticipating a ride until we found out it cost $10! We then proceeded to the next free exhibit.

Another extremely popular attraction was the Gas Pavilion which featured a performance displaying many uses of natural gas and its less harmful effects on the environment. Utilizing a group of performers along with huge flames created from natural gas, audiences were entertained and educated about the new possibilities of a cleaner form of fuel.

There were so many different exhibits to choose from and such a limited amount of time. We made our journey to the Expo around 2 pm and stayed until the gates closed at 9 pm, but this wasn't enough time to explore the multitude of exhibits. If I were to do it all over again, I would definitely plan on getting to the Expo around mid-morning and plan on spending the entire day and night exploring.

After seeing each of the major Pavilions and learning about the world's environmental concerns, we briefly stopped by the Koi Pond and watched an interesting performance on the water featuring a holographic monkey and gorilla. The performance was written by an American artist and though it was somewhat difficult to understand the story, the flashing lights, holographic images, and smoky fog were quite entertaining.

Before calling it a day, we were lucky enough to visit one of the busiest venues at the Expo. Just by chance, we snuck into the Japan Pavilion without having to wait in line and were treated to one of the best Pavilions at the 2005 Expo. We watched videos explaining how devastating human development has been to the Earth and how Japan has been combating environmental pollution. One of the more noteworthy exhibits in the Japan Pavilion was its display of nano bubble technology, which enables fresh water fish, such as koi, to live in salt water. It was truly a remarkable feat for science.

The 2005 World Exposition was a great opportunity to learn about each country's efforts to protect the Earth's environment. It was also a great opportunity to learn about the different cultures of the world including their people, unique natural landscapes, and their ways of living. It also opened my eyes to the mounting environmental concerns and the techniques being used to combat those specific problems. The Expo set the perfect stage for experiencing each of the world's unique cultures and understanding the social impact on the environment. In retrospect, it was definitely one of the best experiences of my life.