Wow sorry it really has been a long time since the last post
in this series. Once again I’ve been getting steadily more and more busy. With
publishable results comes, as one might expect, the need to publish. Most of
the writing of my journal article is finished however it would seem that about
90% of the battle is getting the figures done to a reasonable standard. Anyway
that’s not what I’m writing this blog for so I’m going to finally finish off
this Tokyo visit series.
Now much though I do love my parents there are times when
I’d like to do things at my own pace so we agreed to do a half day break from
each other. With plans to meet each other later on at Roppongi hills I got
myself up early to get back to Odaiba and finally visit Miraikan (未来館).
Mirakan is the National museum of Emerging Science and
Technology, the naming is a shortening of “Nihon kagaku miraikan” which is a
bit of a mouthful, and houses many of the latest big developments in Japan’s
research. As a member of RIKEN it would be rude of me not to go really since my
organization probably contributes to some of the displays.
The first stop was the Dome theatre, a dome shaped
planetarium. I have a strong sense that Japanese people have a real fascination
with the stars, there are so many planetariums in this country, and you know
what I’m not complaining because I love them to. This one was particularly
special as it has 3D projectors and 2700 screen meaning you really
feel like you are in amongst the stars. The best 3D I’ve ever seen hands down.
After a 20-minute movie I strolled around the exhibits. The
top half of the museum is dedicated solely to real ongoing scientific research
in an exhibit called explore the frontiers. It was quite nice to read about all
the varied research going on across the country with nice little cornered off
sections like; Our Solar System, The Universe, Life, Medicine and so on. In
fact over half of the floor space was dedicated to something space related but
I’m not complaining too much.
The section that impressed me most was definitely the Earth
Environment space, called more specifically – Earth, Environment and Me. It
showcased some of the wonderful things currently being developed right now that
are moving towards making our exploits on the planet more sustainable. The
exhibits were colorful and well laid out, god bless the Japanese propensity to
the aesthetically pleasing, and the English was excellent. In fact I think it’s
the most informative of all the museums I’ve been to as most of the Japanese
information was well translated. Further more whilst there is a lot of stuff
for children there is also a lot of extra information available if you want to
delve deeper, and that is also translated.
Some of the displays themselves were really impressive in
their ability to convey their message. I loved all the Rube Goldburg machines
that illustrated things like the flow of carbon or the changing of the ages of
earth. Besides these some other displays that stuck in my mind was the genomic
harp, a series of light panels representing the 23 chromosomes of the human
body. When you pressed a button corresponding to a particular trait lights
would flash showing the corresponding genes positions on the chromosomes, very
cool.
In between the 5th and 3rd floor is a
giant suspended, revolving sphere, called Tsunagari. Onto it is projected a map
of the world that can be changed to display maps colour coded for various
different global trends. Alongside this is a walkway that is lined with images
of all the Astronauts who have ever been sent to space, ordered by the year
they were up there. Have you ever heard of Valentina Tereshkova? I know I
hadn’t but she was the first woman in space, way back in 1963.
The third floor is a little less based on hard science but
it is nonetheless interesting. This area is called “Create Your Future” and is
focused on where we are headed in the next century. My favorite area, besides
the robots because who doesn’t love robots, was “The drive force of innovation”, a display devoted to
where ideas come from. There is a large mural displaying some of the best human
inventions from ancient times to the present day as well as area exploring the
different ways in which we come up with new ideas. Mixed in there are also some
amazingly inspiring quotes about the human mind.
There is much more I could talk about as this place really
is the best museum I’ve been to in the country easily. I could feel the pride
for Japan’s scientific frontiers without and of that creepy nationalism I got
in the natural history museum. It was very cool and I was even treated to a
dancing robot display before I left to meet up with my parents.
So out of Odaiba and off to Roppongi. Unusually I was bang
on time and I met up with my Mum and Dad without any problems. I think being
able to be in touch constantly this time around really helped a lot, my lesson
had been learned from 2 years ago.
The plan for the evening was to check out the Mori art
gallery near the top of the Roppongi hills tower complex. The complex is
massive and the art gallery on the 50 something floor is equally expansive. The
reason for us going there was an exhibition of works by Alphonse Mucha, of whom
my dad is a big fan. I’ll not pretend to be particularly knowledgeable on Art
Nouveau but Muscha is one of the big names so I’ve at least some of his work
before. I’m not going to embarrass myself by trying to play art critic so I’ll
just say I enjoyed the exhibit.
Afterwards we went up to the sky deck for some very
spectacular views over Tokyo. Up is always better if you want to get a good
impression of this city. What amazed me is the diversity of architecture across
Tokyo. Sure it is mostly a concrete jungle but every now and then you see some
wonderful curves to contrast those hard angles and some lush green to offset
the dull greys.
For my final day in Tokyo I wanted to visit a friend out in
Tsukuba, I think travelling to visit friends is something I will make more of a
habit of when I return to the UK it’s such a rewarding pastime, but first there
was one place I’d been longing to visit for quite some time.
It is no shock, I’m sure, to learn that I have a supreme
fondness of the written word in any language. I’ve spent much time over the
years wandering aimlessly through libraries and second hand book stores so when
I heard there was a place in Tokyo where there were a ridiculous number
clustered close together, I had to go.
Jinboucho (神保町) in Chiyoda
sits neatly in between several of the major Tokyo universities and for this
reason many of the big Japanese publishing houses set up shop nearby. Now we
all know that your average student is pretty strapped for cash and so I’m sure
it’s not surprise to learn this place has become known as “Book town” due to
the approximately 150 used bookstores that line it’s main high street.
There really are books of all kinds here. Reference books,
magazine stores, antiques, battered old novels, you name and you can probably
find it in Jinboucho. Many of the shops have so many volumes in stock that they
quite literally spill out into the streets, with boxes and shelves strewn willy
nilly. It is a bit of a far cry from the usual pristine order of many Japanese
establishments and I’ll be frank it was a welcome change.
I could have lost myself there in the musky smell of ancient
tomes for over a decade but sadly I did have other things to do. Now knowing
this place was home to a lot of th old Japanese publishers I wanted to check
out some Ukio –e (Japanese wood block painting) prints for my parents. The best
place for this is undoubtedly Ohya Shobo, one of the oldest stores in Jimbocho.
The place is lined wall to wall with prints and originals, as well as some very
old maps and books dating back to the 18th century. I think I could
have emptied my bank in that shop but instead I settled on a couple of copies
for my parents. I think I’ll go back to get a few more before I leave.
After that I set out on a separate mission. This time I
intended to find some books of old Japanese fairy stories (In Japanese of
course). Not really being able to read too much kanji I was a little bit
handicapped but I did eventually come across something and I’m currently
reading it for practice, and personal interest of course. I do love a good folk
tale and these are all centered around a particular area in northern Japan
called Kurobe, home, besides all the crazy creatures in the stories of course,
the world headquarters of zipper producers YKK apparently.
I eventually had to tear my self away and go visit my
friend, my backpack was starting to get a bit heavy and if I didn’t leave soon
I was going to have spent all of my money for sure. That being said on the way
out I did make one final purchase. I came across a bookstore selling English
books very cheap and picked up a copy of the Han Solo adventures, once a star
wars geek always a star wars geek.
Well that about does it for my Tokyo adventures. I still
need to write up some stuff about Okinawa so have that too look forward to,
then hopefully once I have my paper and Japanese language proficiency test (eep)
done and dusted I’ll hopefully be off on more adventures.
Mata ne.
