My Second Expo Experience

Recently, the Osaka Expo finally ended. Back in July I wrote about my trip to the Oska expo. But at the time, I knew I wanted to go again. There was so much I did not get to see during the first trip. I managed to go again at the start of October. While I knew the second time would be busier and have a lot more people, I still thought it would be worth going. And I am glad I did, because I got to see many other interesting things and places.

Our day did not start so great, however. We first went to the Nordic Circle pavilion. The first time I went it was closed for an event, but I really wanted to go. Sadly it was probably the most uninteresting pavilion of the two days I went. It was small, did not have much to show, and most of it was very generic environmental ideas. A little later we lined up for Turkey’s pavilion for about 20 minutes, but it was also disappointing. It had one interesting sculpture, and big screen showing a video about Turkish cities of the future and then guided everyone into the gift shop where they wanted to just sell Turkish goods.  Sadly, a lot of pavilions I wanted to go to were also ‘reservation only’, and we failed to get any reserved.

Thankfully our day started to get better after these pavilions. We went to the UAE (United Arab Emirates) pavilion which had no line, and you could immediately get into. It was unique as it was one giant room with many pillars, and lots of displays and exhibits around the room. Shortly after we visited the Nepal area. The first time I went, it was not finished. It turned out to be one of my favorite spots in the expo. They made an area that felt like a small Nepalese town square. It had many different food shops, several souvenir shops and an upstairs area that they called the pavilion, but it was a display of Nepalese art and sculptures. They were amazing to look at and were incredibly detailed. We ended up getting lunch in the area too. I bought some samosas which tasted great.

We wanted to go to some bigger pavilions before our day was over. We had to spend some time in lines, but got into Belgium, the Czech Republic and France. Belgium was very well put together. While a lot of other countries talked about future environmental projects, Belgium presented a lot about their medical research. I learned a lot of things that I did not know about such as Belgium’s vaccine research and development. They also gave away a lot of free Biscoff biscuits which was nice bonus. The Czech Republic on the other hand was not what I expected at all. It was designed around bizarre art by a famous artist. It was the kind of art that is hard to describe as it was so strange and unique. It was the strangest pavilion I went to on the two days I visited. Sadly I do not remember the name of the artist. Finally, there was France, one of the most popular pavilions at the expo. France had a big focus on Louis Vuitton, and a lot of the rooms were modern art made in collaboration with the brand. I do not know if there was some deeper meaning for it or if most of it was just advertising. It was visually a great experience, however.

Overall I had a great two days visiting the Expo this year. It was a unique experience, and I got to see and learn many things from many countries around the world. I was always curious about what visiting a world expo would be like, and I am glad I got the chance.

Jules WhiteComment
Scarecrow Village

Harold. That was the name of a murderous scarecrow in a book of short horror stories I used to read when I was a kid. It’s a name that can still make my hair stand on end, all these years later. The book was designed for kids, but the tale of Harold and his victims was especially terrifying.

Last weekend, my friends and I stopped by a small village in the Iya Valley region of Shikoku. We were at the end of a two-day hiking trip, driving along winding mountain roads, heading back towards Okayama. One of my friends had found a place on the map labeled simply as “Scarecrow Village,” and we were close enough to stop by. I felt some of that childhood trauma stirring inside me, but we got out of the car and started looking around.

Scarecrow Village was aptly named. There they were, hanging out around the information center, seated on the side of the road, peering in through windows, laboring over stacks of hay in the field. There appeared to be a married couple as well as a grandmotherly figure reclining on the floor. Scarecrows everywhere. There were dozens of them, each with unique clothing stretched over a lumpy body and a carefully crafted face.

Across the road, it got even weirder. There’s a long-abandoned elementary school standing in the shadow of Mt. Miune, and the old gymnasium is open to visitors. When we walked inside, we let out a collective gasp. The entire gym was filled with many, many more scarecrows, standing or seated in various poses. Some were in kimonos, and others were lined up on the stage or watching from the floor. It was as if we had interrupted some silent ceremony.

Altogether, there were several hundred scarecrows scattered throughout the area. The human population of the town? Only about 25.

In the daylight, with two friends and a couple other tourists, it was funny. Almost quaint. But if you imagine an entire town filled with slumped-over scarecrows…after three decades, I thought Harold may once again start making an appearance in my nightmares.

It’s not all gloom, though. We were lucky enough to meet Ayano Tsukimi, the mother of all these newspaper-stuffed mannequins. She told us the story behind her shrinking town of Nagoro, and her plan to add life to it by attracting tourists to the small community. Tsukimi-san lovingly crafts each scarecrow, often modeling them on real people that she knew, or even characters from famous manga. The town has gained plenty of attention on social media, and many tourists have found their way to Nagoro over the years since then. Some of them even donate clothes or other materials to help the cause.

Well, that obviously changed my perspective a bit. Scarecrow Village may look like a great place to shoot a horror movie, but there’s something much sweeter – and maybe a bit melancholy – under those old shirts and latex gloves. Tsukimi-san has found a clever way to memorialize her loved ones and, in the process, help revitalize the small town.

Harold has no place here, after all.

A trio of scarecrows waves goodbye to visitors (and offers to sell them some chestnuts).

Nick VastaComment
blue

今年も９月がほとんど終わり、１２月まであと2か月少々。少しでも涼を求めて、行ってみたかった徳島の大塚国際美術館へ足を運んで来ました。世界中の絵画の名作が「全てレプリカ」として楽しめます。本物であれば筆遣いや濃淡の細かさをこの目で見てみたいと思うものですが、レプリカだと関係なし。実際に作品群をじっくりと見るということにはなりませんがそれでも見知った絵画が飾られているのを見つけるのは楽しいのです。というのも大きな美術館でもなかなか有名作品ばかりを立て続けに目にすることはないからです。有名な作品の前には人だかりが出来ているので、遠目にもあそこには有名作品が飾られているのだと一目瞭然。モナリザ、もちろん。モネの作品群、もちろん。ゴッホ、もちろん。ルノアール、もちろん。テレビのCMで更に認知度の上がったフェルメールの真珠の耳飾りの少女も展示されていました。

レッスンでその絵画の話になった際、色彩の少ないこの作品で目立つのがターバンの青と黄色のコントラストです。絵画の心得のあるK生さん曰くこの青は独特で再現することが難しいそう。顔料の中でも青はとても高いとは知っていましたが、触発されて調べてみました。この作品の青にはラピスラズリが使用されていたらしいのです。ラピスラズリといえば半貴石で、時にはこの石が金よりも高価であったようです。そしてびっくり。ラピスラズリは現代の日本語においてはカタカナで表記されてしまっていますが、和語では「瑠璃色」でした。仏教の七色の一つの、あの瑠璃。そしてウルトラマリンもカタカナで定着していますが、原材料としてはラピスラズリ由来で、「海を越えてやって来た」という意味だそうな。つまりフェルメールの少女が纏っているターバンは瑠璃色なのかぁ。この瑠璃色を言葉で表現すると、青と紫の中間色で、紫を帯びた鮮やかな濃い青色ですって。

こうして日々、役に立つか立たないか不明な知識を得るのです。

AyumiComment
A Good Seafood Bowl

Several months ago I spent half a day in Asakuchi city. For those who do not know, I lived there for my first five years in Japan and have many great memories of my time there. While it is called a ‘city’, it really is three small towns right next to each other. They are Kamogata, Konko and Yorishima. While I lived in Kamogata at the time, and I worked a lot in Konko, I did not spend so much time in Yorishima. This is because it feels a little separate from the other two towns, it has no station, and no convenient public transportation to get there. It also a pain to get there by bike because there is a long steep hill between there and Kamogata, so driving is usually the only choice.

So, you might think, what is there to do in a small town with no public transportation and a small population? Yorishima is a port town, and it is known for its seafood. In Okayama many people think of Hinase when you hear about Oysters, but Yorishima has its own oyster festival every year (And they are good too!). There are also shops that specialize in different kinds of seafood. One of the most well-known ones is ‘Kaizoku-tei’. It’s right across from the sea on one of the main roads through the town. The shop is known for its seafood bowl (kaisendon). I do not have seafood bowls so much, but I really like them. Kaizoku-tei offers many different set meals with many side dishes. The food is very fresh and tasty. It is not the cheapest meal around, but if you ever find yourself in the western part of Okayama Prefecture, and you like seafood, it could be worth stopping by. Well, if you are driving in that area that is.

Jules WhiteComment
A Day on The Rock

Leaving downtown San Francisco behind as our ferry speeds toward Alcatraz.

Nothing ever goes quite the way you plan it. On the way home to New Jersey this year, we had a long layover in San Francisco – over 10 hours, in fact. I thought this would be a great chance to explore the city, but there were several delays at the airport, leaving us with no time for most of our planned activities. No Fisherman’s Wharf, no Lombard Street, no Golden Gate Bridge.

Oh, well. We still had just enough time to do one fun thing: a 3-hour tour of Alcatraz, the most famous prison in American history. It was a great way to spend the remainder of our day.

Alcatraz, also known as The Rock, was an island prison that housed some of of the most infamous criminals in the U.S. until it was closed in 1963. The island is visible from the popular wharf area of San Francisco, and you can easily take a ferry from there.

The city offers official “tours,” which I had booked online a few weeks in advance. However, the tour is actually just a ferry ride. Once you get off the boat, you can roam around Alcatraz at your own pace.

There are several interesting areas to explore on the small island, but the main prison in the center is obviously the most important. Rusted steel bars, concrete walls, peeling paint – this is what I imagined, and what I had seen in movies. Many of the cells have old items and trinkets that the prisoners might have had, so you can imagine how they looked.

There are lots of other structures around the main prison, and plenty of information about life on The Rock. One of the most interesting things I learned is that the prison was very expensive to operate because there is no fresh water on the island. Water had to be regularly brought in by boat – a very expensive process.

In addition, I was interested to learn about the Indians of All Tribes occupation of the island, which occurred a few years after the prison closed. Alcatraz is very closely tied to the Native American protest movement, so it’s an important part of the history there.

If you have a chance to visit San Francisco, I highly suggest you leave more time for yourself than I did…but Alcatraz is definitely worth the trip!

Nick VastaComment