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Today was our first full day here in Hiroshima. After going to such an exciting game (the Hiroshima Carp) I have to say that I love this city. Compared with Osaka, it is not as big and does not have as many shopping centers. However, the city itself is a very popular tourist spot in Japan.
As part of the Study Tour, our itinerary included visiting the Mazda Car Factory right here in Hiroshima. This is the headquarters for all Mazda operations and sales and is the primary location of where the cars are made. To begin the tour, we were left at the main entrance before the bus would come and take us to the museum. This building had a showroom, displaying a few of Mazda's top cars. After some time, our chariot came and took us to the museum. We had a special tour guide given to us to lead the tour. One of the rules that was spelled out quite clearly was that no photography was allowed from the time we left the entrance to the time we got to the museum. I'm not sure exactly why but my presumption is that the Mazda Corporation does not want
other companies knowing how they manufacture their products. As I said, not entirely sure.
The tour lasted approximately 1 1/2 hours but was really cool. Within the museum were a collection of Mazda's car models since they started manufacturing vehicles. Some of the cars were very good looking. Leading on, there was a long display of how the manufacturing process works. From indenting the frame to applying each coat of paint, it all was very interesting. Then after the tour of the museum, it was time to see the production strip. No photos were allowed in this area at all but this was my favorite part of the tour. The semi- built cars sit on a track that moves ever so slowly and at different "stations", workers have a special job for building the vehicle. This was really neat to see first hand how a car, just like the one you drive, is made. This experience was interesting and fun to see.
Later on that day, the group traveled to Hiroshima University to meet with a Chemistry professor and tour the campus. The original plan was to meet first- hand with Japanese students and do special presentations about a particular
topic, preferrably one relating to our majors. However, due to the swine flu scare, the Ministry Department of Japan brushed off our plans and decided it was best if we did not do the presentations with the students. Instead, they welcomed us for a personal tour of the campus. The professor, a chemistry professor, and an English interpreter from Maryland gave us the tour. They were extremely nice and were pleased to meet us. Hiroshima University was originally located in the downtown perfecture of Hiroshima, but because of the massive amounts of students coming to the university, it moved right outside of the downtown area. The campus is approximately 20 years old and offers state- of- the- art education. There are many faculties or "departments" within the university. After viewing the campus from atop the main office building, and exploring the central library, we were taken on another special tour of the university's Synclotron. I am not quite sure about how a Synclotron runs and its purpose, but what I do know is that electrons are injected into the machine and they are run at a macro speed and the result is a beam of photons or light. A highly
sophisticated Synclotron could be used to light millions of homes in the future. It was very cool to see such a nice piece of technology that could one day save the world.
Another note about Japan is that, Noda sensei and I have been interested in learning more about the role of police officers and their jobs. I took a picture of a police car; notice how much smaller and compact they are compared to American ones. After stopping at a station in East Hiroshima, three officers talked to us about what it's like being a police officer in Japan. They said that last year, only 25 people were murdered in the whole country. That is amazing. Compared to a city like Boston, nearly 25 people are killed within 2- 3 months or less. Being an officer here is actually boring because no one causes trouble. Also, they do not carry guns at all.
Whenever Japanese children are told to stop doing something bad, they listen. They do not antagonize anyone and do not keep up the harsh behavior. They listen and abide by what their elders teach them. I find it very intriguing that Japan is a safe and
sturdy nation that takes the law seriously.
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Dale Oda
non-member comment
Hi Andrew
Andrew-san, konnichi-wa! Genki desu-ka? By now, you probably understand those words and more. We missed you in New England last week. I'm so glad that you are having such a great trip. My mother was raised in Iwakuni near Hiroshima. Your sensei has put together an awesome tour (you're getting to see and learn a lot). I can't wait to talk to see you again to talk about Japan. Have fun. Sayonara, Uncle Dale and Aunt Jane