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The World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon) is an annual event, rotating throughout North America and the rest of the world.
The 2007 World Science Fiction Convention was held in Yokohama, Japan. This was the first time it was held in Japan (and the first in several years to be held in a non-English-speaking country) despite a strong SF fandom in the country and their many attempts to win the bid. Despite some possible misgivings about the financial aspect, I eventually decided that I would regret it forever if I didn't go. That included taking the tour afterward, as I had been to too many foreign conventions where I didn't allow for time to see the country and I was not going to let that happen here.
Before the convention, I wandered around Tokyo for several days, seeing the sights.
Akihabara is Electric Town and otaku paradise all in one district.
I don't know the name of this place: I discovered it when I left the underground station and had some time to kill.
It is reflective of the Japanese culture that it needs green space even in the middle of bustling metropolis.
I was slightly disappointed in the Museum: it was poorly lit and seemed somewhat sparse for the size. I'm sure there were plently more items to exhibit but the curators for some reason didn't have everything on display.
However, I found a number of interesting publications in the Museum bookstore, so I was happy.
It may be one of the most famous landmarks in the city, but Tokyo Tower, to put it bluntly, is a tourist trap. Its crowded (the images you see in anime make it seem much larger: you can't put three school class tours on the observation deck without being totally jammed. And any anime junkie will know the series I'm refering to.) The views are nice but the rest of the tower (which is mostly kitschy museums and a food court) isn't worth the effort.
The Zojo-ji Temple is located just a block away from Tokyo Tower, almost obscured by the hillside and surrounding trees. I nearly didn't find it and finally found it only by examing the local map. The peace and tranquility of the temple grounds was a pleasant change from the crowds and bustle of Tokyo Tower.
After the convention, Kevin Smookler organized a tour of Japan, travelling from Tokyo to Hiroshima and Osaka, with a stop at Mt. Fuji.
I wasn't the only photographer in this group: here's John Sloan's set of photographs on Flickr.
Going to Hiroshima had a personal side to it. My father was in the Supply Corps during WW II and was stationed on the island of Tinian, where the Enola Gay took off from. But he wasn't part of that: he was on the opposite side of the island, stockpiling cold weather gear for a planned invasion of the northern islands of Japan through tha Aleutian Islands. Of course, after the Japanese surrender, what might have been a dangerous situation for him became just another military back-up plan, but it might have affected whether I would ever have been born.
Amazingly, this building partially survived being directly under the blast (or, more precisely, because it was directly under the blast: the shockwave went straight down, vaporized the copper roofing on the dome, then equalized the external/internal pressure by blowing out the windows.) The building is directly next to a large bridge that was used for the targetting of the drop. Everything else for hundreds of yards around was flattened and burnt. The building today is not very stable and has to be supported from within.
For lunch we all went to a restaurant for a lunch of okonomiyaki (Japanese pizza) Hiroshima style. That's essentially what it is, although its quite different that anything anyone else would make. Its made with a flat layer of fried batter, a whole lot of cabbage, ham, fried eggs, noodles and okonomiyaki sauce: everything is fried and stacked on up on the batter, then sectioned apart and eaten with a small spatula. And we made it outselves, which for some of us (including me) was little bother, as we had the same thing the previous evening and watched how it was done.
Rhis is the shrine to the Meiji Emperor, who is remembered for opening Japan to the world, ending its isolation.
The sacred island of Miyajima: so sacred that at one point, the shedding of blood was not allowed, so pregnant women had to leave the island, as well as women during their periods.
We were also warned about the deer. They are sacred so they are also sacrosant: they're also brazen and will eat anything that's available, even if you think it isn't. That includes anything hanging out of your pocket, so we were advised to keep things like train tickets safely tucked away.
The sacred mountain, and travelling up the side, its easy to see why.
We only went as far as the fifth pilgramage station: after that, you have to walk the rest of the way up. One of these days I want to return to do the full pilgramage: it takes most of a day or so.
This was the Shogun's castle.
This was the last stop on our tour, a place that has to be the most-SF-looking place we saw on the entire tour. The attraction is at the top of the building, where there is an open-air garden, which you get to by travelling up a glass-enclosed escalator. After having an attack of acrophobia the previous evening, I declined, staying on the level below. And I was not the only one to decline.
One of the lovely stops we made was at this garden, which was also an outdoor art museum. The hostess (by marriage the grand-daughter of the man who collected the art) also performed the tea ceremony in a large (for a tea ceremony) building on the grounds.
Each WorldCon is unique, and this one especially so. It was doubly unique for me, in that it was the first foreign WorldCon I ever attended in a county where English was not the native tongue.
It was also the 40th Anniversary of Ultraman, so Ultraman was prominently figured in the convention.
Not a spectacular exhibit hall, but given the circumstances pretty respectable.
This was one of the exhibits: a (sort-of) working replica of the flyer from the Miyazaki movie (?). The video display showed footage of it being towed as a glider, so all it needs is an engine to make it go, right?
The ceremony was hosted in English by George Takei.
Prior to the awards ceremony, the audience was entertained by the Ultraman stunt team.
This was a Japanese motorcycle club that were also SF fans. And they didn't know about the convention, they only heard about it when they ran into some fans the last night of the convention!
A Master Swordmaker presented a lecture on making a katana and even had one with him: he was also the only person legally allowed to draw it in the room. He did have a blank that we were allowed to hold: it felt good.
Speaking of the room, the presenation was held in a small room that was packed to overflowing and then some. Because I had been in the same room before and could predict the popularity of the presentation, I arrived early to get a good seat, right in front.
I took some time to see at least a little of Yokohama, mostly just the area around the convention center and hotel and ahopping mall complex. One of the buildings in the complex was over 70 stories tall with an observation deck, so I went there.
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Copyright © 2009 Alpha Video Production / Terry O'Brien
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