Awake: 5:13am Cloudy Overnight @ Nagoya, Japan
Breakfast @ 6:30am….we were # 1 & 2 in line. During breakfast, a Japanese
lady informed me of a typhoon forecasted to hit Nagoya with rain & wind
starting @ 3:00pm today. I thanked her for her message & told her I would
consider taking an umbrella along on our tour this day.
Our gang of 13.5 agreed to meet in the hotel lobby @ 8:30am & to have lots
of Japanese yen + get an umbrella from the front desk. We are going to the
2005 World Exposition @ Aichi near Nagoya today (1+10 min) by train. Plus
today, we are honored to have the newlyweds along with us. They attended a
party with Eriko’s High School friends last night that lasted into the wee
hrs & didn’t get much sleep but wanted to accompany & guide us to the Expo
regardless.
We are happy to have Eriko as our guide….as it was tricky train travel (2
lines) + the newly developed Levitation train (no wheels).
We were forewarned that the Expo would be very crowded…..that turned out
to be a conservative assessment, it was super overcrowded! It took us 45
min to pass thru the North gate. A massive crowd + the security check
slowed the process. Once inside, we agree to each do our own thing. Even
though a typhoon is forecasted, the heat is on & the sun is shining in &
out of the clouds. We’ve been in Japan for 6 days now & we’re still not
accustomed to this heat & humidity. I talk Kathy into seeing the “wonder
circus-electric power pavilion.” The line was long & snaked back & forth
quite a lot but the sign advertised it would be 18 min until entering the
bldg. Well, it literally took an hr. What we didn’t realize was: once
inside the bldg, the line continued to snake in a tier type arrangement.
The ride was great! The cars were on tracks & went through space, under
the sea, through a forest that turned into 4 seasons of weather, through a
giant kaleidoscope, etc. Now, was the hr wait in that heat & humidity
worth the 10 min ride? Kathy says “no way!” I say: “let’s do it again!”
No, really, that isn’t quite what I said but I did tell her I want to see
more of these marvels but maybe not spend quite so much time in line.
Now these promoters of these Expos do try to keep the crowd from
dehydration & heat strokes by giving out free cups of water & providing
some overhead awnings on the waiting lines + an occasional air
conditioning system blowing cool air overhead & in some resting areas, dry
mist generators…. it wasn’t near enough for us wimps however, we had the
“hots” & the “sweats!”
Nearly everything I had selected from the book of activities & high tech
things to see & do was contaminated by long lines…. & that turned Kathy
off pronto.
After the electric power pavilion, I got in a little shorter snaking line
to the superconducting maglev railway theatre pavilion using the 3D image.
Kathy would catch up with me in line after taking a bathroom break &
getting more water for our bottles.
The line moved a lot faster & the theater was air conditioned with seats.
It was amazing to see this film about the testing & getting the highest
speed award (over 500 mph) for a maglev train.
Next we take to the skies for a gondola ride. Then visit the Pavilion of
France, interesting. Then we walk along the people’s path to pavilions of
other countries.
@ 6:00pm we rendezvous with the rest of our gang. Would you believe…those
wimps all want to return to their hotel & call it a day? Geeesze! We are
the only ones who want to stay until the park closes @ 10:00pm…..so Eriko
guides them expertly back to their hotel.
Kathy & I continue seeing & experiencing the different pavilions from
other countries: Switzerland, Spain, USA, etc. Plus, as nightfall
approached, many colorful lights were lit everywhere & we watched a laser
water show & a giant screen musical. The crowd did thin out during the
evening but those long lines remained just as long as or longer than ever.
Working together, we found our way back to our Cypress Gardens hotel in a
flawless operation. The Expo experience was terrific but the heat &
humidity, the overcrowded park & the long lines did somewhat subtract from
the enjoyment of the moment.
We are tired. Lights out: 11:33pm
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