WASTEWATER TRAINING IN YOKOHAMA

The Land of the Rising Sun is a fascinating country. Gone are the Daimyos, the Samurais and ritual of Seppuku of yore : but they have left behind a legacy of fierce loyalties, courage, determination, discipline and hardwork, which one can readily see in the common man in Japan today. The same indefatigable spirit underlies the dominance achieved by the Zaibatsu - Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo and other Japanese entities in the world of commerce and industry. Fear of the Yellow peril has yielded place to a grudging respect for the remarkable turnaround achieved by a diminutive nation devastated by a war not many years ago.

32. WASTEWATER TRAINING IN YOKOHAMA

On January 30, 1998, a batch of 28 trainees from India, departed from Delhi on an Air India Flight to Narita International Airport – Tokyo.  The training program in “ Environment Protection” was organized under the auspices of the AOTS ( Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship) of Japan, a Govt. funded initiative, for the benefit of  third world developing countries like India.  The venue for the 20 day residential training program was the Yokohama Kenshu Centre ( YKC).  In India, the Confederation of Indian Industry ( CII) was the nodal agency for selecting and deputing the participants to the training program.  AOTS regional chapters in India could also nominate one delegate each : I was the nominee from the Bangalore Chapter.

It was a non-stop flight of nearly 8.5 hours to Narita, reaching late in the evening of January 31.  A coach from the AOTS transported us directly from Narita to the YKC, a distance of nearly 50 Km, and we were each allotted an individual room in the Centre, which had Guest rooms, classrooms, kitchen, sports and other recreational facilities on a huge campus, in Kanazawa ward of Yokohama City, with the Tokyo bay a walking distance away to the East.

Here are some vignettes from the 20 day sojourn in Yokohama and visits around :

THE TRAINING COURSE

-          The YKC around that time was hosting nearly 100 trainees from different parts of the world, in different disciplines

-          Immediately our group landed in YKC, Indian food was included in the menu – for the most part North Indian Punjabi cuisine

-          Green tea was available on tap, gratis : I have since become addicted to this beverage

-          Ours was a disparate, heterogeneous group, ranging in age from 25 to 60, and from all walks of life, not necessarily concerned with “Environment Protection” – ample testimony to the age old Indian custom of nepotism, favouritism, and outright bribery.

-          The course material was  rudimentary and of a very low technical standard bordering on insult even to a greenhorn environmental engineer

-          At the end of the training course, each one of us was given a Certificate of Participation

THE VISITS

More than the training course itself, it was the visits outside the class rooms which gave me satisfaction and a better appreciation of the country and its people, which I cherish the more.

-          Japan Railways (JR) is a marvel in all aspects of transportation management. 

-          On the trip back from Kyoto to Yokohama, the Shinkansen ( Bullet Train) was delayed midway by about 15 minutes on account of very heavy snowfall : the train arrived on time however at the next stop

-          Most visits to the treatment plants were a big bore : except for a visit to a huge Municipal sewage treatment plant, totally covered, employing diffused aeration, fully automated, operated by only three persons from a central control room.

-          A hazardous waste disposal system fashioned out of a constructed lagoon out in the sea was a novel and very innovative idea.

-          A visit to Kyoto, the old capital of Japan was organized : this was purely a cultural trip.  Visit to kiyomizu- Dera , an ancient Buddhist temple, and a UNESCO world heritage site.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiyomizu-dera : visit to a Kimono fashion show :   visit to the Kinkakuji Gardens http://kyotogardens.s3.amazonaws.com/Kinkakuji.html

-          Past Hamamatsu on the way back from Kyoto – Home of Suzuki Motor Corporation

-          Night halt in Shizuoka – home of the Fuji F-1 Speedway

-          Visit to a huge paper mill to see its treatment plant at the foothill of Mt. Fuji, and the majestic Mt. Fuji itself, snow capped, but barely visible

-          A visit to the Shiseido ( the oldest cosmetics company in the world) factory in Kamakura,  a washed good luck coin as a souvenir from the shrine nearby, which I carry in my wallet to this day

-          All across Japan, Pachinko parlours ( gambling dens) housed in huge warehouse like structures  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachinko

-          Finally a visit to  Akihabara ( Field of Autumn Leaves ) Section in Tokyo, shopping for knick knacks  - Pair of Minolta Field glasses, Velbon Camera tripod, several Chokin plates and Chokin wall Plaques of pastoral scenes in Japan – cherry blossom  trees, birds, and the ever present mountain in the background

-          Finally a fun trip to the Hakkejima Sea Paradise Amusement Park, close to the Yokohama Kenshu Centre  : http://www.seaparadise.co.jp/english/index.html

That is all I carried back from the 20 day stay in Japan.

Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal                                                                          July 16, 2011

P.S :

And yes : another vignette on the productivity of the hardworking Japanese. On a day trip by bus out of our training centre, we spied three little Japanese re-laying tarmac on the highway.  On our return trip that afternoon, the same gang had progressed a further  20 KM ahead on the Highway !  A feat that would take weeks, if not months in an Indian City.