Sustainable Energy in Japan
This year’s UW study took me and 10 other engineers to Ehime prefecture in Japan. We had the opportunity to study new developments in the field of energy sustainability alongside Professor Collins and Miyamato sensei, as well as the talented engineering graduate students from Ehime University.
Before being afforded this opportunity, I had never left the United States. Travelling was always something I wanted to do, but I never found myself in a position to make it happen. This time was different. Travel to Japan and earn elective credit in a field directly related to my engineering aspirations? I was sold! I was first to arrive at Matsuyama airport. 10 hours before the rest showed up. As I watched and waited, a few hours later my classmates began trickling in from various flights, and the anticipation of an incredible journey was growing. I had spent the first few days in Tokyo, learning to take subways and practicing my limited Japanese language skills. I had already overcome the jet lag by the time of our rendezvous, but some students had just gotten off a plane for their first time in 16 hours. The excitement I felt as our journey was set to officially begin in Japan was incredible. Once everyone arrived, we were greeted by our trip coordinator, a lovely older woman named Ruth. She gave us each some spending cash, and we piled into a bus and set off for our destination, known as the “Imaicahi Share House”.
After a full night’s sleep, and a brief tour of our immediate surroundings (which was not enough to keep me from getting lost on my own multiple times in the coming days), we met at the University for our first day of lecture. They briefly introduced some of the research they have been conducting, and we chose a research area that we wanted to be a part of for the next ten days. The research group I chose was invested in using plasma technology to degrade dyes and colorants in water. Truthfully, when I selected this group, I had no idea what plasma was, or what the implications of dyes in water were. The description was vague and a bit difficult to follow, it seemed to involve significant chemistry which is not a strength of mine. However, the description did contain “heat and mass transfer” and I knew this to be one of my favorite subjects from school, and a potential career area I was interested in.
I am so grateful I chose this lab to participate in. Not only did I meet the absolute coolest students who went on to become close friends, it was extremely hands-on and a fascinating area of study. The whole idea of this research area ended up completely aligning with my world view of engineering. How multiple areas of scientific discipline can come together to improve the living conditions of the world’s citizens. The overall concept is this: In the prefecture of Ehime were textile manufacturing is the number one industry, dyes from textile factories inevitably end up in the water supply from wastewater runoff. There is little to no regulation on dye in the water supply. It is not known to be harmful per se, but no one really wants dyes in their drinking water. There is currently no effective method of removing dyes from the water, it can’t be boiled out. Researchers there have discovered that they can chemically decompose the dyes with high temperature plasma, and when the water is condensed it is chemically pure. One of the byproducts of this reaction is hydrogen, which can be segregated and used as fuel in other experiments. In other versions of this experiment where water would be substituted with spent oil, hydrogen and carbon are byproducts. The carbon is collected and turned into carbon fiber or lab grown diamonds.
On one of the first nights, the collective of Japanese students hosted a welcome party for us at the university. They prepared a traditional Japanese dinner of curry and rice and a variety of beverages I had never seen or heard of before. The next day we visited one of the oldest castles in Japan, taking a chair lift to the top. We were given a tour and history lesson, then allowed to try on samurai outfits. Our guide Ruth was very knowledgeable and explained in detail the reasons the castle was designed the way it was, from materials to layout.
One of the highlights of the trip was attending and participating in the Matsuri festival. This is a yearly festival where neighborhoods compete by designing a massive, ornate shrine for the Gods, and then the chosen residents lift the shrine and bounce it around on their shoulders to appease the Gods, while chanting battle cries that I could not decipher, and the entire town watches this all happen. The shrine was so heavy, and it sat atop two enormous logs so that 40+ people could help carry it! My shoulders were bruised and sore the next day. I had a great time regardless of the next day’s pain. Did I mention the beverage of choice for the festival was beer and they gave it away for free to anyone?
Other very notable experiences were the traditional tea ceremony, held at the base of the castle grounds, shopping in the town center, visiting the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima (a very somber experience), visiting the nuclear training facility Yonden, and riding bicycles around the city and getting lost on my days off. A side note, one of the funniest interactions occurred when I was lost. I was looking for my way back home with a dead phone on one of the first days in Ehime and knew that a 7-11 was a landmark that I could find my way from. I had been wandering for an hour in the vicinity of where I should be but could not find the 7-11. Sweaty, and defeated, I saw two school-age girls walking and decided I would try to ask for help locating the 7-11. My pantomiming skills were inadequate to describe what I was looking for, my phone was dead so I could not translate an expression or show a picture, so I resorted to pen and paper. I wrote, “7-11?” very clearly on a piece of scratch paper I had in my pocket. The girls looked at each other as if they understood exactly what I wanted, took the pen, and scrawled “-4”. The answer to an arithmetic question I hadn’t realized I asked. It was perfectly and innocently hilarious, that interaction will stay with me for a long time. Defeated but thoroughly amused, I ended up finding the 7-11 after finding another passerby who spoke better English.
The friendships I made from joining the lab I joined ended up being invaluable. We invited two of the research students back to our share house and having our own party on one of the first nights. Everyone got along well with these guys from our lab, and we invited them out nearly every night out after that. In turn, they showed us around to their favorite spots in their city, ate at the best sushi and ramen spots, and played baseball at the park together. They were eager to practice their English, which was admittedly very impressive compared to my Japanese language skills. After the trip was over, I had an extra day in Matsuyama before my flight out, and one of the research students graciously allowed me to spend the night in his apartment. On this last night in Matsuyama he took me to an incredible hot spring, just outside the city. This hot spring had several pools inside, all with a different niche. Some were saltwater, some had carbon dioxide bubbling up around you, some had a track to walk laps in, one of them was colored bright green and smelled of menthol. Some were ice cold to give you a temperature shock when going between sauna and hot water. The coolest one however was one I was not expecting at all. My friend instructed me to go sit in a certain area of an unassuming pool. When I sat down, I couldn’t comprehend what was happening to me, I just knew I felt like I had lost control of my body. As it turns out I was sitting between two low voltage electrodes and a small current was running through my body, like a gentle taser. This one ended up being my favorite. It was oddly invigorating. The hot spring experience was one I will treasure forever. I hope to invite my him to Seattle in the Spring and return the favor by showing him my favorite spots here at home.
In this next section I will have some advice for anyone considering taking this trip
• Bring bug spray! And be sure to use it. The mosquitoes were relentless this time of year, and my first few days were spent wishing I had used it. I think they are attracted to Americans. At some point I had amassed nearly 20 bites on my arms and legs. And I wasn’t the only one.
• Bring some extra cash. There is so much to see and do outside the scope of the curriculum of the trip.
• If you are able, schedule some time before AND after the school portion of the trip. I spent 10 extra days on my own in Tokyo. From having never traveled before to being completely alone in a foreign land was one of the coolest experiences of my life.
• Participate in every experience the school offers during your stay. It helped give a more complete impression of Japan and left me with amazing stories to tell. Try everything! Eat a whale, buy something to eat from the store that is a complete mystery, go to the toilet museum (its in Tokyo if you do). You will likely never have an opportunity like this again so take advantage.
• Make friends if you can. Without generalizing too much, I can say in my experience that the Japanese are humble, hilarious, and generous.
• Google translate app is indispensable for communication
Spencer Smith, Early Fall 2019
