Disclaimer: machine translated by DeepL which may contain errors.
Science Fiction, Trains, and Real Life
Trains, and Real Life
Many visitors to Tokyo have considered the city to be a premonition of the future. Soaring panels of glass and silicon frame a skyline surrounded by the most Soaring panels of glass and silicon frame a skyline surrounded by the most populous metro area in the world, evoking imagery from famous works of science fi ction from the likes of Cixin Liu, Neal Stephenson, and Phillip K. Dick. But for me, there is an even more apt comparison between Japan and the worlds of science fiction than architecturenamely the train.
On my flight to Japan, I watched the movie ' Our Departures (family-family-railways-ways-),' in part about a father and son who both loved trains. The movie itself was heartwarming, but I found the fascination with trains to be a bit curious. However, over the past few years, I have come to be enamoured with the system of trains here in Japan because, quite simply, they can be a bit curious. However, over the past few years, I have come to be enamoured with the system of trains here in Japan because, quite simply, they can take you anywhere.
Public transportation is a subject of fascination for science fiction authors, with good reason. Given the immense improvements of public transportation over the last century, predicting how it may look in the future is an exciting exercise. Palmer's Terra Ignota series--- public fl ying cars that can circle the globe in a couple of hours--- or the circumorbital trams from Iain M. Banks& rsquo; Culture series rsquo; Culture series--- which by my rough estimation travel at 10 million km/ h--- science fi ction authors love to posit a future where travel is quick, effi cient and available to everybody. Lake Toya.
The central mountains are islands in the middle of the lake, while the mountain on the left is Yoteisan.
Though many countries possess effi cient train systems, what sets Japan apart is the ease with which one can go from bustling city to beatifi c countryside. Though many countries possess effi cient train systems, what sets Japan apart is the ease with which one can go from bustling city to beatifi c countryside. In the past year, I've visited Mitake-san, Hakone, Katsuura, Niseko, Rusutsu, and Lake Toya. On each excursion, I worried about whether public transportation would really bring me to and from such remote destinations, yet the train or bus always Hiking three mountains in one day with Lake Toya (Lake Toya).
Hiking three mountains in one day with Jin Beniyama. This picture was taken at the top of Otake-san. Thanks to Jin for the picture.
The ability to hop on a train at any time, and a couple hours later arrive at a picturesque mountain or beach lends a sense of freedom vastly out of proportion. This is especially poignant because though my home country, the United States, contains a plethora of scenic destinations within its signifi cantly more beautiful than Japan's physical size. The rational part of my brain knows that this can be explained by the economics of population density. The rational part of my brain knows that this can be explained by the economics of population density, but the rest of me can't help but admire the simple beauty of trains in Japan. The prompt for this article was, 'What brought you to Rigakubu?
Chris Nagele is a graduate student in the Astronomy department studying with Professor Umeda. In his free time, he enjoys sports, the outdoors, and reading science fi ction and fantasy. |
Faculty of Science News, November 2020
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