Roppongi Hills Reflection

Tokyo City Views:

How is the skyline of Tokyo changing? What do you think it will it look like in 10 years?  Is the new development making Tokyo a better or worse place to live? Why? (1/2 page)

The skyline of Tokyo is changing because as they build lots of high buildings the skyline rises. I think that in ten years Tokyo will look closer and we will not be able to see all of Tokyo from the mori building. You will also not be able to see Mt. Fuji. At night you won’t be able to see the stars. I think that the Mori building will be out of business because you will only be able to see the buildings that are near it. I think that this development could be for the better and for the worst. If Tokyo decided to us the Mori theory then the public space would have to be used for the better. For example if they used the extra space for parking lots all it would do is promote the use of cars and car pollution. But if they used the extra space for something like trees or natural space then it would make Tokyo look prettier especially from the ground. Even if they used the extra space for railways that would still be better than nothing because it is promoting train use and car use and car pollution would drop. But if they used the extra space for apartment complexes all that would do is attract people and that would create an even bigger overpopulation problem. The city would be more crowded. I think Tokyo as it is right now is already pushing the limit. So the development could be for the better or for the worst. I think that the development could make Tokyo a better or a worst place to live depending on how they develop it and for what reasons.

Da Vinci: What do you think of the intention of this exhibit? What is your personal reaction to it? What is your favorite part and why? What about his exhibit shows that Da Vinci is such a great genius? (1/2 page)

I think that the intention of the exhibit was to show people in Japan western science and western art. I think it also promotes young people to create art and invent things. This is because the interest in the arts and in the sciences is decreasing. My favorite part of the exhibit was the machine that made water ripples. It was cool to see the science of a water ripple. Also the shadow on the wall of the water ripple showed the patterns that the ripple made in the water very well. You could distinguish each ripple and it was very interesting. It was also cool to see that the patterns changed depending on how many times you pushed the red button. I think that all of his drawings and notes that they have translated into Japanese gives the Japanese people a taste of how he thought of things and how much he thought about things. For example all of the little experiments throughout the exhibit help people understand his point of view of things. My personal reaction to this exhibit was that I could not believe that this man just sat down and began thinking about things. It was simple things like water ripples and he came up with a whole science about them. Yet it took almost 500 years before this man was recognized as a real genius. It was like he was so far ahead in his time and his thoughts were so complex that no one could understand them. So they simply ignored him like their natural instincts told them. They just thought he was crazy.                                           

City Models:

Describe the most distinctive features of each of the three cities. Mention such things as parks, waterway access, skyscrapers, apparent population density and so on. Which city would be best to live in and why? (one page - one paragraph about each city and a conclusion)

Tokyo has many distinctive features. For example its population is huge. The model of Tokyo was the one with the most buildings in it. Because of the lack of space Tokyo is a very tall city. Instead of going horizontally it went vertically. This makes it the densest of all the cities. Because of the height of everything it is hard to see some distinctive features just at first glance but if you look hard enough you will see a lot of distinctive features in this city. As you look at the city your eye will wander towards the parks. This is because it is usually a mass of green surrounded by a mass of gray, for example Arisugawa Park. You eye might also wander to the patch of blue or in other words the Tokyo Bay. This is also probably because of its surroundings. You might also notice the Rainbow Bridge. It is one of the longest in the world. While you are around there your eye might notice the incredibly tall skyscrapers that are all around Tokyo. As a said before because of lack of space Tokyo uses height over space on the ground. Tokyo is all so very clean and you can tell even by the city model.

Shanghai also has many distinguishing features. But you can see them right away. First you might notice the river that crosses Shanghai. It is very big and affects life there a lot. Then as you move in closer you might notice the 3 buildings that stand alone on one side of the river. They are very tall and are quite noticeable. They are one of the tallest buildings in Shanghai. Shanghai is very spread out and you can tell that it has a smaller population than Tokyo. Shanghai has some skyscrapers but they are spread and they seem taller than the ones in Tokyo although they are probably the same size. If you look really closely you can see the highways that travel over the river and they look like a Hot Wheels track and they don’t look real. Shanghai also has pollution problems. There air there is not very clean.

In New York City the first thing you will probably notice is the Atlantic Ocean. Then you might also see the big park called Central Park. It is famous all over the world because of the famous events that take place there. New York City has a lot of space. The population in New York looks like it is big. The difference is that in New York there is a lot of space and in Japan it is all cramped up. New York City also looks dirtier than Japan. This is probably because of culture differences.

Overall I think it would really depend on who is the person who is deciding where to live and what that person wants. If that person wants a lot of space and clean air I would suggest living in New York City. If this person doesn’t mind about space but wants a healthy clean environment that has a lot of business then I would suggest to live in Tokyo. But if this person wants a lot of space and wants to live in an oriental area then I would suggest living in Shanghai. I think that each city has its own advantages and disadvantages. I think that every city is special in its own way and I think that people should really decided their own standards before deciding where they want to live.

 Art Museum:

Which photograph impressed you the most and why? (one paragraph) What was your overall impression of the exhibit? What sort of skill do you think this artist has to become a famous artist? (one paragraph)

I think that the photograph that impressed me the most was everything. It was just amazing how this photographer just took pictures of things that were almost random and then turned it into something so mysterious. It was really cool how people saw different things in the same photograph. Once Moeko and Kristie and I were just standing right next to the same photograph and yet still Kristie thought it was a vase, Moeko thought it was a pot and I thought it was a piece of wood cut out in that shape. The ability to do that is just amazing.

This exhibit was cool. It was just the sort of thing that I like because I like to just sit in front of a painting and just stare at it and see what it makes me think about. The exhibit’s surroundings were very well thought out because the white walls and white background just contrasted beautifully with the pictures. The idea of not shadow and then shadow was great. I think this artist has a skill that make his or her artwork simple yet complex and could make you just think about things for a while. It also had this quality where anyone can call it anything they want and where people can just call it whatever they want and people will call it many different names. It is simple on purpose just to get you thinking about other things that you think are related to this picture.