It's exhibition time again. Not, this time around, in Switzerland's lake region but in the economically important district of Aichi in Japan (1). Here, right next door to Toyota City, nations of the world will be coming together over the next six months.

The World Expo 2005 presents its cold side at the beginning of my visit on this Friday. Time and again, the freezing temperature and flurries of snow drive the receptionists back into the protection of the warmer pavilions. What is striking about the latter is that they are far less colourful than such things usually are. But what really catches the eye is a huge pedestrian zone on supports, called the "Global Loop“. It serves as the central boulevard , connecting the individual pavilions. The pavilions are all packed in simple wooden industry halls that can be dismantled. The idea behind this is that the Japanese organisers wanted to prevent countries from trying to out-do one another with ostentatious outer façades. Of course, inside it's a different matter. At least the amount of available electric power has been limited in order to do justice to the ecological message of the Expo's main theme: "Nature’s Wisdom“. Apparently, this caused big problems for some countries.

Switzerland is also present at this year's World Exhibition in Japan. large

Into the mountain armed with an army flashlight

The exhibitors in the Swiss pavilion tell me that this had not posed any problems for them. On entering the visitor is confronted with an artificial mountainous world made of wood and paper. What? No hi-tech? Not quite, I realise. At the start of the tour each visitor receives a Swiss army flashlight. According to the instructions that come with it one should shine the torch on the exhibits while holding the khaki-coloured tin can to one's ear (2). Right, let's go for it!

Inside the mountain inside the Swiss pavilion visitors encounter air bubbles containing various exhibits. large

In a simulated trip through a railway tunnel I dive into the Swiss mountains in Japan and am standing in front of the first of four air bubbles, which structure the mountain inside. I can see videotapes by Pipilotti Rist behind a transparent plastic foil and tourist signposts from bygone days. In another corner I detect the hull of the racing yacht Alinghi and Albert Einstein's Swiss passport.

Photo opportunity in front of the artificial panorama of Switzerland at the World Exhibition in Japan. (Picture: Odilo Schoch) large

Moving the beam of my torch towards a man-size statue, I recognise the reconstructed Buddha statue from the ETH Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry, a project from Professor Armin Grün. My tin can promptly provides me with the fitting description. It would be fun to listen to the details in Japanese but I prefer the–for me, at least–more informative English version.

Pleased, and interpreting it as great praise for the Swiss, I observe the positive reactions shown by the–mostly Japanese–visitors. They stay in the mountain for 10 to 20 minutes. In some of the other national pavilions the average visitor stays only a few minutes.

Posing in front of the artificial panorama

A white spiral staircase leads out of the Swiss "underground". I reach an artificial alpine viewing platform. It's amusing to see that this seems to be a favourite spot for visitors to pose and photograph one another against the backdrop of an imaginary mountain range. Descending from the wooden mountain I find souvenirs in red and white, on offer as well as Ricola bonbons. The panorama window of the restaurant, "Alpenrose“, looks out onto the mountain. With prices at Swiss levels, one dines here as well as in the Helvetian homeland. Clearly, this part of the Swiss pavilion aims to attract the wealthy Japanese visitors. On the whole, though, the presentation is pleasingly informative–with regard, too, to Switzerland as a country of science and research–and packed in an entertaining manner; a successful and subtle combination.

Robot nation Japan

The Japanese interpretation of the Expo's theme, "Nature’s Wisdom“, has its own distinct character. This is manifest, for instance, in an illustrious collection of technological innovations, amongst other things, driverless buses for public transport and robots that can clean, as well as children's games. These were not just on display but could also be tried out. With the patience of an angel a flashing toy robot manages to teach me two Japanese words.

The writer greeting a robot in the host country's pavilion. large

Companies like Toyota and Hitachi have their own pavilions. Using PDAs with fuel cells and a perfect "Augmented Reality" installation dealing with endangered animals, the latter demonstrates technology of the future to get your hands on. As some of the Japanese researchers are actually present, I can also connect at an academic level. Fujitsu Labs seem to be very interested in the computer integrated building concepts being carried out at CAAD at ETH Zurich (3). Let's wait and see what comes of these first contacts.

Overall, at the end of my visit, I can say that the trip was worth it: despite the bitter cold the World Exhibition 2005 was a pleasing experience.