A Report on the Japan Trip by Vikrant Chandel (MSc LS AB Student)

We started our journey of learning on 10th October 2022. We went to explore Singapore during our 17 hour layover there.

These are super trees planted in Gardens by the Bay.

Environmentally Sustainable Functions of the Supertrees

Eleven of the Supertrees are embedded with environmentally sustainable functions. Some have photovoltaic cells on their canopies to harvest solar energy for lighting up the Supertrees, while others are integrated with the Conservatories and serve as air exhaust receptacles.

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We reached Tokyo on 12th October 2022, and then we traveled to Kanazawa the next day, to the Kanazawa University for orientation. In the opening ceremony, Dr. Aida Mammadova briefed about the summer training program, which is focused on UNESCO Designated Sites, mainly Biosphere Reserves which are internationally highly evaluated areas with the aim to conserve the rich ecosystem and biodiversity, and to achieve sustainable development in terms of culture, economy, and society.

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We have attended lectures at UNU-OUIK. OUIK is a unique unit that has been operated jointly by the Japanese regional governments of Ishikawa Prefecture and Kanazawa City, and the organization of the United Nations.

On 14th October 2022, we went to Shiramine village and spent 4 days in that village. Believe me, it does not look like an Indian village, It was like a small city, very well managed, and clean. We have eaten their traditional food, in other places of Japan too. The dish called tofu is soft but the tofu of Shiramine is harder than in other regions.

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We did lots of activities in Shiramine village, like climbing to the base camp of Mount Hakusan, plucking invasive species, practising weaving, cultivation of Ragi, etc.

Then we also went to Toyama, where we visited the Museum of Materia Medica at the University of Toyama. The most numerous materials kept in museums are Chinese crude drugs used in the system of traditional Chinese medicine, consisting of one-third of the total number, followed by Indian crude drugs used in the Ayurvedic system of medicine.

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