Expo Grandma's journey of discovery
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Tomiyo Yamada and her family looked surprisingly full of life after a full morning visiting the Shanghai Expo Park. That's not unusual except when one considers that the 62-year-old Japanese woman and her family have been touring the Expo at full tilt since it opened. As of June 7, Yamada – fondly dubbed "the Expo Grandma" – and her family had been to the Expo 38 consecutive days and visited 373 pavilions or exhibits.
Yamada's husband said they had bought tickets for all 184 days of the Expo run and the family plans to experience every aspect of the exposition.
As a housewife from the city of Seto, Japan, Yamada battled illness to set a new attendance record at the 2005 Aichi World Expo by visiting it 243 times. Now she has moved her family to Shanghai to complete another "full attendance" record.
Yamada went to her first World Expo in Osaka in 1970, which left a deep impression on her. Her family bought tickets for the Expo and began visiting it regularly. They first went to the world's fair every day simply to make the best use of their tickets. However, soon Yamada began to discover the joy and fun of touring the Expo.
"One visit to the Expo is not enough at all. The more I visit, the deeper my understanding gets. I can communicate with people from all over the world within that limited area and get to know much more about other parts of the world," Yamada said. She said that a display of a model of woolly mammoth teeth attracted the interest of many Japanese visitors. Since the species supposedly died out because of the deterioration of the environment, visitors were able to understand the importance of environmental protection after contemplating the sad demise of the gigantic beast.
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| A woman of the Miao nationality puts a traditional headpiece on Tomiyo Yamada at the Expo Park May 1.[Xinhua] |
Yamada was not in a good health as the Aichi World Expo began. However, the daily travel between the Expo and her home strengthened her and she got healthier. "My health has never been very good and I have had five major surgeries in the past. However, after I attended the Aichi Expo, my physical condition improved. I decided to continue my journey – this time in Shanghai." Both her son and husband showed full support for her Expo visits. The benefits related to gaining knowledge and getting exercise are what inspire her to persist with visiting the Expo.
As the curtain closed on the Aichi Expo her eyes fell on Shanghai. She had visited the China Pavilion during the Aichi Expo, which led to her great interest in China. Thanks to her reputation, Yamada was invited to be a tourism ambassador for the Shanghai Expo when its promotional activities were held in Japan. She also became the first Shanghai World Expo ticket holder in Japan.
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| Tomiyo Yamada presents a gift to her old friend, the head of the Kazakhstan Pavilion.[Xinhua] |
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