Life Onboard LAST UPDATE  November 16, 2006
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October 9, 2006 Healing the Environment by Slowing Down – Atsushi Yoshioka
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(Right to left) Kazuo Yoshioka, Allen Nelson, Norio Kaifu and Rika Watanabe (staff) discuss Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution
Mr. Atsushi Yoshioka came onboard the 54th voyage from Acapulco, Mexico until San Francisco, USA. He held a series of lectures to introduce World Heritage sites to the audience. There are four categories that make these places World Heritage. 1. Cultural Sites 2. Industrial Sites (for example “Iron Bridge” in England, the first bridge made of metal) 3. Negative legacy - Places that symbolize humanity’s atrocities (for example, Auschwitz). 4. Natural landscapes (the coexistence of nature and humans).
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His first presentation was on Yakushima, a southern Japanese island famous for its ancient cedar trees. On Yakushima is one tree in particular that attracts 3,000 people every year during the Golden Week holiday, the “Jomonsugi”. Dating back about 7,200 years, it is part of the reason that Yakushima has become a World Heritage site.

Mr. Yoshioka worked with UNESCO for 30 years and now works with NHK (the national broadcasting station of Japan) on this project of introducing Japanese people to the importance of the World Heritage sites. His main work now revolves around Café Slow in Tokyo, which he has been running for six years.

Café Slow is working to educate people about how to have less of a negative impact on the environment. The food is organic, and the Café sells a variety of fair trade goods. The interior of the Café is made of natural materials, mostly straw bale. It provides information about other organizations and about sustainable lifestyle. They hold regular seminars, workshops, and hold events that celebrate conscious music and art. You can visit their website at www.cafeslow.com (in Japanese).