NOT IF, BUT WHEN

WE’RE

By Tak Sato

You may think no technology today could surprise a self-proclaimed geek like me. Yet I’m still amazed at how technology commodities like smartphones, tablets and computers access the digital world.

My wife and I travel to our families overseas about every two years. We used to be surprised by how much our parents had aged between trips. This time, even with the pandemic extending the hiatus to four years, that hasn’t happened because we’ve seen them almost daily through video chats.

I'll be back in Cleveland by the time you read this Tech Talk column. I edited it in Japan on a Chromebook tablet to access a draft of the column that lives in Google Drive, my storage space in the cloud (internet).

The tablet is a $175 closeout that sold for $499 in early 2022. That and my smartphone were the only technology I took to Japan. I can work from anywhere in the world and also have my wife — my sounding board and critic — comment on my draft from Cleveland. She used her iPhone or Windows laptop to see it.

Many Japanese don’t have or need a driver's license because public transportation is reliable and accessible. A train scheduled for 8:07 a.m. will not come at 8:06 a.m. or 8:08 a.m. It comes at 8:07 a.m., as predictable as a sunrise.

I’ve been walking more than riding the buses and trains, racking up about 12,000 steps daily. (I’ve enjoyed Mom’s cooking so I haven’t lost weight.) Since I grew up in Japan, I still know my way around here… or I thought I did. On a shopping trip to Yokohama station, with at least two dozen train tracks, bus lines and a sprawling shopping complex, I streamed my free Spotify playlist and started walking. Minutes into my exploration, I was lost. I turned to Google

Maps. In Cleveland, the mode of transportation is set to Car, but in Japan I switched it to Walk and entered the destination, tapping the Start button to find my way. I turned on the Live View feature and followed a map augmented by real-time video images captured by the camera on my phone.

These examples of technology confirm the sense of urgency I had in 2015: that digital literacy is a vital 21stCentury skill. That’s why my wife and I started the Center for Aging in the Digital World to empower older adults. Here are other ways I used technology on my trip: Before arriving in Japan, the country’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs required me to upload my vaccination records and other information through their secure website. When everything checked out, I was issued a QR code for my smartphone that I showed the immigration officer when I arrived at Tokyo (Narita) International Airport. My luggage tag had a barcode that was scanned when it was loaded onto the plane. I used the airline app to track my bags so I knew that they got on the same plane I did.

This real-world/digital-world blending will continue and only grow, whether to minimize the spread of a virus, promote efficiency or save money. Don’t get left behind.

I used Google maps Live View mode while walking in Japan.

I used the airline's app on my smartphone (in airplane mode) to get the warmand-fuzzy feeling that my baggage wasn’t AWOL.