Kento Masuda
October, 2025
Dubai lies within the Asian continent, forming one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Geopolitically, it belongs to the Middle East, which Japan geographically regards as West Asia.
Upon arrival, the observer is struck by a palpable sense of human determination — a collective will to transcend environmental and social limitations. Rising from the arid expanse of the Arabian desert, Dubai has, within a remarkably brief span, transformed itself into a global nexus of commerce, culture, and innovation.
I traveled by train, surrounded by many Asian passengers who, upon realizing I was Japanese, kindly offered me their seats—a gesture that reflected the remarkable courtesy and mutual respect that define the people here. The atmosphere was calm and dignified, with everyone speaking politely and behaving with quiet grace.
I was also intrigued by the station names—“Energy,” "Light," “ABCD,” and “EXPO 2020”—which, likely translated from Arabic to English, carried a unique charm that felt distinctly characteristic of Dubai. While I was taking pictures of the train route map, someone gently approached me and suggested downloading an app on my phone.
Scenes once familiar in Chicago or Tokyo’s Metropolitan Government city now find their futuristic echo here, reinterpreted on a grander, more symbolic scale. The Burj Khalifa, designed by the Chicago-based firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), stands as the most visible emblem of that vision. Constructed at an estimated cost of USD 1.5 billion, it is a feat that neither Chicago nor Tokyo could replicate within the same economic and real estate parameters today.
Beyond spectacle, Dubai’s rise reflects a deliberate national vision: to move beyond oil and build identity through architecture, finance, tourism, and culture. Here, exceeding boundaries and overcoming is not a byproduct of progress—it is the philosophy of the city itself.
Now, as Saudi Arabia prepares to surpass even the Burj Khalifa, the Gulf has become a living experiment in how architecture can express both aspiration and defiance. Dubai stands as a reminder that progress, at its core, is not born of wealth, but of imagination.