They say that the best things happen when you least expect
it. Ironically, and sadly in hind – sight, good things also come to an end. Japan
was truly an amazing experience. I wanted to go to Japan for years now, and for
various reasons – I wanted to walk amongst one of the most revered and
respected people in the world. I wanted to attend a wrestling show in the land
of professional wrestling, and I wanted to see the things which cannot be seen
anywhere else in the world. In the beginning of March, I landed in Japan, and I
did get to see all of that. I did get to watch and meet some of the best
professional wrestlers in the world, I did get to see some of the most
traditional places in the country, and I did get to experience what Japan was truly
about.
So a week before I wrapped things up, I went to Kyoto, one
of the most magical places in the world. I roamed around the city, meeting
people, getting a glimpse of the geishas and climb to the top of one of the
shrines located in the mountains, from where I could see the entire city of
Kyoto. I got to meet some of the tourists – From the US, Norway, France, Canada
and even the Japanese, exchange weird road stories and have some fun. Kyoto is
truly an amazing place, which you have to visit to understand the glitz and
glamour of. At the end of the day, I had to return, but I will always remember
the time I had walking amidst the flowers in the most perfectly orchestrated
drizzle.
Definition of breath-taking |
Things weren’t all fine in Kyoto though. Going there, I knew
I was short on cash, but I had to buy things from a place like Kyoto (And I
know everyone would agree with that). So coming back, I had about 500 yen for
the entire week, and after reaching Chigasaki, I had to get some things to eat
for the rest of the week, and they happened to be exactly a bag of fries and
solid paratha – a type of Indian bread, and I had to survive a whole week with
that. Although in the end, I have to say that I did well in surviving with what
was left, but I couldn’t have done it without Jo – san chipping in with a
wonderful send – off party for me and two other colleagues, who were going back
to Taiwan. I will undoubtedly miss Jo – san’s crazy Wednesday night bashes, and
I’m pretty sure I’ll be seeing him soon.
One last hurrah! |
The right amount of liquor, and Jo starts to dance! |
So after going through my final week, my colleagues threw a
send – off party on Friday with a traditional Japanese dinner, with me as the
center of attraction with traditional Japanese booze (Something called a ‘Warrior’),
and as I chugged down a large portion of what was left in the entire place, we
then went for karaoke where I spilled my guts out, singing and shouting, and
was then carried to my room in an inebriated state. Needless to say, I slept
for around 20 hours, and the entirety of the next day. For that, I’d like to
say “Arigato gozaimas”.
I also used to go to the beach during the midnights. It is
fascinating how something which looks so serene during the daytime looks like a
restless, vengeful beast, raging with anger and dissent in the dark. The high
tides and the forceful waves during the midnights fascinated me, and I used to
spend quite a lot of time just watching the majestic, rustic yet anger – filled
water reaching out to the sands, as if it were to swallow the majority of it. On
Monday and Tuesday, I went for shopping, to get some things for myself and
other folks back in India. On Monday, I visited one of the most interesting
places in Japan – The Robot Restaurant, and boy was it fun!
Tell me this isn't almost angelic! |
On the last day, I bought myself the Asus Transformer and an
iPhone, and finally packed my bags to leave the most beautiful country I had
ever visited. Leaving Japan left me with mixed feelings – Although I was happy
that I was going back to my home country, I couldn’t believe that two months had
just passed by like a gust of wind. I was ecstatic about eating well cooked
vegetarian food, but I wouldn’t have minded surviving on yogurt, potatoes and
chocolate in Japan even longer. Sadly, I could only choose one among the two,
and although they say there is no place like home, there isn’t any other place
like Japan either.
So here I am, back in India, where everything is hot, humid
and spicy. Although I left Japan, I also brought back a big part of the
country. Meeting all kinds of people, having fun, the good and the bad made
Japan one of the best experiences in my not – so – old life. One thing’s for
sure – This isn’t the last time I try to speak badly broken Japanese!