Note originally written in Dec 2015
Thinking back to what I’ve done
since arriving here…Arrived in Osaka, staying in a capsule hotel in
Americamura, explored the shopping walk from Dotobori, through Shinsaibashi to
Namba. If only I had a bigger budget, I could actually consider buying other
things besides food and certain luxuries.
On walking across the mentioned
towns, I encountered a people that only serve to sway the hardest of hearts to
tenderness. Their culture fosters being - open, inviting, friendly,
intelligent, animated, disciplined, humorous, hardworking and a zestful
willingness to serve. Their women, among the most beautiful in the world. While
sights and sounds helped with the desolation, worsened by the emotional drama
underlying it all, it took a lot more than a massage, lots of food, a night out
with a new acquaintance (Joe, economist from LA) watching the Neon Indian play
at Conpass and a few days of walking with little appreciation to realise where
I was.
This was a land like none other I
had encountered. Where people queue up in line at the train doors. Where people
actually give you way to walk ahead and bow when you offer someone a place, be
it a queue at the subway, the traffic lights, entering a shop etc. The minute
the clock strikes early hours (as early as 5.30am), everyone is all ready to
go, thousands of people rushing in every direction, all looking sharp and
cheerful, unlike the frowns among those that are walking around during the
early hours at Melbourne . No, these are not a complacent bunch. They struggle
with a smile. Throughout my 2 weeks here, not one has attempted to con me into
doing them a favour. In fact, even at places such as Arcades, where college
kids smoke and drink, through late hours of the night, along with other members
of the public, a place where one would expect things to disappear by the
minute, I managed to find my phone waiting at the customer service desk. This
is in stark contrast to my experiences
in China where things went “missing” all the time, among travellers I had come
across.
One of the highlights of the
journey has been the peculiar bathing ritual.
That naked bathing ritual that is kinda liberating and uplifting.
Starting from the hot pool where one loosens up, the sauna where one gets all
roasty, then dipping into a cold pool and finally the highlight of sitting in
front of mirrors on these tiny stools, within a row of other male guests, each
looking in the mirror, and bathing. This was both awkward but liberating I must
say haha. Personally, I believe it requires multitasking as one tries to avoid
eye contact whilst not ‘dropping the soap’, and simultaneously trying to focus
on the FIFA game. Its difficult to avoid the comparison of footballs on tv, while
a whole different kind of balls are being juggled within the vicinity. The funniest part was perhaps when one
accidentally sees a buff dude come out of the cold pool and one thinks ‘bahaha,
must’ve been really cold’. But hmm…you then dress up in a kimono, which
needless to mention (but I still will), lets everything hang loose. In the end,
you come out feeling like a crab, that’s been boiled, grilled, dipped in soup,
and then wrapped in seaweed.
While in Tokyo, I was able to get lost within
the crowds, making the world I know and am known to disappear into the abyss. Without
doubt, it is one of the most peculiar places, be it the maid cafes at Akihabara
- where an articial niche for anime lovers, and at times (but not always)
perverts, is created; or the 7 storey high pornographic stores, the robot cafes
(which I haven’t been able to visit), machines that sell used knickers (did not
see them myself), cuddle cafes, vending machines for soft drinks at random
intersections and on inner streets (that don’t get robbed), planet sega
enterprises (that allow avid gamers declare wrath on their opponents within
games that feature astonishing graphics)- there is something to keep one’s mind
entertained for hours. There is however something deeply disturbing about all
this, especially when one thinks about the emptiness of such a state of having
attempted to create a 7 floor enterprise for pornography, and other means of
attempting to satisfy certain aspects of the conventional relationship- namely
sex and (to an extent) bonding/companionship. One can see the emptiness of this
state especially if one goes to the top most level of some of these shops,
where you see men staring into the Tokyo skyline, with a book or two in their
hands, some having fallen asleep, some looking emotionally numb or craving companionship. Its not a great
surprise as to the resulting population decline expected for Japan, a place
where men and women do not see the need for marriage and family, when one can
(attempt to) fulfil what’s lacking, with hedonistic pleasures…
If there’s one thing I particularly enjoyed,
in addition to the amazing food, has been (what I like to call) soup cafes,
where all one does is order exquisite soups and watch the world go by. My trip
to Tokyo comprised catching the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Shin-Osaka to
Yokohama, going to Sagamihara, where I first visited Ashvian and stayed at his
place for a night as we reflected on yesteryear. The next day, comprised going
to Kinshicho, staying at a Capsule Inn. This was by far the best base I could
have asked for, to explore cities of the Tokyo district.
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