Tokyo Again

Visited Tokyo again after 2 years. End of spring, means the weather was pleasant. Having experienced hong kong a little bit, had a little different perspective. Was not sure what to expect while visiting the city 10 after my first encounter with her.

Was good to catch up with colleagues , but time was limited. Stayed with my cousin at Funabori after the official trip was over. Went to Hitachi national park in a rented car over a weekend with his colleagues. Was a fun road trip-my first time in Japan.

Throughout the trip, I realized how the world has come closer in 10 years. With the penetration of Whatsapp and 3g/4g, making a call home or getting one from home was no different than a local call. With apps like AIR news and wynk, the Indian contents were available throughout.

Tokyo has started preparing big time for the 2020 Olympics. Push for English is evident. I was pleasantly surprised when a girl handing out BigEcho pamplates helped me with an address in perfect English. On a couple of occasions, when people realized the sorry level of my Nihongo, they pulled up a translation app to talk - now everybody owns a smartphone!  Restaurants had English menu cards, special options for vegetarians and explanation of contents.

I could explore Tokyo for a week. Met a friend for lunch around Kagurazaka. Came across a jinja while strolling and realized that I had visited the same one during my stay a few years back. Deja vu! Went to the Waseda University-good campus. Caught the only tram in Tokyo from Waseda to the last station Minowa. Was a fun ride on the Arakawa sen. The Minowa area has a local market. A lot of cemeteries in the area indicate how old it must be.

Searching for the Sakura and onsen experience, went to Takaragawa onsen. Travelled by local trains and buses. Tick off travel by shonan shinjuku line. There was rain, a little snow, no crowd as it was a weekday- a memorable trip. My earlier visit to Minakami a few years back was for rafting.

Caught up with old friends over beer and pizza. Visited shinagawa, ebisu, shibuya, roppongi, akihabara etc. Visited denenchofu , but the bungalows failed to impress me this time. Perhaps the Pune scene of Mahatma society, Abhimanshri, Ideal colony, Prabhat road is now irreplaceable in my mind.

Could not visit Meguro, any gardens and could not walk much around the city. I still feel the city is my home away from home. Don't know why the last 2 lines of the below poem came to mind quite a few times..

आणीबाणी

अशा काही रात्री गेल्या ज्यांत काळवंडलो असतो
अशा काही वेळा आल्या होतो तसे उरलो नसतो

वादळ असे भरून आले तारू अडकणार होते
लाटा अशा घेरत होत्या काही सावरणार नव्हते

हरपून जावे भलतीकडेच इतके उरले नव्हते भान
करपून गेलो असतो इतके पेटून आले होते रान

असे घडत होते डाव सारा खेळ उधळून द्यावा
विरस असे झाले होते जीव पुरा विटून जावा

कसे निभावून गेलो कळत नाही, कळले नव्हते
तसे काही जवळ नव्हते - नुसते हाती हात होते!

कवि अनिल