Remembering my one year in Japan

Date	Location	Highlight
11-Feb-06	Yokohama Seaside	Harbour front and Yokohama Bay bridge
12-Feb-06	Landmark tower	Tallest Building in Japan and the world’s fastest lift
11-Mar-06	Kamakura – Engakuji, Trekking, Daibutsu and Yuigahama beach	Erstwhile capital of Japan 1000 years ago – Pre spring visit
18-Mar-06	Akihabhara – Electric Town, electronics shopping	Electronics and gadget town, the capital of Manga culture
21-Mar-06	Yokohama MM21	New town in Yokohama, jus 4 years old
25-Mar-06	Odaiba & Tokyo bay	The showcase of Japan, state of the art centers.
1-Apr-06	Sankein garden	Cherry blossoms in this ancient Japanese garden built by silk merchants
9-Apr-06	Hinnedecho	Cherry blossoms along the river in Motomachi, the Old town of Yokohama
30-Apr-06	Fuji Yoshida, Kawaguchiko, Mt.Fuji 5th station	2305m above sea level – climbed about two-thirds of Mt.Fuji – First time in snow
3-May-06	Hakone, Gotemba	Hill resort in the south of Fuji-san, Coniferous forests
6-May-06	Nikko, Lake Chuzenji, Kegon falls	Tokugawa shogunate world heritage temples and hill station
24-Jun-06	Asakusa, Ueno	Tokyo Downtown and the oldest temple in Tokyo
29-Jul-06	Beach and Enoshima island	Summer trip to the island dedicated to hai-ku poets
12-Aug-06	Kawasaki Daishi	A huge, serene temple in the outskirts of Kawasaki; A great getaway
26-Aug-06	Sambha festival – Asakusa	Brazilian dance festival – A treat for the eyes
10-Sep-06	Okusawa	Snake dragon festival for one whole day – A very different experience
16-Sep-06	Kamakura – Yabusame	The Samurai horse-back archery performance in the Tsurugamine Hachimangu shrine
23-Sep-06	Shinjuku, Harajuku & Tokyo tower	Metropolitan building, Meiji jingo and Yoyogi koen
7-Oct-06	Utsunomiya *shinkansen	A quiet sleeping town which is surprisingly a prefecture capital; a visit to university life in JP
15-Oct-06	Nippori, Yanaka, Nezu	Edo shitamachi – Unique experience of the past
29-Oct-06	Nishizawa Valley - autumn	A 5 hr trek during autumn to a 5 stepped waterfall
4-Nov-06	Imperial Palace, Chiyoda-ku	The home of the imperial family
12-Nov-06	Chinese garden, Singapore	Chinese temples and a serene garden with a river in-between
18-Nov-06	Sentosa Island, Singapore	A holiday resort in Singapore
19-Nov-06	City hall area and Merilion	Imperial days of Singapore
26-Nov-06	Sungei wetland reserve	A glimpse of the wild equatorial forests
2-Dec-06	Singapore expo, Buddhist temple and sivan kovil	Everyday Singapore
16-Dec-06	Kamakura – Benterai zenten, Dai butsu, Hase dara, Yuigahama beach and festival in Tsurugamine hachimangu shrine	Late Autumn visit to the town that is very much mine
23-Dec-06	Jike Furusato mura – Good old country village	A village with rice fields, thatched roof shops and vegetable farming
31-Dec-06	Minobu-san	The site of Nichiren Buddhist sect, 1200m above sea level
7-Jan-07	Skiing – Minakami / Mt.Tenjindaira	Gunma ken and all snow – Less than zero and a great snow storm experience
15-Jan-07	Utsunomiya – Pongal celebrations	Two days at my friend’s place

Nagz

5 minutes in post office

Small things make a big difference. Thats what I felt when I was returning from the post office in Tsurumi. It makes a very huge difference on how you are treated in the public and the social

respect that a citizen enjoys in his country. The public service industry especially those run by the govenment are notorious for treating the people in the most awkward way. This practice prevails

all over the world, no doubt in various proportions.
I remember an Akira Kurosawa movie of the 1950s, where in a group of common people are thrown over from the health dept to the sanitary dept to the public service dept to water works dept to

the roadways dept in a government office when they go there to report a leaking drainage leading to mosquitoes and filthy smell.
But, Japan has changed a lot since the 50s, people are respected everywhere, greeted with a "Irrashaimashe" while entering and a hearty bow with an "Arigato gozaimashita" when we leave.

I had been to the post office to send a CD to my friend in Tochigi-ken. As always, I did not take any precaution to protect the CD from damage. I had just put it in a CD case and took the

envelope with great confidence on the Japanese postal service that they would handle so nicely not to break my CD. The postal office clerk, read the destination address and confirmed if it is

Tochigi-ken and entered it to the console attached to the weighing machine. She asked me to pay 140 yen after weighing the envelope and stuck the stamp by herself. Then, she told thank you. To

be sure again, I enquired

"There is a CD inside, is that OK?"

"Should be OK, is there a CD case inside?"

I nodded and she told me that it would be better if we wrap it
with a cushion cover and then on her own, she rushed in to get a packiing cushion of the right size.
Back to the counter, she came along with tapes and scisssors.

In a minute, the envelope was opened again, CD wrapped up and packed back in perfection.

I thought, it was over but not at all. She weighed the cover back to check if its was 140 yen still.
The process over and we were greeted with a bow again - "Arigato gozaimashtha"

This incident is very usual in Japan but new to people like me.

People can go to such an extent of calling you a 'sama' (meaning emporer the highest position in the Japanese traditional hierarchy) as is the case when you visit a bank.
Getting used to this luxury, of being treated as an emperor everywhere, I was feeling awkward when I was in India for a week. The customer (or the okiyaku-sama) is the king in these developed

countries. India will also soon be following as there is lot of awareness in the past years. Hope this will follow once the purchasing capability of an average Indian increases.

Nagz