JOURNEY - Japan - 11/2012

Tokyo, October 31st. 

The flight from Jakarta to Tokyo, apparently takes faster than the bus from Jakarta to my home town. My sister accompanied me to the airport, and she wasn’t even home yet when my plane arrived in Tokyo.

My colleagues picked me up (it was late at 11.15 when I arrived), so it went easy for me. The drive to the place where I’m going to live was definitely smooth. When I wrote smooth here, it referred to no (inhuman) traffic. It took less than half an hour. I received very warm welcome from the members of the house, and I was forced to remember all of their names by Yuta, the manager of the house. And I made it, and it was actually important for me as I am horrible in remembering names. T_T

I was not that tired, since I slept most of the time during the flight, so I wanted to take a look at the house and the facilities I might need in the next day. 

LBK

LBK

The next morning, Yuta took me for a walk to akihabara, a district famous for AKB48, a girl band borned in Akihabara. First impression, it actually looked like what I imagined, well because Japanese culture dominated when I grew up, I mean during middle school, before the Korean ‘wave’ came in. 

AKB

The feeling of being in a big city, but safe is weird. Indivual safety is assured here, you can walk, bike, take train, even sell your stuffs in an open store close the the big streets. It might not be strange if you come from a developed country, but in Jakarta, these things will never happen. Only cheap stuffs (or unhigienic food) will be sold in streets like this, and they will be guarded by the seller 24/7. J 

This is because the shopping experience for middle to higher class in Jakarta is provided with the assurance of comfort and safety, two public goods for the people that are not controlled by the government as the way they are supposed to be. That is why you will find a big difference, or you may say a gap between them with the lower class. Go to shopping malls, where the poor do not enter, then you will find comfort, safety and (expensive) stuffs you need.

Okay, go back to Akihabara. We found a small shushi restaurant and ate there. Does anyone believe that I never had Shushi before? :D It was actually the first time, I tried as hard as I can to eat Indonesian food everytime it is available. And I only left my country once, for two months, and it was in the US. So I eat Indonesian food for almost my entire life. 

I found myself fell for Sushi, the fish are raw, that’s why I like it! I come from a city in the seashore where fresh fish are easy to get. Even for free if you go to the harbor. And my parents are farmers, so basically my nose and tongue are designed to like fresh food (except raw egg, and raw horse meat). It was not a big shushi restaurant but it was pretty good for me. After that, we went back and I slept for the rest of the day, woke up a bit late and felt like all the tiredness of preparing this visit had been quadruppled in my whole body.

The next day, I wanted to find the way back to Akihabara, since that’s where I can get the stuffs I need. I found the station but couldn't find the store where Yuta took me. But I will go back the next day. It was an achievement to find Akihabara station anyway.

Akihabara

I had a meeting at 2 pm in Jiyugauka. This is my first time to take the train alone. I will have to take the train from Awajicho, the nearest station from where I live, get off Akasaka-Mitsuke, then take the train to Shibuya, get off at Shibuya, and take Tokyutoyoko line to Jiyugaoka. All I need to do is to open my eyes, and pay attention to the signs. Then I won't get lost. I arrived earlier, so I waited, and I sat in a street with a great view, not like a park but well managed that people can comfortably spend their time here. This area is full of shops, I didn't have enough time to look at the neighborhood areas, but it is clear to me that this is a good place for family to live because I see a lot of children in this area.

Jiyugaoka

After having an image of how to travel alone in Japan, I realize that this country doesn’t reach this state in an instant. The subway, the Shinkanzen, they still maintain the JR line very well, and it works perfectly on time,  and I believe it takes some time and effort, since one or two generations back to have all these systems that can be used right now by the current generation. It reminds me of Jakarta, where everyone is complaining about the traffic and flood (there are the other problems but these two things seemed to be the favorites). It is clear to me now that for me, at my age, I should not expect to enjoy the result of the development in my country, especially if I am committed to making this country better. The system that we have now, is the result of the chaos one or two generations back, and what I do now (or what we do now) to make our country better will be enjoyed by two or three generations after us. Complaining about the system in Jakarta is a waste of time, simply because if I complain I lose energy and time. And it is illogical. A mid-term development plan (that Indonesia has) at least takes 5 years. So I really, really, really, hope my grand, grand, grand children can have a public space, green area, safe and efficient public transportation within walking distance, comfortable pedestrian path, and personal safety in any city they live in.