This was my first trip to Japan and I was a little apprehensive, especially about the language as many well wishers had warned that English wouldn't work there very much. Anyway, my enthusiasm was too overwhelming to leave any scope for worries or apprehensions. The ticketing and visa was not a problem as I received a personal invitation signed by the Mayor of Sapporo city. The invitation, written in Japanese, was more like a piece of art and that's why I have treasured it till date.
I left Delhi for Sapporo on 27th July by Japan Airlines. It wasn't a direct flight to Sapporo; I had to take another domestic flight from Tokyo's Haneda airport. Even my baggage wasn't booked for Sapporo directly. My travel agent had informed that I had to reclaim my baggage at Tokyo's Narita International airport and then proceed to Haneda, which was approximately 0ne hour bus-ride away from there. As I was travelling alone, I was a little anxious and could actually feel butterflies fluttering in my stomach!
I arrived at Narita International airport in the morning (28 July) around 9.30 am. After reclaiming my baggage, I went straight to the enquiry counter. My homework for the trip had shown that I would find all the help there. Since I had a lot of time at my disposal, they suggested two options: I could either take the train or the bus to Haneda. I preferred the one hour bus ride as I wanted to see Tokyo city at a leisurely speed as compared to the train. It cost me only 3,000 yen. The first thing that struck me about the Narita airport was that everything was precisely organised; there was no scope for any kind of confusion.
The weather at Tokyo was the same as that of Delhi. My bus ride was fantastic and provided a good view of the city and its suburbs as we passed from one district to another. I looked out of the window most of the time. Tokyo didn't look any different from other metropolitan cities. But the small towns on the way were amazing with beautiful and small residential buildings surrounded by little gardens. The traditional ones looked awsome, just out of this world! And strangely, none of them looked discoloured or worn out as if they had been recently whitewashed.
Finally the bus stopped at Haneda airport and I followed my co-passengers to the departure terminal. Here again, the information counter did the trick and I had a trouble free check in and security check. To while away the waiting time, I just moved around the departure lounge and relaxed preparing myself for the rather short journey to Sapporo.
Sapporo is the favourite holiday destination for the Japanese and because it was the Spring Season, so I could see a number of Japanese families heading towards it. Most of them were young couples with two kids (yes, not any more or less!). The babies looked almost like dolls! I had a good time watching them playing, laughing, crying, tugging at their parents' dresses and being stubborn or just refusing to move from one place!
They kept me engaged for a long time and soon it was time to board the plane for Sapporo. Looking out of the window, I spotted a very strange kind of airplane. It was bright yellow with Pokemon characters painted all over its body. I could see Pikachu on the side facing my plane! It seemed as if it was taking off for Pokemon land. This was really surprising and made me wonder... are the grown ups also as obsessed with these characters as the kids! Imagine... a Pokemon plane!
So, enough for the journey! My next blog in this series will take up some serious issues around understanding the "commons" concept and its various manifestations.
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