The sight of that white majestic beauty rushing towards me is something that would stay in my eyes for a long time. Having heard about the ‘bullet trains’ for a really long time of my life, it was a dream to travel in one – the Shinkansen. Divya and me rushed to the Shinkansen platform at Kyoto, since we already got the tickets from Minami Kusatsu itself. Once we boarded the train, it was a bit disappointing to see that the interiors felt no different than a Haruka. And once the train started to move, even the pace of the ‘bullet’ wasn’t felt sitting within it. (Well, that’s exactly what they highlight about the train – you don’t feel the jerks!) For an excited a tourist who’s keen to experience the speed and the pace, one has to wait till you reach the Mt. Fuji area. As the train moves around the mountain, you finally experience that the train is flying at mind-numbing pace. The vastness of the mountain was a sight to behold. Well, that is the story of how I went to Fuji!
Upon reaching Tokyo, the first thing that struck was the size of the station! When we asked for directions at the enquiry, we were given a ‘map’ of the station! Somehow, we figured the platform, got to Nakano from Tokyo, and thereafter Koenji to our accomodation – The Grapehouse Koenji! The place seemed like the best thing that could happen to us in Tokyo – an amazing dorm for women. With cosy bunk beds and a calm ambience, the place was completely worth the money, thanks to Airbnb. Freshened up, we started out to meet the only people we knew in Tokyo – fellow interns from college back home. Waiting for them at Shibuya near the iconic Hachiko statue, the crowd of Tokyo finally started settling in. And it was not as amusing as it was annoying. From the calmness of Kyoto, Tokyo felt very noisy and unsettling. I yearned to go back to Kyoto. Walking past the famous Shibuya crossing, we walked through the streets of Tokyo to the Meiji Shrine. It was beautiful, but Kyoto felt more majestic in all terms. The long queues at Serendipity for pizza and their famous ice cream, the strolls through Harajuku and finally getting back to Koenji, I grew more nostalgic about Kyoto than India. Close to our stay, we stopped at an Indian restaurant for dinner, where only I ate, as usual! Divya has better things to explore in Japanese food, after all. Tomorrow, Divya and Shruti are going to FujiQ Highland. And I have the entire day to myself to explore Tokyo! Somewhere along, an idea of getting iPad has gotten into my head. Too many reasons to be excited for tomorrow, suddenly!
The Last Straw 