From Tokyo to Kyoto, the trip through the land of the rising Sun, is replete with friendly faces
BEAUTIFUL, succulent, historic, cultural, relaxing, nostalgic, profound just name it and you will find it all in Japan inter wined with a genuine and heart warming hospitality of its people.
When it comes to sight seeing, Japan has it all, museums, temples, historical places and above all modern day allegories like skyscrapers, from where you can observe the mesmerizing view of its grand cities.
Our first stay was in Tokyo which is the most exiting metropolis in Asia. Home to one quarter of all Japanese, Tokyo is where traditions from centuries past exist, side by side. Tokyo is a very busy city; it’s more chaotic, cushy and mechanical some what like Karachi. One of the main attractions of Tokyo is the Tokyo Tower. It’s a massive and mighty building, yet I found it very elegant at first glance.
I was part of a group, South Asia Youth Forum and we were provided with four guides who were very pleasant, amiable and delightful people. First we went to take a glimpse into Tokyo’s past, in the Asakusa district. The many narrow back lanes lined up with old buildings and shops sell traditional items from kimono to hand-made combs. Moreover, the Asakusa kannon temple with its colourful shopping lanes is a fabulous place to buy souvenirs. The shopping areas of Japan are the most alluring and fascinating places for tourists, despite the fact that Japan is extremely expensive, you can find a lot of 100-yen shops. Items ranging from food to articles for daily use, all are sold here. Not surprisingly, these shops were a hit in our group. The other hit was Akhiabara where you can find an amazing range of electronics on quite reasonable prices.
We also visited the Edo Tokyo museum which I found, is a must see place for tourists. The museum building has been modelled after an ancient Japanese elevated grain storage house. At its peak, it measures 62.2 meters. The museum is a spectacular place which offers an extensive series of precious, magnificent and chronological items on display.
Despite the fact that we had a short time to see all of the historical and modern places in Tokyo, thanks to our efficient guides. We visited the Diet, the famous Roppongi Hills and above all we also enjoyed an exiting ride on the cruise ship along Tokyo.
On the last day in Tokyo we paid a quick visit to Odaiba which is the man made island situated besides the Tokyo Bay, we mainly visited the famous building named Aqua City, Odaiba. In the large sphere on the roof of Fuji televisions headquarters is an observatory which offers the thrilling and exciting view of the island.
During our stay we also had an audience with the prince and Princess Akishino in their imperial residence in Tokyo which ofcoarse was a very formal affair. I was deeply inspired by the princess; she was a very charming, pretty and a very soft spoken person indeed. At the same time I was totally mesmerized by the simple, elegant and immaculate interior of the imperial residence which perfectly complemented the ambience of the residential premises, enshrouded by the dense and lush green meadows.
On the whole, if I were to describe Japan, I would label it “simple and beautiful”. Being an artist I kept a very keen eye on my surroundings and I noticed it everywhere; Japanese adhering to the idea of ‘less is more’. That’s why every thing in Japan looks so clean and elegant.
Our next stop was Hiroshima and we went there by the bullet train. This is an emblem of punctuality and to our astonishment, not even a second late, we reached Hiroshima within five hours. Once there, we stayed for a couple of days. During teh stay we visited Peace Memorial Park and the Hiroshima Peace Museum.
Visible signs of the destruction following teh atomic attack on the city by the US, are here. Once inside teh museum you get the feel that time has stopped; a timepiece with its hands on 8:15am bares the witness when the life in the city met its deadly adversity. In the park I was deeply moved to see the statue of the little girl Sadako Sasaki -who miserably died of leukemia at the age of ten - and the Japanese myth of folding cranes. However, the Hiroshima of today has been radically changed and the whole city has been resurrected.
On the second day we visited Miyajima, an island near Hiroshima, is home to the Itsukushima shrine, whose famous gate way, torii, is surrounded by the sea at high tide. The shrine is also a world heritage site.
During our stay in Hiroshima, I was fortunate enough to come across some very kind, hospitable and affectionate people who greeted me with the same aura of hospitality that is the sign of the people of Japan. People here are really hopitable and they took me to visit significant places, including the Hiroshima Art Museum where works of the famous and legendary old masters is on display. It was a real pleasure for me to actually see those works that I have only seen in art history books.
Then there is teh Hiroshima Castle where an autumn festivity was being celebrated. Needless to say, the place was brimming with people and stalls of various countries presenting assorted food delights. On the way back my host family dropped me at the bullet train station from where we departed for our final destination Kyoto.
Kyoto, unlike Tokyo, is not much chaotic and mechanical. Its world famous gardens and scenic beauty, Kyoto is a historical place and remained the capital of Japan for over a thousand years. Tehrefore there are several ancient castles and temples which are a musts for tourists. During our two days here, we visited the Nijo-castle its bewitching gardens — Ninomaru and Seiryu-en, the most celebrated site of the golden pavilion and Kiyomizu Temple where there is a long stretch of souvenirs shops where I managed to buy some Kokeshe dolls, though they are quite expensive, and other souvenirs. I noticed that in Japan the social milieu was quite comfortable in accommodating foreigners and may be that’s the reason it attracts a lot of tourists around the world. That was our last day in Japan and the same night we headed towards the Kansai airport.
As an artist I was profoundly inspired by the enriching culture of Japan and also by the way that they take pride in practicing their
h aeon and custom while adapting modern life styles, this is where past literally ,greets the future. There is a lesson for us to learn that how we can keep our traditional values intact while embracing the progressive life style of today. Personally I found Japan today is truly proof of along and remarkable history. While ending my composition I would like to share one incident that has left an enduring effect on my mind.
I lost my expensive auto zoom canon camera two days after we landed in Japan I thought I have ruined the trip. I was extremely down in the dumps then I decided to talk to the floor in charge of the hotel about the mishap but he was not able to understand any thing as English is a complete no no in Japan I was getting hopeless in communicating with him when suddenly a young man appeared like an angel from the side ways he said to me that he will communicate with him in Japanese and when I told him the problem he was very kind enough to serve as an interpreter b/w me and the other person instantly the floor in charge figured out the problem and started to dial the numbers including the number of the store I went last time. My guess was right I dropped it over there. I paid my heartiest gratitude to the guy for extending his helping hand in a desperate situation., off coarse I got the camera back but the thing which inspired me most is that I never asked for any help neither was I screaming but that gentle Japanese guy was very kind enough to anticipate my misery, This is what I saw in Japan every where and this is what I learnt.
People talk about the IT advancement of Japan, their masterly accomplishments in the field of science and technology and that they are the modern day giants of the globe but I would like to add that they are the giants and masters of human values as well.
From Tokyo to Kyoto, the trip through the land of the rising Sun, is replete with friendly faces 
