Getting a two day weekend is no longer a rule but a rare exception. Last week I had the privilege of having a holiday on sunday. My teammates decided to go out and checkout the natural beauty of Japan. On sunday morning Rajasree and Akhilesh were supposed to wait for Siddharth and me in the station at 10 but we were fast asleep even around 10 30. I woke up and went to see what Siddharth was doing, he had just woken up. Then we both spoke about getting ready at will and taking off. Right then I saw Akhilesh and Rajasree marching like they wanted to kill us. They were waiting at the station for the last one hour and we dint have a cell phone, that dint help. At last we reconciled and decided to go to Hakone at around 11 am.
We took the train to Odawara and reached there around 12 noon. From there we took another train on the Tozan line to Hakone-Yumoto. It was a nice ride. The train from Odawara to Yumoto reminded me of India(The train near Ooty on which Shahrukh danced) since it was not very fast and went through a less populated region. It was great to see nature at its best. This region was not like the Tokyo or Atsugi. It is primarily a tourist spot. Everybody comes here to see the Mount fuji, old volcanoes and hot springs. On reaching Yumoto we had a look around the station just in hope of finding a desi restaurant. But we were not that lucky. That region hardly has any foreigners. Foreigners are only tourists over there. We ate biscuits for lunch and left for a further trail.
We took the cable car till a station called Gora, where we got down and took lot of pictures. It was where the real beauty of Hakone begins. We took the ropeway from there, The ropaway stops at many spots before reaching lake Ashinko. Each stop has its own beauty. Especially the mountains emit smoke all the time. It reminds one of documentaries on national geographic channel about earthquakes. Its about the nature being extremely beautiful and devastating all at the same time.
The best part of this whole journey is the views we get to see from the train, cable car and the ropeway. This is something I saw for the first time in Japan ie. the laid back life. In Atsugi/Tokyo I saw people only rushing from home to office and back. The trains were full of people either listening to music or playing with their cellphones. In short as slaves of technology. The story was very different in Hakone.
Anyway, last stop of the ropeway was lake Ashinko which was again very beautiful and we were supposed to take a cruise from there but we were late by 10 minutes for the last cruise. We had coffee in a coffee shop on the bank of the lake. We saw some very beautiful pieces of art on the wall of the cafe. It looked the same girls photo's that were drawn everywhere but at different stages of her life. I asked the old lady who served us coffee, if its some famous personality of this country whose potraits are kept for display. Her reply was that it was her own pics when she was 12, 13, 14 etc. Now she looked close to 60. I smiled at myself and we left. Not before we thanked her in japanese and she replied to us saying "Shukriya".
We left from Lake Ashinko in a bus to Odawara station and from their we took a train back to Atsugi. We had our dinner in Bismillah and bid farewell to Akhilesh who was due to leave later that week. Overall it was great fun to see a new face of Japan before getting back to the grind on monday.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
Weekend atlast (last weekend)
It was a very long week. Each day of the week was very long. I think his is when you feel best about taking a break. I finished lots of unfinished business. The most imporant one being a much needed haircut. It was the first time in the last month since I left India.A desi gentleman, I met in the srilankan grocery guided me to a salon where he spoke to the hairdresser in japanese about how I like my hair to be cut. A salon is not the best place to experiment with a new language.
Next adventure of saturday afternoon was cooking chicken curry. To my surprise it turned out to be really nice. Almost like what Im used to eating at home. All thanks to the readymade masala mum had packed.Saturday evening was at the ebina masjid. It was a big gathering there as usual. Many new desi/paki faces. I made a new friend. His name is Faizan and even he belongs to Bangalore.
After dinner in the masjid we drove away to Yokohama about 30 minutes from Ebina. It was a casual drive. Even I tried my hand at driving on the Japanese roads. I was not that comfortable as I have only an Indian license, so dint drive on the main road.We were back in Ebina before fajr. Then, I returned home and hit the bed.
In the evening I had plans to go to Tokyo for some electronics market, which dint work out as I was catching up on my sleep. Went to Tokyo around late evening. Did my mogrib prayers in Yoyogi Uehara "Tokyo camii". It is one of the oldest mosques in Japan. Managed by turkish expats. It was a good experience.Then, I had a walk till yoyogi park. A jazz concert was on. Some of the Japanese audience of that concert guided me to the closest railway station and I returned home around 9 PM.Overall it was a much needed break and an eventful weekend. Not much to write, but the experiences were fun. For now its back to work.
Sayonaraa
Next adventure of saturday afternoon was cooking chicken curry. To my surprise it turned out to be really nice. Almost like what Im used to eating at home. All thanks to the readymade masala mum had packed.Saturday evening was at the ebina masjid. It was a big gathering there as usual. Many new desi/paki faces. I made a new friend. His name is Faizan and even he belongs to Bangalore.
After dinner in the masjid we drove away to Yokohama about 30 minutes from Ebina. It was a casual drive. Even I tried my hand at driving on the Japanese roads. I was not that comfortable as I have only an Indian license, so dint drive on the main road.We were back in Ebina before fajr. Then, I returned home and hit the bed.
In the evening I had plans to go to Tokyo for some electronics market, which dint work out as I was catching up on my sleep. Went to Tokyo around late evening. Did my mogrib prayers in Yoyogi Uehara "Tokyo camii". It is one of the oldest mosques in Japan. Managed by turkish expats. It was a good experience.Then, I had a walk till yoyogi park. A jazz concert was on. Some of the Japanese audience of that concert guided me to the closest railway station and I returned home around 9 PM.Overall it was a much needed break and an eventful weekend. Not much to write, but the experiences were fun. For now its back to work.
Sayonaraa
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Unfortunately I was not around
Feb 18th was indeed a very painful day for me and many people I know. Baba(my grandpa) passed away that day. He was a very strong and positive person. Every person in my family and extended family spread across the world has very good memories about him. He was a very knowledgable and took interest in helping everybody. We will always miss him.
I hoped I would meet him when I returned home, but thats how God willed. My sister mailed me the bad news when I was in middle of a very stressful situation at work. Thats when I felt most helpless. I wanted to be at home but couldnot help. Im in a place where not even a funeral stops the show. This was one day perhaps, I will always regret not having been in India.
Anyway, all I can do is pray for Baba's maghfirath and whoever reads my blog please join me.
I hoped I would meet him when I returned home, but thats how God willed. My sister mailed me the bad news when I was in middle of a very stressful situation at work. Thats when I felt most helpless. I wanted to be at home but couldnot help. Im in a place where not even a funeral stops the show. This was one day perhaps, I will always regret not having been in India.
Anyway, all I can do is pray for Baba's maghfirath and whoever reads my blog please join me.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Work, work and more work
This week has been the most hectic one of my life. Its sunday afternoon and Im in office went home last night at midnight. Never did I study or work so much even during my exams. We have a delivery scheduled on 29th feb and we are way behind schedule. More we test our code more defects we find and more changes we have to make. I think this is how the software industry functions. The approach is much more relaxed in India where "its human to err(ocassionally)". In Japan mistakes are a cardinal sin. So we have to test our code again and again and again before the tester has a look of it.
Having said all that, I consider myself lucky to have found a very friendly and understanding team over here. The atmosphere is professional yet fun. Last night I had my dinner in our favourite Neel Gagan at midnight with my project manager Deepak. Saw a bit of the movie Sunday there and returned home around 1 am. Best part of this country is anybody can go anywhere at anytime and feel safe. There are cops everywhere and everything is systematic. Maybe this system is a result of the workaholism that defines the Japanese.
On lighter note I think I can suggest Rajkumar Hirani to make a Munnabhai sequel (Munna san in Japan). Preaching the japanese to go a bit easier on work and have a "tension lene ka nahi tension dene ka" attitude. Even as I write, I have another defect to fix. I better get back to fixing the bugs.
Having said all that, I consider myself lucky to have found a very friendly and understanding team over here. The atmosphere is professional yet fun. Last night I had my dinner in our favourite Neel Gagan at midnight with my project manager Deepak. Saw a bit of the movie Sunday there and returned home around 1 am. Best part of this country is anybody can go anywhere at anytime and feel safe. There are cops everywhere and everything is systematic. Maybe this system is a result of the workaholism that defines the Japanese.
On lighter note I think I can suggest Rajkumar Hirani to make a Munnabhai sequel (Munna san in Japan). Preaching the japanese to go a bit easier on work and have a "tension lene ka nahi tension dene ka" attitude. Even as I write, I have another defect to fix. I better get back to fixing the bugs.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Not so eventful...
My biggest achievement last weeekend was cooking dal all by myself. On sunday it snowed like mad I could barely step out of my home. Before 10 am all the cars were under a mountain of snow. I had bought some goceries from the Srilankan store. I wanted to experiment my culinary skills. The dal was not bad. I had it with some roti's. The biggest contribution to this skill is my stay in Kolkata. My roomies were awesome in the cooking department.
Next, I plan to make some chicken curry whenever I get some time. But for now I have lots of work to complete. Even I have to prepare for my Japanese class. I have to try reading some of the basic alphabets. Its easier to learn talking than reading it. Besides, learning to read there written script (katakana/hiragana) is just the beginning. Most of the instructions on the street and elsewhere are written in the Chinese derived script which is based on pictures rather than sounds. This is a very technical topic for both me and whoever is reading my blog Im sure.
One thing I have understood in my limited experience here is that most japanese live to work. So often I have seen people come to office with there tooth brushes. Its not a surprise to see people stay overnight and most of the wash rooms are full of people brushing there teeth aroung morning 10. Fortunately I work for an Indian company with a slightly different attitude to work. But providing service to these Japanese clients has its own side effects. There work culture and sense of punctuality hits you straight on the face. But the situation is not that bad as they are very courteous and make the situation comfortable for anybody especially foreigners.
One of the following weekends I plan to go to one of the hills near Tokyo where I want to try skiing and other winter sports. The issue right now is company. It was fun when Vijay was around. I think he will be back for 10 days again in feb. I think I'll wait for another week before I make any plan.
For now its back to work. Not much to write actually. More on this blog as anything new happens.
Next, I plan to make some chicken curry whenever I get some time. But for now I have lots of work to complete. Even I have to prepare for my Japanese class. I have to try reading some of the basic alphabets. Its easier to learn talking than reading it. Besides, learning to read there written script (katakana/hiragana) is just the beginning. Most of the instructions on the street and elsewhere are written in the Chinese derived script which is based on pictures rather than sounds. This is a very technical topic for both me and whoever is reading my blog Im sure.
One thing I have understood in my limited experience here is that most japanese live to work. So often I have seen people come to office with there tooth brushes. Its not a surprise to see people stay overnight and most of the wash rooms are full of people brushing there teeth aroung morning 10. Fortunately I work for an Indian company with a slightly different attitude to work. But providing service to these Japanese clients has its own side effects. There work culture and sense of punctuality hits you straight on the face. But the situation is not that bad as they are very courteous and make the situation comfortable for anybody especially foreigners.
One of the following weekends I plan to go to one of the hills near Tokyo where I want to try skiing and other winter sports. The issue right now is company. It was fun when Vijay was around. I think he will be back for 10 days again in feb. I think I'll wait for another week before I make any plan.
For now its back to work. Not much to write actually. More on this blog as anything new happens.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Another eventful weekend
Having seen japanese office life for a week. I needed a break more than anything else. On friday night we went to Ginza in Tokyo for the Satyam new year party. It was a very nice opportunity to break ice with who's who in Satyam Japan. I left to Tokyo by train from Hon Atsugi station. I carried my teammate's cell phone and he was supposed to guide me on which train to take. His watch was probably a minute here or there and he asked me to take a train and I took the wrong train. But fortunately one going in the right direction. The Japanese accuracy can be a pain at times if you are adjusted to Indian way of planning.
Now I was in a train I dint know much about and nobody in the train spoke English. To add insult to injury the cell phone network is the weakest in the train. I was lucky enough to meet a Syrian gentleman ho spoke English to volunteer to guide me. After lot of tension I reached Ginza atlast. The party out there was all Bollywood numbers and our Japanese colleagues also shaking leg to them. One more interesting thing was eating continental suff with chopsticks. For a long time I dint spot any spoons. Actually they were placed behing everything. Anyway alls well that ends well. I learnt to use the chopsticks.
After the party Rajesh and I got back to Atsugi together on the train. It was the perfect opportunity to break ice with someone you will work with for sometime to come.
Next morning it would be my new friend Vijay's last day in Japan since he was flying back next morning. I shifted my stuff from Park inn to my new appartment in excell hieghts. We decided to go back to Tokyo. Again we decided to take the train and make plan on the move. We had a vague idea of visiting Rappongi hills since he is a veggie and thats the only place we were sure about a veg restaurant. On the train we met Moto san who also works in Nissan. He adviced us to see Rappongi hills which is the tallest tower in Tokyo. On the whole a perfect plan made on the move.
It was a lovely day spent in Rappongi hills. We saw Tokyo tower and the skyline. The best view to see Tokyo. We spent about an hour or so there and got back on the train. We had plans to go to Machida to check out some electronic stuff in the market there(Moto san adviced us to do so). To our surprise there was nothing but barber shops and restaurants in Machida. Maybe we checked out the wrong places. Then we left back to our home in Atsugi. Had our dinner in good old neel gagan and bid farewell to Vijay.
Now the mission for sunday was to wash my clothes and find a mosque aound my home. I took the train to Ebina(two stops from hon Atsugi). Then read he map I found on google. As usual I again lost my way. Relying on shadows to find directions. The lesson learnt here is that the shadows are reliable only near the equator. Then a japanese teenager guided me correctly to the mosque. Over there I met a Anis bhai. After prayers he took me out for lunch and helped me find a halal grocery and even helped me buy a calling card. He refused to let me pay any bills telling me "Aap to humare mehmaan hain". Only way I can return the favour is by praying for him.
Then I got back home by train after the mogrib prayers. I was dead tired ate some stuff I bought at the grocery and hit the bed. But the biggest anticlimax for the weekend was that all the equipment in my appartment had instructions written in Japanese. I had a tough time with everthing right from washing machine to AC. I had a tough time that night but after a lot of trial and error things are sorted. Overall the weekend was fun. Now I better get back to work. Lotsa stuff's pending.;)
PS: Since I moved out of the hotel I dont have the facility of either internet or receiving calls till I buy either a mobile or a laptop. I only have access to updating my blog from office. Im planning to get online asap;)
Now I was in a train I dint know much about and nobody in the train spoke English. To add insult to injury the cell phone network is the weakest in the train. I was lucky enough to meet a Syrian gentleman ho spoke English to volunteer to guide me. After lot of tension I reached Ginza atlast. The party out there was all Bollywood numbers and our Japanese colleagues also shaking leg to them. One more interesting thing was eating continental suff with chopsticks. For a long time I dint spot any spoons. Actually they were placed behing everything. Anyway alls well that ends well. I learnt to use the chopsticks.
After the party Rajesh and I got back to Atsugi together on the train. It was the perfect opportunity to break ice with someone you will work with for sometime to come.
Next morning it would be my new friend Vijay's last day in Japan since he was flying back next morning. I shifted my stuff from Park inn to my new appartment in excell hieghts. We decided to go back to Tokyo. Again we decided to take the train and make plan on the move. We had a vague idea of visiting Rappongi hills since he is a veggie and thats the only place we were sure about a veg restaurant. On the train we met Moto san who also works in Nissan. He adviced us to see Rappongi hills which is the tallest tower in Tokyo. On the whole a perfect plan made on the move.
It was a lovely day spent in Rappongi hills. We saw Tokyo tower and the skyline. The best view to see Tokyo. We spent about an hour or so there and got back on the train. We had plans to go to Machida to check out some electronic stuff in the market there(Moto san adviced us to do so). To our surprise there was nothing but barber shops and restaurants in Machida. Maybe we checked out the wrong places. Then we left back to our home in Atsugi. Had our dinner in good old neel gagan and bid farewell to Vijay.
Now the mission for sunday was to wash my clothes and find a mosque aound my home. I took the train to Ebina(two stops from hon Atsugi). Then read he map I found on google. As usual I again lost my way. Relying on shadows to find directions. The lesson learnt here is that the shadows are reliable only near the equator. Then a japanese teenager guided me correctly to the mosque. Over there I met a Anis bhai. After prayers he took me out for lunch and helped me find a halal grocery and even helped me buy a calling card. He refused to let me pay any bills telling me "Aap to humare mehmaan hain". Only way I can return the favour is by praying for him.
Then I got back home by train after the mogrib prayers. I was dead tired ate some stuff I bought at the grocery and hit the bed. But the biggest anticlimax for the weekend was that all the equipment in my appartment had instructions written in Japanese. I had a tough time with everthing right from washing machine to AC. I had a tough time that night but after a lot of trial and error things are sorted. Overall the weekend was fun. Now I better get back to work. Lotsa stuff's pending.;)
PS: Since I moved out of the hotel I dont have the facility of either internet or receiving calls till I buy either a mobile or a laptop. I only have access to updating my blog from office. Im planning to get online asap;)
Monday, January 21, 2008
From the office
Its four days now and I've got pretty much adjusted to this life. Typically I wake up early just around sunrise(around 6 45). Perform my morning prayers have tea and get ready. I enjoy the lovely view from my room down the road. Yesterday I saw snow for the first time in my life. It looked good. Especially around 7 in the morning when the kids are on their way to school(reminds me of my cousins Heeba/Ammar in Canada). Then I have my breakfast. Typically buns, boiled eggs, juice and coffee.
Then its time to go. I run to the Hon Atsugi station at around 8 45 and catch the bus to Nissan akusto(my office). Thats the only place where you get to see some desi's(other than one or two desi restaurants ofcourse). At the moment life in office is not that hectic. Mostly understanding a system. However, in a week the story wont be the same. I will have to take over the reins from Sudhanshu and deliver the code according to new requirements.
Today the sun has come out and we had a walk outside our office. Mount Fuji was visible from a distance. It is visible only when the sky is crystal clear, a rare occassion during the winters. Today I plan to stay till a bit longer after office hours to finish some pending stuff. I might go to Tokyo tomorrow to attend a Satyam-Japan party. Have to cover lot of ground before that.
Its bye bye for now.
Then its time to go. I run to the Hon Atsugi station at around 8 45 and catch the bus to Nissan akusto(my office). Thats the only place where you get to see some desi's(other than one or two desi restaurants ofcourse). At the moment life in office is not that hectic. Mostly understanding a system. However, in a week the story wont be the same. I will have to take over the reins from Sudhanshu and deliver the code according to new requirements.
Today the sun has come out and we had a walk outside our office. Mount Fuji was visible from a distance. It is visible only when the sky is crystal clear, a rare occassion during the winters. Today I plan to stay till a bit longer after office hours to finish some pending stuff. I might go to Tokyo tomorrow to attend a Satyam-Japan party. Have to cover lot of ground before that.
Its bye bye for now.
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