Lost in Tokyo. And guess what I found.

After the late Saturday night at the karaoke bar, I wake up only close to noon on Sunday.
As I wake up, it hits me that most of my shopping is still pending. I need to visit the
electronics shop at Shinjuku (Yodobashi camera) to check out DVD-handycams.

Usually, I would just take the Hilton shuttle that operates every few minutes (depending
on the time of the day) between the hotel and Shinjuku station. However, the next shuttle
is some 15 minutes away. I reckon that it would be faster to walk to the metro station and
catch the metro to Shinjuku.

I reach Shinjuku, and walk out towards what I think is the exit. Given the underground
maze that Tokyo is, I come up to level ground and look around to find that it is a placeI
have never seen before. Yes, for all I know, I could have been in Dublin.

I assure myself that if I walk around a bit, I will come across a landmark that I have seen
before and will be able to find my way to Yodobashi. But no. I have been walking for atleast
an hour and 2-3 kms without seeing anything that I even faintly recollect to be associated
with Shinjuku.

Slowly, discouragement starts setting in. Ofcourse, I know that I have 2 last options. I could
just look for a Metro sign, which is almost all over the place, go down and catch a Metro to the station near the hotel. Or hail a taxi and get to the Hilton. Ofcourse, taxi being a costly option
in Tokyo, will be only the last resort.

I have difficulty admitting I am lost (common human male behaviour all over the world) and decide to give it another try before hitting the Metro. I turn a corner and this is what I see.



The Indian tricolor waving in the Tokyo breeze.

There is a rush of emotions - surprise at seeing our flag in Japan, a sudden thought of home
and overall a happy feeling. Can't resist taking a snap. I see that there is an Indian restaurant
in that building and most probably the flag is there because of them. I guess, more to attract Indian patrons than for patriotism.

Anyway, I turn the corner and still the place is as unfamiliar as it was an hour ago. Finally, I convince myself to ask for directions and after checking with a few people, I succeed in getting directions to Yodobashi, from where it is easy.

It seems, instead of taking the West exit out of the metro, I took the East exit, which resulted
in my getting lost. Hopefully I will get it right the next time, though I won't bet on it, given the maze that the Tokyo underground is.

Another Karaoke night.

Finally after 3 weeks here, I got to visit the karaoke bar last Saturday night. Since I have
been there only once during my previous visit and do not seem to remember the way, I get directions to the Champion karaoke from friends.

I follow the directions, which could not be any more precise. Turn left out of the Hilton,
walk to Nishi-Shinjuku metro station, cross the main road, turn right and keep walking till
you pass a Mister Donut, turn left, walk a block and you are there.

However, by mistake, I take the left just in front of the Mister Donut, instead of the left
after passing it. I am assuming that walking a block would lead me to the bar.The time is
11PM and the whole place is swarming with people. It is as if it is daytime, such are the
crowds of people, mainly young guys and girls.

I walk through the crowds on the street. A pretty good-looking Japanese girl (actually most
Japanese girls look cute and doll-like) is standing on the pavement. As I near her, she smiles
and the following conversation takes place between us.

Girl : Hi.
Me : Hi. Do we know each other ?

Girl : Would you like a massage ?
Me : Massage ? No thank you.

Girl : A massage and much more. Only 10000 Yen.
Me : Sorry. I am not interested.

I move on. There are guys sitting on the pavement railings. One of them jumps in front of me.

Guy : Hi. You need nice Japanese girls ?
Me : What ? Sorry, I am not looking for that.

Guy : It's very cheap.
Me : Doesn't matter. Not interested, Thanks.

He must have seen me talking with that girl and assumed that I might be a potential customer.

From there on, it is all about fending off these guys, who are soliciting customers. It's all done
in the open, with no fear of the law. Maybe it is not illegal here, who knows. Anyway, while trying to avoid these people, I walk more than a block, but do not see the Champion bar.

So, I cross the road (to avoid walking through the soliciting crowd again) and walk back
towards Mr.Donuts. I am halfway across a small street, when a black guy comes over.
I had seen him last time I was here and know that he also is looking for customers for his
club (an euphemism for brothels).

Actually, I had taken a snap of him then. See attached photo - a little blurred though.



I try to avoid his outstretched hands and try to walk past with a smile. But he would not
have it that way.

Guy : Hi, man. What's up ?
Me : Nothing, man. Just looking for a karaoke bar.

Guy : Man, you can atleast give a handshake. Nothing wrong in that, right ?
Me : Okay. And we shake hands.

Guy : Where are you from, man ?
Me : India.

Guy : India ? Cool man, we play cricket with you guys.
Me : Yeah, man. The West Indies are a pretty good team.

Note : Actually I care zilch about cricket, given the kind of guys we have for our cricketers,
who care two hoots for the country. All they care for is the endorsements coming their way.

More shakehands due to this cricket thing.

Guy : OK, let me tell you. You can have a real nice time. And very cheap too.
Me : Sorry, man. I am not looking for that.

Guy : Are you sure, man ? I can get the best girls and won't cost you much.
Me : No, man. I am meeting some friends at a karaoke bar, but can't seem to find the place.
Do you know where the Champion's bar is ?

Guy : Champions bar ? Its over there.
Me : Thanks a lot, man.

We were actually standing and talking a few metres from the bar.

I am relieved to get inside the bar, where it is business as usual. A mostly white crowd with
a few Japanese girls and a really drunk young Japanese guy. Get myself a beer and just stand watching the action. Many English songs are being sung by the crowd, but I don't seem to
know or have even heard them before. Then a guy sings a Japanese song, followed by a girl
who again opts for a Japanese song.

They used to have a couple of chairs around a round table, at one end of the bar. While the
table is still there, the chairs are not available. So, unlike last time, I have to stand. After
some time, I lean against the wall. A white guy, who has been singing for some time, takes
his drink and comes over to the round table.

Guy : Hi man, are you the bouncer ?
Me : What was that again ?

Guy : I mean, are you the bouncer of this club ? Asking because you have been standing at
the corner watching all the action.
Me : No, man. I am just here for a few beers and to hear some good karaoke.

Guy : Oh, sorry, my mistake.
Me : Thats fine.

Guy : So where are you from ?
Me : India.

Guy : India ? Cool. I grew up in Trinidad and had lots of Indian friends. Many of them are in Bangalore.
Me : That's cool.

Guy : Yeah. I attended an Indian wedding once - my first one. No one told me that they do
not serve liquor at Indian weddings. So anyone that drinks (which is, most of the guests)
goes out, has a drink and comes back. It was funny. And man, no one also told me that it
goes on for 8 hours.
Me : Yeah, Indian weddings can be long. Infact some communities have it spread over 2-3 days.

Guy : 2-3 days ? Thats amazing. BTW, how do you like Tokyo ?
Me : Nice and safe place. Like it.

Guy : Yeah, the safest place I have ever been to. I sometimes get up at 4AM and go for a jog. If I try the same thing in the U.S. where I live now, I could get mugged or even shot.

Then, Martin and his friend Akki come over to our table. He is from England and been here
for 12 years now. Speaks fluent Japanese. His friend Akki, however is yet to master English
as fluently as he knows Japanese. She starts off in English, but gets stuck every so often and switches to her native tongue.

Then there was the Dubya look-alike (a little bit older though), who just knew how to get
exactly between my camera and whoever it is that I was photographing. Frustrating guy.
And to top it, he had to smoke a cigar (a stinking one at that) inside a closed bar measuring
at the max some 100 sq. feet. God, how I wished I could yank that cigar and throw it out.

I spend around 2 hours there and finally decide to head back to the hotel at around 1:30AM. The black guy is still there at the cross-road.

Guy : Hi man. So how was it ?
Me : Good, man. Had some beer and karaoke.

Guy : What do they do there, man ?
Me : They let you sing karaoke and also have beer / liquor.

Guy : You sure thats the only thing ? Or do they have drugs ?
Me : Drugs ? No man. None that I could see.

Guy : So, how about the girls I told you earlier ?
Me : No man. I am not looking for that. Good night, man.

Guy : Good night, man.

I walk the 1.5 km or so distance back to the hotel. I am tired, and all I look forward to
is the soft bed of the Hilton Tokyo. The place that has been home for the last 3 weeks
and for another week to come.

Switching mentally between Dollars, Yen, Euros and the Indian Rupee.

While in India, shopping is something I do as a last resort. Either because I have run out
of something and can't proceed any further without it or because someone wants me to
buy something. I hate the crowds at the shopping centres, I hate the lack of parking and
the actual shopping experience is also nothing much to talk about. So, I stay away, unless
I have no options.

But the moment I am in a foreign country, I change into an avid shopper. I am on the
lookout for shops that have local souveniers that I can gift people back home. Or for
chocolates for the kiddies back home. Or I check out specific gifts for people like digicams
or watches etc. I also shop for dresses for my nieces. In short, I love shopping when I am
outside India. Ofcourse, the Japanese shopping experience has not been that much fun due
to not knowing local language and also due to them labelling most of the stuff in Japanese.

I love the way business is done in the US and Europe. You go to a shop, they have all the
models displayed, with the price alongside. You check out the product that best matches
your requirements and buy the one that has the price which you think is right. And, to top
it, we have the online versions of their shops, where you can browse from home, see the
various options available, zero-in on the correct match and just go get it from the shop.

Contrast this with the Indian shopping experience. Online retailing, while it surely is catching
up, is nowhere near the BestBuy.com or CircuitCity.com experience. And the actual brick-and-mortar shops display only a few models, limiting your choice. Prices might or might not be tagged on the products. In short, its not a fun experience zero-ing in on the product of your choice.

One inconvenience though, of shopping abroad is the difference in rates of the currency used
for trade in the country you visit and the one in your country. This requires quite some quick mental calculations to ensure that the price indicated on the product in local currency is infact
a good deal when converted to your currency (Indian Rupee a.k.a INR in my case).

While in the US, this would require me to multiply the price by 45 (1$ was equal toRs.45 in 2005 when I was last in the US - today it is only Rs40). So you find the right product and
then need to do some quick calculations so as to compare with the price you would pay in
India for the same or equivalent product. Or if it is something that is not available in India,
you would still need to convert it to rupees to be sure that it is worth the money and also in some cases to ensure that it falls in the budget you have in mind for that product.

In Japan, its the other way round. The INR is stronger than the Yen, and 1 rupee equals
3 Yen, and so here you need to divide the price in Yen by 3. Comparitively easier and faster than multiplying random numbers with 45.

So, for Indians shopping abroad, it mostly involves multiplication because except for a few currencies like the Japanese Yen, most currencies are stronger than the INR. And while the
fact that the INR is weaker might seem a weakness, the business community, especially the exporters from India, would prefer to have it that way. Already, with the rupee appreciating
in value against the dollar, we have all our software majors crying out loud - it hurts their bottom line you see.

For every $ worth of export, instead of Rs45 that they were getting till recently, they are
now getting only Rs40. Imagine the reduction in revenue (in INR) for a firm that exports,
say 1billion dollars worth of software or software services a year. A straight reduction of
5 billion INR from their revenue. No wonder the Premji's and Nilekani's of the Indian
software industry are making a big noise about the appreciating rupee.

Anyway, getting back to the original topic of this post, the one place where I could shop
without multiplying or dividing the price in local currency to arrive at the equivalent in
INR, was Belgium, in the pre-Euro period. The Belgium Franc (BEF) had a value almost
same as the INR. So if the price tag of that nice French wine I was checking out, read as
950 BEF, it meant that it is also 950INR. No division, no multiplication, no nothing. Just
plain and simple hassle-free shopping.

Maybe one day, there will be only one currency for the world. That does sound like a fun situation, and not just for shoppers in foreign countries. It would surely make life easy for
lots of people - no exchanging currency on landing at a foreign place, no carrying around
banknotes or coins of different countries.

Ofcourse, I don't think people who make a living out of the existence of different currencies (forex dealers, traders etc) would be too happy about this.

It's TTT (Typhoon Time in Tokyo) :-)

Yes, for the past couple of days, we were hearing our Japanese co-workers tell us about
the typhoon that's gonna hit Tokyo soon. Today afternoon, they said it's going to hit tonight
and by evening, it was getting real rainy and windy.

Most offices in Japan, I am told, have a kind of small balcony for employees to go out
and have a smoke. How I wish, we had something like this in India. Anyway, while leaving
for the day (and early at that), our Japanese co-workers had only one thing to say, "Avoid
going to the balcony". Meaning, you could be swept off from there, to God only knows where,
by the typhoon.

Hmm. But, what's life without an occasional smoke ? So, I gear up to go to the balcony and
the usually easy-to-open door would just not budge - it was being pushed by the force of
the wind. Anyway, that was sign enough for me to use my common-sense and avoid the
balcony. I try the stairway, and after some effort the door opens, but the wind is blowing
the rain all over the place.

Anyway, inspite of the danger of being drenched (and even swept away), habit prevails
and I somehow manage to hold on (to the door) for the 10-odd minutes I need for having
a cigarette.

While all co-workers have left early for home, due to the impending typhoon, I have to
stay back to finish some stuff that was long overdue. The wind gets louder and wilder.
I am worried as to how I would be able to make it to the hotel. Finally, at 10:30PM, I
am done and cautiously head to the street to make it to the hotel.

Well, there are people walking on the street, cabs are plying, the metro is running - so
life is going on as usual. Catch the metro, get to the hotel and am home. From the hotel
room, I can still hear the wind howling and the rain hitting the windows. But atleast I
am safe home (if you can call the hotel your home).

But then, who knows. I go to sleep now on the 23rd floor of the Hilton and might wake up somewhere on the ground far away, carried courtesy the typhoon. All I ask for is that, if
it is so destined to happen, let it happen when I am asleep, for I am afraid of heights.

Amazing coincidence this.

When it comes to mobile phones, every visitor to Japan is treated the same. You could be
from the US or Europe or India or Somalia, you could be having GSM or CDMA or whatever,
it simply won't work here. Period.

The alternative is renting out a mobile phone for the duration of your stay here. Rates vary depending on where you rent from. The Hilton charges 1000Yen for a day as rental, while I have seen ads in the Metro trains offering as cheap as 250Yen per day. Since a mobile phone
is more of a necessity than the luxury it was some years ago, I rent one when I am here.

The hotel's rental range is all Sony Ericsson camera mobiles. Since I have a digital camera to take snaps and also because the hotel does not provide the cable to transfer images to your
PC, I do not use the camera on the mobile. Last time I was here, I did try out some snaps just for the heck of it and to check out the image quality.

So, this time around also, when I rented out a phone, I just stuck to using the phone only for making /receiving calls and never used it to take snaps. Yesterday I was feeling bored and
was just fiddling around with the phone's menu and end up at the data folder where images
are stored.

I see 30-odd images in the folder which must have been taken by the person who rented
this phone out earlier. I go through them and see that most of them have been taken in some pub / karaoke / hotel room etc and some of them are pretty personal with a few also having intimate moments of a couple (a Caucasian male and a Japanese female).

I am surprised how people could be so careless to leave their personal stuff on something as public as a rental mobile. I scroll through the images to see the girl dancing, the guy and girl sitting in a bar, he with his hands around her and then they move on to some serious stuff.

After some 15 such snaps, the images change from the couple to buildings, hotels and cars.
There is a snap of the Metropolitan building (one of the tallest here) taken from ground level looking up to its dizzying heights. I can't help thinking to myself that I would have tried this angle when I visited the building during my last visit. And there is a snap of a lovely black
Lexus and a sexy black Merc S-class convertible. I again think, "Hmmm, someone who likes cars as much as me".

But then I notice that the cars are parked at the Hilton. Intuition kicks in and I get this
feeling that these snaps are too familiar. I go through more of them and yes, there are more Hondas, BMWs and Suzukis. By now I am sure that these were taken by me last time when I was here. Just to confirm, I check the date on the snaps and yes, they were during the time I was here last.

No wonder they looked familiar. I don't know how many phones the Hilton rents out in total,
but it was such an amazing coincidence that I got the same phone that I had got when I was here a couple of months ago.

And yes, I will delete the personal snaps of the couple, before it gets into the hands of some prankster.

When life throws us lemons, most sulk. The motivated few make lemonade.

I had mentioned here about how a self-motivated and go-getter like Dr.Jacob Thomas I.P.S.,
is not going to sit sulking because he was moved away from Supplyco where he had brought
in stellar changes for the organisation, resulting in better service to the common man.

He has proven me right (does not surprise me though), as this link posted by an anonymous reader indicates. Whoever this 'anonymous' commenter is, I need to tell you that I am glad
you brought this to my attention. I was wondering what Dr.Jacob was upto in his new job.

Here is a man, who put in months of effort to turn Supplyco from the den of corruption and
inefficiency it was, to an organisation that was not only serving the purpose for which it was
setup, but also managed to turn around and post some profits. While the profit part is not
really important (because it was not intended to make profits in the first place), it does tell
something about the man and the effort he put into his job.

And then, instead of being rewarded for a job superbly done, he is removed from the CEO's
chair at Supplyco and put in charge of an almost defunct institution like the Kerala State
Film Development Corporation (KSFDC).

If it was any average man, the response would have been to sulk, given the demotivating
transfer to KSFDC. But then, Dr.Jacob is not your average guy, in any sense of the term.
He sees opportunity even in adverse situations, the opportunity to put in effort to bring
about change - change for the better.

So, he sets out to work on the Chitranjali Studio, which over the years had not been
serving the purpose for which it was built - to help filmmakers make movies without
hassles. He has taken the employees into confidence and motivated them to work with
him on the project.

"If all goes well, by the end of 2008, a filmmaker can enter the Chitranjali grounds with
an idea and walk out with the prints of the film, ” says Mr. Thomas.

That sums up in brief what he has in mind. For a full read of the work he is doing at
KSFDC, check out the link below.
http://www.hindu.com/pp/2007/08/18/stories/2007081850340100.htm

I, for one, know that all will go well, as long as the pesky politicians do not play their
dirty tricks.