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.