Sunday, October 04, 2009

My mother

My mother was staying with me for the last six months and today she left to India with my brother. Father and Mother are not part of the family in Japan. Each country has its own rules and regulation for immigration. But Japanese government is kind enough to give permission on some exceptional cases for mother to stay with her son if that son is the only one male offspring.

My mother’s temporary visa which was for 90 days could extend once more for another 90 days. So, she could stay in Japan for 180 days. I like to share my own experience of bringing mother to Japan as I think it may help some people who wish to bring their family members here.

At first I applied for certificate of eligibility for my mother too along with wife and kids. Mother’s application was returned on grounds of immigration limitations and I proceeded for temporary visitor visa application at Chennai consulate. The process and documents required to get visitor visa to Japan are very easy and on the third working day, we will get the visa stamped on the passport.

The documents I did send from here to stamp the temporary visa were the following; Application form, Letter of Guarantee, Schedule of Stay, Income tax certificate, Photocopy of my passport (the page of passport where mother’s name is written is important to prove the relationship) and Alien registration card. If the application for the visa is processed through an agent, it is necessary to give authorization letter in white paper. Before proceeding for a temporary visa, even though consulted with experienced friends, it is advisable and necessary to check the MOFA website for the updated information and application form.

Mother was under treatment also, while she was in Japan. There was no insurance coverage for the treatment since she had visitor status. The doctors in Tokyo treated her as if she is a resident of Japan. The hospital staff also co-operated throughout the treatment in the clinic at Higashi Ojima. Since she was undergoing physiotherapy treatment, she had to attend the clinic regularly.


On holidays we used to go for outing to the nearby places. The life is meaningful and the time is worth if spent with the dear and near ones. The bits of pleasures and joyous moments after sharing become more enjoyable life experiences. So were the gone days for me too.

Mother forms our world in our childhood and she transforms our life with her presence. In Indian culture, mother is more than God and assumes various roles in the family relations. She is the uniting force among the offspring in a joint family.




The presence of mother gives a sense of security to us in our childhood. We feel it more when we are sick. That sense of security is unique and none of the robotic technology could be an alternative. While writing this, I have been thinking about those who could not feel the presence of their mother. Unfortunately there is a significant section of our society with such people.

Contrary to the negative remarks appearing in many websites against the Japanese attitude towards foreigners, we could not notice even one such negative experience at the hospital or the public places we visited during the last 180 days. It prompts me think that the anti- Japanese propaganda may not be really true. It may be from some groups with vested interest. The Japanese doctor who was treating her asked for a group photo on the day when we told her that mother will go back on 4th October.

Coming back from Narita Airport, my mind was void at times. With the feeling of swinging between the unreal world and the real world outside, I entered to the Keisei train boarded for Ueno. Those who could not feel the presence of human mother have the feeling of imaginary mother and often we call it mother-nature. Whatever be the feeling, mother is the big part of our real world!

Thursday, October 01, 2009

What are the places to see in Tokyo? – places to visit in and around Tokyo

Tokyo is an incredible place to visit! This is what I read in many sites when I searched for ‘Places to see in Tokyo’ in google and Yahoo. It is almost 10 days since my brother landed in Japan. We visited around 15 places in and around Tokyo. The visiting schedule is hectic and he has 3 more days in Japan.

I asked some of my friends for their recommendations. Most of them suggested places like Tokyo Tower, Yokohama China Town, Kamakura, Asakusa Sensoji temple, Ginza, Harajuku Meiji Jingu Shinto shrine, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Mount Fuji, Five lakes, Hakone, Akihabara Electric city, Odaiba, Ueno Gardens and Zoological park etc. We could complete our schedules one by one except the Mount Fuji Trip. There is no point in travelling all the way to Mount Fuji only to view the mountain. Mount Fuji is open for climbing on July and August.


A first time visitor will definitely get excited by seeing Tokyo and its surroundings. The technological development Japan could achieve is amazing and significant. A short time visitor will be interested to watch the Japanese discipline and obedience to the law. The pin-drop silence at many of the crowded railway stations is another noticeable thing in Japan that a first time visitor will get astonished. Japanese people are silent due to the disciplined nature at public places like railway stations and bus-stops. They are even silent inside the train also. Most of the times we later realize people talking inside train and public places are foreigners!

Visiting Japan itself is an experience for foreigners! Probably we can not see a place like this at any other part of the world except here! Let me confirm once more that Japanese people are unique! We have many things to learn from Japan. The places we visited are not many, but everywhere we could observe some of the common things like discipline, silence, Obedience, Politeness, Smiling faces etc.


Today, we are planning to go to Imperial Palace. Tokyo Imperial palace is a great place to visit in Tokyo and it is the residence of Japan royal family. Imperial palace was built during the 250 years long Tokugawa Shoguns rule at the center of Tokyo as a fortress for protection. East Gardens of the Imperial palace is open to public daily except on Mondays, Fridays and on national holidays and this is the only par to the palace that is open for visit. For a visit to the imperial palace, we need to book in advance. If you plan your visit to Imperial palace click on this link and book in advance. Imperial Household Agency Homepage




Now, I can suggest some of the places to visit in Tokyo during your short trip next time.


1. Tokyo Tower
2. Mount Fuji
3. Hakone – Gora – Sounzan – Togendai – Ashi Lake trip
4. Odaiba
5. Kamakura
6. Ueno
7. Shinjuku
8. Shibuya for shopping
9. Akihabara Electric city
10. Yokohama China Town
11. Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea
12. Asakusa Sensoji Temple
13. Harajuku
14. Tokyo Imperial Palace
15. Ginza



The list goes without ending here with just 15 places, but I have just listed some of the major attractions in and around Tokyo, which we have visited with the advices of our friends. Just do searches in google or yahoo. They will give you more insights about the places to visit in Tokyo. However, I think, the above places in Tokyo cover a good trip to Tokyo.

Tokyo is a unique and wonderful tourist destination. Tokyo is not only to be read, but also a place to be experienced by walking and riding throughout the length and breadth. It is curious to learn how the ancient Japanese culture transforms slowly to modern technological advancements.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Vibrant Harajuku and Meiji Jingu Shinto shrine in Tokyo

It was a huge crowd outside Harajuku station when we came out. The crowd was moving slowly but gently. The purpose of the visit was uncertain when we started from Higashi Ojima. I did a google search for ‘Places to see in Tokyo’. Some of the search results guided me to see Fuji mountain, Kamakura, Tokyo Tower, Shinjuku, Odaiba, Ueno Park and zoo, Ginza, Yokohama China town etc.

Even by repeating the searches in Yahoo and other search engines I got the same places in the search results. I was eager to get something different from general search engine recommendations. The same thing happened for the first few pages of search resuslts, when I changed the search keywords to ‘Must see places in Tokyo’, but this time I got a place ‘Harajuku’ in the list recommended by an American tourist who had visited this place on his trip to Tokyo.

That was the motivation to visit Harajuku today. We could see live animation characters outside the station, lesbians and some groups of gays. I am not sure whether this is the normal view of Harajuku station. There were groups of young Japanese girls and boys sitting on the nearby stone benches which seemed to me as a mere casual meeting.

I have been taking my brother to different places in Tokyo now a days on his short trip to Tokyo. We walked to the direction of the crowd. It helps many times in life when we move with the trend. There will be always something towards which the crowd goes. The psychology of the mass or crowd is also motivated by the determination of those who move on the front. When we turned left, right after the Harajuku Yamanote line station, we could see a forest, virtually more beautiful than the real forest and a historical style entrance.





Before entering, we could collect leaflets that described about the place and its importance. To our surprise, it was ‘Meiji Jingu’ which is a Shinto shrine. Shinto is Japan’s religion, which has no founder, no holy book and no concepts of traditional religions. Shinto is a way of Japanese living with high values respecting the nature and living things. The Shinto shrine which we visited accidently is dedicated to the souls of Japanese emperor ‘Meiji’ and his consort empress ‘Shoken’. It was interesting to know that their tomb is in Kyoto.

This forest was made by Japanese people by donating trees from different parts of Japan and from all over the world. It is now the history that there are 100,000 tress total in the forest and it was established on November 1920. The artificial forest in the middle of concrete forest looked more than the natural forest.

We could see a collection of rice wine barrels on the side of the path towards the shrine. The visitors were eager to take snaps of the traditional Japanese customs and architectures around the main shrine. In Shinto religion, divinity or diving spirit is known as ‘Kami’. Unlike Christian religion which talks about one spirit, Shinto religions has no limit in the number of divine spirits or Kami. There are unlimited number of kami. Kami can be observed in Nature, mythology or in human beings. It is said that from times unknown Japanese people have felt awe and gratitude towards such Kami (divine spirit) and have built shrines to such Kami.

This kind of belief is similar to the believes in Hindu religion, the most widely practiced religion in India. In fact in India, these divine spirits became Gods over a period of time and they also got one or several shrines according to their popularity.



We could see Japanese traditional style marriage being held inside the shrine premise. Many visitors were taking photographs of the ceremonies. Meiji Jingu Gardens or Gyoen was the part of Meiji Jingu Shrine that has been existing long before building the Meiji Jingu. Emperor Meiji designed this iris garden, small paths and fishing spot for Empress Shoken.


“Although we may feel Overworked and burdened,
Our human hearts should go on remaining filled with an open calmness” is the Waka poetry written by Empress Shoken. The wisdom of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken were handed over to the generations next through these Waka poems. Visitors can draw a poem from 30 selected poems from the ‘Omikuji’ box, which exists in front of the main shrine.

Now not exaggerated to say, our visit to Harajuku was really worth. It took us to a different world in the middle of modern Tokyo. I can strongly recommend now to visit Meiji Jingu and Harajuku for those who plan a short visit to Tokyo along with their visit to Shinjuku. It is just two stations away from Shinjuku station on the JR Yamnote line. Harjuku is also a place for fashion and we can see many live animated models walking on the road! Have a nice trip to Harajuku!

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