Postcard From Japan

Okay, it has been a pretty long time now since I last posted. On second thoughts, it hasn't just been a "pretty long time", it has been a truckload of time to the power of infinity, it has been three frigging months for crying out loud....

Anyway, whatever's happened has happened so now's high time to post a post.

So, where was I. Yeah, in Gurgaon on some 16th floor of a slick building last time around. But now, I am on the 4th floor (or rather 5th floor in the traditional Japanese way, and also the Indian way, the "paanchwi manzil") of an multi-apartment building, sitting infront of a lappie (yes a lappie, this gaming rig afficiando has been reduced to a lappie user), typing out this post to my blog after ages...

But why am I sounding so negative, heck its been a great time these last three months. Had done a lotta testing work back home at Maruti, enjoyed it thoroughly, got a great chance to come here to SMC, Japan and so here I am, in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.


So, I arrived here in Japan on 27th May, 2007, rode the Shinkansen (bullet train for the totally Japanignorant) to Hamamatsu, and will be here for a total of two and a half months. The town's a nice peaceful place, and although it is on the seashore, you can't really feel the humidity, perhaps because of the low ambient temperatures (ever heard of someone wearing jackets in the month of June).

Now before you people start bombarding me with questions like "Is Japan as crazy as the movies show us?", I will dispel all the rumors by stating that Japan (well, atleast Hamamatsu) is as normal as a place can be. Dunno about Tokyo as yet, might get a chance to tell ya all about that place if I take a trip there in July.

As far as other things are concerned, the trains here are awesome. No, they are Legen-wait for it-dary. I mean you can set your watches by their departures from the stations, and that is why travelling by train to office is such an easy job. Outta apartment at about 7:50AM, take a return ticket from the machine at 8:01AM, board the 8:09 train, get outta the train at the first stop, and u're in office before 8:30. Perfect.

Some of the superstores here are HUGE, and by HUGE, I mean so severely oversized that it took the three of us almost a whole day to buy two pairs of shoes and a pair of floaters. Did a lot of random roaming around that day too, and it was fun. That was the first day of the last weekend, and on Sunday, we went to the Hamana Lake that is in Hamamatsu. Well not it is not technically a lake being joined to the sea after an earthquake, but still it is a B-E-A-utiful place. And yesterday, just roaming around the town on streets that we had not used before, we stumbled upon Hamamatsu Castle, or what remains of it, a small Castle Tower. Passed by a wedding at a Church too, while roaming around before arriving at the Castle.

Hadta clean up my room today but spent almost the entire day in bed, watching a movie, and gotta admit it, that is for sure the better way to spend the lazy Sunday after a late bar night Saturday.

Hmm, that seems to be enough material to write on a postcard. Heck, I'd have to hire professionals to write in tiny letters if I ever want to put so much text on a normal paper postcard, thank the internet and google and blogger and a keyboard that we can put so much of crap online for potentially everyone to read.

Enough of my rambling for now, cya laters.