The Japan Trip: Day Two, In Kawazu

The biggest problem we faced during the recent Japan trip wasn't the distance we covered on foot. No, the worst parts, (yes, it was in plural), were waking up early and the cold weather. The first morning we were there, we woke up around 4:30am (that's 3:30am in Singapore). Freaking inhumane! 

Kawazu, a photo by Eday.

But it was either that or we lost the time as Kawazu is quite far from Tokyo. It also didn't help that JR East Pass didn't cover the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen. So there we were, before the sunrise, walking towards Asakusa Station. The train was there and based on what we saw on Google Maps, it wasn't going to depart anytime soon, so Parno went to pee after asking if we still got time. 

We sat inside the train and waited for Parno. Much to our surprise, the doors closed and the train started chugging. As I sat directly across from Eday, I could see that he, too, was shocked. Clearly it wasn't part of Eday's plan, haha. So the chat group got busy, ensuring Parno knew what to do. It was only then we realized that Muliady was missing, too. And the two of them turned out to be sitting on the opposite side from each other, haha.

At Shimbashi Station, waiting for our train to Atami.

Eday and other JR Pass holders continued their trip as we waited for the Parno and Muliady before heading to another platform at Shimbashi Station to take the train to Atami. But we were here in Japan and once again we got lost in its convoluted train system. Surianto had this habit of going solo, Taty tried her best to follow him while BL and Parno were lagging behind due to some reasons. At Atami Station, only Gunawan, Muliady, Ardian and I made it to the next train. As a result, Eday and friends who took shinkansen waited twice the time than it should be. 

When we reached Kawazu, while waiting for the last group to arrive, I went to buy a postcard, a usual holiday tradition. Posted both this one and the one that was supposed to be mailed from Manila (the post office was closed when we were there) in Kawazu. After that, I went to look for the guys. 

In Kawazu, before the journey began.
Photo by HRR.

Now, prior to this, I never heard of Kawazu. It was Susan who came up with this destination after one of us said about experiencing Sakura Hanami (literally translated as viewing cherry blossom flower). And I am a proud Singaporean that always boasts about my country. But upon seeing how beautiful the panorama was in Kawazu (the morning sunlight, the bridge, the mountain, the river and the cherry blossom), I simply had to admit the view was beyond anything I had seen in Singapore.

So we continued walking towards the sea only to realize that the waterfall was on the other side. We stopped for a while at Lokanta Cafe for a quick bite and drink, then resumed our journey. The sakura trees lining up on the roadside and the next one we encountered was more beautiful than the previous one. A lot of photo-taking happening here!

Parno, after the leg cramp.

The sessions were only disrupted for a while by Parno sitting on a giant director's chair and posing with a big bottle of Biere des Amis 0%. From a certain angle, the sitting posture was so awkward that he looked like Stephen Hawking, but yet his leg cramp reminded us that this was the fake one, haha.

We quite had a long walk (or at least it felt very long because we walked slowly) before we reached another bridge. From here onwards, the road was less crowded and the farther we got, it became quieter. The cold wind was howling loudly and blowing nonstop. We could also see the faraway trees swaying. It was almost brutal! Talk about the force of nature!

The section with sakura trees on two sides.

As we pushed forwards, the more the road felt sloping upwards. When we passed by a bus stop, Susan deciphered the timetable written in Japanese. It was getting late, so we eventually hopped on the next bus instead. And what a wise decision it was! As the bus brought us to the top, we learnt that the pavement eventually disappeared!

The one we took was the second last bus. The last one would come about an hour later, so we quickly visited the Seven Waterfalls. In the end, we only managed to see three. The last one was the biggest and nicest, but it also had the most challenging route to get there and back. Eday was fit and Parno was right behind him, but Taty was panting badly. 

At Odaru Waterfall, the biggest of the seven.

And that would be the last of it. We went back to where we came from and took the bus to Kawazu Station. BL texted us that he and the other three friends had left Kawazu earlier and we would meet again at Ueno Station. Inside the train to Atami, we noticed the news of train breaking down somewhere between Atami and Ueno, so Eday swiftly got the buy-in from others to switch to shinkansen instead. That eventually brought us to the destination faster than BL and friends, haha. 

We had our dinner after one round of walking in Ueno. Surianto went by himself to try out wagyu beef while the rest of us ate at the eatery nearby. Gunawan, Eday and I happened to sit with Parno. After much persuasion, a historic moment took place there: we got a free dinner from Parno!

When Parno paid the bill!

Since the bill was still below budget, we parted ways with others and dragged Parno to spend some more. Surianto suddenly reappeared again and joined us at the right time, because what happened next turned out to be quite an extraordinary revelation. After the yakitori and sake celebration of kanpai, we eventually called it a night. It was 6° Celcius, the coldest I ever felt up until then, but the heartfelt moment we went through did help to keep me warm...

Liburan Ke Jepang: Hari Kedua, Di Kawazu

Masalah terbesar yang kita hadapi selama liburan ke Jepang bukanlah jarak yang kita tempuh dengan berjalan kaki. Tidak, bukan itu. Yang paling parah adalah bangun pagi dan cuaca dingin. Di pagi pertama kita di sana, kita bangun sekitar jam 4:30 pagi (ini sama dengan jam 2:30 pagi di Indonesia Barat). Sungguh tidak manusiawi! 

Kawazu, sebuah foto karya Eday.

Namun pilihannya memang hanya itu atau kita akan kesiangan karena Kawazu cukup jauh dari Tokyo. JR East Pass juga tidak mencakup Shinkansen Tokaido-Sanyo sehingga kita musti naik kereta biasa yang lebih lambat. Jadi sebelum matahari terbit, kita sudah berjalan menuju Stasiun Asakusa. Kereta pertama sudah menanti dan menurut apa yang kita lihat di Google Maps, kereta ini masih akan berada di stasiun untuk beberapa lama. Parno pun pergi kencing karena menyangka masih ada waktu. 

Kita duduk di dalam kereta dan menanti Parno. Di luar dugaan, pintu kereta mendadak tutup dan kereta mulai bergerak. Karena saya duduk tepat di seberang Eday, saya bisa melihat kalau dia juga terkejut. Jadi tampaknya ini bukan rencana Eday, haha. Grup WhatsApp Jepang pun langsung aktif. Kita sibuk memastikan bahwa Parno tahu apa yang ia harus kerjakan. Di saat itu baru kita sadari bahwa Muliady pun tidak bersama kita. Ternyata dua-duanya ketinggalan dan kini duduk berseberangan, haha. 

Di Stasiun Shimbashi, menanti kereta ke Atami.

Eday dan para pemegang JR Pass melanjutkan perjalanan dengan shinkansen sementara kita menanti dua teman yang tertinggal dan menuju ke sudut lain di Stasiun Shimbashi untuk naik kereta biasa ke Atami. Tapi pergantian kereta di stasiun memang agak membingungkan bagi yang baru tiba di Jepang. Landak memiliki kebiasaan menghilang sendiri sementara Taty berusaha mengikutinya dari belakang. Akan halnya BL dan Parno, mereka pun tertinggal karena membeli minum di mesin otomatis. Akhirnya hanya Gunawan, Muliady, Ardian dan saya yang berhasil naik ke kereta berikutnya. Eday dan kawan-kawan yang telah tiba duluan di Kawazu pun terpaksa menanti dua kali lebih lama.  

Saat di Kawazu, sambil menunggu tibanya rombongan terakhir, saya pergi membeli kartu pos, tradisi liburan sejak 2015.  Di Kawazu, saya mengirimkan kartu pos Jepang dan satunya lagi yang semestinya dikirim dari Filipina (kantor posnya tutup pas kita di Manila). Setelah itu, saya cari mereka yang sudah jalan duluan. 

Di Kawazu, sewaktu kita tiba.
Foto oleh HRR.

Nah, sebelum ini, saya tidak pernah mendengar tentang Kawazu. Susan yang mengusulkan tempat tujuan ini setelah salah satu dari kita ingin mencoba Sakura Hanami (secara harafiah bisa diterjemahkan sebagai melihat bunga sakura). Perlu diingat pula bahwa saya adalah warga negara yang sangat bangga dengan Singapura. Tapi saat melihat betapa indahnya pemandangan di depan mata (sinar mentari pagi yang menerangi jembatan, gunung, sungai dan sakura), saya harus mengakui bahwa keindahan yang saya lihat ini tak ada di Singapura.  

Kita lantas terus berjalan sampai melihat laut di depan kita. Air terjun yang ingin kita tuju ada di arah sebaliknya, jadi kita mampir sebentar di Lokanta Cafe untuk bersantap dan minum sebelum melanjutkan perjalanan. Pohon-pohon sakura berderet di sepanjang jalan dan setiap pohon yang kita lihat terasa lebih bagus dari yang sebelumnya, jadi banyak yang berfoto-foto di sini. 

Parno, setelah kram kaki.

Sesi foto sakura hanya sempat terhenti, tergantikan sejenak oleh Parno yang duduk di kursi direktur raksasa sambil berpose dengan botol Biere des Amis 0% yang besar ukurannya. Dari sudut tertentu, postur duduknya terlihat janggal dan mirip Stephen Hawking, tapi kakinya yang sempat kram di kala duduk langsung mengingatkan kita kalau yang satu ini adalah Stephen palsu, haha. 

Dari situ, kita berjalan cukup jauh (atau terasa jauh karena kita berjalan sangat perlahan) dan sampai di jalan raya berikutnya. Deretan sakura di kawasan ini tidak seramai sebelumnya. Semakin jauh kita menelusurinya, kian sepi pula jalannya. Angin dingin menderu dan bertiup tiada henti. Dari kejauhan, kita bisa melihat pohon-pohon di gunung yang bergoyang. Hal ini mengingatkan saya bahwa kekuatan alam itu sebaiknya jangan dipandang remeh. 

Di satu-satunya bagian yang memiliki dua deretan sakura.

Jalan ke air terjun semakin lama semakin menanjak. Ketika kita melewati halte bis, Susan menerjemahkan jadwal yang ditulis dalam bahasa Jepang. Hari sudah sore, jadi kita menaiki bis berikutnya untuk menghemat waktu. Pilihan ini terbukti bijak, sebab trotoar tak lagi terlihat di jalan yang membawa kita ke atas gunung. Tampaknya memang tidak mungkin untuk berjalan dari kota sampai ke air terjun! 

Bis yang kita tumpangi adalah bis kedua terakhir. Yang berikutnya akan datang satu jam kemudian, jadi kita bergegas mencari Tujuh Air Terjun Kawazu. Akhirnya kita hanya sempat melihat tiga. Yang terakhir adalah yang paling tinggi dan bagus, tapi rute ke sana dan kembali pun naik-turun dan paling menantang. Eday memang bagus staminanya dan Parno yang tangguh pun mengikuti dari belakang, tapi Taty terengah-engah kehabisan napas. 

Di Air Terjun Odaru yang terbesar dari tujuh air terjun.

Dan akhirnya kita menunggu bis pulang dan langsung menuju Stasiun Kawazu. BL memberitahukan bahwa mereka berempat sudah meninggalkan Kawazu dan kita janjian untuk bertemu lagi di Stasiun Ueno. Selagi kita menyusul dengan kereta menuju Atami, terbaca berita tentang gangguan perjalanan antara Atami dan Ueno, jadi Eday mengajak yang lain untuk berpindah ke shinkansen. Dengan kereta super cepat, kita akhirnya tiba lebih dulu di tujuan, haha.

Kita makan malam setelah mengitari Ameya-Yokocho di Ueno. Surianto sekali lagi berpisah karena dia ingin mencoba sapi wagyu sementara yang lain singgah ke tempat makan terdekat. Gunawan, Eday dan saya kebetulan duduk semeja dengan Parno. Setelah dibujuk-rayu, peristiwa bersejarah pun terjadi: kita akhirnya ditraktir oleh Parno!

Ketika Parno membayar tagihan!

Karena tagihannya di bawah anggaran, kita berpisah pula dengan kawan-kawan dan menyeret Parno untuk lanjut traktir. Landak tiba-tiba muncul dan turut bergabung di saat yang tepat, karena apa yang terjadi selanjutnya adalah kisah persahabatan yang langka dan luar biasa. Setelah icip-icip yakitori dan kanpai sake, kita akhirnya pulang. Malam itu suhunya 6° Celcius, paling dingin yang pernah saya alami sampai saat itu, tapi kebersamaan sewaktu minum sake terasa hangat di hati... 

The Japan Trip: Day One In Tokyo

Before we flew to Japan, Ardian said, "Parno may have all the problems in the world, but none is bringing him down!" And how it rang true when we landed in Tokyo in the evening of our day one in Japan. Parno had been so anxious since we left Manila because the screenshot of his document was incomplete, but all turned out to be fine. The airport officers simply redirected him to the fast track lane the moment they saw a blue coloured screenshot on his phone.

At Haneda Airport, after collecting our luggages. 

I stood next to the baggage carousel and from there, I could see Parno getting his passport stamped successfully. But I was wondering why he stayed behind the immigration counter and kept looking around, as if he was peeping on something. Surianto went over to ask and apparently Parno wanted to help Gunawan who got a problem with the arrival card (his blue Visit Japan form was filled up by Susan). Now that's Parno for you! A minute ago, he himself was in trouble, but now he was almost a hero!

By the way, we were at Haneda Airport and as we went through the process from arrival to claiming our luggages, I couldn't help thinking how smooth the whole thing is in Singapore. The blue form was difficult to fill in, the arrival card that came with it was easily gone unnoticed, claiming the luggage was quite a hassle and simply didn't work for most of my Indonesian friends that were still not holding e-passport. In Changi, you don't face all this!

Queuing for JR East Pass.

Anyway, I waited for them outside. While doing so, I tried out the one of the travel money cards I had. It worked like a charm on a vending machine! Then we queued for our JR East Pass for about an hour before we made our way to Asakusa via Keikyū Airport Line. The last time I went to Tokyo was in 2015, so it took some time to navigate through the confusing train map again, haha. And it was worse when we changed train halfway through the journey. We made a couple of wrong turns, going up and down the staircase while carrying luggages.

When we arrived at Super Hotel Asakusa, only one password to the room was working, so we left all our baggages in Muliady's room. As the rest who arrived earlier that day were making their way back to Asakusa, I suggested that we quickly grabbed our dinner at Yoshinoya before Eday came. The man was the advocate of splurging on meals, so for the sake of Parno, we better went for a cheap one while we had the chance, haha.

And then we met!

Then we met afterwards at Sensō-ji Temple. For the first time ever, all of us came together! It was quite surreal. Personally, it was like, could you believe this? We came from different places such as Pontianak, Pamulang, Karawang, Jakarta, Singapore and Hong Kong. We planned for this moment since June 2020. We really made it. We were in Tokyo now. Finally. 

Susan returned to hotel in order to sort out the issue of inaccessible rooms. While she was doing that, we walked around Asakusa. As we passed by Don Quijote, Eday couldn't help luring Parno to the shop and ditching him the right away when he was out our sight. With that happening, it felt like we were young again. That's what we did to Parno since God knows how long ago. We loved the man, but we loved playing pranks on him, too! It's just the way it is, the nature of our friendship, haha.

Having supper after we ditched Parno.

So we went for supper instead. They ordered some ramen and gyoza, I had a plate of yakisoba. Then we received a text from Surianto, asking why we left Parno alone. Based on what he understood from Parno, this must be Eday's plan (thus phrase was born, haha). While we were there, we had a discussion about the next morning's trip to Kawazu. The key takeaway was, gotta wake up early to catch the first train.

And yet we didn't sleep early. When we reached our hotel, we went one by one to Parno's room to hang out there. The last time I did this in Semarang, we talked about life. This round, we talked nonsense while watching JAV (Parno muttered in disdain when we suggested porn, but we didn't see him complaining when the movies started playing). Togetherness came in many forms, apparently! To be less serious was rejuvenating. We all had many roles to play in life, so once in a while, it was good to be just us: old friends.

The night we hung out together.

Liburan Ke Jepang: Hari Pertama Di Tokyo

Sebelum kita terbang ke Jepang, Ardian berkata, "Parno mungkin sering dirundung masalah, tapi dia selalu berhasil mengatasinya." Dan perkataannya itu terbukti ketika kita mendarat di Tokyo hari Minggu malam. Parno sebenarnya sudah risau dari sejak kita meninggalkan Manila karena foto dokumennya tidak mencakup nama, tapi siapa sangka prosesnya malah berjalan lancar. Petugas bandara hanya melambai dan mengarahkannya ke jalur cepat begitu mereka melihat foto dengan warna biru dominan di telepon genggamnya. 

Di Bandara Haneda, setelah mengambil bagasi.

Saya berdiri di samping ban berjalan tempat pengambilan bagasi dan dari sana, saya bisa melihat bahwa Parno berhasil mendapatkan cap di paspornya. Yang saya tidak paham itu, kenapa dia masih celingak-celinguk di belakang ruang kerja petugas imigrasi. Landak lantas menghampirinya dan bertanya, apa sesungguhnya yang sedang ia lakukan. Parno ternyata ingin membantu Gunawan yang sedang menghadapi masalah dengan kartu kedatangannya (formulir Visit Japan diisi oleh Susan sehingga Gunawan tidak memiliki datanya). Jadi memang demikianlah uniknya Parno. Sesaat yang lalu, dia sendiri juga tidak beres, namun sekarang dia malah berniat jadi pahlawan! 

Oh ya, saat itu kita berada di Bandara Haneda dan selagi kita melalui proses pengambilan bagasi, saya jadi berpikir bahwa proses di Singapura itu sangat mulus. Di Jepang, form biru ini cukup sulit untuk diisi. Kartu kedatangan yang sudah terdaftar lewat form biru ini pun bisa luput dari perhatian. Belum lagi pengambilan bagasi yang juga bertele-tele dan bermasalah bagi beberapa teman dari Indonesia yang masih tidak memegang e-paspor. Di Changi, tidak ada kesulitan seperti ini! 

Antri JR East Pass.

Karena sudah beres duluan, saya menunggu mereka di luar. Sempat pula saya coba dulu kartu debit yang saya bawa. Lancar jaya! Kemudian kita antri sekitar satu jam untuk mendapatkan kartu JR East Pass. Setelah itu barulah kita menuju ke Asakusa lewat jalur Keikyū Airport Line. Terakhir kali saya ke Tokyo adalah tahun 2015, jadi butuh waktu lagi untuk memahami peta rute kereta di ibukota Jepang yang rumit ini, haha. Sama halnya juga dengan saat berganti kereta di tengah perjalanan. Kita sempat salah jalan dan naik-turun tangga sambil mengangkat koper.

Tatkala kita tiba di Super Hotel Asakusa, hanya satu kata sandi yang bisa berfungsi, jadi kita semua menaruh tas di kamar Muliady. Sewaktu teman-teman lain yang tiba lebih awal di Tokyo kembali ke Asakusa, saya menyarankan agar kita bergegas makan di Yoshinoya sebelum Eday datang. Teman yang satu ini selalu menggagas ide makan sesuka hati, jadi demi Parno, kita sebaiknya makan yang murah selagi ada kesempatan, haha. 

Akhirnya bertemu!

Sesudah itu, kita berjumpa dengan yang lain di Kuil Sensō-ji. Untuk pertama kalinya semua peserta berkumpul! Rasanya seperti mimpi. Saya sendiri merasa sulit untuk percaya. Kita datang dari Pontianak, Pamulang, Karawang, Jakarta, Singapura dan Hong Kong. Kita merencanakan semua ini dari sejak bulan Juni 2020. Dan di malam itu kita akhirnya bertemu. Di Tokyo! Impian itu akhirnya menjadi terwujud. 

Susan kembali ke hotel untuk membereskan kamar-kamar yang tidak bisa diakses. Sambil menanti Susan kembali, kita berjalan-jalan di sekitar Asakusa. Saat melewati Don Quijote, Eday iseng memancing Parno ke toko dan meninggalkannya begitu dia menghilang dari pandangan. Rasanya seperti kembali muda saat melihat peristiwa iseng itu terjadi. Oh, kita sayang Parno, tapi kita juga suka mengerjainya. Ini sudah kita lakukan dari sejak kecil. Pelaku dan korban sudah maklum dengan peran masing-masing. Seakrab itulah persahabatan kita, haha. 

Makan malam setelah Parno ditelantarkan.

Kita berjalan kian menjauh dari Don Quijote dan akhirnya masuk ke tempat makan. Sementara yang lain memesan ramen dan gyoza, saya memilih yakisoba. Sewaktu bersantap, tiba-tiba muncul komentar landak di grup. Dia bertanya kenapa Parno ditinggalkan seorang diri. Parno langsung menuding, ini pasti rencana Eday (dan dari sini lahirlah istilah yang dipakai sepanjang liburan, haha). Selagi di tempat makan, kita juga berbincang tentang rencana besok pagi ke Kawazu. Intinya harus bangun pagi untuk menaiki kereta pertama.

Tapi bangun pagi tidak berarti tidur awal. Saat tiba di hotel, satu persatu spontan bermunculan di kamar Parno dan mengobrol di sana. Terakhir kali acara serupa digelar di Semarang, kita bertukar pikiran tentang kehidupan. Kali ini kita bercanda sambil menonton JAV (Parno sempat menggerutu ketika ide ini dicetuskan, tapi dia tidak protes ketika film mulai diputar). Kebersamaan ternyata bisa beraneka ragam wujudnya! Terkadang kita cukup membahas yang ringan dan tidak terlalu serius. Kita sudah memiliki cukup banyak peran dalam hidup ini, jadi ada baiknya sesekali menjadi diri kita sendiri: seorang teman yang sudah lama saling mengenal.

Kumpul di kamar Parno.

The Japan Trip: Transit In Manila

My friend BL said that he joined the Japan trip partly due to the transit in Manila. He found it intriguing, as Manila is usually not a tourist destination. While that's also the reason why I decided that we should choose PAL, my main consideration was more economical: it offered the cheapest tickets among the non-budget airlines. And then of course while we were there, I could have two Hard Rock moments.

Gunawan, Parno and Ardian at Supadio Airport, Pontianak.

The day of departure was an exciting one. Team Ponti, consisting of Parno, Gunawan and Ardian, started early as they needed to catch a flight to Jakarta before continuing to Manila. Before that, Parno said he'd take GoRide. That was so typical of Parno, he made us laugh and annoyed us at the same time. In my mind, he'd look like performing a Mission: Impossible stunt, carrying two luggages while riding on a motorbike. How silly! So we talked some sense to him and Ardian volunteered to pick him up. 

Meanwhile, my fellow Singaporean Surianto was so sneaky that he also went to Changi in the morning. To think that our departure time was actually in the afternoon! Upon reading their updates in our group chat, I found it very hard to concentrate at work as the holiday mood was clearly in the air. During lunch time, I quickly made my way to the airport. 

Having a cup of ice cream in PIK.

At the same time, Team Ponti had arrived in Jakarta. They spent their day in PIK and spoiled themselves with an ice cream priced at IDR 50K. Not everyone was pleased, though. Parno couldn't help cursing and swearing for spending so much money involuntarily on something as trivial as an ice cream. When the evening came, they returned to the airport and checked in together BL, Susan and Cicilia for a midnight flight to Manila.

Back in Singapore, we boarded the plane and began our 3 hours 45 minutes to Manila. There was no TV screen on the back of seat in front of me, making the plane almost indistinguishable from the budget ones until the meal was served. When we landed, the immigration process was a breeze. Soon we found ourselves at Bay 6, waiting for Grab. The hotel, Tryp by Wyndham, was not far from the airport. So after a short ride with a city landscape that reminded me of Bangkok, we reached our hotel. It was nice and the surrounding area was neat and clean, too. 

Exploring Mall of Asia.

We spent the night looking for Filipino dishes at Mall of Asia and eventually decided to dine at Juan's Bistro. The crispy pata (deep fried pig trotters) and gising-gising (sliced kangkong stalks with pork in coconut milk) were good. To cap the night off, we had two bottles of San Miguel at Hard Rock Cafe Manila. Since Surianto wanted to know, I told him the simplified story of the Beatles while we were there.

The next morning, we waited for Team Ponti and BL to reach Tryp (Cicilia and Susan continued their journey to Tokyo on the same day). After they were done refreshing, we began venturing outside the Bay City area. That's when we discovered the chaotic and unglamorous part of Manila. We headed to Binondo and walked around the Chinatown. BL said it looked like Glodok Pancoran in Jakarta. Personally, the buildings reminded me of those on Jalan Sultan Muhammad that I used to passed by back when I was a primary school student in Pontianak. 

BL, in front of Chuan Kee.

We visited Binondo Church and thought of having lunch at Chuan Kee, Binondo's oldest fast food eatery, but the queue was bloody long that joining it would be a madness. We eventually ended up at this place called Big Bowl Noodles that literally served a big bowl of noodles. Slow in serving, so slow that BL and Gunawan had all the time in the world to look for souvenirs first, but it lived up to its name.

After eating, we left Binondo and finally saw the New Binondo Chinatown Arch, the landmark of the district. From there, we walked to Intramuros. It brought back the memories from 15 years ago, when I first visited this place with Yani in 2008. We had a break there and tried out bibingka, a local delicacy, then visited the Manila Cathedral and San Agustin Church. The latter was beautiful, famous for its 16th century's architecture. The former, on the other hand, was quite an enigma. It way interesting that they kept building the cathedral in the same location, even though it had been shattered eight times by earthquake for the past 500 years. 

Parno, nearby the front gate of Fort Santiago.

Fort Santiago, just a walking distance from the cathedral, was the last place we visited in the afternoon. It was spacious, but I couldn't say if the fort was really impressive. We booked Grab from there and headed back to hotel. Taty, the last one to depart, finally arrived in Manila. We were to meet her at the hotel. This opportunity also allowed Team Ponti and BL to check in properly. Earlier that day, they only dropped by our room and left their luggages there. 

That night, we went to Makati for dinner and sightseeing, but not before a funny scene unfolding before our very eyes. You see, from our perspective, the driver's seat in the Philippines is on the flip side. Parno, so eager to get into the car, must have forgotten about this and opened the door to the driver's seat instead. His action surprised both himself and the driver, causing us who stood nearby to laugh hysterically. 

Dinner in Makati.

In Makati, Team Ponti tried out Jollibee, the famous fast food chain in the Philippines. But the window shopping activity didn't last long and we decided to go back. BL left first on his own while the rest of us continued to SM by the Bay, the coastal line along the reclaimed land, and walked slowly from there. As it led to our hotel, it became the last bit of our short trip in Manila. 

The next morning, before the sun rose, we went back to Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Parno was stopped and checked by the airport officer because the scan result showed that he carried something that looked like a bullet (it turned out to be part of his keychain). Gunawan advised him to throw it away.

At the airport, minutes before boarding the plane.

When we were about depart, Susan told us to prepare for the screenshot of Visit Japan Web. Everybody had it, but Parno's screenshot didn't include his name. When he managed to login to the web page, the details weren't found. It was not possible to fill it up again on the day of departure as the time limit had been exceeded. Parno told us that his legs were trembling. He feared that he'd get deported and then scolded at home. As it could be his last moment with us, we took this picture above, haha. After that, we flew to Japan...

Epilogue: 

Taty, Surianto and I returned to Manila a week later. Our connecting flight to Singapore was on the following morning. Taty managed to get past the immigration, but Surianto and I took the wrong lane. We were then advised by the transfer desk officer to book a hotel before going to the immigration counter. We learnt from our previous experience that the airport had almost nothing in term of amenities (in my opinion, even Kolkata Airport was much nicer than this so-call international airport in the capital city of a country), so we had to get out! I quickly booked one, any hotel would do, and out we went! 

Gunawan in SM by the Bay.

Liburan Ke Jepang: Transit di Manila

Teman saya BL berujar bahwa dia jadi berminat ke Jepang salah satunya karena kita singgah di Manila. Dia merasa tertarik karena Manila biasanya bukan merupakan tujuan turis. Kunjungan singkat ke Manila ini memang termasuk dalam pertimbangan saya, tapi alasan saya lebih cenderung karena sudut pandang ekonomis: PAL menawarkan tiket paling murah untuk maskapai non-budget. Dan selagi di sana, saya juga bisa mampir ke Hard Rock. 

Gunawan, Parno dan Ardian di Supadio Airport, Pontianak.

Hari keberangkatan adalah hari yang penuh suka-cita. Tim Ponti yang terdiri dari Parno, Gunawan dan Ardian berangkat pagi karena mereka harus terbang ke Jakarta dulu sebelum lanjut ke Manila. Sebelumnya, Parno berkata dia akan ke bandara dengan GoRide. Ide ini memang khas Parno, membuat kita geli dan gemas sekaligus. Saya bayangkan bahwa dia akan beraksi seperti adegan Mission: Impossible, membawa dua bagasi sambil duduk di motor. Pasti tampak konyol! Jadi kita pun memberikan saran yang lebih konstruktif dan Ardian akhirnya menjemput Parno dengan sukarela. 

Sementara itu, Landak memilih untuk ke Changi lebih awal dari jadwal, padahal penerbangan kita itu sore hari. Sewaktu membaca kabar mereka semua di grup SMA, saya jadi susah konsentrasi untuk melanjutkan pekerjaan karena suasana liburan sudah terasa. Pas jam makan siang, saya pun langsung meluncur ke bandara juga. 

Makan es krim di PIK.

Di saat yang sama, Tim Ponti telah tiba di Jakarta. Mereka bersantai di PIK dan menikmati es krim seharga Rp 50.000, walau tidak semua merasa gembira. Parno mengomel karena merasa menghamburkan uang banyak untuk sesuatu sesederhana es krim. Di senja hari, mereka kembali ke Soekarno-Hatta dan bergabung bersama BL, Susan dan Cicilia untuk penerbangan tengah malam ke Manila. 

Kembali ke Singapura, saya dan Landak juga memulai perjalanan selama 3 jam 45 menit ke Manila. Tidak ada layar televisi di belakang tempat duduk di depan saya sehingga kesannya seperti menaiki pesawat AirAsia. Nuansa ini baru sedikit berubah setelah makanan disajikan. 

Proses imigrasi di Manila tergolong lancar. Tidak lama kemudian kita sudah berada di Bay 6, menunggu Grab datang menjemput. Hotel kita, Tryp by Wyndham, tidaklah jauh dari bandara. Setelah perjalanan pendek melintasi pemandangan kota yang entah kenapa terasa mirip Bangkok, kita pun sampai di tujuan. Hotel ini bagus dan sekelilingnya pun rapi dan bersih. 

Menjelajahi Mall of Asia.

Di malam itu kita mencari menu Filipina di kawasan Mall of Asia dan akhirnya bersantap malam di Juan's Bistro. Crispy pata (kaki babi goreng) dan gising-gising (batang kangkung yang diiris kecil-kecil dan digoreng dengan santan dan daging babi) memang lezat. Untuk menutup malam tersebut, kita minum dua botol San Miguel di Hard Rock Cafe Manila. Selama di sana, karena Landak ingin tahu, saya bercerita kepadanya kisah singkat tentang the Beatles. 

Keesokan harinya, kita menanti ketibaan Tim Ponti dan BL (Cicilia dan Susan lanjut ke Tokyo di hari yang sama). Setelah mereka berisitirahat sejenak dan mandi, kita naik Grab dan keluar dari kawasan Bay City. Di sini kita melihat bagian kota Manila yang kacau dan kumuh. Kita turun di Binondo dan berjalan kaki menyusuri daerah Pecinan. BL berkomentar bahwa sekeliling kita mirip Glodok Pancoran, tapi saya pribadi jadi terkenang dengan bangunan-bangunan di Jalan Sultan Muhammad yang sering saya lihat sewaktu menjadi murid SD di Pontianak. 

BL di depan Chuan Kee.

Kita mengunjungi Gereja Binondo dan berencana untuk makan siang di Chuan Kee, tempat makan cepat-saji tertua di Binondo, tapi antriannya luar biasa panjang. Akhirnya kita makan di Big Bowl Noodles yang menyajikan mie dalam mangkok besar. Pelayanannya lambat, begitu lambatnya sampai BL dan Gunawan bisa pergi berbelanja suvenir di tempat lain dulu, tapi makanannya cukup enak dan besar porsinya.

Seusai makan siang, kita meninggalkan Binondo dan menemukan New Binondo Chinatown Arch, gapura di kawasan tersebut. Dari sana, kita berjalan kaki ke Intramuros. Saya jadi terbuai oleh kenangan 15 tahun yang lalu, ketika saya pertama kali ke sini bersama Yani di tahun 2008. Kita beristirahat sejenak di sana dan mencicipi bibingka yang ada kemiripan dengan bingka Pontianak, lalu mengunjungi Katedral Manila dan Gereja San Agustin yang dibangun di abad ke-16. Yang saya agak herankan itu, kenapa mereka membangun katedral ini berulang kali di tempat yang sama meskipun sudah delapan kali runtuh diguncang gempa dalam 500 tahun terakhir.

Parno di dekat gerbang Fort Santiago.

Fort Santiago yang terletak tidak jauh dari katedral adalah tempat terakhir yang kita singgahi di sore itu. Tempatnya luas, tapi tidak begitu mengesankan. Kita lantas memesan Grab lagi untuk pulang ke hotel. Taty, teman terakhir yang berangkat, akhirnya tiba di Manila. Kita janjian untuk bertemu di hotel dan kesempatan yang sama juga dimanfaatkan oleh Tim Ponti dan BL untuk check-in. Ketika mereka tiba di pagi hari, mereka hanya mampir ke kamar kita untuk menaruh koper. 

Di malam itu, kita pergi ke Makati untuk makan malam dan jalan-jalan. Sebelum itu, ada kejadian lucu di hotel. Jadi dari sudut pandang kita, tempat duduk pengemudi mobil di Filipina itu terbalik di sisi kiri. Parno yang tergesa-gesa ingin naik ke mobil mungkin lupa dan malah membuka pintu kursi pengemudi. Tindakannya ini mengagetkan dirinya dan sopir, sehingga kita yang berdiri di dekatnya pun terpingkal-pingkal. 

Santap malam di Makati.

Di Makati, Tim Ponti mencoba Jollibee, ayam goreng cepat saji yang terkenal di Filipina. Akan tetapi jalan-jalan di pusat perbelanjaan tidak berlangsung lama dan kita putuskan untuk pulang. BL kembali ke hotel sendirian sedangkan kita bertolak menuju SM by the Bay, daerah pesisir di kawasan reklamasi, lalu berjalan perlahan dari sana. Perjalanan ini membawa kita kembali ke hotel dan mengakhiri kunjungan singkat kita di Manila.

Sebelum matahari terbit di hari berikutnya, kita kembali ke Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Parno sempat dicek oleh petugas bandara karena hasil pemeriksaan menunjukkan bahwa dia membawa sesuatu yang terlihat seperti peluru. Sesudah digeledah, ternyata apa yang dibawa Parno itu bagian dari gantungan kunci rumahnya. 

Di bandara Manila, sebelum naik ke pesawat.

Tatkala kita hampir menaiki pesawat, mendadak Susan mengabarkan bahwa kita perlu menyiapkan foto Visit Japan Web. Semua sudah mengisinya, tapi foto Parno tidak menampilkan namanya sehingga ia pun kalang-kabut. Setelah dia berhasil masuk ke situs, ternyata datanya hilang. Saat itu tidak mungkin lagi baginya untuk mengisi formulir karena batas waktunya sudah lewat. Parno berujar bahwa kakinya terasa gemetaran. Dia takut dideportasi karena pasti nanti dimarahi di rumah. Karena ini mungkin adalah saat-saat terakhir kita bersama Parno, jadi saya pun mengambil foto di atas ini, haha. Setelah itu, kita akhirnya terbang ke Jepang... 

Epilog: 

Taty, Surianto dan saya singgah lagi di Manila seminggu kemudian. Pesawat kita ke Singapura dijadwalkan terbang esok pagi, jadi kita punya waktu sekitar 10 jam di Manila. Taty berhasil keluar dari imigrasi, tapi saya dan Landak mengambil jalur yang berbeda. Oleh petugas transit bandara, kita disarankan untuk memesan hotel sebelum ke imigrasi. 

Dari pengalaman kita sebelumnya, kita tahu bahwa bandara Manila ini minim fasilitas dan tempat makan (saya cenderung berpendapat bahwa bandara di Kolkata masih jauh lebih bagus daripada bandara internasional di ibukota negara Filipina ini). Jadi kita benar-benar harus keluar! Saya buru-buru memesan satu hotel murah bernama Kabayan Hotel, cap paspor dan akhirnya kita berhasil keluar! 

Gunawan di SM by the Bay.

The Japan Trip: How It Began

It started with this thought that life began at 40. It got me thinking that for once in my life, I should travel with my high school friends to somewhere farther than Singapore. We decided that we'd go to Da Nang in Vietnam. But COVID-19 happened and we entered the time of corona. Things were uncertain, all plans were scrapped. 

It was during this lockdown period that a man called Parno told us his dream that he'd go to Japan. It sounded like a wishful thinking that we laughed at him, but as I mulled it over, it felt possible. His wish coincided with my dream to explore the world together, hence the grand plan was born.

A man called Parno, during Zoom.

It was originally meant to be a low-cost trip for Parno, therefore it was only planned with the budget of 10 millions rupiah to rule them all. The places we were going to visit were mostly free ones in Tokyo, Kawasaki, Yokohama and, later on, Kamakura (because John Lennon ever had a pancake there). Meals we had in mind was Yoshinoya, alternating with cup noodles (and free hot water from Lawson). No Shinkansen was needed, too. 

The next thing to do was selling the idea. Throughout the years, I'd learnt that if you told them repeatedly, sooner or later some would believe it was doable. In retrospect, after discussing it with some friends who joined, I came to realize that 10 millions rupiah sounded very enticing as a clickbait, haha. It was definitely a much better selling point than the actual amount we ended up with, which was probably three times higher. But, hey, there is a reason for such a jump. We'll get to that later. 

I campaigned relentlessly in our group chat from June 2020 onward. In March 2022, the world started opening up. But Japan was cautious and slow, a very disappointing move for a country many would love to visit. That's why I ended up visiting Kolkata in India instead. While my plan B was in motion, we monitored the update of tourism in Japan. By the time the news we were waiting for was announced, we quickly booked the tickets.

In Kolkata, India.

The date 12 October 2022 was the turning point. By then, the trip had about 14 members. Right before this fateful day, one friend had left the group, citing the reason that he had money but had no time to join. That's one way to exit in style, I reckon, but it irritated another potential participant and prompted him to cause a ruckus. Little did we know that the joke was on him as he, too, failed to join in the end. Oh yes, he dropped out after piling up as many as 37 excuses. So much for the big talk. 

And then there were 13 people who had tickets now. Things should be fine, eh? Not true. We still went through many dramas such as challenging visa application, another friend who suddenly cancelled her trip and half-baked change of PAL flight schedules. But God favored the brave. We faced them all, even if it meant leaving the shop unattended, using steamed rice as the glue or accepting the unpleasant fact that some of us would arrive much later in Tokyo and yet had to depart one day earlier than the original plan. 

Closer to the date, Eday joined and brought the number of participants back to 13. As we carried on discussing, the itinerary was again revised for the umpteenth time, now covering sakura, snow and Mount Fuji in one trip. Suddenly places as far as Kawazu and Niigata were included. On top of that, food was to be enjoyed and shopping was inevitable, so no more skimping. So tell me, you see now why the budget burst? Wahaha.

Eday in Japan. Starting a week earlier than us.

But we had gone so far and we were halfway there now. Turning back was no longer an option, so we shouldered on. JR East Pass was the last big ticket item we bought. Then we waited for the big day: 17 February 2023. First stop: Manila! 

Liburan Ke Jepang: Asal Mula

Semua ini bermula dari pepatah hidup bermula di usia 40. Hal ini membuat saya berpikir bahwa sekali dalam seumur hidup, saya harus bertualang bersama teman-teman SMA ke tempat yang lebih jauh dari Singapura. Saat itu kita putuskan untuk ke Da Nang di Vietnam. Namun COVID-19 mewabah dan kita pun memasuki era korona. Segala sesuatu menjadi tidak pasti, semua rencana pun dibatalkan.  

Di masa PPKM ini, seorang teman bernama Parno berujar tentang impiannya ke Jepang. Pada awalnya impian ini terasa seperti melantur sehingga kita semua menertawakannya. Akan tetapi, setelah saya pikirkan lagi, rasanya mungkin untuk diwujudkan. Keinginannya berhubungan dengan harapan saya untuk menjelajahi dunia bersama teman. Dari situ lahirlah rencana ke Jepang. 

Pria bernama Parno, sewaktu Zoom.

Rencana ke Jepang ini awalnya disusun sebagai liburan berbiaya rendah untuk Parno, maka anggarannya pun hanya 10 juta rupiah. Tempat-tempat yang akan kita kunjungi kebanyakan adalah yang gratis di Tokyo, Kawasaki, Yokohama dan Kamakura (karena John Lennon pernah makan pancake di sini). Untuk menghemat uang, menu utama kita adalah Yoshinoya yang murah-meriah, diselingi dengan Pop Mie (dan air panas gratis dari Lawson). Shinkansen pun tidak diperlukan. 

Yang perlu dilakukan selanjutnya adalah menjual impian ini. Beberapa tahun terakhir, saya belajar bahwa jika anda mengulang sesuatu sesering mungkin, lambat-laun beberapa pendengar akan percaya bahwa ide ini tidaklah mustahil. Kalau diingat kembali, setelah diskusi dengan teman-teman yang ikut, nominal 10 juta rupiah adalah nilai jual yang paling memikat. Kalau saja dari awal diumumkan perlu 30 juta, pasti banyak yang mundur teratur. Tapi nominal yang melambung tiga kali lipat ini ada penyebabnya. Simak terus, nanti akan diceritakan lebih lanjut.

Jadi saya pun kampanye tiada henti di grup SMA dari sejak Juni 2020. Di bulan Maret 2022, dunia pariwisata mulai aktif kembali. Namun Jepang sangat berhati-hati dan lambat perkembangannya, sungguh mengecewakan untuk sebuah negara yang banyak peminatnya. Karena inilah saya akhirnya pergi ke Kolkata. Sambil menjalankan rencana B, kita tetap memantau berita tentang Jepang. Ketika kabar gembira diumumkan, kita lekas membeli tiket. 

Di Kolkata, India.

Tanggal 12 October 2022 bisa dikatakan sebagai hari mulainya persiapan kita. Pada saat itu, kita ada 14 peserta. Sebelum tanggal tersebut, ada seorang teman yang mengundurkan diri dengan alasan ada uang tapi tak ada waktu. Memang gaya yang dahsyat untuk keluar dari grup, tapi juga menjengkelkan seorang teman lain yang lantas kesal dan menggerutu panjang-pendek. Yang ironis adalah, teman yang ini pun akhirnya batal ikut setelah mencetak 37 macam alasan. 

Dan 13 orang yang tersisa kini memiliki tiket. Harusnya aman, bukan? Tapi tidak begitu ceritanya. Masih ada beraneka drama, contohnya aplikasi visa yang menegangkan, seorang teman lain yang membatalkan tiketnya dan juga perubahan jadwal PAL yang berdampak pada rute perjalanan. Tapi Tuhan suka orang-orang yang tekun dalam berusaha. Kita hadapi semuanya, meskipun itu berarti harus meninggalkan toko selagi berjaga, menggunakan nasi untuk merekatkan foto atau menerima kenyataan bahwa beberapa di antara kita akan hadir paling telat di Tokyo dan pergi sehari lebih awal pula.

Eday di Jepang. Dia ke sana seminggu lebih awal.

Menjelang hari-H, Eday turut bergabung dan jumlah peserta pun kembali menjadi 13 orang. Setiap kali kita diskusi, rute perjalanan pun berubah lagi, sampai akhirnya mencakup sakura, salju dan Gunung Fuji. Tiba-tiba tempat sejauh Kawazu dan Niigata pun masuk dalam rute. Selain itu, makan pun kini dicanangkan seenak perut dan belanja juga jadi kewajiban, jadi tidak ada lagi yang namanya berhemat. Jadi coba bayangkan, bisa mengerti sekarang kenapa anggarannya tidak lagi paket sederhana? Wahaha.  

Tapi kita sudah sampai sejauh ini, bahkan lebih dari setengah jalan. JR East Pass yang harganya 18.000 yen adalah satu harga mahal yang terakhir kita bayar. Setelah itu kita pun menghitung mundur ke hari keberangkatan: 17 Februari 2023. Pemberhentian pertama: Manila!