Chiba Katsutadai and Murakami City

 In the beginning when I came to Japan I was living in the remote areas of Chiba Prefecture in a sharehouse. The name of the city was Katsutadai. It was quite beautiful yet rural.Had great time exploring nearby places around Katsutadai and nearby village called Murakami.

In the Sharehouse it was so fun meeting new people from different countries, making friends, having fun activities 

 

My First few hours in Japan

 In 2019 August 18 I arrived in Japan the Land of the Rising Sun.

When I first saw my plain entering the border of Japan through Chiba at Narita. I felt very emotional It was my dream country I imagined since I was a child and Now I am entering Japan.. I literally cried in the plain.. not feeling remorse of crying but was feeling awesome and proud that by lots of efforts ..my dream is a about to come true.

When I got at the Narita International Airport.. All I could see was boards, banners, in Japanese Everyone is Japanese around me... It was quite an overwhelming experience rather the cultural shock that for one moment I thought of booking a flight and return back to India lol.

Cultural Shock experiences:

First thing we had to do was to do the currency exchange. My parents gave me dollars which I had to exchange it in Yen. Since it was my first time doing the currency exchange at the airport.. I hope those currency exchange counter ladies didn't fool me lol. I still have the receipt of my first currency exchange.

Next I was told to buy the Travelling card. In Japan there are two facilities

1. Go to the ticket vending machine and buy a ticket

2. There are Vending machines where we need to buy the Travelling cards such (Suica, Pasmo) Some other cards varies from prefectures or states. So I was told  initially to deposit 10,000 Yen. And that moment I panicked, 10,000 Yen? WTF.. Thats a lot money.. Then I was told this deposit needs to be done in order to buy a card so.. trusting their opinions I deposited the amount and bought my Pasmo Card, Then I was told to recharge it,.. I thought is 10,000 Yen doesn't include everything. That was a shocker for me.. I was just scared thinking how expensive Japan is going to be.

Then we got into the Train. And you wont believe the first impression of Trains was super clean, wide windows and resembled like Metro trains, And I was startled to see how beautiful the train was.

As the train left Narita Airport Station and reached the next station, I was expecting that there would be many people running screaming scrambling near the main door waiting to get in the train.. And first of all I was searching for Indians at the platform.. All I could see was Japanese people.. making no havoc ...standing in line without making no noise.. and patiently waiting for the doors to open. I was like What the hell is going on.. M i really  on this earth? I heard all the announcements in Japanese.. And Posters and banners were so properly maintained.. No destruction of the public property.. Again the cultural shock.

Then I Reached my destination at the station named 京成勝田台【 Keisei KatsuTadai】And as I was walking towards my share house I was just following my colleagues who came to pick me up at the airport. And later they asked me, did you buy the food, I was like no.. Then they asked me what m I going to eat?.. I was like damn I haven't thought about that... again went into a panic mode.. Then they took me to the Supermarket. And As I went in the supermarket.. I was like WAOW.. What is  this place... To describe my impression, The supermarket was so clean, again everything kept in the right place, properly maintained, Then I went searched for the lunch boxes and when I saw the prices. I was shocked.. each and every product was above 500 Yen to 1000 Yen range.. At that moment I was constantly comparing Indian Rupees with Japanese Yen. And I was constantly wandering how will I survive in Japan with such a limited currency exchange money.

Each and Every moment I was experiencing the cultural shocks of which I was not ready for...

On my first day to Japan I was so exhausted but couldn't sleep well. Was feeling quite overwhelming.

 

Beginning of New Journey

Hey Guys how are you doing.

Let me introduce myself.. My name is Chinmay Karkhanis.. Originally from India, Born and raised in Mumbai. Completed my bachelors of electrical engineering. I have a huge interest in learning foreign languages, love travelling, socializing on the international standard meaning I love to make friends and meet people not just from my country but from all over the world. Literally boosts my energy.

When I was very young, my father (Pravin Karkhanis) use to tell me many stories about Japan(The Land of the rising Sun).Stories like Japan is the most cleanest country in the world, Japanese women wear Kimono, Japan experiences a lot of Earthquakes and Volcanic eruptions, Japan has the worlds fastest bullet train etc. etc. which made me motivated, and eager to come to Japan.

While I was studying my bachelors, I started studying Japanese Language but it was quite difficult to focus on both things at the same time. Hence it took me a while to reach to this level.

After finishing my bachelors I started working in the Japanese firm called Fujitsu Consulting India Pvt. Ltd. in Pune for two years as level 1 Technical support for 2 years. It was a good opportunity where I could utilize my Japanese in the workplace but the only problem was I had to work in 3 shifts(Morning-Afternoon- Night) which was so random and tedious that it affected my health. Also I was looking for Job opportunities in Japan.

Later I was contacted by a recruiter who were hiring for the position in Japan. I was so excited but at the same time I was scared with less years of experience, how would I survive in Japan. On my confirmation in this firm I had to create all the documents and the day finally arrived where I got my working Visa for Japan. I still couldn't imagine it. Then I got the one way flight ticket from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminal International Airport to Narita International Airport Japan. Still it was unbelievable for me that the dream of me going to Japan has come.

Along with the excitement I was super nervous that How would I travel by plane, because I never traveled by plain ever in life, didn't knew any internal procedures. Also if I go to Japan how will I survive too much of positive stress and anxiety. But on the contrary I had decided that I will Do it... No matter what happens.. will do it without giving up. Not knowing where would this journey take me.

Check the below video about my Beginning of the new chapter of my life..