Staying a night in Tokyo
By Thawngno
In the spring of 2017, my family and I set off on a journey from Washington DC’s Dulles airport to Tokyo, Japan. Our final destination was Chin state, Myanmar, where I was born and broad up. As my brother and family are living in Japan, we planned to take a rest in Tokyo for one night. Our destination was Narita airport, where my brother and his family were waiting to greet us.
After a warm reunion at the airport, we hopped on a train and made our way to my brother’s house. It had been 16 years since I had last seen him, so it was a joy to be able to catch up and spend the night with him.
The next day, we set out to explore the city of Tokyo. Our first stop was the Tokyo Skytree Tower, where we were treated to a stunning panoramic view of the city. The skyline seemed to stretch on forever, and we were in awe of the beauty of Tokyo. When I lived in Japan about 16 years ago, the Skytree Tower was not build yet. So it was an exciting moment especially for me.
For lunch, we decided to try some of Tokyo’s famous street food. We found a restaurant in a bustling alleyway, and were blown away by the flavors and aromas of the dishes we tried. I love Japanese food all the time.
After lunch, we headed to Kinshicho station to catch a train to Narita airport. But as fate would have it, we unexpectedly ran into an old friend – Rev. Lawm Bik – whom I had known from my time living in Tokyo 15 years ago. It was a wonderful surprise, and we spent some time catching up and reminiscing about old times. To my big surprise, he told me he was living in the apartment where I was living when I left Tokyo. There was a park between the apartment and Kinshicho station, but the park was not there anymore.
We said goodbye to Rev. Lawm Bik, and took the train to Narita airport. It took about an hour. Watching beautiful landscape and small Japanese houses on the way, I said goodbye in my mind, to the land I love. Quietly I thought I will stay more time in Japan next time.
Finally, we boarded our flight to Burma with ANA airline. The journey was unforgettable, filled with new experiences, old friends, and unforgettable sights and sounds. We felt grateful for the opportunity to explore Tokyo, and to reconnect with loved ones along the way.