The night passed noisily and the morning started softly. Getting used to new accommodation is not always easy, and I feel tired today, but the novelty of a new place makes up for it. The rain fell the whole day today, so I just put on my shoes and went out. I’d explore, I thought. Go anywhere and see what I discover. But first, I was hungry… I needed a meal. I started heading to a place that had been recommended to me, trying to skip over large puddles on the way. It was raining steady and hard today, and it wasn’t going to stop. The restaurant supposedly sold curry, and it looked like it had a lovely outdoor seating area. A little blue mosaic table, with delicate steel chairs, and also a wooden park bench with a pot of flowers on top. It looked like a mixture of western and Japanese culture, and I was curious.
I followed the directions to the train station, where it was meant to be, and I walked around. I couldn’t see anything like what I saw in the pictures. I walked inside where the gates were, and through to a shopping mall at the other end. I walked up to the next floor… down to below ground where the buses were picking up their passengers and people were rushing past me. I walked around the station, and also investigated the two shopping centres on the street leading to the station. There was a restaurant complex just a little further beyond the street… but no sign of it there either. I was beginning to get tired, a little frustrated and very hungry. Where was this restaurant? The time started to tick as my energy levels depleted, and I wasn’t in the mood to explore anymore. I just wanted to fill my belly with something.
I walked back to the train station and investigated another building that I hadn’t seen before… I started making theories that perhaps this place was recommended to me in error and it had closed down since. It seemed hard to believe since the reviews stated that there was always a line outside this place due to its limited seating. But there was no line to be seen… I decided to go to Starbucks instead. I needed something to eat, and my mood was dipping. As I sat by the window, I sipped my coffee while quickly downing my cake and watched the buses moving around in circles below. The little people on their way to appointments with their colourful umbrellas… A few breaths and I felt better. In fact, it was 2.30pm by this time, well past lunch time, but I decided to give it another shot. This restaurant had to be here, I could feel it.
As I walked down to the station, I decided to pause and take a little more time studying the pictures. I saw a red building in the background, and the ceiling looked like the white network of cylinders that I saw at the very entrance of the train. I remember when I was searching around the area earlier, walking up some stairs, I had smelled curry wafting through the air, but I didn’t know where it was coming from. I walked forward slowly to see if I had missed something. I looked left, and saw the same red wall, and then I looked right… there it was! It was truly tiny. A blue sign stood out the front displaying the menu, and pot plants flanked the main door. I saw the blue mosaic, and the wooden bench, just like in the photos. I can’t believe that it was there the whole time and I didn’t even see it. I must have crossed it a dozen times.
I walked in, and saw that the roof was sloping and studded with circular lights. It was located right under the stairs and escalator which led to another restaurant on the second floor. There, stood a lady with a big smile. She was standing behind a bar, enclosed into a small space crowded with pots and pans. A little kitchen underneath the stairs. A customer was on her way out, and I saw her walk through a small blue door. I caught her eye and laughed, it looked strange, but she continued to crouch down and leave through the tiny door, hidden in the left corner. As I went in, the lady asked me to sit down and prepared my place. I looked around and saw that there were prints upon prints of polaroid pictures on the walls… neatly beside one another, with little labels printed under the pictures. The bar stools were blue leather, and the bench was worn, chipping at the edges. As I sat down and admired the place, I realised that this is what I loved about Japan so much. They certainly knew how to fit a lot into a little space.
I was given a glass of water and soon after presented a menu. I took the recommendation, and she served me the half and half curry. One side was European, and the other side was herb curry. A neat mound of rice, in a teardrop shape, was nestled in the middle. The lady began to speak in English with me, and in fact she was very interested. She asked me lots of questions, I was surprised because normally people were not so talkative – but I enjoyed it a lot. The curry was also very delicious, as well as the little cup of lemongrass tea that she gave me to try. Soon after, two other ladies walked in and sat in the left corner. She welcomed them, but continued to talk with me in English as well. As she talked, she explained that the restaurant had been there for 26 years, and had become famous due to its unique dishes and special location. Normally there was a line, but I was lucky today because it was raining so it wasn’t as busy. She told me that the little door in the left corner of the restaurant was special – I left through that door, then my dreams would come true.
It’s amazing how there is probably something within the many people who line up to eat here everyday, that probably believes this. Fully grown adults also want to believe that there is magic in this world, and that their dreams can be their reality. I realised that this place was selling more than curry… it was also lifting the spirits of all who entered. When the time came for me to pay, I took a little bit of time to choose my dream and then I started walking through the door. The ladies in the corner had already moved aside for me so I could pass through. It felt totally reasonable, although onlookers were probably wondering what was going on and why so much laughter could be heard under the stairs. I squeezed past, ducked under and as I made it to the other side I felt that well… maybe my dream had come true in that very moment. Maybe I would come to know about it after a few days. I wanted to believe it, and I let myself have fun with the thought.
I walked away from the restaurant with a big smile on my face, and suddenly my day took a turn in a good direction. Nothing had changed around me – the day was still grey, and my umbrella was still saturated with rain. But there was a light shining from within, and I smiled with a confidence that I haven’t felt in a while. I think my most favourite thing about my trip so far is all the kind people I’ve met while I’ve been here. It has come as a surprise to me, because I had always thought that Japanese people were reserved. But once again, I am proved wrong. There are all types of people in every location, you just need to have the luck to bump into them. Sometimes we don’t find them in the places that everyone goes… where there are too many people and it is too difficult to give attention to everyone. Sometimes we find wonderful people in the places that we don’t initially think are important. The places which are quiet, or small, or hidden away in a residential neighbourhood. Places which help you believe that your dreams, maybe they can come true at any moment.
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