Biyaheng Kansai

A Little Late Post....


Biyaheng Kansai

Napadpad po ang inyong lingkod noong nakaraang Disyembre sa kanlurang bahagi ng bansang Hapon. Ito po ay dahil sa kagustuhang makatipid ng pamasahe at dahil sa sabik na sabik na umuwi, sinubukan ko ang sumakay sa Cebu Pacific sa Kansai. Mula Saitama to Tokyo, Tokyo to Osaka, Osaka to Kansai International Airport (KIX), KIX to Manila and finally to my hometown Davao City (vice versa). Kung hindi po dahil sa Cebu Pacific eh malamang pangatlong taon ko na ito na hindi nakauwi sa aking pamilya sa Davao City. Alam po natin na dito sa Japan, pag may okasyon kagaya ng obon (お盆), summer vacation, pasko, at Golden Week, ang ticket po ng eroplano ay napakamahal. Noong nakaraang pasko, ang karaniwang ticket ay naglalaro sa 100,000 hanggang 140,000 depende po sa haba ng balik. Suma total po ay ang biyahe ko at umabot lamang po ng 72,000 yen, kasama na po yung Manila-Davao-Manila ko na pamasahe. Kasama na po dito ang aking round-trip na pamasahe ng tren mula Saitama to Tokyo, overnight bus mula Shinjuku to Osaka at ang Airport Limousine Bus mula Osaka to Kansai International Airport. Nakakakaba po ang bumiyahe sa isang lugar na hindi ka pa nakakapunta lalo na at ang dami kong tinahak na sakay. Sakay sa tren at bus, lakad dito, akyat doon habang karag-karag ko pa ang aking mabigat na maleta laman ang mga pasalubong. Ang biyaheng iyon ay hindi para sa mga mahina ang loob at ayaw ng adventure dahil napaka mendokusai (面倒臭い).

Along the way, nung pasakay ako ng bus sa Shinjuku at 11PM that night, may na meet akong Pilipino. Isang Nikkeijin (日系人) na taga Kouenji, Tokyo. Nawala po ang aking kaba nung alam kong may Pilipino akong kasama. Iba po talaga ang mga Pilipino. Unang pagkakakilala pa lamang ay feeling close na masyado at talaga naman pong nagtutulungan lalo na sa oras ng kagipitan. It saved my day. At least may kausap ako habang naghihintay sa bus at sa kalagitnaan ng biyahe. Maganda ang bus na sinakyan naming. Double-decker. May CR sa loob and I was able to stretch my legs. Along the way, may nakilala po kaming French na taga Saitama. I thought na ako lang ang taga Saitama na bumiyahe patungong Osaka. Isa po sa mga katangian nating Pilipino na maipagmamalaki natin ay yung pagiging bihasa natin sa wikang Ingles. Sa lahat ng pasahero ng bus, tatlo lang kaming gaijin (外人) at magkakatabi pa talaga kami. Ayun, kwentuhan ng ilang mga minuto sa biyahe bago natulog. Of course, in English! There were about 5 or 6 stops along the way. Nakarating po kami sa Kyoto around 6AM and what I saw was almost all small, old, yet beautiful buildings and structures.

When we got off in Osaka at 8AM, we were totally clueless where to go. There was plenty of time. We arrived 8AM and our Cebu Pacific flight was at 8PM that night. So we decided to consume our McDonalds Coffee coupon that was given to us and ate our breakfast. Afterwhich, the French guy left and began his vacation in Osaka. Me and Kuya Peter were roaming around where to find the nearest station for the Airport Limousine Bus. Napakadali pong bumili ng ticket dahil automatic. One-way is around 1,300 yen. Umabot po ng isang oras ang biyahe. According to some of my friends, its easier to travel via bus rather than a train when going to Kansai International Airport dahil marami pong norikaemasu (乗換えます) papunta sa airport. Ang view po ay napakaganda. Crossing from mainland Honshu going to the reclaimed land (埋立地・umetatechi) was a like a scene from a movie. The area was very wide and beautiful. From the expressway (高速道路・kousokudouro) above, you can see the entire Osaka and the approaching airport in its beauty. Upon arriving, we ate lunch again and had plenty of coffee at Starbucks. For coffee lovers, the coffee is refillable at 120 yen per cup. Just don’t throw you cup or else you won’t get refilled. Internet service around the airport is also free and really fast. The airport complex is easy to navigate and there are plenty of shops. There is even a Lawson convenience store inside. Habang naghihintay, ang dami kong Pilipino na nakita Karamihan taga Kansai area siyempre. Ako lang po ata ang pinakamalayong pinanggalingan. The plane left almost an hour late because it was a little delayed from Manila. (Ahem). When I came back it was the opposite, from Osaka, I was the only gaijin riding the bus. Scary but I was able to survive and finally arrived Shinjuku at 7AM and finally arriving at my home by 830AM. Taihen deshou? To sum it up, my travel was more than the usual travel experience. I have seen and set foot on the major city in the West which is Osaka, and the world’s most advanced floating airport, Kansai International Airport. Furthermore, acquainted with one random Filipino and a random French guy. And of course, saved a lot of money!



Article originally published in March-April 2009 issue of Jeepney Press under Achi Kochi column.