An evening in After Life in Japan

Many of us have speculated what heaven would be like. If one were to ask me, I would say the capsule hotels in Tokyo are the closest to my concept of heaven. That one evening I spent at the capsule hotel has been etched indelibly in my mind.

The trees have shed all
The leaves of the year gone
New year beckons

Man comes into the world empty handed and empty handed he leaves. He has to leave behind all the possessions of the previous world as he moves on to the next world. As you enter the capsule hotel, you leave behind all you possessions at the entrance as you leave the outside world and enter the capsule world. You even enter a changing room and leave all your clothes behind and put on the robes of the capsule world. That done you are now a denizen of the capsule world.

All trees look alike
Not a color nor fragrance
To discriminate

It is a different world inside the hotel. It does not matter who you were in the outside world. Inside all are the same. Everyone wears the same type of robes. Everyone is by himself. Everyone eventually dies alone. Everyone come to the capsule hotel alone. People tend to go about their business ignoring all the others at the hotel as if the others do not exist. No one talks to anyone else.

The only distinguishing mark is a rubber strap with a number around the wrist. The hot water spring, the cold water pool, the baths and the sauna are free for unlimited use by all. Also free are the showers, the soaps, the towels, the shaving sets and tooth brushes and paste. You ask and it shall be given to you. But then there are things you need to pay for as well. The foot, head and neck massages, the aromatic oil body massage, the Thai full body massage and the Swedish massage. But then you have come in leaving behind all your worldly possessions. For all that you enjoy in this world, you need to pay for in the next world. They note down the wrist strap number and charge against that number. When you are ready to return to the outside world, you will have to cough up the dough.

One gentleman called Douglas Adams has written a book called Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. In that he says “Man has always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much...the wheel, New York, wars and so on...while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man...for precisely the same reason.”

You need to spend time in the hot water springs in Japan to get a first hand understanding of the pleasures of mucking about in the water. This capsule hotel has both open and closed hot water springs and cold water pools. Both have their charms. The closed ones of course are cozier. But there is a certain excitement being inside water with a view of the sky. And I think I neglected to mention these springs and pools are located on the terrace on the fourth floor of the buildings.

The mind is already free leaving behind all of one’s burdens at the door itself. But the bare body itself may have become a burden for few. That’s where the massages come in. There is a massage for the foot, for the neck, for the hands, for the face, for the head, for the body. Whatever massage you want, you ask for it and you have it. Under the dexterous fingers of the professional, one almost experiences an out of the world experience.

Food and drink are available in abundance and one is spoilt for choice. The choicest delicacies are on offer at the food court. But then here too as in the outside world, there ain’t no such thing as free lunches. Your wrist strap number will be duly noted and for whatever you enjoy in this world, you need to pay the price for when you move to the next world.

The strap is the key to everything in this world and it holds the key to your final resting place as well: the capsule. The capsules are like tubes piled one on top of another in stacks very close to each other. Each room will have close to a 100 capsules. No one can beat the Japanese in economy of space. In some ways a capsule feels like a coffin. There is space only to lie down. No place even to sit. The capsules have numbers. Any guesses what the capsule number is? Yes. The number on the strap! You have ladders to climb up to the higher capsules. The capsules are locked and the keys are attached to the respective leather straps. You open the lock, enter and go to sleep. Interestingly it is very comfortable inside. You have lights, pillows, sheets, blankets, temperature control and even a television with a remote control. All that inside a coffin sized capsule. I am sure the robots would have kept humans inside something like this only in the Matrix movies. But one gets real sound sleep inside these capsules. Maybe because it feels secure like inside the mother’s womb. Don’t know if it feels the same inside coffins as well.

Trees come back to life
As the last snow melts away
Green leaves spring anew

After an evening of hot springs and the relaxing massages, one feels invigorated in body and spirit as one leaves the next morning. Back in the outside world, the entire previous evening’s existence feels like a dream. But one feels full of life, fresh for life’s challenges.

Writer's note : My attempt to narrate an experience in an impersonal tone. Been seeing lot of folks adding poetry in their stories/narrative. My first attempt at incorporating three Haikus inside a post. 

This post is an entry for Incredible Stories contest sponsored by Mahindra

Picture Credits (In the order of appearance on the post)

1. Winter Tree
2. Dolphin
3. Capsule Hotel
4. Green Tree