#Custom bags Singapore

[artpaper-com-sg]

Unwrapping Excellence: Singapore's Premier Supplier Of Custom Paper Bags

Custom packaging solutions are in high demand in the dynamic city of Singapore, where business and creativity converge. The quest for the ideal packaging starts whether you're a business owner seeking to make an impact or an individual hoping to personalize your presents.

Exceptional Singaporean Supplier of Custom Paper Bags

Promoting Products with Eye-Catching Packaging

A product's packaging may convey a lot of meaning. Custom paper bag suppliers in Singapore provide many alternatives that go above and beyond to boost your company's reputation. They have mastered the art of visual communication, whether it's through bright prints or simple, modern designs.

Strategies for a More Sustainable Future

Top Singaporean bespoke paper bag suppliers have noticed the change and now provide more sustainable options. Picture your brand's products being delivered in carefully designed, eco-friendly packaging while having a beneficial effect.

Elegant, One-of-a-Kind Gift Baskets for Any Occasion

Creating Lasting Experiences with Unique Elements

Personalizing gift boxes is a thoughtful way to elevate the art of presenting a present. You may stamp every box with the personalized choices offered by Singaporean vendors.

Customization: More Than Just Eye Candy

Custom gift boxe have obvious aesthetic value, but they also have useful functions. Longevity and practicality are priorities for Singaporean suppliers. Picture this: you're giving a present in a box that does double duty as a presentation and a means of protecting the contents throughout shipment. The combination of form and function is flawless.

The Perfect Blend of Form and Function: Stationary Printing

Establishing the Mood with Personal Stationery

Staples are essential in the world of formal and informal correspondence. You may express professionalism, creativity, or a combination of the two with the correct design.

All-Inclusive Method for Creating Business Cards and Letterheads

Making attractive letterheads is only one aspect of stationery printing. Everything from business cards to envelopes and beyond is covered. If you want your brand's identity to be consistent and easy to remember, choose a reliable Singaporean provider to handle your stationery needs.

Why Buy from Local Suppliers in Singapore and Enjoy the Benefits?

Rapid Processing and Tailored Assistance

A local Singaporean provider of personalized paper bags, gift boxes, or stationery can guarantee lightning-fast response times. Meeting deadlines without sacrificing quality is crucial in today's fast-paced business environment, and these vendors get it.

Backing Regional Companies and Artists

Not only will you save money, but you'll also be helping your neighborhood thrive. Local artists and companies form a network that encourages creativity and entrepreneurship thanks to the collaboration of several bespoke paper bag providers, gift box crafters, and stationary printers.

Ensuring Productivity and Meticulousness

The dedication to quality is something that Singaporean suppliers are quite proud of. Careful detail consideration is exercised at every stage, from material selection to printing accuracy. This dedication guarantees that the result is exceptional and memorable.

Conclusion

Finding the right Singaporean company to print your bespoke paper bags, gift boxes, and stationery is, ultimately, an investment in the reputation of your business. With complete personalization options, you can ensure the packaging reflects your brand's story and values. Remember that every alternative offered by local suppliers is a chance to improve your presentation and, by extension, your brand as you peruse their varied offerings. Opt for personalization, quality, and Singapore.

[mohammedyusri-blog]

Looking for quality and affordable brown kraft paper bags? Artpaper.Com.Sg provides paper bags, customised gift box, Stationary printing service, sticker label printing, custom paper bags in Singapore.

[escendingtrading]

Escending Trading specializes in high-quality custom T-shirt printing in Singapore. With a range of styles and materials, we help bring your designs to life for events, promotions, or personal use. Our vibrant prints and quick turnaround ensure your unique vision stands out. Wear your creativity with Escending Trading!

For more details visit our website https://www.escending.com.sg/

[seogame]

Preserving Pixels: The Importance of Large Frame Scanning

Singapore’s printing industry mirrors the worldwide trend of digital transformation, consistently incorporating large-frame scanning technologies throughout various sectors. The technology streamlines the archival process and delivers outputs of superior quality, contributing to eco-friendly practices. It accurately records intricate details in large-format documents, providing artists and record keepers with detailed output for multiple applications. Within the realm of bespoke clothing, this ensures precise replication of complex patterns on t-shirts, bolstering the local apparel sector with custom-made, high-quality products.

READ MORE- https://pistiprints.com/preserving-pixels-the-importance-of-large-frame-scanning/

[dtcworlds-blog]

Eco-Friendly Corporate Gift: Reducing Environmental Footprint

In today's era of heightened environmental awareness, companies are increasingly acknowledging the significance of sustainability across all facets of their operations, including corporate gifting. The transition towards eco-friendly corporate gifts not only mirrors corporate social responsibility endeavors but also underscores a commitment to reducing ecological impact. Let's delve into the surging trend of sustainable corporate gifts and their advantages for businesses and the environment alike.

Eco-friendly corporate gift typically utilize sustainable materials. By opting for these materials, businesses diminish their environmental footprint and contribute to preserving natural resources. This deliberate choice showcases the company's environmental stewardship and dedication to sustainability. Sustainable Corporate gift Singapore serve as potent instruments for raising consciousness about environmental issues among employees, clients, and partners. By selecting eco-friendly gifts, businesses communicate a clear message about their commitment to environmental conservation, inspiring others to adopt sustainable habits.

Embracing sustainability in corporate gifting enhances brand reputation and fortifies customer loyalty. Modern consumers are increasingly drawn to brands that embody environmental values and ethical conduct. By offering eco-friendly corporate gift, businesses demonstrate their environmental consciousness and distinguish themselves as socially responsible entities, earning the respect and loyalty of their stakeholders.

Sustainable Corporate Gift Singapore

Cultivating Long-Term Connections

Sustainable corporate gift Singapore is often designed to be durable and practical, ensuring prolonged usefulness for recipients. Unlike conventional gifts that may be discarded hastily, eco-friendly gifts carry a higher perceived value and are more likely to be retained and utilized by recipients. This nurtures enduring relationships with clients, partners, and employees, who appreciate the considerate and functional nature of the gifts.

The selection of eco-conscious corporate gifts also extends support to suppliers and manufacturers committed to sustainable practices throughout their supply chains. By sourcing products from ethical and environmentally conscious suppliers, businesses contribute to the advancement of sustainable industries and encourage widespread adoption of eco-friendly practices across the business landscape.

The adoption of eco-friendly corporate gifts signifies a significant stride towards creating a more sustainable future. By integrating sustainability into corporate gifting practices, businesses can minimize their ecological impact, raise awareness about environmental issues, bolster brand reputation, foster enduring connections, and champion ethical supply chains. As businesses continue to prioritize sustainability, eco-conscious corporate gifts will play an increasingly pivotal role in driving positive change for the planet and society at large.

[apexgiftprint]

Customised Coasters Singapore - Apex Gifts and Prints

If you are looking to purchase customised coasters in Singapore for your upcoming corporate gifting, you are at the right place. Enquire now!

[moviestarmartini]

flores amarillas. — franco colapinto x gf!reader

él la estaba esperando con una flor amarilla / ella lo estaba soñando con la luz en su pupila / y el amarillo del sol iluminaba la esquina / lo sentía tan cercano, lo sentía desde niña.

summary: franco surprised you at the airport on a special saturday.

wc: 800

warnings: none! just fluff, conversations in spanish, idiots in love and a established relationship.

A/N: feliz día internacional (latino mostly) de las flores amarillas hehehehe i added the context in the fic so i won't give it here !

now playing... flores amarillas from floricienta

The only way your trajectory to Singapore could get worse was if the plane exploded mid-air like in Final Destination. 

It was humiliating; you were supposed to arrive Friday, and by the time you took your last connection, the estimated time of arrival was for early Saturday morning. The bags under your eyes were bigger than the ones sitting in the compartment underneath the passengers, you went from lack of sleep due to excitement to hibernation, ignoring the flight attendants who attempted to wake you up. 

You only rose from your slumber while the destination edged nearer, to freshen up and half heartedly have breakfast. You did your best to look presentable, flushing away in the sink the despair from both the missed connections and long customs lines. This involved changing out of the designated airport lounging outfit into something more fresh, having prepared the outfit in your personal bag, feeling the humidity already crawl up your bones even when you hadn’t descended. 

After his excellent work in Baku, Franco was eager to finally fly you out to see him race live in the top category, only having experienced him in the feeder series. The nerves ate you up, walking the paddock with your boyfriend was something you had fantasized about, but never expected to become a reality even when he reached Formula One. 

But there you were, praying for your bag to come out and not have gotten lost, leaving a big sigh of relief upon spotting it, untampered with. It wasn’t that heavy, and it was that moment of strength that took over you whenever your boyfriend wasn’t there to carry everything. 

As soon as your roaming plan kicked in you contacted him, letting him know you were there. He told you he hired a chauffeur to pick you up and take you back to the hotel, excusing himself due to the need to rest before paddock duties, which you completely understood. 

Imagine the surprise to see him standing at the arrivals gate holding a bouquet of yellow flowers. 

His face lit up in joy at the same time yours lit up in surprise, a delicate hand flying over to cover the O your mouth had turned into. 

Gifting yellow flowers on September 21st was used to celebrate the beginning of spring in the southern hemisphere, and the phenomenon just spread all throughout Hispanic countries. You’d dropped hints here and there, but with the stress from your flight… situations you’d completely forgotten about everything else. 

Your suitcase made noise against the floor as you dragged it along your sprint, letting it go— but making sure it stayed put— before hugging him tight. His laughter replenished all the energy the trouble had taken away from you, nuzzling into his shirt to breathe in his scent. 

Yeah, it was your Franco. 

“¡Me mentiste!” You proclaimed, hitting him in the chest. He ignored the subject of the yellow flowers and supposedly arranged for a third party to pick you up. 

“Buen día princesa hermosa, feliz de verte.” He blatantly ignored your claims, leaning in to smooch your cheek, hanging the bouquet of sunflowers with fresh eucalyptus mixed in for some greenery. You didn’t know if your ears felt warm because of the high temperatures or the flattery. 

“¿Cómo es que iba la canción? Ella sabía que el sabía que sabía que algún día pasaría—“ You interrupted his annoying high pitched sing along while you took a picture of the plants, heart thumping in your chest. 

“No, no. Que él sabía que algún día pasaría a buscarla—“ Now it was his turn for him to interrupt you, putting a finger over your lips. 

“—con sus flores amarillas!” Though you would regularly be offended at him interrupting you, you almost giggled at his antics. 

You stood there for a second, unable to tear your eyes away from the warm toned bouquet, still in the best type of disbelief. You didn’t notice it was you who he couldn’t tear his eyes away from. 

The second you told him you were asking for all the permissions to get a vacation sorted to see him race, he knew he had to make it special. And by your reaction, he knew it was a mission accomplished. Besides, it warmed his heart to see you so happy. 

“Let’s go get you freshen up and head to the paddock, if I’m any later than the hour I have left, they’re going to replace me.” Now the idea didn’t terrify you just as much, you were too busy gawking about the surprise to your mom and your friends, following him to the car knowing you had no time to lose nor spare. 

He took both your weekender and the medium sized suitcase, letting you to only carry the weight of having the best boyfriend ever. 

[monsterprintssg]

Things For Which Customized Tote Bags Are An Amazing Product

There are some people who want customised tote bag in Singapore as well so that it can be unique and made specifically for each purpose. Singapore has customised tote bag makers who can create these kinds of pieces for you. Read our article to know why customized tote bags are an amazing product.Read more - Visit here

[valpoupdates]

FEBRUARY CALENDAR POSTING...

So much to see, so much to do, so little time ! Lucky for you, here in the Valparaíso Region, we keep track of it just for you ! Unless stated otherwise, these activities are optional. Residents do not have to take part in these if they don't wish to ! These can be used for threads throughout the month but new threads can't be started for these activities once the month is up. Please track the valpocalendar tag to stay updated month to month ( ©️ )

Casablanca Activities:

February 3rd-4th: Aire Libre will be hosting two romance-a-thon nights, one in Spanish and one in English (with Spanish closed captioning).  There will be a Valentine’s Day themed snack box consisting of a metal heart popcorn bowl, pink popcorn, a variety of candy, and heart-shaped alfajores provided by Dulce Sueño’s Sweets and Treats.

February 3rd 5 PM: La vida de los peces: Andrés se reencuentra con su antiguo amor. 7 PM: Play: Dos personas buscan amor, pero nunca se encuentran. 10:00 PM: Los Fuertes: Lucas y Antonio empiezan un gran amor. February 4th 5 PM: Shrek: Un ogro y un burro tienen una aventura. 7 PM: Crazy Rich Asians: El novio de Rachel Chu, una profesora de economía, tiene un gran secreto. 10 PM: The Notebook: Duke lee una historia romántica a una paciente.

February 8th: Casablanca Blooms and Coffee will be hosting two Valentine’s Day-themed events: from 5 PM - 6 PM will be a bouquet-making class where you can create a beautiful bouquet for a loved one, and from 6 PM - 7 PM will be a coffee blending class where you can create your own sweet blend.

February 14th: Dulce Sueño’s Sweets and Treats is hosting a Valentine’s Day dessert decorating session from 12 PM - 2 PM.  Come decorate cookies, brownies, and mini-cakes; then take home your goodies and share them with your loved ones.

Quilpué Activities:

February 9th: Caos Tattoos is hosting the Anti-Romance Tattoo Sale.  There will be affordable flash sheets around themes of anti-love and heartbreak.

February 18th: The Annual Beastly Brunch is happening again at the Quilpué Zoo from 11 PM - 1 PM.  Feast on delicious bites and sip brunch cocktails while learning and celebrating the feathered friends you have in your own backyard!  Brunch will be served.

February 22nd: Plantas Altas is having their Customer Appreciation Day. Plants will be up to 40% off, and there will be complimentary food and a DJ.  First 40 customers get a free t-shirt or tote bag with the store logo.

Valparaíso Activities:

February 1st: A Santa Moneda resident has some dozen leftover tickets for Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and has offered to fly people out to Carnival for a small fee. Carnival takes place February 9th-17th, and it is one of the largest yearly festivals in Brazil that celebrates their history, culture, and traditions. The itinerary is already made, hotel rooms have been booked, and VIP events have been reserved; all you need to do is reach out to Santa Moneda Front Desk and we can get you in touch with the resident. Serious inquiries only!

February 10th: Parque Cultural de Valparaíso is hosting a Lunar New Year Festival from 12 PM - 9 PM, celebrating the Year of the Wood Dragon. There will be foods from many different countries that celebrate the holiday, including China, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, and Malaysia, stalls that sell clothes, art, and knick-knacks, lion dancing, and presentations and reading corners for people of all ages to learn more about the history, culture, and traditions behind the holiday from each country. The festival will close out with fireworks.

February 23rd: The Universidad de Bellas Artes Poets play against the Pontifical Catholic University Pumas at 6 PM. Come show your school spirit or come support your local fútbol team.

February 24th: Biblioteca Santiago Severín is hosting a community shred day from 8 AM - 8 PM. With a small donation, you can bring any personal papers and documents to be shredded.  Volunteers are still needed; if interested, please sign up on our website, <santiagoseverin.cl>. 

Viña del Mar Activities:

February 11th-24th: The Ballet de Valparaíso will be performing Cinderella at The Teatro Municipal. Come laugh, be surprised, and fall in love with a new interpretation of an age-old fairytale.

February 14th: There will be speed dating in the Jardín Botánico Nacional from 2 PM - 4 PM, with complimentary coffee provided by Combi Coffee. Casual attire; no sign ups necessary.

February 17th: There is free admission for all tours, all day, at Castillo Wulff. If you and your kids or friends are looking for a fun way to pass the time, come learn about the beautiful, historic castle overlooking the sea.

February 25th - March 1st: The Quinta Vergara Amphitheater is hosting the LXII Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña. It is the oldest and largest music festival in Latin America; the 6-day festival is broadcasted on the radio, television, and online streaming platforms. This year’s headlines include Maná, Peso Pluma, Allison Mandel, Andrea Bocelli with special guest Matteo Bocelli, Maria Becerra, and more!

February 29th: The restaurant inside the Casino de Viña del Mar is a popular place for people to get proposed to, and on Leap Year, that popularity dramatically increases as women will propose to their significant others.  No one knows when this tradition started, but it’s been going on for years; the restaurant even has a special menu for this day. Come grab a table and watch some potential impromptu proposals! Who cares if the rumors say most of them are staged!

[mindfulcuppa]

Passed Impressions; Threads Sewn with Word and Image

2 >Tokyo >Helsinki >Lisbon >Waking Life

Tokyo

Japan air flew me like a special guest to Tokyo, a delightful transportation in the air. When I arrived, I had no real idea of how to get around, nor had I any Japanese in the lexicon (if only) - so anything like beer and soba noodles would grasp towards comfort.

Call me cringe, but there was something magical about eating Japanese food in Japan. Though I did only had a brief gesture, a taste or morsel if you will, it encouraged a more detailed dive into food there. Hiromi had told me about a miniature car racetrack that they had inside of the airport, but unfortunately it wasn’t open late, so instead I sat on the Haneda observation deck in the rain and watched the planes takeoff. In the gate there were a deluge of people waiting to board to Singapore too, I sat with a family while their kids made up games to play with their temporary terminal friends. “I like to learn but I don’t like school, I like to read but I don’t like books,” one of them riddled. I sipped on a Japanese electrolyte drink and smiled at them as they laughed. 

Helsinki

Helsinki is a strange aura, in the airport at least… people at customs are very nice and all have healthy silver blonde hair. I am looking around a while, finally settling at a bar on the observation deck; I talk with the man at the bar, estimating an expensive cocktail about to be billed. Aspiring for a Finnish Vodka martini, and settling for a gin & tonic with Juniper berries, the bartender and I exchange some broken English pleasantries before I sit down and draw.

Lisbon

After about one and a half days of transit, the eventual arrival to destino Lisboa was a relief. I would walk to the bustling metro station conveniently placed 100 metres or so from the airport and try to find myself a ticket. There was a palpable stickiness to the air underground, and feeling the atmosphere inside the train grew a distant unknown. Embarrassingly I had forgotten the PIN number on the debit card I have had for half a decade, which only left me with about €50 until further notice. I would buy anything I could online, guessing items from the images with the websites all in Portuguese… Before I reached the hostel, four men on the street offered to sell me weed and cocaine (sure it was…). Oversharing, I explained that even if I wanted to, I only had €20 in cash to last me for some days and I had no access to other money. Also a heavy bag on my shoulders and way finding eyes. 

Having passed metrics of time and space now, eaten a yummy tomato and cheese baguette and 2 pastel de nata, and snapped images of old fountains - I was tired. I think I stepped over 20,000 this day and finally made it to the ‘Good Night’ hostel (phew). I listened to the sounds of the accordion on the cobblestone street from the balcony, it felt like a shift in time. 

Waking Life

In the morning, I would arrange to meet two people from the meta verse to share a car out to a 6 day festival in the Portuguese countryside (Crato). Miguel from Porto, Harry from Glasgow, and myself found each other at the aeroporto before getting picked up in an Uber, and taken for a loooong drive in context. I think it was about 200km, with 20km of that being unsealed and dust-cloud birthing abaft our bumper. 

The festival was lush (to put it lightly), and impressed with the natural mounded structures, bamboo assemblage, stage designs, and the lake (c/o mother nature, not WL of course…). There were bridges built, pontoon ferries across the lake (and if you’re lucky, with little chaperone children helpers), nests, treehouses, safe spaces, shade structures, a cinema, and regenerative forests. If one was to dream, i’m sure they would find some common ground with this festival. 

Personally, I spent lots of time reading, swimming, dancing, and listening. Some musical highlights were Donna Leake, ADAB, Cosmo Sofi, Greg Foat, Baba Sissoko & Jean-Philippe Rykiel, Daphni, ALABASTER DEPLUME, Mark Ernestus Ndagga Rhythm Force, Zozo, Palms Trax, Aleksi Perälä, and Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra. The music didn’t stop the whole time, so there was lots that missed too.

Flying a kite really high next to the music at the Praia stage provided a moment of bliss, watching others get lost in the hypnotic floating in the sky, the wavering dance, it made others smile which made me happy. There was a lot of gentle motion throughout the week; beauty in stillness, and comparative liberation through movement. Learning from each other was another noticeable effort, space being allocated to apuoro - where generous a exchange of lessons culminated around topics of dream and sensation. Specifically I enjoyed learning about reversing and remembering dreams, which has sent me on a path since. 

Another special moment was in approach of the Má Estrela set (contemporary Portuguese experimental jazz{?}). The curiosity was well and truly high in the soundcheck, in fact, only few could distinguish what was going on. I sat next to this man as he rolled some sort of smoke, he was British and we had polite conversation. On my other shoulder was a mademoiselle whom seemed to know about the band upcoming. “I’m not sure if you’ll like it…” she said throwing caution, I said “We’ll see” and we sat alone but together in observation and listening. Experiencing waves of synthesis, saxophone, drone, and erratic drums in very different ways I predict, we tilted our heads with different signatures. The British man could not handle the jazz, and left before the first song would conclude. Following the set, it seemed like there was the world to talk about with my neighbour, so we stayed in each others space together for some moments to unfold our introspections.

Enjoy the images, and a couple field recordings I snapped along the way of some of the music. I appreciate you reading these memories. 

[mihai-florescu]

Forgot to tell yall that when we went to Belgium we stopped by a store that supplies the royal family with chocolate and the employees literally stopped to come look at My 8 Euros Chicken Bag. There was another customer talking about being from Singapore on a business trip asking about optimal chocolate temperatures but they literally couldnt care less and were just waiting for him to go so they can approach and ask about my bag. Truly what is more special than a silly girl...

[straitslaundry]

Advantages of starting a laundry franchise business

Such erratic alignments lead to many incomplete domestic tasks. One of the essential activities on the list of household chores is doing the laundry. To avoid the hassle of having to sort through dirty clothes at home. To avoid the hassle of washing at home, many people take their clothes and other items directly to the launderettes in their area. Offline laundry service providers have been widely believed to have a real impact on the Brands offering laundry franchisee industry.

Is a Laundry Franchise Necessary?

Office workers and employees with unpredictable schedules rely more on laundry services. As city life speeds up, people want clean, orderly closets. Developed regions need laundry services more than rural ones. Dry cleaning services let customers save time and focus on their personal and business lives.

Laundry services are utilised for bulk dress cleaning because huge washing machines have limited capacity. Companies and individuals hire Straits laundry Franchisee to clean their linens, clothes, and bags. Hotels, restaurants, and large and small hospitals must follow uniform laundry procedures. Laundry services are also popular.

Business Plan for a Laundromat Franchise

Effective and the best laundry or dry-cleaning franchises are built on a foundation of innovation and change. This cleaning service primarily caters to single people and college students. Laundry and dry-cleaning franchisee can benefit from narrowing its attention to these factors.

These days, commercial launderettes are increasingly focusing on developing space-saving products with extended lifespans for washing clothes.

Dry Cleaning Business Opportunity

Customers' shifting behaviours toward laundry and dry-cleaning services have increased the demand for laundry bonds, which dry cleaning franchise associations offer. One company is exploring the possibility of providing laundry franchises with a fully functional laundromat and minimal initial investment. Consider starting a laundry business if you want to create a service that delivers clean clothes to your door but has little commercial space.

Conclusion

Since commercial laundry's broad washers and equipment use half the water needed compared to residential washing machines, it achieves even more value from the perspective of a sustainable future. Invest in your company's future by enquiring about a franchise with Straits Laundry Pte Ltd in Singapore.

[escendingtrading]

Due to their eco-friendliness, non-woven shopping bags are becoming more and more popular. As a powerful marketing tool, Escending Trading can gain from having their logo printed on these reusable bags. Our cutting-edge printing machinery guarantees prints that are vivid and clear and will draw attention. In order to give your bags a distinctive appearance, we provide design services. Contact us today to get started! For more details visit our page at https://www.escending.com.sg/non-woven-bag.html

[uncleweed]

Finding the Conch by DC written and put on site 5/31/04

Journeys bring power and love back into you. If you can’t go somewhere, move in the passageways of the self. They are like shafts of light, always changing, and you change when you explore them.

- Jalal Al-Din Rumi:

On a mid January mid-afternoon, amid the 747 (tons?) surrounding me, light as a ballerina, the silver behemoth miraculously slid down on one of Narita airport’s heavily guarded runways. Meanwhile, I peered out the window hoping to catch a glimpse of furious farmers and ageing radical youth scaling walls, still trying to sabotage this sprawling encroachment. They've been fighting this airport for decades. I think. Or have they given up.

Giving and receiving thanks to and from the friendly, hard-working crew and captain, I deplaned, a word I frequently think about when leaving an airplane, deplaned to the gate’s metal-walled passenger loading corridor thus entering atmosphere the nature of which I’d completely forgotten in the months of travel in Southeast Asian tropics, North Indian autumn, and even Western Australian winter – the brisk waker-upper of clinching cold.

Brimming with excitement at being back in my home-away-from-homeland, I bounced through unwary customs, money change, baggage retrieval, baggage storage, baggage delivery, and the JR (Japan Rail) office. At the latter I received the two week rail pass bought in Kuala Lumpur (can’t buy them in-country) plus a schedule and reserved seat on the next train to Tokyo. Each transaction went efficiently, smartly, pleasantly to me to be again with those who humbly take such pride in their duty. And, though I had forgotten a lot of what Japanese I once knew, I could still communicate with them in their own language if that was needed which it was at baggage storage and baggage delivery. At these two adjacent counters I learned it cost half as much to ship my unneeded stuff ahead to Rinsoin and back as to leave it there on a shelf.

Baggage delivery – takyubin. I love it. You see straining tourists with all their luggables and nimble Japanese with mere shoulder-bags and purses because the locals send their heavy items ahead. It’s like UPS but much cheaper and more widespread. So I crammed everything I could into the rolling rectangular shopping bag I’d bought in Singapore’s Chinatown for $12. Even got the bulk of my combo backpack\rolling suitcase in there, after zipping off the smaller backpack from it to hold what I’d need for two weeks in Japan. Actually, it doesn't roll now. Indian Airlines owes me - since the flight to Delhi in late September. Ah, light travel – a skill I’d honed well for half a year. The perky uniformed young lady brought out a form and asked me where the shipment was going and when I said, "I don’t know," she and her co-worker stood silently smiling. I thought I’d brought my Japanese info from America but I hadn’t been able to find it. But I knew the name – Rinsoin in Yaizu, Sakamoto district as I remembered. Maybe it's 1400 Sakamoto. The abbot’s name – Hoitsu Suzuki. While they checked their Japan-wide address book, I went off to the ATM way down at the other end of the third floor. When I returned, yen bills in hand, they had the form all filled except for my name. They’d even called the temple so now the Suzukis knew I was coming. I’d wanted to call them myself but, oh well, they’re used to visitors. And now I had Rinsoin’s phone number.

On the way to the train I passed through the new corridors and echoing vast chambers. Narita is one of the less impressive big city airports, but it was much improved from ten years before when they still had only one big room with no seats and, I believe, only one runway. Now there were two terminals. I wished I’d flown into the new Osaka International which I hear was voted by some prestigious architecture group one of the ten great structures of the twentieth century. But Narita was Japan so I was happy. Narita must also be further from the city it serves than any other major world airport – it used to take three or four hours to get into Tokyo. Now there's an express train that stops at both terminals inside the airport.

I reached into the breast pocket of the tan zippered lightweight jacket that Clay had given me for my birthday the year before and which had well served me on the cool moments of this trip, pulled out the blue rail pass and opened it up to expose the inner details to the attendant who waved me on. Carefully I returned it to its rightful place, aware of its irreplacability and high value. It cost about $400 but would save me half that much as long as I hung on to it. I’ve heard of people who’d lost them the first day. Ouch. I checked my other precious items – the reading glasses in the thin gold-colored metal oval case that I’d cherished all the way from Delhi, my flat Guatemalan? cotton cum Velcro money and passport pouch tied to my belt and hanging inside my pants, pen and small notebook in shirt pocket.

The train pulled out of its airport cave and swiftly entered the last hour of daylight. In regal comfort I watched the factories, houses, roads, and farmland whoosh by as we headed on to Shinjuku, the first of two stops. A woman with a cart came down the isle and I bought some squid and sake. The dark business suited man next to me nodded in sleep. I retrieved a pocket Japanese language book I’d bought at the Singapore Airport and reviewed vocabulary and phrases from the point I'd left off up in the sky. I took out my notebook and reviewed the info on where I was headed.

After changing to another line at cavernous bustling Shinjuku Station, the doors opened at Kokubunji Station, so named for nearby Kokubun temple. Cold, cold, cold. Nippy, invigorating. Street not too big - mainly memory presents waves of Japanese people walking by in the nightness. There were shiny cars and taxis and bicycles too but not too much for the narrow streets that ran off here and there from the main two lane one before me. Seeming to lean in from all sides were low rise buildings sporting brilliantly glittering and colorful lit signs at every level - say up to ten stories. All I knew was that I was looking for a guy named Hiro who ran a bar named Horagai near this station. I realized for the first time that finding this place was going to be no easy task. I’d had a simple unquestioned image of a place across the street from the station which the first person I asked would point to and with a sign I could read. It was more of a haystack than that. Which of all these streets jutting this way and that would it be, and on which floor – some buildings had a dozen bars with a dozen signs. It could be blocks away. Was I even on the correct side of the station? I realized my task was like looking for a noodle in a dumpster. So how could I narrow it down? I reviewed the facts I knew, the relevant and irrelevant history.

I’d met a Japanese hippie of my age name Nado San in Veranasi. He was traveling with his son of twenty. They didn’t speak much English so we spoke in Japanese. After we’d talked a while I asked Nado if, by chance, he knew Nanao Sakaki who is sort of the godfather of Japanese hippies. "Ah! Yes!" he replied with enthusiasm, "He is my dai sempai!" [great senior – like a revered older brother in some fraternity or school or group] It turned out that Nado and I had other friends, or people whose names we at least knew, in common, such as Sogyu in Kyoto who I’d been told could lead me to Nanao. But Nado said that all I’d have to do is go to Horagai, an old hippie bar started in the sixties and ask Hiro, founder and owner, how to get hold of Nanao. He said it was near Kokubunji Station. That sounded like a good way to start off Japan. I stared into the sign-cluttered streets.

Of course, if I failed to find it after a while I could say, go back to the station and ask them to look it up in the phone book, but that's a little harder to do in Japan than in America - they tend to number buildings chronologically rather than according to location and streets don't always seem to have names. Sometimes addresses seem more like directions (as in "would you please give me directions to Horagai?"), I always feel like it's all jumbled but they get where they want to go and so do I. Usually.

I walked down to the street and started eyeing people as they passed. I’d heard from friends that Japan had changed since I lived there, that since the economic bubble burst the young people exhibited more individual expression and less conformity. That seemed to be true on this street too – still a pretty conservative, quiet, crowd with a lot of black clothes and short black hair but more colors and variety in the way they dressed, more originality and variety in hair styles, and, I was to learn, they were more open. I’d noticed this in the students I’d met in America in recent years as well. They were more open and also they spoke much better English that I had encountered when I’d lived there from ’88 to ’92. I also realized that there seemed, at least in this cross-section of the population, to be fewer traditional older folks. Made sense. Disappearing like WWII vets. Will there some day be none to remind us of their much-to-cherish past? I stopped a handful of young people who looked to be in their twenties and asked if they knew of Horagai. None of them knew, but I was just as interested in checking them out. A couple of them did answer in pretty good English. They seemed not as intimidated by a Westerner as in the past – less shy. I don’t shy away from first impressions. These sorts of sociological observations are often best made at the first of a trip. Soon I’ll forget that they’re Japanese and I’m American and the basic similarity of people deeper down and uniqueness of each person will dominate the cultural distinctions. After a while, were all just folks. That may be why a lot of good travel writing is said to be done by people who go to a country for a couple of weeks.

I took off my small backpack and got my one sweater out, a black one of medium thickness, and put it on and zipped my jacket up over it. My ears were cold. My hands were cold. Enough sociology, meteorology prevailed. I looked at the passersby with a new intent. I decided I should watch out for someone older who was the hippest I could find. Ah, a Grateful Dead sweatshirt – no, too stylish. And then a guy with slightly long hair and a heavy jacket came by and I begged his pardon. "Excuse me," I said - in Japanese of course, "but do you know of a bar in this neighborhood named Horagai?"

"Horagai?!" he answered with enthusiasm, "I’m forty-three years old and I’ve been going there since I was sixteen!"

He took me off with him down the street telling me what a great place it was and all the interesting people he’d met there through the years. He led me about four short blocks away into the catacomb of streets and stopped at a door on a side-street with a tiny unlit sign and said he’d love to come in with me but had a date to keep. I opened the door and walked up a dark stairway to enter a small dark establishment with old wooden tables and chairs and a casually dressed man around my age behind the bar washing glasses in a sink. There was no one else. I took a stool and we exchanged pleasantries which is a good word for greetings and light conversation with Japanese.

He was indeed Hiro. I told him that Nado had sent me.

"Oh, Nado San! I hear he’s back from India. He’s at home in Shikoku now but he’s coming up here for a poetry reading next month."

So we talked about people and names and places. How was Nado and how was India and about translator Shin Yoshifuku and Etsuko in Hawaii and wild man monk Ryuho Yamada terminally ill with cancer in California and Soho had died and he’d heard of translator Tanaka but didn’t know him and he knew Sogyu in Kyoto well and yes he knew where Nanao was. Nanao, a poet among other attributes, would be coming to the poetry reading too - and reading too - but I'd be gone by then. Hiro got on one of those neat, old-fashioned plump pink piggish pay phones - though he didn't have to put money in it - and made a call and soon had arranged for a friend to help me get to Nanao the next day. He offered his phone for any calls I needed to make so I called up Rinsoin and talked to Chitose, Hoitsu’s wife, and she said she’d been so surprised to get the call from the airport earlier that day to say my stuff was on the way and when will I get there. Hiro asked me where I was staying and I said wherever and he invited me to stay with him and I accepted with gratitude. I ate and drank and he made little dishes and we jabbered. I learned that horagai means conch shell.

At about seven other people started to arrive and Hiro put some blues on. He poured me shochu, clear distilled potato (or sometimes rice) spirits stronger than sake which they often call nihon-shu (Japanese sake – sake just means spirits) and he kept giving me oden to munch on – boiled salty vegetables and fish cake – and other down-home local munchies. And there was endless talk about – I can’t remember, they’re more into good feeling than information – but I have a vague memory of people and places and things and events and Bush who they thought was crazy and 911 and Iraq where they didn’t want their soldiers to go and the Japanese economy which they said was way down and poetry and books and music and movies and philosophy and anything anyone wanted to say. I ran off for an hour and a half to an internet place they told me of to check my email and see what was new in the world and it was a fascinating side-trip of Japaneseness surrounding me and I returned there were more people and there was more shochu and gnoshes.

At one o'clock Hiro closed up and refused to take any money and took me with him to his tiny little apartment. We sat at a low table on the floor and he brought out squid and rice cakes and sake and we talked till three in the morning. His girlfriend, a singer, was sleeping in the bedroom, the only other room, and he got a futon and sheets and soft fat comforter and pillow out of a closet and made me a bed.

As we’d agreed, he awoke me at eight in the morning and we drank green tea and then he walked me to the train station. On the way we had coffee and croissants and finally I could pay for something. At the station he wrote out a schedule for me in kanji, Japanese Chinese characters, and romanji, English letters, with a bunch of different trains and one bus I had to take to get to the south end of the Izu peninsula. It wasn't that far away and it was not much out of the way to Yaizu and the Suzukis. But there were a number of transfers to be made and it would take all day. I thanked him profusely for his generosity and kindness and went off to the platform, buying a copy of the Japan Times on the way. All day I rode trains and read the paper and studied Japanese and talked to people and ate and drank tea and looked out the windows and walked through stations asking directions to the next platform. I’d go to Japan just to do that.

A friend of my mother’s just got back from being in Tokyo and she said that people were rude and she kissed the ground when she returned but I don’t experience it that way at all. Morning rush hour in Tokyo is famous for the crushing crowds and people are sleepy and impersonal and push up against each other a lot, but they are perfectly at home in a crowd and if one goes with the flow one can experience people being together in a quite harmonious flow that does include getting squeezed and pressed along. Like being in heavy traffic, one has to watch where one is going and weave in and out and stand up a lot on the local trains, but these people are pros at it and I quite enjoy being there with them in such sardinish conveyance in which I loose myself.

From Shinjuku station there was the other side of Japan rail travel – the joy of the Shinkansen, the bullet train – and the joy of having a rail pass which covers getting a designated seat in a reserved car. And on the Hikari Super Express I smoothly flew out of the megatropolis south on the slightly above the elevated unimpeded tracks looking down on countryside and villages. I like the slower trains too and just at dark one of them dropped me off at a seaside hot springs resort town where I bought a telephone card, slipped it in the phone's slot - much more convenient than having to dial all those numbers with other countries phone cards - and placed a call to a number Hiro had given me. I’d be on the next bus to the end of the peninsula and a man named Kenji at the other end told me which stop to get off at. I bought a glass of sake at the station and drank it while sitting on a bench waiting for the bus. The driver told me when to get off and there was long-haired friendly Kenji waiting. I got in his van and he drove me into the hilly countryside past orchards and woodlands up a narrow drive with occasional mirrors to aid in seeing approaching cars. He took a driveway into an estate with lovely landscaped gardens to an old wooden building which he said was a pig barn. He called out, opened the door, and there was Nanao standing on an earthen floor, long gray beard, bright eyes, and a big welcome. He had no phone and no idea I was coming. He smiled broadly.

[dtcworlds-blog]

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