A photo album for this trip is in this album.
In our Indian tradition, we have a saying called वसुधैव कुटुंबकम, in roman script (vasudhaiva kutumbakam), meaning that the entire world is a family of ours. Last week, I went for a trip to Shimanai Kaido, where I had an opportunity to see this ideal being practiced in real life. I had the very good fortune to stay as a guest of Dr Tsuneto Tokunaga, and Mrs Akiko Tokunaga, and this blogpost is a humble attempt to share the story of these remarkable people in brief.
As mentioned before, my friend, an avid Airbnb user found that in Imabari, there is a certain host family(using Airbnb) who seemed to have been getting extremely nice reviews. I didn't pay much attention to it that time, thinking that being polite or giving compliment is a usual human nature, more so in Japan. But meeting this family proved the inadequacy of words in describing the bright side of human nature.
Japanese people are know to be reserved, and mostly meet others outside their home. Hence I had not got much opportunity to see their homes first hand(except of a friend's house in Hokkaido). This visit also provided me an opportunity to have a look into the amazingly maintained Japanese houses.
A short stay of 12 hours
After cycling for about 30 kms in five hours, and hitchhiking the remaining way to Imabari, I found myself at 9:00 pm at Imabari station. Airbnb information talked about 'bed and breakfast', hence i reasoned with myself and my friend that first have the dinner outside, and then reach the house of the guest, so as not to bother them with our hunger. But we had informed about our arrival time to be at 9:00, so we decided to proceed to the house with some cup noodles for worst case scenario.
Outside his home, we were welcomed by Dr Tsuneto, who asked: "Are you from India?" On our node of yes, he cheerfully led us inside into his home, promptly into the dining space. His wife, Mrs Akiko was there to welcome us, and had an equally cheerful demeanor. We were made to feel completely at home by their bright smiles, kind words and welcoming gesture. First of all, Dr Tsuneto showed us around the house, the resting area, and other parts of the house. The house was impeccably clean, beautifully decorated with paintings, and extremely well organized. Honestly, I could only compare it with nothing less than a five star accommodation!
Soon after that, Mrs Akiko asked us to have dinner, which she had already and specially prepared for us, consisting of vegetable tempura(fried vegetables)!! I was not prepared for so much of hospitality from an unknown, and an elderly family. Despite our soft protests, we were lovingly made to sit down for dinner. Our host family also sat down with us. By this time, I got extremely curious about them, and how someone could be so nice and warming to visitors. Isn't it tiring, and a nuisance to have unknown people arriving at one's home? I tried to look into the mind of them in this interaction.
Getting to know the family
Dr Tsuneto Tokunaga: 77 years old. Born in Fukuyama, Hiroshima prefecture.
Worked as Doctor at Red cross hospital in Takamatsu.
Retired 3 years ago.
Family name: Joyato
Mrs Akiko Tokunaga is 73.
They have two sons and two daughters, and one son is a Physician in Hiroshima university. Both are in excellent health of the body and spirit. I found that their nature was very much complimentary to each other, there was remarkable harmony between them in thinking, and they helped each other in everything they did. There was no ego involved at all.
Next surprising thing was to know that after retiring, that is only 3 years ago, they had undertaken a walking journey of 1400 kms! As they said, they were helped in this journey by many people, and thus they also want to help others. They started hosting people from December 2014, and in this short duration of about an year and a half, they have hosted about 150 people from about 45 different countries! A complete list of travelers, country wise is given below:
They try to host the family every three days. I asked Joyato san what does he do in free time. His reply was that he doesn't have free time, as replying to hosting requests takes all of his time.
They told us that they have visited many countries, and have no favorites. It was interesting to know that while they have hosted 100s of people till now, they themselves have never got an opportunity to be a guest of others, and have always stayed in hotels!
About his religious beliefs, Joyato san mentioned it as NOBA, that is 'Not Only But Also'. He elaborated it he doesn't have strong belief as such, and accepts goodness from all sides or religions. That is, not only his own, but other religions also :) What a sweet message for plurality!
In the course of conversation, I inquired them how often do they meet their children. Honestly, I thought that it might not not be so often, and hence they invite new people to homes to keep boredom away in some way. To my sweet surprise, they told me that they have a family dinner with their children and grandchildren every weekend, that's Saturday and Sunday! I don't know many families who have such a nice family tradition, and close bonding between parents and children, at least in Japan.
After talking with them over dinner about 45 minutes, being tired, I went to sleep. Next day, when I woke up at 6 am and went downstairs, I found them already awake, and preparing breakfast for us!! That was really overwhelming to see, two elderly people preparing breakfast at such an early hour for guests they don't know properly. And they have been doing it for numerous people, because it makes their beautiful heart happy. All of this without any pretension, any show off, and without any slightest expectations of any thing in return. It was as if some one is living the ideals in scriptures, but which only a handful have the depth to follow.
Breakfast and Return Journey, and a gift for us
After getting ready in the morning, I decided to take a walk outside and in the neighborhood. After returning from that, an extremely delicious and nicely prepared breakfast set, all vegetables was waiting! It was everything I often dream of: nutritious, and elegantly prepared.
I couldn't thank Joyato san enough for all the hospitality and love he had been showering. But apparently, it was not all, and more surprised lay in store. Over the breakfast, I came to know that they actually donate all the token money they get from their guests to an organization called 'Doctors without Borders'. Their care and concern thus extends in many directions. Truly, love sees no distinctions, no boundaries.
The name Joyato itself means "one who provides light". On the gates of Joyato san, it was written 'Light house for travelers'. Beautiful example of one's name and actions being in complete harmony.
In this small stay itself, I felt blessed many times. To see a family transcending a generation barrier, language barrier and self-barrier to extend genuine affection to passers by is a humbling experience. We all need to open our doors more.
I had to leave in the morning itself back to Okunoshima. These blessed people themselves suggested that on a short stretch of that route, it's difficult to find public transport, and hence offered to drive us up to that point, about 40 mins drive away! Again despite our protests that it's not needed, they prevailed on us, and had their way. Further, before leaving their home, they also gave parting away gifts to us, in the form of beautiful clothes! On the other hand, we had nothing to offer them. Also, even if we had something to offer, it would be really, really nothing compared to what we got from them.
Thus, in a short span of 12 hours, I had the good fortune to witness how a beautiful mind works, and how some people rise above their own comfort to bring comfort to other people. I hope more and more people will come to know of the beautiful and blessed life of Dr Tsuneto and Mrs Akiko. My heartfelt thanks to them once again!
In our Indian tradition, we have a saying called वसुधैव कुटुंबकम, in roman script (vasudhaiva kutumbakam), meaning that the entire world is a family of ours. Last week, I went for a trip to Shimanai Kaido, where I had an opportunity to see this ideal being practiced in real life. I had the very good fortune to stay as a guest of Dr Tsuneto Tokunaga, and Mrs Akiko Tokunaga, and this blogpost is a humble attempt to share the story of these remarkable people in brief.
As mentioned before, my friend, an avid Airbnb user found that in Imabari, there is a certain host family(using Airbnb) who seemed to have been getting extremely nice reviews. I didn't pay much attention to it that time, thinking that being polite or giving compliment is a usual human nature, more so in Japan. But meeting this family proved the inadequacy of words in describing the bright side of human nature.
Japanese people are know to be reserved, and mostly meet others outside their home. Hence I had not got much opportunity to see their homes first hand(except of a friend's house in Hokkaido). This visit also provided me an opportunity to have a look into the amazingly maintained Japanese houses.
A short stay of 12 hours
After cycling for about 30 kms in five hours, and hitchhiking the remaining way to Imabari, I found myself at 9:00 pm at Imabari station. Airbnb information talked about 'bed and breakfast', hence i reasoned with myself and my friend that first have the dinner outside, and then reach the house of the guest, so as not to bother them with our hunger. But we had informed about our arrival time to be at 9:00, so we decided to proceed to the house with some cup noodles for worst case scenario.
Outside his home, we were welcomed by Dr Tsuneto, who asked: "Are you from India?" On our node of yes, he cheerfully led us inside into his home, promptly into the dining space. His wife, Mrs Akiko was there to welcome us, and had an equally cheerful demeanor. We were made to feel completely at home by their bright smiles, kind words and welcoming gesture. First of all, Dr Tsuneto showed us around the house, the resting area, and other parts of the house. The house was impeccably clean, beautifully decorated with paintings, and extremely well organized. Honestly, I could only compare it with nothing less than a five star accommodation!
Soon after that, Mrs Akiko asked us to have dinner, which she had already and specially prepared for us, consisting of vegetable tempura(fried vegetables)!! I was not prepared for so much of hospitality from an unknown, and an elderly family. Despite our soft protests, we were lovingly made to sit down for dinner. Our host family also sat down with us. By this time, I got extremely curious about them, and how someone could be so nice and warming to visitors. Isn't it tiring, and a nuisance to have unknown people arriving at one's home? I tried to look into the mind of them in this interaction.
Getting to know the family
Dr Tsuneto Tokunaga: 77 years old. Born in Fukuyama, Hiroshima prefecture.
Worked as Doctor at Red cross hospital in Takamatsu.
Retired 3 years ago.
Family name: Joyato
Mrs Akiko Tokunaga is 73.
They have two sons and two daughters, and one son is a Physician in Hiroshima university. Both are in excellent health of the body and spirit. I found that their nature was very much complimentary to each other, there was remarkable harmony between them in thinking, and they helped each other in everything they did. There was no ego involved at all.
Next surprising thing was to know that after retiring, that is only 3 years ago, they had undertaken a walking journey of 1400 kms! As they said, they were helped in this journey by many people, and thus they also want to help others. They started hosting people from December 2014, and in this short duration of about an year and a half, they have hosted about 150 people from about 45 different countries! A complete list of travelers, country wise is given below:
They try to host the family every three days. I asked Joyato san what does he do in free time. His reply was that he doesn't have free time, as replying to hosting requests takes all of his time.
They told us that they have visited many countries, and have no favorites. It was interesting to know that while they have hosted 100s of people till now, they themselves have never got an opportunity to be a guest of others, and have always stayed in hotels!
About his religious beliefs, Joyato san mentioned it as NOBA, that is 'Not Only But Also'. He elaborated it he doesn't have strong belief as such, and accepts goodness from all sides or religions. That is, not only his own, but other religions also :) What a sweet message for plurality!
In the course of conversation, I inquired them how often do they meet their children. Honestly, I thought that it might not not be so often, and hence they invite new people to homes to keep boredom away in some way. To my sweet surprise, they told me that they have a family dinner with their children and grandchildren every weekend, that's Saturday and Sunday! I don't know many families who have such a nice family tradition, and close bonding between parents and children, at least in Japan.
After talking with them over dinner about 45 minutes, being tired, I went to sleep. Next day, when I woke up at 6 am and went downstairs, I found them already awake, and preparing breakfast for us!! That was really overwhelming to see, two elderly people preparing breakfast at such an early hour for guests they don't know properly. And they have been doing it for numerous people, because it makes their beautiful heart happy. All of this without any pretension, any show off, and without any slightest expectations of any thing in return. It was as if some one is living the ideals in scriptures, but which only a handful have the depth to follow.
Breakfast and Return Journey, and a gift for us
After getting ready in the morning, I decided to take a walk outside and in the neighborhood. After returning from that, an extremely delicious and nicely prepared breakfast set, all vegetables was waiting! It was everything I often dream of: nutritious, and elegantly prepared.
I couldn't thank Joyato san enough for all the hospitality and love he had been showering. But apparently, it was not all, and more surprised lay in store. Over the breakfast, I came to know that they actually donate all the token money they get from their guests to an organization called 'Doctors without Borders'. Their care and concern thus extends in many directions. Truly, love sees no distinctions, no boundaries.
The name Joyato itself means "one who provides light". On the gates of Joyato san, it was written 'Light house for travelers'. Beautiful example of one's name and actions being in complete harmony.
In this small stay itself, I felt blessed many times. To see a family transcending a generation barrier, language barrier and self-barrier to extend genuine affection to passers by is a humbling experience. We all need to open our doors more.
I had to leave in the morning itself back to Okunoshima. These blessed people themselves suggested that on a short stretch of that route, it's difficult to find public transport, and hence offered to drive us up to that point, about 40 mins drive away! Again despite our protests that it's not needed, they prevailed on us, and had their way. Further, before leaving their home, they also gave parting away gifts to us, in the form of beautiful clothes! On the other hand, we had nothing to offer them. Also, even if we had something to offer, it would be really, really nothing compared to what we got from them.
Thus, in a short span of 12 hours, I had the good fortune to witness how a beautiful mind works, and how some people rise above their own comfort to bring comfort to other people. I hope more and more people will come to know of the beautiful and blessed life of Dr Tsuneto and Mrs Akiko. My heartfelt thanks to them once again!
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