The "Egypto Kai" that was scheduled to take place today was cancelled. The Egypto Kai, a monthly meeting arranged by the Egyptian community in Tokyo was called off due to 30% possible rainfall. The plan for today was an outdoor barbecue in Daikanyama, an upper class neighbourhood in Tokyo.
Many Egyptians, especially first timers (including myself) were disappointed. Not wanting to give up, a group of Egyptians agreed to make up for it. They planned a day trip to Yokohama. I, excited about starting this blog, grasped the opportunity and tagged along to have my first look into how Arabs live in Tokyo.
We happily agreed to meet at Sakuragicho Station at 9:30 AM. Not everyone made it on time. A Japanese professor and a previous visiting professor at Cairo University, was also invited and was there at exactly 9:30 ready to show us Egyptians around Yokohama.
(Navigate using the blue arrows. Clicking on the picture takes you to Picasa page)
We had a lot of fun. We talked about Japan, Japanese people, differences in countries, cultures, food, food and food. The mother of one Egyptian student who only arrived to Japan two weeks ago said: "Japan is an amazingly clean country, I was impressed" she said, "but I just don't understand how Japanese people can eat raw fish. It’s tasteless"
Food is a big issue and it was definitely a common concern among all Egyptians in the group. Arabic cuisine is different from Japanese cuisine. And although everyone came to love sushi after living in Japan, today, when our stomachs started rumbling, even for those who had only arrived two days ago and travelled thousands of miles to experience Japanese culture, there was only one place to go, the "Doner Kebab" place.
Do they let non-Egyptians join? ;-)
ReplyDeleteSure. The attendees are usually around 70% Egyptian and 30% Japanese and ofcourse all nationalities are always welcome. It's organized informally however, so the attendees are usually friends of the organizers or friends of friends and there's no direct way of knowing about these meetings. I did suggest they make a group for the Egypto Kai on Facebook. I think it'll make sharing the event and inviting others a lot easier :)
ReplyDeletehi hala i,m egyptian live in toyota city ,iwish ihave some egyptains live near hear,anyway it,s good to know you.
ReplyDeleteHassan
hi, im planning to travel to japan-tokyo somewhere in november. staying 3 days in tokyo-ikebukuro. any halal place nearby that u can recommend?
ReplyDeletethank you
hello anyone here from egypt lives in Japan ??
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteMy name is Leah Brown, I'm a happy woman today? I told myself that any loan lender that could change my life and that of my family after having been scammed separately by these online loan lenders, I will refer to anyone who is looking for loan for them. It gave me and my family happiness, although at first I had a hard time trusting him because of my experiences with past loan lenders, I needed a loan of $300,000.00 to start my life everywhere as single mother with 2 children, I met this honest and God fearing online loan lender Gain Credit Loan who helped me with a $300,000.00 loan, working with a loan company Good reputation. If you are in need of a loan and you are 100% sure of paying the loan please contact (gaincreditloan1@gmail.com)