Although I had set my alarm for 6 AM so I could write my journal and update my blog, I ended up getting up at 8 AM. As usual, I took a shower and checked out by simply leaving my room key at the front desk since nobody was there.
I headed to the coffee shop where Kosuke and I were supposed to meet. I thought he would already be there, but I actually arrived first. I ordered an iced black coffee. About five minutes later, Kosuke came into the coffee shop and ordered a drink and a croissant. Since I had eaten so much at the sports pub the night before, I was not hungry. One cup of coffee was enough for me.
After chatting for a while, we left for my second judo practice in Jakarta. This dojo was different from the one I had visited a few days earlier. We took the MRT, Indonesia’s first modern, high-capacity rapid transit system, and then transferred to a bus.
By coincidence, we met the Japanese head coach of the dojo on the bus, so he kindly drove us from the nearest bus stop to the dojo.
When we arrived, only a few people were there. Before practice began, we cleaned the dojo by sweeping the floor.
The people attending this practice were quite different from those at the previous one. Most of them were beginners who had started practicing judo within the past year. I hardly saw any young competitive athletes.
The Japanese head coach has lived in Indonesia for more than 35 years and has been teaching at this club, JJJC (Jakarta Japan Judo Club), ever since. He is now over 60 years old, but he still actively teaches at several dojos throughout Indonesia. Because of his long dedication to judo in the country, many people consider him a legend.
As the club’s name suggests, there were also several Japanese people living in Indonesia for work who came to practice judo. It felt interesting to be in an environment where Japanese was the main language. Of course, most of the practitioners were Indonesian, but it had been quite a while since I had seen so many Japanese people in one place.
We practiced for about two hours. Since there was no air conditioning, it was extremely hot. Everyone, including me, was sweating heavily.
After practice, the legendary Japanese coach and the other Japanese members took me to a Japanese restaurant called Kirishima. I assumed the restaurant was named after its founder.
There were six Japanese people, including me, along with three young Indonesian judokas having lunch together. It was difficult to decide what to order because the menu had so many Japanese dishes. In the end, I ordered beef katsu curry because I had not eaten curry since visiting Coco Ichibanya in Vietnam.
I really enjoyed the meal, although it tasted slightly different from authentic Japanese food. Still, it reminded me of home, and I was happy to have it.
I think we stayed there for a couple of hours before leaving the restaurant.
Kosuke and I then headed back to the hostel because I had forgotten some of my belongings there. Luckily, they were still there.
After picking them up, we went to central Jakarta to explore a little. We walked around Block M, which has many Japanese restaurants, before visiting two large modern shopping malls: Plaza Indonesia and Grand Indonesia.
Eventually, we settled down at a coffee shop inside Grand Indonesia.
I was probably the only person in the mall wearing a tank top, shorts, sandals, and carrying a large backpack. I felt as though everyone who walked past me was staring at me like I was some strange foreign traveler. Nobody dresses like that while shopping. Honestly, if I saw someone dressed like that, I would probably think the same thing.
By the way, the taro milk tea I ordered at the coffee shop was excellent.
After relaxing for a while, Kosuke wanted to walk around the mall, so we left the coffee shop. He wanted to buy an electric shaver, so we stopped by an electronics store. It took him quite a while to decide which one to buy.
Because of that, we did not have enough time to eat dinner at the mall. Instead, we bought some pastries from a supermarket before heading to the bus station, where we would catch a bus to Ciloto, a cool, green mountain village in West Java near the famous Puncak Pass.
The bus was scheduled to leave at 7:45 PM, but it ended up departing about an hour late, which frustrated Kosuke a little.
The “bus” turned out to be a small van that could hold about ten passengers. The seats were much more comfortable than I had expected. Our seats were in the very back, and Kosuke kindly let me have the window seat.
After the van departed, we chatted for a while before I fell asleep.
I am not sure how long I slept, but when I woke up, I realized that the van was not moving. At first, I do not think anyone paid much attention, but eventually everyone realized that something was wrong.
The driver got out of the van, and a couple of passengers followed him. Curious about what was happening, I got out as well.
There were many people standing outside their vehicles, casually smoking while waiting. I asked one of them what was going on, and he told me in broken English that there had been a car accident.
“I knew it.”
I went back to the van and waited for the traffic to clear.
About an hour later, the traffic finally started moving again. The driver returned to the van and continued driving.
Both Kosuke and I fell asleep again.
When we woke up, Kosuke realized that we had already passed the stop where we were supposed to get off. So we got off at the next stop instead.
It was already 1 AM. It was much cooler than in Jakarta. It felt cold at some point.
Despite the late hour, there were still quite a few people outside. Some were cooking at food stalls, while others were simply hanging out and smoking.
Kosuke tried to book a Gojek, but because it was so late, there were no available drivers.
Instead, we decided to hire an angkot, a small public minibus used for shared transportation. There happened to be one waiting along the roadside. In fact, the driver had already been trying to get us to ride with him as we walked past.
I had seen angkots several times in Jakarta, but this was my first time riding one.
There were three young men in the front, including the driver. Kosuke explained where we wanted to go and started negotiating the fare.
Since I had no idea what they were saying, I asked Kosuke how much they had agreed on.
He replied,
“They first asked for 100,000 IDR (about $5.60), but after negotiating, we agreed on 80,000 IDR (about $4.50).”
I thought it was still expensive, but considering the time of night, I assumed it was reasonable.
The angkot set off.
While we were sitting in the back, Kosuke sighed and said,
“Nothing has gone well today.”
He looked exhausted, although I had actually enjoyed the day’s adventures.
About ten minutes later, the angkot stopped at the top of a hill.
Kosuke asked me how much small cash I had and collected it before getting out. After another brief argument with the driver, we finally got off.
I still had no idea what had happened, so I asked him how much he had ended up paying.
“120,000 IDR (about $6.70),” he replied.
In my mind, I thought, That’s not what you agreed on.
Still, I simply said, “Okay,” because Kosuke already looked tired, and he had been handling everything for both of us.
From there, we walked downhill.
About ten minutes later, Kosuke told me that we had arrived at the Indonesian National Judo Training Center, where he and the other national team members live.
It was already 2 AM, and it was so dark that I could hardly see what the facility looked like. I simply followed Kosuke.
When I entered his apartment, I was surprised by how spacious it was. It had a living room and two separate bedrooms. One bedroom was his, while the other was where I would be staying.
My room had two single beds placed next to each other, along with a small desk and chair.
The first thing that caught my attention, however, was a dead gecko stuck to the wall.
Kosuke told me it had been there for quite a while.
Even after hearing that, every time I entered the room, it startled me for a second because, at first glance, it looked like a giant cockroach.
After taking showers, we finally went to bed because we had to wake up early for breakfast at 7 AM the next morning.
