A Stranger’s Goodness of Heart

It was about 2:15 am on 1st January 2009. We had celebrated the New Year at Zojoji Temple and were returning home, tired and sleepy but happy for what had been a very interesting night.

The evening had been full of novelty. I had dined on vegetarian Mexican food for the first time, out of the first fully vegetarian menu card I have seen in Tokyo! I celebrated the countdown standing alone on the road while around me the drunk mass of people made crazy noise and movement. I also saw over a thousand or so balloons go up in the air live for the first time. They were carrying wishes straight to the gods in heaven. I visited a temple, prayed to Kami Sama, did omikuji (fortune seeking) and bought omamori (a good luck charm) – the traditional way of celebrating the New Year in Japan for the first time. I also tasted Amazake (traditional hot rice sake) for the first time. But that was not enough adventure for the night.

At the ticket counter of Nishi Kasai Rail Station, a woman came up to me with her hand held out. She said, “I have something for you.” Initially distrust crept into my head for a split second. A bit taken aback, I looked down at what she was holding out to me. It was a day pass on the Tokyo Metro subway network. It had cost her 710 yen, and was still valid for another 3 hours until 5am that morning. (In Tokyo, the trains run till early hours of the morning only for the New Year; at other times they shut down for the night.)

This lady was probably returning home, and had no more use for the ticket. She could have taken the ticket home or thrown it away after having no need for it like many people usually do, but she thought it better to pass it on to someone who could use it further. I don’t know if she sought a gaijin (foreigner) on purpose or that I was just the first person she saw and approached. I thanked her with much surprise and gratitude. Although, it saved me a mere 270 yen (about Rs.135 in India, but meager in Japan), it was the selfless act to start the New Year with that more important and left a deep impact on me. I must pay it forward to make it last.