Daniel Penso
Columnist/Proofreader/Translator
Photo by Daniel Penso
As one entranced by the cultures of Japan and other parts of East and Southeast Asia, going to somewhere in the former Soviet bloc would appear to be something out of the usual routine. Central Asia and Western Asia, albeit Asia, are not the same in all sorts of ways, be it food, language or ways people lead their lives. So going to Georgia was something I would not have imagined doing previously. I had been interested in the Georgian language (ქართული ენა Kartuli Ena) for the last few months and had some business in another part of Asia so figured I would check it out.
A country in the Caucusus mountains and on the eastern side of the Black Sea make it a region where many different peoples have crossed over and influenced the culture so hence there are many borrowed words that can be found in Georgian, such as iglesia (church) or marketi (market).
The country is located in between two major conflict zones now as well, Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Gaza, so I was in no uncertain terms nervous about traveling there. Fortunately, none of the locals threatened me during my stay. There were a number of stray dogs on the roads of Tbilisi, the capital, but they, thankfully, didn’t bother me either.
My three-day stay kicked off with a visit to the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, leaving from my hotel on Liberty Square, a kind of Ikebukuro or Shibuya-type area where the city’s youth gather during the day and night, and going on the subway to Avlabari, one stop away. As many other people do these days, I simply followed the GPS map provided by Google to get to the church, all the while enjoying the views of this mountainous city, akin to a Nagasaki or San Francisco.
I had a small meal from ingredients I gathered at a local supermarket. The popular supermarkets are named “Spar” in Georgia. They are similar to konbini (convenience stores such as 7-Eleven).
As it was my first full night in the country, I figured I would get some sleep after the meal and if I could get up early enough, I would go for it… What’s that? Well, it was the five-hour drive to Batumi from Tbilisi.
Photo by Daniel Penso
Batumi is the second biggest city after Tbilisi and is famous as a Black Sea tourist resort, resembling a Santa Monica (in California) or an Enoshima. Its beautiful coastline is just right for couples so could potentially lead me back to Georgia in the future with my family.
Every time you travel to a new place, even within the country you reside, you are bound to find something that fascinates or bewilders you.
During the drive to and from Tbilisi and Batumi, I started off in the morning, around 4:30 am, from my hotel in Liberty Square (in Tbilisi) to Batumi, so for the first two or three hours, it was dark or dawn. Being a mountainous country, the silhouette views of mountains juxtaposed against the black sky was quite mysterious and attractive. Around halfway or more of the drive complete brings you to some genuinely rural country… so much so that there were cowherds leading groups of cows along the streets. It was the first time in my life seeing something like this so I was awestruck.
Photo by Daniel Penso
What was more amazing though was on the drive back, I happened several times upon cows grazing in the middle of the road, literally on median barriers. Now that is something I doubt you would see in any rural area of the U.S. or Japan.
I arrived in Batumi at around 10:00 am so the restaurants were not open, yet, so I ended up walking along the wharf from Chacha Tower to Alphabet Tower, among other artistic works which enriched the beach-like feeling of the place. Later, I enjoyed a meal at Café Adjara. The owner of that restaurant played some very rhythmical Georgian music, including midi midi movdivar (Go, go, I’m coming)[1], a song appealing to Georgians to come together and live in harmony.
Another interesting thing for Japanese travelers would be the names of different cities you will find along the way between the two cities. There was one sign indicating a town named “Japana” so I was immediately flabbergasted upon viewing it.
I just couldn’t help but smile when I saw a “JAPANA” sign (a name of a town).
*Photo by Daniel Penso
The pronunciation though is not “Jaw-pan” as in English though since the ჯ in ჯაპანა (Japana) is more like a “dzh” sound which doesn’t really exist in English. The closest sound might be “gh” of “ghibli”. Other cities I happened upon were “Gomi” and “Oni”.
For travelers to Georgia, grapes and wine are the thing to check out. While I’m not a wine connoisseur myself, I acquired some grapes from a street vendor, of which there are many scattered all over Tbilisi and they were excellent. Apparently, there are over 500 different types of grapes in the country.
*The first Japanese person to learn/master traditional Georgian dance has also posted many interesting videos.[2]
So would I come to Georgia again in the future? That is up for grabs, in all honesty. It was an enjoyable experience and I would recommend it for someone who wants to do something out of the ordinary.
[1] youtube.com/watch?v=f2O7PauUiEE (Midi Midi Movdivar “მიდი, მიდი, მოვდივარ”)[2] youtube.com/@georgiaarkhi (A Japanese man who is active in traditional Georgian dancing.)
Daniel Penso
Lived in Tokyo from 1999 – 2009 and calls it his second home. Currently he resides in California and is a Japanese-English translator. He enjoys traveling, learning languages and cuisine. When visiting Japan, he enjoys watching rakugo shows.
*J-E/E-J Translation： http://www.myeyestokyo.jp/translation
*His columns: https://www.myeyestokyo.com/tag/daniel-penso/
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