Morning rush hour in Shinjuku. More halal facilities in Japan now. Japan is becoming Muslim friendly as I discovered during my visit to the Land of the Rising Sun in November to attend the 30th anniversary of IATSS Forum in Suzuka. Prayer rooms at airports and halal eateries in Tokyo make it easy for Muslim visitors to enjoy their stay there. This wasn't the case when I was there 10 years ago. I would love to see prayer rooms in departmental stores and more halal cafes but the existing basic facilities will do for now. My visit to Japan last month reinforced my conviction that one can practice Islam anywhere. My search for halal began when our group landed at Nagoya Airport around 7.30 am mid-November. Entrance to the Gandhi, a halal restaurant. I was happy to find it. Our bus to Suzuka Circuit Hotel, our home for the next four days, would only arrive at 3 pm, which meant we had several hours to savour the cosy airport. As I surveyed my immediate...
People, places and everything in between