Eight years ago, this historical town boasted of nothing other than a fort hotel. But the uninhabited stretch along the Delhi-Jaipur highway transformed into a bustling Japanese industrial zone thanks to a business pact between the Rajasthan government and the Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO). Crores worth of investment poured in, and there are now 46 Japanese plants here, including Daikin, Nissin, and Nippon. The spacious, well laid out factories employ Indian as well as Japanese workers.
In the early years of this project, middle-aged Japanese businessmen thrown into this barren bowl were finding life pretty tough here — till they decided to create a mini-Nippon in Neemrana. Kojiro Honda, managing director of Hirohama India Pvt Ltd, was one of the early birds.
A view from the Neemrana fort in Rajasthan.
When he started working in India in 2007 he would have given anything to find a Japanese sanctuary at the end of his long working days. "Trying to set up my cellphone, coordinating my living arrangements, acclimatizing my stomach to Indian food, navigating the new culture -- all this while starting my own business was very taxing," he reminisces.
Out of his experiences came an idea — why not set up a hotel that mirrored a typical Japanese hostelry? And thus was born Hotel Hirohama. For a homesick Japanese expat this hotel in Neemrana is the closest thing to home. The furniture is minimalist, the seating low and the floorboards wooden. The television sets in rooms offer three Japanese channels, including NHK. There is an adjoining Japanese restaurant — Kuuraku — that boasts a Japanese chef and ingredients imported from Japan. There is even a Japanese-style bathing facility, and a karaoke room.
Inauguration of Honda's new manufacturing facility at Tapukara in Rajasthan's Alwar district on February 24, 2014.
"We are trying very hard to make the Japanese feel at home," says Gunjan Chowdhury, manager of the hotel. The staff at the front desk of the hotel, for instance, has learnt to say arigato (thank you) and ohaiyo gozaimasu (good morning). And the housekeeping staff makes it a point to take off their shoes before they enter the rooms.
There are several other hotels offering Japanese food including The Little Japan Restaurant at Days Hotel and Tokio Restaurant at Ramada Hotel. Both have Japanese chefs who, incidentally, are very expensive because they expect salaries that match home levels. But it is a necessary investment because the authentic Japanese taste is crucial to keep customers happy. A bento box lunch is also delivered to Japanese living in nearby condominiums and hotels.
Sushi fish and rice.
Honda points out Japanese businessmen who are above the age of 45 tend to be set in their ways. Most stick to Japanese meals through the day, some might try out an Indian meal once a week. "They want their rice for breakfast," says Honda. "Trying to integrate into the local culture is not only intimidating for them, it is also not one of the goals of their two-three year stints in India."
It is not that the Japanese wish to insulate themselves from their neighbourhood. In fact, Masakatsu Morimoto, the director of the Daikin plant in Neemrana, says that a yearly seminar is held to introduce Japanese employees to various elements of Indian culture. But language is a huge barrier. Honda says that for a Japanese employee struggling to communicate in English after a 12-hour work day could be stressful. "About 99 per cent of the Japanese residents cannot speak English apart from a perfunctory 'yes', 'no', and 'I understand'," says Chowdhury.
Some of this could change once younger Japanese managers start coming to Neemrana. Hiroshi Daikoku, senior advisor at JETRO, in fact, likens the Neemrana hub to the Silk Road. "The Silk Road began as a trade route between East and West, but as a consequence, cultures travelled and mixed across borders. Neemrana will be much the same."
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