MAKKAH — "Hajj means to leave everything behind, such as money and responsibilities, just to spend time with God," said Japanese pilgrims on their journey to perform Hajj 2023. Speaking to the Saudi Center for Government Communication (CGC), Almas Choji, a Japanese Muslim who is performing Hajj for the first time this year, said that she learned about Islam after meeting a Muslim person who is working in a food company. He taught her about Islamic details and halal food. "I got married 4 years back, I was 35 years old, and my Mahr (A dowry, gift from the groom to the bride) was a trip to Hajj,' Choji said, noting that they could not make it at the beginning of her marriage because OF the spread of COVID-19 pandemic at that time. As for her feeling when she saw the Grand Mosque in Makkah for the first time, she said that she had seen many of its pictures online while it was full and crowded with people, but when she saw it in front of her, she found it much more beautiful than what she had imagined. Choji found a great similarity and closeness in form between the tent city of the Holy Site of Mina, which is one of the largest tent cities in the world, and the tourist camps in Japan. She pointed out that Hajj helps you to discover yourself and reconcile with it. Japanese Hajj pilgrim Saema Honda said that she realized the size and magnificence of the place while she was ascending the escalators toward the Holy Site. She noted that she saw the picturesque features in the mountains and compared them to Mina, while noticing the differences which she saw through the pictures, especially since Mina is now full of services and facilities. People cannot go to Hajj and perform the rituals only, but Hajj experience makes you meet and get to know many people from all over the world, Honda said. She added, "Can you imagine that without people looking at my face because of the facemask, I have made a group that has become familiar with me, and this is a very happy feeling." Murama Tsuguku, Japanese Hajj pilgrim, revealed how she converted to Islam. She said that she could not describe her feeling when she heard the call to prayer (Adhan), as she felt her heart was flying. It was then she decided to study about the Islamic religion.
