I Seem to Have Visited Another World for a Week

On a Japanese internet forum, a poster began to share a strange experience. It was a mysterious story where the boundary between an alternate world and reality became ambiguous.

I might have just been dreaming until morning, but for a dream, my memories were unusually clear, and I definitely experienced a full week in terms of perceived time, which doesn’t match up with my less than 8 hours of sleep. I spent a week in another world, but when I returned to this world, only one day had passed while I was in bed. I might have gone to another world for a week, but it might have just been a dream. I went to sleep in my bed at home, and when I woke up, I was sleeping on a coast. And in a completely unfamiliar place. It was a sandy beach. For some reason, I was in swim trunks with sand all over my body.

• [2] Ise beach?
• [4] Karashishi beach?
• [8] A lucid dream?
• [10] What kind of world was it?

I couldn’t remember how I got there, but I was half-asleep and didn’t think deeply about it. I brushed off the sand and headed toward some buildings to go home. When I reached a paved road, I found myself in a completely unfamiliar town. The buildings looked exactly like Japanese buildings. But the writing was clearly different from Japanese, similar to Korean and unreadable to me. I wanted to ask someone for help, but before that, they were looking at me with curiosity and pointing fingers. Moreover, everyone in town was wearing only shoes and completely naked. Not only that, but they were all tall women with blood-red hair that reached down to their feet. Since even their eyebrows were red, I guess it was their natural hair color? Their body types were all like gravure idols with large breasts, and their faces were beautiful like Korean pop idols. Actually, they had faces that looked familiar from TV and advertisements, but since I’m not interested in K-pop, I couldn’t tell who they resembled. I didn’t know where to look, but it seems they were either shaved or naturally smooth in their armpits and private areas. One of them approached and talked to me, but it sounded like Korean or Chinese, and I couldn’t understand any of it. I tried speaking in broken English, but that didn’t work either. It crossed my mind that even if I could use English, communication would have been difficult with my middle-school level English skills.

Then, one of those women took my hand and tried to take me somewhere. I was so scared that I couldn’t stop shaking and couldn’t resist. I was led by that woman and put in the backseat of a small red car. We drove for about 30 minutes, but the scenery outside was completely unfamiliar. It wasn’t exactly a metropolis, but it was about as developed as Saitama. Then the car stopped in front of a large building. I was dropped off there and taken inside.

In Japan, “Saitama” is known as a suburban area in the metropolitan region. It has a strong bedroom community character, not as prosperous as urban areas, but with modern facilities and residential areas spread throughout the region.

• [18] Did the poster actually experience isekai transfer?

Inside the building, there was a hospital-like smell. I needed to use the bathroom, so I made gestures of holding my crotch to try to communicate. It seemed to have worked as I was guided to a toilet. The toilet was a normal Western-style one, but it didn’t have a washlet.

A washlet is a Japanese heated toilet seat with bidet functions, standard equipment in modern Japanese toilets.

• [20] Weren’t they surprised by any wordless magic or anything?

When I came out of the bathroom, I was seated in a chair in what looked like an examination room. Then a person who seemed to be a female doctor came in. Her face wasn’t like a K-pop idol, but strangely enough, she looked exactly like Suzu Hirose. She was also petite, probably about the same height as Suzu Hirose. However, she had the same ghostly blood-red hair that reached down to her feet, just like everyone else. I’ll call her “Red-haired Suzu-chan” from now on. Red-haired Suzu-chan first made me take off my swim trunks. I was too scared to resist. Then she wiped my body clean with a warm towel and took photos of me completely naked. After that, they didn’t give me back my swim trunks, but they gave me sandals instead. I had to undergo an examination while still naked. First, they showed me a chart with various different characters, like a Japanese syllabary chart. They pointed to each character on the chart one by one, seemingly wanting me to read them aloud, but they all looked like Korean characters and I couldn’t read any of them.

Suzu Hirose is a popular Japanese actress with a pure and cute image. Also, the “syllabary chart” refers to the Japanese hiragana chart, a list of basic Japanese sounds starting with “a-i-u-e-o”.

• [24] How were your five senses in the dream?

Next, they showed me a map. They seemed to be asking me to point to where I came from, but it was a landform I had never seen before. The map had only four large continents, with the rest being small islands, and there was no trace of Japan. There was no Antarctica or Arctic. Like our maps, land was green and the sea was blue. I couldn’t read the numbers, but there were lines that looked like latitude and longitude. When I couldn’t point to anything on the map, they seemed to give up and ended the examination, then served me a meal. The meal consisted of something that looked like bright red curry, white rice, and a salad. The rice and salad were normal, but the red curry-like dish tasted like salt ramen soup. The tableware was similar to what we have in our world, and they provided both chopsticks and a spoon. After finishing the meal, I was locked in what seemed like a closed ward? The room had a sink, toilet, bed, and something like a clock, but it was locked from the outside. I calmed down by drinking water from a cup at the sink. The clock had no numbers, but it was divided into 12 sections, so the flow of time was probably the same as in our world. After that, I rested a bit in bed, brushed my teeth, and went to sleep completely naked. The toothpaste and toothbrush were there, but the toothpaste was red and sweet, which was the only difference from the items in our world. I even had dreams while sleeping. I don’t remember what the dreams were about, but I definitely had them. Do you have dreams within dreams? Was I really in another world? Or was it just a dream? When I woke up in the morning, I went to the toilet, drank water again, and was resting when my body was wiped with a warm towel again. They returned my swim trunks, which seemed to have been washed as they were clean, so I put them on. After that, Red-haired Suzu-chan brought me food. Breakfast was exactly the same as what I had eaten yesterday.

The thread creator’s experience gradually transitions into a pattern of life in the alternate world. From here, his time in the “alternate world” truly begins in earnest.

• [29] This would probably be popular on the occult board

Then I was examined again. This time, they showed me various landscape photographs, but none looked familiar. There were photos that looked like historic Western townscapes, but I had no idea where they were. After that, something was applied to my entire face, and they showed me a mirror. Red paint-like substance was applied to my left cheek, so I wiped it off with my hand. The paint came off surprisingly easily when I wiped it with my hand. Although something was supposed to have been applied to my entire face, only the left cheek was stained. Next, I was made to take something like a written test, but since I couldn’t read the characters, I couldn’t answer most of it. But I managed to write answers for problems that I could somewhat understand through diagrams. Again, I was served the same food as in the morning for lunch, and after eating, I continued to take the written test. Dinner was also the same thing, or rather, all the meals that came out later were all the same. Today again, Red-haired Suzu-chan made me take off my swim trunks and wiped my body. In the end, I had to sleep naked again. Day 3. I was given back my swim trunks, which seemed to have been washed again. It became a routine to have my swim trunks taken off at night, my body wiped, and then get the clean swim trunks back in the morning. This time, I was made to wear a headgear with many electrode-like things attached to it and was observed for several hours. They showed me various pictures, photos, and geometric shapes, and seemed to be checking my reactions. After lunch, I was examined with a machine like a CT scanner. After that, it was free time, but there was nothing particular to do, so I just rested. Following the usual routine, I went to sleep today as well.

• [35] Tell us about the poster’s stats

Day 4. I was getting tired of having the same three meals every day, but there was nothing I could do about it. Today, Red-haired Suzu-chan brought in several unfamiliar women. They were also naked with blood-like long hair reaching down to their feet, and beautiful like K-pop idols. Those people were recording with cameras and seemed to be interviewing Red-haired Suzu-chan while filming both of us. I thought they might be a TV crew or something. After interviewing Red-haired Suzu-chan for several hours from morning until early afternoon, the crew left. After that, Red-haired Suzu-chan brought in another group of women, and again was interviewed while being filmed with me. This time they were taking photographs instead of videos, and it finished in less than an hour. After that, it was free time, and after resting again, I went to sleep following the usual routine. Day 5. On this day, they let me take a shower for the first time. There was also something like shampoo, but there was only one bottle, so I used it to wash my hair, face, and body. The shampoo looked and smelled the same as in our world. After that, I underwent various examinations or tests. Blood was drawn with a syringe. Saliva and hair were also collected. My height was measured, and I was made to stand on something like a weight scale. Many electrode-like things were attached all over my body again, and I was made to lie down for a while. It didn’t seem like an electrocardiogram or anything like that, and I didn’t understand the reason. After the examination was over and I was resting for a while, Red-haired Suzu-chan brought something that looked like a newspaper. There was a large photo of me and Red-haired Suzu-chan in it. The text was still incomprehensible Korean-like characters, but it used many colored characters and was colorful. I thought that maybe I had made it into the newspaper, and I felt inexplicably happy and rejoiced. It was probably the first time I smiled since coming to that world. Red-haired Suzu-chan also seemed to be rejoicing with me. Although I took a shower, my body was still wiped before going to bed that day. Day 6. On this day, it was free time all day except for meals. While I was resting, a woman carrying something like a flat display came with Red-haired Suzu-chan. They attached it to the wall, and when Red-haired Suzu-chan operated something like a wristwatch, the screen turned on. It was probably the equivalent of a TV, and I watched a TV program in that world for the first time. Something like a talk show started, and after watching for quite a long time, Red-haired Suzu-chan appeared on the screen. It was footage of Red-haired Suzu-chan being interviewed. I also appeared in it. Despite waiting for a long time, our screen time was only about ten minutes or less before it ended. But Red-haired Suzu-chan seemed very happy. I also felt happy with her and rejoiced. After that, I was moved outside the hospital for the first time. My footwear was also changed from sandals to shoes. After moving for about 30 minutes by car, I was taken to what looked like a magnificent building. There, I was led by Red-haired Suzu-chan into a room where many people were pointing cameras at us. I was seated on something like a platform, and Red-haired Suzu-chan started speaking. Red-haired Suzu-chan spoke for quite a long time. And finally, when I thought she had finished talking, something like a Q&A session started, which also took a long time. In the middle, Red-haired Suzu-chan directed the microphone at me at one point, and I thought she wanted me to say something, so I spontaneously said, “A, I, U, E, O, KA, KI, KU, KE, KO, SA, SHI, SU, SE, SO.” There was a stir in the venue. After that, I was directed to the microphone two more times, and I said, “TA, CHI, TSU, TE, TO, NA, NI, NU, NE, NO, HA, HI, FU, HE, HO,” and “MA, MI, MU, ME, MO, YA, I, YU, E, YO, RA, RI, RU, RE, RO.” I was wondering what I should say next when the microphone was directed at me again besides “WA, I, U, E, WO,” but that worry was unnecessary. I was very tired that day and slept well. I hardly had any dreams.

The Japanese sound sequence that the protagonist spontaneously recited—”A, I, U, E, O” and so on—is the Japanese syllabary recited in order, which would have sounded completely alien to the people of the other world who had never heard Japanese. The story takes a dramatic turn at this scene.

• [41] Stop with the “red-haired person” kind of nickname

Day 7. Red-haired Suzu-chan was supposed to bring breakfast today as usual, but for some reason, she didn’t bring anything. I was wondering what was happening when she suddenly made me take off my swim trunks. As I was confused, Red-haired Suzu-chan suddenly pushed me down. And then I was toyed with. It was so sudden that I couldn’t resist. I was so scared that I couldn’t stop my body from shaking. No matter how much she resembled Suzu Hirose, I couldn’t handle someone with ghostly blood-red hair. After that, Red-haired Suzu-chan left as if nothing had happened, and when I thought she had come back with breakfast, she immediately left again. I took one bite of breakfast and felt sick, and couldn’t eat any more. Even though I had finally gotten used to having the same thing for all three meals. After a while, Red-haired Suzu-chan put me in a car again. I couldn’t even look her in the eye, but Red-haired Suzu-chan was acting normally as if nothing had happened. I wondered if it was a different person from the Red-haired Suzu-chan of this morning. I was dazed in the car looking outside when I caught sight of the beach where I first arrived. I instinctively felt certain that I could return to the original world! I pulled the handbrake. The car spun, and Red-haired Suzu-chan stepped on the brakes. I hit my head from the impact but quickly regained my balance, opened the door, and ran away at full speed. And I kept running along the beach. Then I found a cave and hid there. Red-haired Suzu-chan didn’t seem to be chasing me. When I felt safe, my legs suddenly gave out, and I collapsed. And then I became paralyzed as if in sleep paralysis. In a state of panic, without even thinking that I might be found by Red-haired Suzu-chan, I reflexively tried to call for help, but no voice came out. I finally managed to shout “Help!” and with that sound of my own voice, I woke up. It was on a bed. In that world, I had gone to the toilet many times, but I hadn’t wet the bed or had a bowel movement. However, I really had to urinate, so without even having time to rejoice at returning safely to this world, I went to the toilet. After that, I drank water to calm down and checked my smartphone. Only about 8 hours had passed since yesterday. It was too real for a dream, and the memories remain clear, and I went to the toilet many times in the dream but didn’t wet the bed or have a bowel movement. Moreover, my perceived time was definitely one week. Now the memories are fading, but when I first woke up here, I remembered everything clearly. There’s more to this story: a ladybug clock that I thought I had lost five years ago suddenly turned up. Now I think that maybe that ladybug clock took me to that alternate world. Maybe because it was a red ladybug clock, only red-haired beauties appeared. Anyway, it was a strange experience.

The story finally reaches its conclusion, and the protagonist returns to the real world. And one mysterious fact is revealed. The red ladybug clock that he had lost for many years suddenly appeared. Is this coincidence somehow related to his alternate world experience?

• [56] A world where only ominous red-haired women appeared for some reason
• [59] I’m afraid to suggest this, but could this “dream” be nothing more than a figment of your imagination?

Can you experience a week in a dream? Do you even dream within a dream?

Wow. These things happen, huh. If this was really a dream, then week-long dreams might be possible.

• [67] This is the alternate world. You need to go back to your original world.

Maybe what I’m seeing now is also an alternate world, and I’ll wake up in yet another real world. That would be scary. Thanks everyone for listening. I feel better now, so I’ll end it here.

• [49] Male in 40s, annual income over 4 million yen, single
• [52] The sense of reality was exactly like the real world. It didn’t feel like a dream at all.
• [53] No, there wasn’t.