Monday, February 26, 2007
Yakiniku dinner
It was a fairly quiet weekend so all I've got is a couple of picture from going out to dinner with friends on Sunday night. We were cooked BBQ meat at our table (yakiniku) which very yummy.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Japanese Wedding
On Saturday, I went to my first wedding in Japan. It was for my friends, Keisuke and Rie. I found out from Ayako before the wedding that there were many customs done and so even how I presented money in a card for them wasn't all that easy. Anyways, I met my friends Keiji and Eiki downtown to catch a hotel bus to a very fancy hotel by Hamana Lake where the wedding was. We were actually just going to the reception as the wedding ceremony was only for close family.
Still, the reception was about 4 hours long. After presenting my card + money at the entrance, we all gathered in a large room for an official photograph. It took a while to do and was getting a bit hot inside. We then walked down to the reception room, first passing and congratulating the couple and their parents:
The reception room was very fancy and even had a huge bouquet of flowers on a cart:
We had a wonderful meal that consisted of 12 small courses, which was more than filling:
There were a number of speeches while we ate and some entertainment such as someone playing a piano, some friends singing karaoke and a slide show of the couple. There was also the ceremonial opening of the sake barrel:
It was very fine sake served in wooden cups that we got to keep (and not drunk straight out of the barrel):
Here is a picture of the bride, Rie, leaving with her father to change clothes during the reception:
And we got a group shot with the more modern clothes afterwards:
There was then the cake cutting ceremony:
Overall, it was a fun and interesting experience for my first Japanese wedding ceremony. While waiting for the bus to take us home, we waited in the lobby where a woman was playing a traditional Japanese instrument, a koto:
And I got a photo with a doll display which is for Girl's Day, which is a holiday in March:
That night, there was a second party at a bar downtown where we had a group shot with some who didn't come to the reception:
Still, the reception was about 4 hours long. After presenting my card + money at the entrance, we all gathered in a large room for an official photograph. It took a while to do and was getting a bit hot inside. We then walked down to the reception room, first passing and congratulating the couple and their parents:
The reception room was very fancy and even had a huge bouquet of flowers on a cart:
We had a wonderful meal that consisted of 12 small courses, which was more than filling:
There were a number of speeches while we ate and some entertainment such as someone playing a piano, some friends singing karaoke and a slide show of the couple. There was also the ceremonial opening of the sake barrel:
It was very fine sake served in wooden cups that we got to keep (and not drunk straight out of the barrel):
Here is a picture of the bride, Rie, leaving with her father to change clothes during the reception:
And we got a group shot with the more modern clothes afterwards:
There was then the cake cutting ceremony:
Overall, it was a fun and interesting experience for my first Japanese wedding ceremony. While waiting for the bus to take us home, we waited in the lobby where a woman was playing a traditional Japanese instrument, a koto:
And I got a photo with a doll display which is for Girl's Day, which is a holiday in March:
That night, there was a second party at a bar downtown where we had a group shot with some who didn't come to the reception:
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Trip to Nagoya
On Sunday, Ayako and I took a trip to Nagoya. As you may or may not remember, I took a short trip there last April, as seen here. Nagoya is about 90 minutes by train to the west of Hamamatsu. This time, I started off by taking a walk around Nagoya castle, which I missed last time.
It seemed almost more like a museum inside than a castle, but had lots of interesting information. On the top of the castle, there are two golden tiger-headed fish. They have actually been melted down twice previously and been reconstructed with less purity of gold when there were some financial troubles in the past. There is a replica in front of the castle:
Outside the castle, I was surprised by two things. First, to see plum blossoms on the ume plum trees:
They have bloomed much earlier than normal. I saw on the news today that it is the latest that there has never been a snow fall in Tokyo this year.
The second thing to surprise me was that instead of seeing water in the moat area around the castle, there was grass and a few deer down there:
I guess the have a peaceful place to live and makes it like a mini zoo for the visitors.
After walking around the castle and then a walk to the downtown area, we were pretty hungry. We found a good deal for an all-you-can-eat tempura restaurant. Tempura is deep-frying vegetables, fish or meat. It was very yummy and fun to do and filled us up as well.
After that we did some shopping, which left me very tired. It was a nice trip, but I don't think I need to go back there for awhile, since I didn't even buy anything this time.
It seemed almost more like a museum inside than a castle, but had lots of interesting information. On the top of the castle, there are two golden tiger-headed fish. They have actually been melted down twice previously and been reconstructed with less purity of gold when there were some financial troubles in the past. There is a replica in front of the castle:
Outside the castle, I was surprised by two things. First, to see plum blossoms on the ume plum trees:
They have bloomed much earlier than normal. I saw on the news today that it is the latest that there has never been a snow fall in Tokyo this year.The second thing to surprise me was that instead of seeing water in the moat area around the castle, there was grass and a few deer down there:
I guess the have a peaceful place to live and makes it like a mini zoo for the visitors.After walking around the castle and then a walk to the downtown area, we were pretty hungry. We found a good deal for an all-you-can-eat tempura restaurant. Tempura is deep-frying vegetables, fish or meat. It was very yummy and fun to do and filled us up as well.
After that we did some shopping, which left me very tired. It was a nice trip, but I don't think I need to go back there for awhile, since I didn't even buy anything this time.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Hair Salon Signs
Since it's been another fairly relaxed week, I'd thought I'd finally write a post about something I've found amusing in my city: Hair Salon Signs.
I've always loved seeing the numerous funny names used for hair salons in my city. One close to my apartment in called "Single Carrot" and another is called "Amish Hair".
Here are some other sign names that can be seen around town:
I've always loved seeing the numerous funny names used for hair salons in my city. One close to my apartment in called "Single Carrot" and another is called "Amish Hair".
Here are some other sign names that can be seen around town:
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