This morning we got up fairly early for Kuniko to hit the road and teach a couple of classes at her school. I spent the morning getting ready for Tsuji-san’s wedding at noon – I had to find just the right clothes to wear, you know.
My folks called just before I left, so we chatted for a while. My mom did a very brave thing at work, and we talked about it – I was impressed. We couldn’t talk very long, though, and soon I was out the door and headed to Takasago. I met up with Alexis on the platform in Takasago, and together we took the next rapid train to Himeji.
We were a little early arriving in Himeji, so we went over to the Starbucks to hang out and have a quick pre-wedding snack. We had a chance to talk about what Alexis will do (and what she wants to do) after she goes back to the US next month. She is realistic about it, and I hope she finds something cool when she gets there.
We caught a taxi from there and headed to the wedding place. It was only five minutes away, and it looked deserted when we pulled up. Luckily there was some activity inside, and we got directions and headed upstairs to wait in a reception area. We got a lot of looks from the large group of older people. We definitely didn’t fit in, but I sat down with Alexis and I smiled at people and they seemed nice enough.
Soon after we arrived Tsuji-san’s dad came by and thank you for coming. He looked a little nervous but I could tell he was happy, too. We said thank you back and we each did a bow, and before we knew it, it was time to head outside and see the wedding.
The ceremony took place in kind of a courtyard garden, complete with waterfall and ferns. It was a nice place to hold the wedding – really pretty and private. The ceremony went pretty quick, and I took lots of pictures and was only rewarded with the back of people’s heads. I didn’t want to run around and take pictures – it seemed like a very big distraction.
After it was over we joined a lineup to say congratulations. From this point on, Tsuji-san’s new name is Okamoto-san, so I’ve got to take care to call her that. They both looked very happy, and they gave us a small parting gift before they headed into the studio for lots of pictures with family.
Alexis and I split from there, and walked back to the station. She decided to go home in the gap between the wedding and the second party, so I hung out in Himeji for about 90 minutes until Kuniko arrived. I read some books for free in the air conditioned bookstore.
Once Kuniko arrived we walked around doing some shopping, eating snacks, and drinking a green creme soda with a big scoop of ice cream inside. It was a great way to kill time, and soon we met up with Alexis and headed to the second party. We caught a shuttle bus near the station, which was also being boarded by a slew of old people.
Old people in Japan both annoy and scare me. They annoy me because they act like they are entitled to everything without having to repect anything, and they scare me because I don’t want to end up like that. There was a slight disturbance when one of the old guys started pulling at one of the old ladies, trying to get her to do something she didn’t want to do. I watched in fascination as the drama unfolded, but things calmed down quickly as no doubt one of the participants forgot what the big deal was all about in the first place.
We arrived at the Himeji Castle Hotel and went inside to the restaurant – that was the location of the party. At the registration desk one of the groom’s friends asked me in English “Do you speak Japanese?”, and I gave him a big smile and returned “Do you speak English?” His friends all laughed at him, and we got all set up and went inside.
Kuniko and Alexis and I all sat together and Alexis enjoyed a vegetarian meal while everyone else had a wide variety of foods – pizza, tofu, fried shrimp – there was a lot of food and beer.
The second party was one of those very organized affairs with an emcee who did lots of games and contests. I’m not a big fan, because it gets in the way of meeting people and drinking together, but apparently it is the normal deal at second parties in Japan. They had a portable pedestal that was called the “Party Dam 30”. It had all kinds of activities built into it: karaoke, bingo, music, you name it.
Alexis and Kuniko got along really well and so it made the table really fun – we were joking around most of the time and we were kept entertained despite the “Party Dam 30”.
We played bingo, and I was lucky enough to win once again – I’m 2 for 2 at wedding second party bingo. I scored a giant green and black vibrating back massager. It was quite big, and due to the amount of alcohol I had consumed at that point I was fond of calling it a vibrator.
One of the groom’s friends was doing a lot of camera work, and I had noticed at the wedding that he looked a lot like a young Don Johnson, of Miami Vice fame. I tried to explain this to Alexis earlier, but Miami Vice is a little old for her. She asked me if Don Johnson was Asian – because if he isn’t how the hell can this guy look like Don Johnson. Good point, but for some reason this guy really reminded me of him. I took a bunch of pictures in an effort to catch an image of him to compare later – you can see the fruits of my labors in the picture gallery.
Finally the party wrapped up, so we lined up and said goodbye to the Okamotos. They handed over more gifts and the groom gave me his brightly colored plastic Hawaiian lei, so I wore that the whole way home. I noticed that when you are drunk you don’t seem to care about wearing a bright yellow lei and carrying around a giant vibrator in public. It’s just not a big deal.
It was a good time, and we split up with Alexis in Takasago and headed home from there. I was really bushed – I had been walking the streets of Himeji all day long, so we headed straight to bed. It was a really fun day, though – and I can’t wait to hear how the Okamotos new life goes. Check out the pictures from the day.
