I LOVE Weddings

I really DO love weddings. I didn't always love weddings, but I think that since my besties started getting married, I've come to associate weddings with great times with friends/family.  I'm not gonna lie, I have also come to love weddings because they remind me of my own wedding (which by the way, was awesome).

This past weekend Rich and I attended the wedding of friends we have made while in Japan (the groom is one of Rich's co-workers). The wedding was at KKR Porthill Yokohama Hotel which is located at the top of a hill that overlooks the bay. Luckily on our way to the wedding we met up with friends that were also going to the wedding - I say luckily because even though I tried to map it out and find out how to get there ahead of time, I probably still would've gotten lost trying to find it. In any case, our group arrived with time to spare and spent the remaining minutes outside enjoying the scenery, including the area we thought was where the ceremony was to occur (see photo in bottom right corner).  The weather was perfect (not too cold), which I appreciated since I was wearing a dress. After noting the continued absence of guests or anyone official looking, we figured out we were in the wrong location (for those that know our group, this should not surprise you).

The ceremony was held upstairs in the hotel in an indoor chapel with a fabulous view of the bay and bridge - the fact that the ceremony took place at dusk made it a particularly gorgeous sight. The groom came in first, followed by the the bridal party who took their places behind him. The bride entered the chapel with her mom, who put the bride's veil down before they walked down the aisle. A particularly touching moment occurred when the bride (a talented violinist) surprised the groom by performing a musical piece with the best man (a cellist).

After the ceremony, we were ushered upstairs to the reception. I think one of my favorite things about weddings is getting to see how the bride and groom sort of make different aspects of the event their own, so that their guests are like "that's soooo them." After everyone was seated, the bride and groom made their entrance in a dramatic fashion that was definitely "them" - they entered dressed in Yokohama Baystars uniforms as the beer guy/girl. If you've ever been to a Japanese baseball game, you'll understand; if you haven't, see my blog post on it to get a better idea of what I'm talking about re: the beer girls (Baseball in Japan)  After entering the reception hall with the spotlight on them, they proceeded to go from table to table filling the pitchers with beer and providing a basket of snacks to each table. It was great!

After their entrance, the dinner service began. Each course was presented in an impeccable fashion - being a Japanese wedding and all, I expected nothing less. The food was not only beautiful, it was also delicious (and thank goodness the main course was steak, otherwise Rich would've starved). After dinner, there were the customary speeches and a few games. One of the games, which wasn't really a game, called for the guests to see if they had 1 of 3 chocolate pieces hidden in their slice of cake. Since my hubby was out smoking when this took place, I HAD to rummage through his cake to see if he had the chocolate! It's not like I ate any of it, but it was pretty funny when he came back and looked at the state his cake was in - he of course ate it anyway.

Ahh, I almost forgot....then came the part of weddings that up until July 2011 I dreaded more than anything (and hence the reason I omitted this wedding ritual from my own wedding)....the bouquet toss. Don't get me wrong, some people live for the bouquet toss - I'm not one of them.  I think the reason I swore off on the bouquet toss was due to one particular wedding I attended where I purposely went to the bathroom when I knew it was going to occur. Well, to my profound surprise, embarrassment and anger, I actually heard the emcee calling my name (note to all brides: don't do this, especially to your good friends). Anyway, back to this wedding - I will gladly admit that it was quite an amazing feeling to FINALLY be able to stay in my seat and watch other females have to stand up in front of everyone. I'm sure the feeling will wear off but this was the first wedding I've attended since my wedding last year.  After all of this, the bride and groom left and when they returned, they were dressed in their traditional Japanese attire for the cake cutting, thank you's and joining of the families.

The event ended somewhat early, as Japanese weddings are known to have somewhat of a time limit.  No matter though, it was a great night and when we got home, I went through all my wedding photos (haha, just kidding). Congratulations again to the happy couple!!

Adventures In Furniture: My Trip To IKEA Kohoku

The current state of the guest room

One thing that has been bugging me since we moved into our house is the fact that our guest bedroom remains unfurnished.  Every time I walk past it (which is several times a day since it's across from my bedroom) and see the emptiness and empty boxes littering it, I wince.  Sure, I could just close the door, but I prefer not to do that.The guest bedroom had fallen in terms of priority, but with summer approaching I wanted to clean it up and and make it less of an eyesore. So, after many months, I finally decided I was really going to furnish our guest bedroom with the hope that one day soon we'll actually have some guests to use the new furniture (hint hint to my family and friends). 

I had been periodically checking the NEX furniture store to see if they had anything I liked (and within my budget), but most of their stuff is so big and bulky (or chunky as I like to say).  I knew there was an IKEA in Yokohama and one of my friends that lives down the street just furnished her home with stuff from there so I decided to check it out.  Having lived in Seattle and California, I had shopped at IKEA many times so I knew the drill.  In anticipation of the IKEA shopping experience, I went online and went through the catalog and basically picked out the pieces I wanted to get pending my in person viewing.

That morning I did a few things which I do every morning before I get out of bed - check the weather and the Yen rate.  The weather report said it was going to rain much later in the day and the currency exchange site said the Yen rate was down (or up, depending on how you look at it - all I know is that it was going to cost me more $$ today than the day before).  As soon as I sat down on the train, I pulled out my iphone to check my email and was greeted by an email from Rich forwarding an email from the Base Command notifying us that destructive winds were expected within 12 hours (i.e., a typhoon).  I figured I still had 12 hours, so I continued on to IKEA.  I got off at the Shin-Yokohama station and made my way to the IKEA bus stop (it wasn't hard since there are signs in conspicuous locations throughout the station directing you) - that's right, IKEA has its own bus that takes customers to/from the train station. 

I had barely even gotten into the store when I got another forwarded email from Rich stating that the winds were now expected within 2 hours. Ugh!  But I had come all this way and I was determined to get my furniture.  So I continued on with the intention of just getting what I came for, but if you've ever been through IKEA, you know they make it hard for you to do that by practically forcing you to walk through the showroom.  Of course I'm a sucker and I get sucked in and rather than head straight for what I need, I went through the whole damn store looking at everything (although at the end of the day, I am proud to say I left with exacty what was on my list). 

At first I was nervous about how I was going to get all of my items onto the cart by myself and then try and set up delivery.  Thankfully I found a very friendly staffperson, and with her help and my passable Japanese skills, I was able to get an itemized list of my pieces (with specific aisle and shelf information) and schedule home delivery.  After that, I raced downstairs to pick everything up (except for the bedframe and mattress, which luckily I didn't have to get myself).  Initially I had wanted to grab lunch in the restaurant/cafe and shop around their food store but with the typhoon fast approaching, I decided to get the hell out of Dodge and hightail it home.  By the time I got on the IKEA bus back to the train station, it had already started raining and the trains were packed with people trying to get home.  Even though the train ride home was miserable because we were packed in like sardines, I was happy because I had accomplished my mission (and within the budget my  husband gave me). I also made it home before the crazy winds started (and which kept me up all night irrationally afraid that the windows that didn't have typhoon shutters on them were going to shatter in a million pieces on me while I slept).  Now my impatient self just has to wait until next week before my stuff is delivered.  To be continued....

Lunch Date in Yokohama

Even though Monday was President's Day and a holiday, it wasn't really a holiday because Rich had to work for part of the day.  But since it was a week day, we wanted to take advantage of the fact that it was not a Japanese holiday, which we figured might mean less crowds and congestion at places.  I suggested we catch the train to Yokohama, which is always a great option because it's closer to us than Tokyo, but yet there's still a lot to do there.  Yokohama is approximately 20 miles south of Tokyo and is the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo.

After a short 30 minute train ride (including one transfer), we arrived at Landmark Tower/Queen's Square Tower in the Minato Mirai area.  The Landmark Tower, which is the largest building in Japan, houses offices, a hotel, tons of restaurants and a shopping mall.  The hotel is on the 52 - 67th floors of the Landmark Tower, there is an observatory on the 69th floor and the Sky Lounge Sirius (whose amazing view I hope to enjoy for myself one day, hint hint) is on the 70th floor.  At lunchtime during the week, the business people from the various offices come downstairs to the mall area to eat at one of the many restaurants.  Seeing so many suits always reminds me of and makes me miss the hustle and bustle of San Francisco.  Landmark Tower is awesome because it has Cold Stone, H&M, Gap, and Krispy Kreme, among others.....basically all the essentials. 

We were starving so we headed straight for Hard Rock Cafe. Even though we definitely love to eat at local restaurants, there's something comforting about going to a place with a name you recognize.  Plus, I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I just feel like a big ole burger.  However, the thing about U.S. restaurants in Japan is that you never know how closely the Japanese location will resemble the U.S. one in terms of menu offerings and what the food actually tastes like. In my opinion, Hard Rock Yokohama remained true to its roots and did not disappoint. 

I had the bbq bacon cheeseburger and Rich had the pulled pork sandwich, both of which were delicious.  Rich is pretty picky about his bbq, so if he says it's good, it must be good (he asked me to make it clear that he's a North Carolina vinegar bbq sauce person).  We were both stuffed so we didn't get anything for dessert even though the apple crumble was calling my name quite loudly (oh well, there's always next time).  I will caution readers though, you definitely don't want to go here if you plan on drinking a lot because drinks will run you about $12.00 a piece, $20 for the ones that come with a signature glass.

 After lunch we headed back to Landmark Tower and walked around for a bit.  I only window shopped though because we are heading back to the States in a few weeks, at which point my husband knows I plan to do a TON of shopping (so he understandably had me on a short leash while we were in Yokohama).  Since I didn't have dessert at Hard Rock, I stopped in at Mrs. Elizabeth Muffin for some yummy mini muffins for later. All in all, it was a great day and the best part was that I got to spend it with my husband!!