The Ceremony (14/14)

Here are all the friends who helped us to celebrate the day. Thank you all for coming, and best wishes for the New Year!

The Ceremony (13/14)

A new family!

The Ceremony (12/14)

What can I say? Married!

The Ceremony (11/14)

My ring was a tight fit! After this the musicians played to a traditional dance, and both families drank sake together.

The Ceremony (10/14)

Virgins! Well, they're supposed to be. And I hope they were - considering what we paid!

The Ceremony (9/14)

Usually only the groom reads the "chikai no kotoba" (oath), but we had decided that Satoko would read an English translation after me. The shrine provided us with several versions. The original in kanji (Chinese characters) had furigana (pronunciation characters) alongside because even native Japanese might not know some of the old kanji used.

There was a romaji (roman alphabet) transliteration - but reading Japanese written in romaji is actually harder for me than reading hiragana (phonetic script). So hiragana it was, though I still made a couple of mistakes. Satoko did well with the English version - tweaked from the flawed translation they had given us.

The Ceremony (8/14)

Next we walked out into the heat of the day, and stood in front of the alter. I'm glad it didn't rain, but 30 degrees is hot when wearing a black kimono! The priest (in green) was sweating more than I was though.

Friends invited to the ceremony are seated just offscreen to the left, and to the right on the stage you can see a few of the musicians.

The Ceremony (7/14)

The dangers of drink! After Satoko's last sip of sake, we were considered married - the rest of the ceremony being a mere formality.

The Ceremony (6/14)

The ceremony began with lots of bowing, while a priest invoked blessings. Dad was able to sneak a few forbidden videos - better than some of the official (and expensive) footage shot by the "shrine photographers".

The Ceremony (5/14)

Satoko and I led the procession to the keidai (inner shrine). The umbrella is to protect the bride from the sun, and red is a lucky color.

The Ceremony (4/14)

One last goodbye ... In Japan the girl joins the boy's family! On the right is Satoko's sister, Kyoko.

The Ceremony (3/14)

The room divider rolled back to allow us to introduce the families for the first time! The fish-eye effect here actually conveys how unreal this was!

The Ceremony (2/14)

I joined my parents in the hikaishitsu (antechamber), where a divider - behind us in the photo - separated us from Satoko's family. They had never met before, until ...

The Ceremony (1/14)

Well, I better post these wedding photos before the year is out!

The shrine gave us the negatives, but with multiple cameras (and lenses - apologies for the fish-eye shots) it was a bit of a chore to sort them into chronological order. I had to leave out some great ones in order to make the task of showing each phase of the ceremony manageable.

Anyway, there are still 14 photos, so I'll just add a few snippets of text. We arrived at the shrine around 7:30am. It took about one and a half hours to get Satoko ready, and then we popped out for a quick photo. The white hood is supposed to hide the female horns that disappear after marriage!

Born Free

Ok, I missed a month. I had hoped that wasn't going to happen, but PWSD (Post-Wedding Slackness Disorder) and a generalised winter malaise have kept me busy with other things - like catching up with "Lost".

There are wedding pics available now that I really should post, but I need to sort them first. And since I've already taken a topic break to report on the birth of my nephew Leo (who's doing fine, BTW) I thought I'd report on another little loved one who I've been missing.

Yep, my little orange buddy Eric. Sorry for any dog-lovers reading, but "man's best friend" is over-rated, IMHO. ;-) Sure dogs are more consistently social and interactive. But when you're taking a nap, and a cat decides the best place in the whole house to sleep is right on top of _your _ nap, it feels pretty special.

Anyway, Eric was recently relocated from the house where he grew up to my parents' new place, and despite my worries about the transfer, he seems to be thriving. He's not 'fat' thriving! That's just the camera angle. What I mean is he hasn't run away yet or been put on Prozac.

Amongst all the friends and family I miss back home, Eric's up there near the top of the list. I can't wait to give him a cuddle when I finally visit NZ in 2006 (sometime) for my sister Sophie's wedding. More pics soon ...

Son of Garageland

I can now proudly and officially claim the title "Uncle Nick". My sister Sophie gave birth early this morning to a healthy baby boy, Leo Eade, held by his father Jeremy in the photo above. I'm thrilled for both of them - Sophie has been waiting for this her whole life.

Time to go all acoustic and folksy, eh Jeremy? ;-)

(9) Proof Of Purchase

Despite a whole day of song and dance, people demanded proof! And so here it is in titanium and gold.

That flash seems to show every wrinkle and blemish on my face, but Satoko looks great so that's ok. Yes, my eyes always look like that. This photo has outed my super-anti-hero laser vision powers that allow me to spot a peach at 100 paces. Well, a man can dream ...

(8) Loving You

Later in the evening, Miki-chan treated us to a rendition of Minnie Riperton's "Loving You" which - although I wasn't quite sure what to expect - enchanted us all. She has a lovely rich voice, and I hope this little performance encourages her to continue sharing it.

(7) The Cake

Here is our wedding cake. By all accounts it was delicious, though I didn't get a chance to try any. The cake knife was longer than the cake was wide, which led to a few goofy theatrics.

(6) Smart Casual

The usual suspects. Yusuke looks like he's been on safari, and Jun looks like he's just experienced Zero-G. The girls all look lovely as always. Sorry we didn't get a chance to chat!

(5) Formal

Here are some of Satoko's workmates, including Ken-san (2nd from the left) who took these pictures - thanks! Next time, use a red-eye flash setting mate! All these faces are fine, but wait till you see mine ...

(4) Friends from near and far

Many of Satoko's friends that attended were previously unknown to me, but the lone foreigner in the middle there is Ross who, like my parents, came all the way from New Zealand to be part of our wedding. It was great to have him there.

As an aside, this photo is a great showcase for the beauty of Asian skin. Much more photogenic than the upcoming photos of me! I'll leave that for another day before I stray too far off topic ...

(3) Kampai!

Early on in the proceedings, Jolyon jumped up, solicited donations for the Republican party, and sang "The Star Spangled Banner" to rapturous applause. I'm kidding, of course. He instead delivered a lovely toast - in English and Japanese - to which eveyone raised their glasses and exclaimed "Kampai" (cheers).

Unfortunately it seems that Risa followed suit (drinking on the job!) and so this was not captured on tape. Hopefully Jolyon's kept that scrap of paper we can see in his hand! Cheers!

(2) The Filmcrew

Here are some of the fine folks I mentioned before: Craig, Zoe and Risa. Satoko and I expected to be socialising with friends, but instead we were sat down on a spot-lit couch and ruthlessly interrogated - though refreshments were served.

Craig and Zoe seemed to relish their task, and even got me to explain how (and why!) I proposed to Satoko. Judging by the audience reaction (mainly camera flashes) their translation into Japanese must have been a complete fabrication, because only a fairy story could elicit such a corus of oohs, aahs, and accusations of "romantic ne?"

Meanwhile, Risa recorded evidence of the proceedings; presumably for the forthcoming trial. She's obviously had lots of experience - her footage doesn't exhibit the wild and shaky panning and zooming that my attempts do. Well done, and again thanks to you all!

Our Evening Wedding Party: (1) Entrance

Thanks to Satoko's workmate Ken-san, I now have some wedding photos to post! These ones are from the night party for friends, which was a great success despite a few technical hitches. We really couldn't have done it without the help we had from some very special people, so very special thanks to Risa, Craig, Zoe, Jolyon, Miki, and many thanks to all our friends who came along to watch us in the hot-seat and take photos!

The festivities began at Deep Blue Lounge in Roppongi, and while the crowd of nearly 50 friends waited on the 2nd floor drinking and socialising, Satoko and I prepared for our entrance. I assumed that for me it would consist primarily of adjusting my tie, so I was somewhat surprised when a handful of movie soundtrack compilations were placed in front of me, and I was instructed to choose the music for our entrance.

I had already handed over to the management the interesting live mix that our friend (DJ) Jeremy had created for us, so in my mind "Choose music for the wedding party" was already crossed off from the to-do list. As my eyes wandered over the track listings, classics such as "Eye Of The Tiger" leapt up and scared the bejesus out of me! Luckily, my gaze fell upon another classic track - one that has aged well and retains its haunting beauty.

If you listen to it here (Twin Peaks Theme) and look at the photo above, it's just like being there. Make sure to darken the room and have a camera handy to flash in your eyes every few seconds if you want to experience what I did!

Moon Island & Clear Sea

The name of a novel I'm writing? No - the names of the districts Satoko and I now shop and live in respectively: Tsukishima (Moon island) and Harumi (Clear Sea). Take those translations with a few grains of salt, ok?

No pics of the new apartment yet, but it's just to the left behind the bright lights in the center of the photo here. If you look on a map (and zoom out) you'll see that we're on an island whose periphery is suspiciously Euclidean, surrounded by other islands whose peripheries are ... suspiciously Euclidean!

Yes, they're all reclaimed land, some started as far back as 1650. Actually the northern end of Tsukishima is built on top of a real island which used to support a small village, and now sports a towering housing complex. There's a gym there that we joined lickety-split.

Our "manshon" (=mansion =apartment/apartment building) is part of a self-contained village city called Triton (pronounced to-ri-ton) that predates the much more up-market and scaled-up Roppongi Hills development. Which I'm happy about, because as a Japanese friend remarked: "it doesn't feel like Tokyo". Plenty of shops but no crowds. Plenty of space, but close to the city centre. There's lots to like, if you feel safe ...

What is reclaimed land? There are many answers, but they're hard to find. Some of the locations around Tokyo Bay were filled with, uh, landfill (a tautology?) which basically means rubbish. Others were filled by simply bulldozing the ruins of bombed-out post WWII Tokyo into the bay. So unlike the wise man, I'm not sure what my house is built on. But I'm pretty sure what happens when the next big quake comes.

Here's a very informative and scary article about what happened during and after the Great Hanshin Earthquake that destroyed Kobe. More importantly, it talks about why. Anyway, there's something like a 30% chance of the big one hitting Tokyo in the next 10 years. 90% in the next 50 years. The land under Harumi will liquefy and dozens of very tall buildings will form the next round of landfill.

I don't intend to be here at that time. Until then, it's a relatively pleasant place to leave my hat.

The Stairs

Finally it's goodbye to my home of the last year and a half, and in some ways good riddance, though I will miss some of the conveniences of the quiet surrounding neighbourhood. The apartment was too small, too old, and a little bit dangerous. "Dangerous?" I hear you ask. Well, just look at The Stairs to the front door!

They descend directly onto the road, and the road is without pavements; a one-way, one-lane, one car-width shortcut across a train line and between two large arterial roads. That means fast cars and scant pedestrian refuge. Many a rainy night I trod The Stairs with life-or-death focus on the task at hand.

How I marvelled some time ago, when two delivery guys manhandled an inherited fridge (thanks Nick!) up The Stairs, through the front door - only marginally larger than The Fridge itself - and into the kitchen, whilst miraculously removing their shoes in the process!

Moving The Fridge out last week was similarly miraculous, but in a significantly more alarming vein. This time one of the moving guys lost it on The Stairs, and nearly paid for it with his life. The Fridge is big, and one man alone cannot stop it (save Damian perhaps), so down The Stairs went The Fridge taking with it the hapless moving guy. Along came a car on its high-speed shortcut, and ...

Somehow he survived with only a bruised leg and badly scraped arm. The Fridge suffered a slightly crumpled underside and dented backpiece but luckily still works. The concrete paving at the bottom of the stairs had several chunks smashed off by The Fridge. But The Stairs ...

The Stairs remain. Undamaged. Securely in place. And in my mind.

Down by the riverside

Well, I'm catching up now, as this photo was taken only 6 weeks ago. Satoko and I had the good fortune to be invited to a riverside BBQ with the Kiyosue family. My co-worker Hiroshi, his wife Terumi, and their kids Naoto-kun, Mai-chan, and Jumpei-kun picked us up from the station.

They live a good hour northwest of Ikebukuro, which puts them well into the "unfashionable" but actually rather nice (please refer to the colour 'green' in the photo) prefecture of Saitama. Although it's a mission to get into Tokyo from Saitama, you only really need to do that to work, party, or shop where the "fashionable" people shop. Perhaps you can tell where my sympathies lie. The upside to living in Saitama is that mere mortals can get themselves a decent place to live.

We popped by their spacious 2 level abode, and it was really a nice change to see a family living in a family sized house. Their kitchen and lounge are open-plan; something I've almost never seen in inner Tokyo, though I'm sure millionaires (x 100 = billionaires in Yen) might be able to afford such a luxury. The kids' room is great, with a loft bedspace and a high ceiling. In my place anyone taller than me (172cm) is at risk of banging their head on doorways, and smashing the light in the toilet.

Anyway, we set up camp by the river, and at a pace similar to that of the placid river's water, the beer and seafood flowed into our marquee in an unending stream of tasty goodness, gently sweeping us into a sea of satiety. It was a very warm day, and the stony riverbed didn't encourage the adults into much activity. So while the kids safely explored the shallow river, we sat and drank and ate and chatted till it was time to leave. For dessert we stopped at an ice-cream parlour whose produce derives from the local farms.

This was a truly relaxing day - a rare thing in Tokyo, and especially in our lives recently, so we owe Hiroshi and his family a debt ... one to be repaid in full, I'm sure, when they eventually visit us in New Zealand.

Not the last, and not a samurai ...

Continuing with my recent tradition of blogging in arrears ... nearly two months ago I accompanied Satoko and some of her (female) family members on a visit to the shrine for the selection of our wedding day kimonos, and a hakama (man's formal skirt) for me.

Now, I had previously vowed not to dress up in Japanese kit until my Japanese language ability was good enough to, for instance, explain to a Japanese person why I was wearing their traditional costume. However, if someone does ask me this on my wedding day, I'm pretty sure I can communiate the bleedin' obvious!

Of course, I tried on only 2 options, and let the girls decide which one was best. Satoko on the other hand tried at least 5 kimono - and it takes some time to tie the intricate knots involved. Revealing which one she chose will have to wait until the big day itself.

What I will reveal is that to accompany her kimono she has a small knife, a small box - both tucked away somewhere secret - and a fan. Now, imagine my furled brow upon finding out that I get only the fan. No katana (sword); not even a stout stick. I'm not sure what she plans to cut off and put in the box, but she'll need more than the fan to cool down afterwards if it involves me!

Romansu Kaa (Hakone Part 3)

Well, this is the train Satoko rebooked specifically to ride. There's nothing romantic about them, but these romansu-kaa (deluxe) trains are definitely comfortable. And to think, of all the hundreds of people on the train, a select 8 get front row seats! Does it cost extra? Reminds me of the time I had the front seats all to myself on Fujiyama at Fuji-Q High Land ...

Anyway, after the disappointing food at the Hakone Open-Air Museum, we decided to round off Satoko's birthday with a tasty Thai dinner in Shinjuku. Beer Chang was the perfect accompaniment. (Anybody remember those Big Changs in Thailand - especially Damian, if you're reading!)

Oh, I gave Satoko an iriver N10 pendant 1GB MP3 player for her birthday, but its lack of (well, poor/optional) USB Mass Storage device functionality, and refusal to play the variable bitrate MP3s I threw at it prevent me from recommending it to other friends. It's also hard to see the display through the mirrored front they put on it, so I can instead heartily recommend the player I chose for my birthday ...

A feast for all senses save taste! (Hakone Part 2)

The main activity planned for The Most Important Day Of The Year was a visit to the Hakone Open-Air Museum. This unique gallery sprawls over a large area in the hills near Hakone, providing a relaxing (though weather-dependent) atmosphere for the combined appreciation of art and nature.

Satoko had visited here 5 or 6 years previously, and although the museum itself was quite enjoyable despite the brooding weather, we were in for a shock when we sought nourishment indoors. The fantastic restaurant Satoko had enjoyed on her last visit had been replaced by a cheap buffet and an overpriced Chinese option. We sampled the Chinese and found it to be wanting in the extreme. Come here for the sculptures; come for the Picasso pottery collection; come to enjoy art in natural surrounds. But bring a packed lunch!

The Day Before The Most Important Day of The Year (Hakone Part 1)

For Satoko's birthday we went to Hakone, a beautiful volcanic area that cradles a large lake and 7 mountainous volcanic cones inside a huge caldera. Although it's a bit touristy, the people are friendly enough, and it felt great to be out of Tokyo and breathing some fresh mountain air.

The photo comprises some classic elements of Japan: rugged forested mountainous scenery, a shrine's torii (gates) placed in the (sacred) water, Fujisan (Mount Fuji) bringing up the rear, and of course a Japanese Mona Risa front-and-center.

Our hotel was right on the lake shore, and the next day from our room we observed the morning mists draw back to reveal the lake, the mountains, and finally Fujisan. After arriving we took a trip on one of the outlandish "pirate" ships (actually galleon replicas) to a town in the next bay. Somehow we found a little Italian restaurant hidden away above a museum, and had a lovely meal in the afternoon sunshine, washed down with some white wine. Perfec' ...

The Visitor

Cripes! Lots to catch up on. Firstly, Sean - my (NZ) business partner and best buddy - visited Tokyo. Of all the friends that I miss back in NZ and elsewhere, it was Sean that I both least expected and most appreciated a visit from. Out of NZ for the first time in his 36 years!

Before leaving he had trekked around a good deal of Tokyo. Ikebukuro (Best Tonkatsu in the Known Universe), Akihabara (strange hentai manga), Shibuya (109!), Shinjuku (Kabukichou), Korakuen (the drum game - pictured), Asakusa (Sensouji temple), and of course my own little backwoods, Kami-Itabashi.

He did well considering his previous week's activity; just one of the demons summoned together from all 7 levels of hell - receiving a sermon from the great B. (Beelzebub) Gates himself. All I can say is roll on .NET Framework 2. As Matt Shroff once asked: how come no-one's ever overwhelmed by the good side of the force?

Trainspotting (Nagoya Part 3)

Well, work has been a bit crazy, so I've only just now had some time to think about blogging again. Lots has happened this month, but first I should finish off the Nagoya chronicle. Actually I'm skipping a bit - Satoko and I visited the 2005 World Expo in Aichi (near Nagoya), but it was a quick visit, and the place was so busy that we didn't see much and there's not a lot to say. We did have an exceptionally smooth ride out there on the maglev train Linimo, though. Which brings me to the topic of getting to (and from) Nagoya in the first place.

Selection of the mode of transport was a tradeoff: either an overnight cheapy on a bus, or an hour and a bit on the shinkansen (literal translation: new trunk line) for about NZ$300 each return. We chose the latter in order to squeeze in what little sightseeing we could.

Having already ridden Eurostar (300km/h, European side) and TGV (270km/h, France) this trip (270km/h) was no landspeed record for me, but it was interesting to see what high-speed Japanese trains offer in terms of comfort etc. Our train was a 700 series (pictured above) - actually slower than the older 500 series!

The interior was very clean and comfortable - similar but superior to flying by plane. In an almost cinematic gesture, the beautiful, uh, "ride-attendants" bow as they enter or leave the cars through silent, automatic doors. In fact the whole experience was very much like air travel without all the hassles and danger. As evidenced by the horrific crash in Osaka recently, a reasonable percentage of occupants survive catastrophic failure of a train compared to those in a plane.

I'm a bit worried that Satoko and I are becoming densha-otaku (train geeks/trainspotters). We recently made a completely unnecessary transfer on my line just to take a ride in the shiny new train we'd seen operating outside my "local" zone. Then a few weeks ago Satoko rebooked the return portion of a trip we made - for the sole purpose of taking a spin in one of the new express trains on that line! Photos to come ...

Real "National Treasure" (Nagoya Part 2)

Inuyama-jou (Dog Mountain Castle) is a lovely day trip from Nagoya; not only a great castle next to a picturesque river, but also providing great views over the surrounding area. One of less than a dozen original (non-reconstructed) Japanese castles standing, it was famous for being privately owned until just recently. It has many interesting features, including a secret room, and a huge old tree remnant next to it which used to be a protective lightning rod as high as the castle.

You can read a review here, alongside lots of ratings and info about other Japanese castles. I'm really hoping to visit Himeji-jou, which in addition to being a Japanese National Treasure is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Quick little monkeys (Nagoya Part 1)

Last weekend Satoko and I visited Nagoya. She had several friends to catch up with including Mariko, who lives in NZ with her husband Grant and two lovely girls Kiriko (3) and Kauri (6). As seen above, they're quite a handful!

For 2 months each year Mariko brings the kids to Japan. They stay at Mariko's mother's house, and because the kids go to school while in Japan, they are truly bilingual - keeping up-to-date with both the language and the culture.

Anyway, they soon tired me out, but I felt a strange loneliness when they weren't around. Could it be that kids are addictive? I look forward to seeing them again, and can't wait to be a daddy myself now. (Gasp!)

Satoko and I really enjoyed staying with Mariko's family, so I hope we can return the favour somehow, someday. Mariko arigatou!

Three little girls from school: extracurricular

It's not me, ok? Japan is obsessed with schoolgirls. I suppose even Japanese schoolgirls might be obsessed with schoolgirls. Anyway, Satoko and I sauntered through Yoyogi park last weekend, and to get there you have to run the gauntlet of J-goths, gosu-rori (goth Lolitas), b-boys (breakdancers), rock bands, boy bands, and as shown above, girl bands.

Most tourists get photos of the goths. These kids probably commute every weekend from their towns in the country. During the week they look like your average Jimmy or Suzy (Junichi or Suki), and then just to be different (like everyone else) they head to the big smoke wearing the most outlandish and elaborate costumes they can fashion. Last weekend I noticed a kind of head/nose-bandage/mask-thing was the latest mode.

These girls caught my eye, not because of their quite average performance (and average looks - although the one on the left is cute in a more adult way) but because of the attention they were receiving. Mostly none, that is, except for a few photography otaku (geeks) that had all the gears. Expensive cameras on tripods with huge zoom lenses (compensating for other inadequacies) were trained on these girls less than 3 metres away.

As we left later the show was over, and the otaku were squatting red-faced with excitement as they collected the girls' autographs. Everyone's got to have a hobby, I guess.

Footnote: I suppose I should fess up and thank Sean for sending five large (but not inadequacy-compensating) computer texts to feed my Apple 2 emulation hobby. I too am another happy otaku ...

The joy of spring (Spring Part 1)

Pink and white blossoms softly raining down are a bit reminiscent of weddings, so the timing seemed perfect this weekend when Satoko and I made another visit to the temple where we are planning to be married in September. Before that we had a chance to check out a chic Japanese restaurant we are considering for the reception, and caught up with Satoko's friend Lisa on her home turf: Akasaka. Desirable turf it is too, with enviable architecture both old and new. Sakura (cherry blossoms) were in full bloom; tourists here today saw Japan at its best.

For those of us who live here, it's like nature's own end-of-winter ceremony - admitting defeat after months of relentless, bitter cold. Yatta!

Nice vice city (Spring Part 2)

Even the city I work in, Ikebukuro - not known for it's beauty - is suddenly snap-worthy, and possibly even picturesque! It's nice to see my namesake "West Gate Park" with a dash of natural daytime colour, rather than just the obligatory nighttime neon.

Spring's first act (Spring Part 3)

My local park now. One day it's thermals and a jacket, the next it's sandals and a singlet! The trees burst into bloom, and people head to parks everywhere to enjoy hanami (flower-watching), often with the traditional accompaniment of nihonshu (Japanese sake/rice-wine).

Winter's last gasp (Epilogue)

Just for comparison - here's my local park one month ago.

Menu for the first spring outing (Part I)

Recently the weather has been quite unpredictable. For instance it's been raining more than 3 times a month, and that signals the beginning of spring. Graf organised a gathering for hanami (flower-watching) in a park near his appartment (near Ebisu). So with a forecast for fine weather, Satoko cooked up a storm in the morning - yakisoba (fried noodles), onigiri (sushi rice rolls) and nikujaga (sweet and salty meat and vegetable stew).

We headed to Naka-Meguro (a futile attempt at name translation would be central-black-eye) and met up with him and his friends. Unfortunately the flowers were rather uncooperative - just a handful of early bloomers - and are expected to fully blossom next weekend, so with the temperature dropping we decided to move the festivites to Graf's pad.

FrieNZ (Part II)

In addition to Graf's many fine friends, the Auckland Massive was represented by myself, ex-transplants Satoko and Yusuke, and his flatmate Zane. Yusuke's GF Manami and Satoko's friend Lisa were also witness to the festivites and shenanigans. Plenty of eating and drinking ensued, with much conversation of both frivolous and hilarious nature. Only one casualty was observed, and a temporary one at that: Chinatsu - with more red wine in her than blood - was taken to a cell and coaxed into having a nap.

We were in part celebrating Graf's approaching birthday, so it was nice to catch up with his crowd on his home turf. Mine is always the worst level of Japanese ability there, so it's a great environment for me to be in. A kick in the pants to remind me that one day I want not to be worst Japanese speaker in the room. (I could just wait until Zeal visits next I suppose ...)

When Australians Attack (Part III)

Scott, a new addition to the menagerie, sure turns heads - Lisa's in this case. For some reason she was permitted to look in one direction only, and for some reason we all found this quite amusing. Scott's another GABA (English school) refugee, former linguistics scholar, funky house DJ, and goodness knows what else. He also sports a few good Japanese comedy impersonations - a sure way to win over a crowd here. I'm sure Lisa's still laughing.

Shootin' star

Last weekend Satoko went to South Korea with a friend. Shopping seems to have been the main reason for the trip, though I doubt there's much there that can't be bought here in Tokyo somewhere. Stuff's mostly made in Korea or China anyway. She did, however, have some photographs taken - one of which is posted above.

The name of the shop was Star Shots, and I suppose I must congratulate the Photoshopographer. Satoko is much happier with this photo than the last one I posted. It serves to remind us that gritty, unfiltered samples of the real world often jar our sensibilities. Like listening to a playback of your own voice. In particular, it reminds me of a photo prepared for FHM. Rollover (with the mouse) to see just how much deception there is these days in image media.

Anyway, I'll be trying to up my posting average from the current once a month!

Silver linings

After living in Japan for a while it's a bit too easy to focus on the negatives here. To me it seems that's because many of them impact on day to day living. It's like forgetting to enjoy your health until you get sick. So in a bid to accentuate the positive, I'll resort to talking about something that almost every foreigner who leaves Japan will tell you they miss: the food.

The small company I work for has a list of regular lunch haunts, and we work through them every week or so in quasi-random fashion. Occasionally we try something new, but straying from the list is often an invitation for disappointment. Not disappointment western-style though, where a bad meal can really put a crimp in your day. Bad food here is like above-average food elsewhere. Mostly Japanese food is of excellent quality, which is one reason why Japanese usually stick to Japanese food when travelling.

For most people, sushi immediately comes to mind when talking about Japanese food. And it is common. Satoko is pictured above at a kaiten-zushi (conveyor belt sushi) restaurant near my apartment, unloading the sushi for our table (number 41). This place is pretty big, hence the intercoms used to order dishes. In a smaller, more traditional kaiten-zushi, the chefs would be in the middle of the loop, taking orders, making and handing the sushi directly to customers.

Sushi is served cold, though the rice may be still warm if the chef has just prepared it. Washed down with a bowl of crab or shellfish soup, it makes a surprisingly hearty winter lunch. Because there are many types, and you choose the sequence of dishes, sushi maintains a lasting variety that has me hooked.

Three little girls from school ...

I spotted these fembots the other weekend while out shopping for a wedding dress with Satoko. They certainly look about as far removed from an actual Japanese schoolgirl as is physically possible, save perhaps for their brown irises. Presumably this is a sales pitch directed at the parents, and thus reflects what they wish their children to look like. Hands up those who want western featured cartoon characters for kids! Self-image training probably begins earlier than this in Japan anyway.

The first dose of reality we can inject into the picture is to make those eyes Japanese. After all, almond eyes really are almond shaped, and lovelier the closer you get. I'm talking about eyes here; not schoolgirls, ok? ;-) The next dose of reality depends on the nature of the schoolgirl, but generally follows two styles: (a) the hair is long and black, as nature intended, with perhaps a hair-tie or two. In time, these girls might grow up to be onei-kei "older sister types" - sensible young women, like Satoko. In case (b) the hair is dyed anywhere from brown to blond, and the skin is dyed and tanned. After leaving school they might retain this ko-gyaru "school-girl" look, or progress to the extreme yamamba "mountain hag" stage, where lack of pre-teen youth is concealed with a combination of tanning, make-up, and Playboy brand pyjamas. The BBC has a brief but interesting pictorial round-up of some of these Tokyo fashion tribes.

Since it's winter, and I've just popped outside to reaffirm that sleet hitting the eyeballs is indeed unpleasant, I might as well add a seasonal note. The colder it gets, the shorter the skirts. This applies to both schoolgirls and other young women, because nama-ashi ("bare/young legs") differentiate the young from the not so young. I suppose it might be hard to tell the mice from the shrews otherwise, since most Asians are so blessed with youthful complexions. Still, it's a wonder they don't die from exposure in this cold. Some wear leg-warmer like looz-soksu ("loose socks") to protect themselves, but that's another story ...

Bittersweet

Happy new year, everyone - wherever you are. This year brought me and Satoko (pictured center) both joy and sadness. The tsunami disaster in Asia seemed to sour xmas a little, but we were busy preparing to visit her parents in Ibaraki prefecture, an hour or so north of Tokyo. All went well: her father got me to date the letter I'd written to him and his wife (correcting my oversight of "make [Satoko] happy in the future" to "... forever") and then he shook my hand. Easier than buying a horse.

On our return to Tokyo, things got a little more grim. Chris (pictured right) had been on a boat with his girlfriend leaving Kho Phi Phi about 9:30am local time. Luckily the boat made it over the 4 meter wave they encountered, and after laughing nervously they continued making their way back to Tokyo, where they discovered the enormity of what they had so narrowly avoided.

Sadly, Shione-chan (pictured left) was due to catch the 9:30 boat from Kho Phi Phi, and was checking out of her beachfront hotel when the first wave hit. Her Indian boyfriend survived the ensuing chaos, and spent 2 days looking for her before being evacuated because of his injuries. I know this is just one of 150,000 sad stories, but this really brought it home for me. These things often seem to happen to those who least deserve it, and I'll always remember this lovely girl, and her cute Irish accent when she spoke English.

So enjoy your new year of life, and don't forget to donate to your charity of choice.