Japanese Wedding Day - Part 6 - Day 4 in Tokyo
We both woke up pretty early-ish (a recurring theme for this holiday). A bit of Japanese TV does wonders when waking up... although as we keep saying - Ant and I prefer the ads over the actual TV shows in Japan - they are just so outlandish. Although none have managed to top the Poccari Sweat Ad from a couple of years ago (urinating robot = gold).
We are on a bit of a Julie schedule today - as you can probably tell from the title of this blog - it is Sacha and Taeko's bogus Japanese wedding day... when I mean bogus I mean that they had their legal wedding back in Australia a month ago and that Taeko wanted to have her cake and eat it too by having a Western style wedding as well as a traditional Japanese wedding.... Not even David Hassellholf has 2 weddings...! Speaking of Julie Schedule - we were supposed to meet them at the Julie Crew Motel at midday so that we all catch a train to Harajuku (where my mum, dad, Sid and Pranav all get dressed up in their komonos for the wedding in time for a 3:30 wedding). So keeping the schedule in mind and wanting to kill a couple of hours - we headed (by foot) to Ueno. Although you would think there is 20km between Asasuka and Ueno (by looking at the subway maps) - it is only a couple of km's walk and only takes about 30-40mins max.
We walked past our find for this holiday so far - the 99 mart. It is a supermarket where just about everything costs 99 yen (104 yen after tax of course!). You can get bread, milk, fruit, veg even packets of meat for 99 yen... We bought some bread and some bananas and had bread and bananas for breakfast (as one does in Tokyo).
It was so quiet walking around the streets around Ueno - it seems to be a time-honoured japanese tradition of not walking anywhere and catching public transport instead (sort of like the Americans but with public transport).
After a quick, yet kind of gross coffee at the Andersens bakery at Ueno station (it was on par with Starbucks - which isn't exactly a high standard) we wandered around the fake/rip-off market area of Ueno. You got to love the Pachinko Parlors in Japan - there are hordes of japanese folk queuing up for ages to get in when they open at 10am. Most parlors even have security bouncer door bit#hes with "Michael Jackson concert" microphones - ushering people inside. Ant took a video of the 10 o'clock stampede into one parlor... I almost got my eardrums blown out by some Pachinko door b##th with a megaphone who blasted me from point blank range from behind... as one does!
Another highlight (or lowlight) was the Ueno "Adult Cinema" which looked like it was showing hard core pron right next door to a "Family Cinema" which was playing "Happy Feet"... Only in Japan.
We found a Japanese toy shop (right next to Ueno Station) which was about 6 floors big and full of every kind of "cult toy" you could think of. There were Transformer dolls, Robotech dolls, Chucky dolls, Freddie Kruger dolls, Freddie Mercury dolls - you name it they had it. Ant was thinking about buying a transformer doll for his friend Andy (who at 32 has an unhealthy obsession with Transformers). But the only thing for sale was a $100AUD Megatron which transformed into a "realistic" looking pistol... Probably not something we could get thru customs.
We made fast walking tracks back to Asasuka where we found a fine example of Japanese noise pollution. I was double dared by Ant to press the "walking across the street button for blind people" - because I'm hardcore extreme - I pressed it only for it to play some sadistic Japanese music tune which made our ears both bleed. Only in Japan
Back at our hotel - we both got changed into our wedding suits and raced over to the Julie Crew Motel. Ant and I started a bit of a bitching session to my parents - who wanted to catch the JR line from Shibuya to Harajuku... whereas Ant and I thought it would be easier to walk from a nearby metro station to save the JR tixs. After a bit of a battle-royale - we conceded and just went with my mum's plan (which sort of worked at the end). Harajuku station was a bit of a moshpit - as it was a Sunday which is also the same day the Harajuku girls are out to play - so too are all the interested onlookers and tourists.
The Julie Crew split up into two - those who were going straight to the Wedding Centre - and those who weren't. We were in the former group (as we wanted to see where the wedding was going to be held at before the ceromony).
We had lunch at a very nutritious place which served "Sugar and whipped cream... with crepes". After being told off by some Japanese woman for eating where we shouldn't have been eating - we dumped our suit bag off with my mum and did our own thing for a couple of hours (whilst my parents were getting changed into their kimonos for the wedding).
We were told to get back to the wedding centre (a big 3 story reception centre - chock full of Japanese staff) by 3:00pm sharp... and like the responsible people that we are - we got there at 2:55pm and no one recognisable was around.
We waited around for about five minutes until Taeko's dad rushed down the stairs and into the lobby and ushered us upstairs to a room where everyone was waiting. Apparently - we were both late and holding up the proceding. (Ant and I are officially blaming Sacha for us being late - as we were both there before the 3pm deadline as told by Sacha).
I was then whisked off by some Japanese wedding planner lady into a room where Sacha and Taeko (and my parents) were waiting. Sacha and Taeko were both decked out in the traditional Japanese wedding dresses (but I'm a lady!). Sacha and Taeko were both sitting at the centre of the room - and Taeko's parents and immediate family were sitting along one side of the room and my family was sitting against the other side of the room. Once all of the "immediate" family guests were ushered in (eg: the full Julie Crew) - Sacha began to introduce everyone in Japanese to Taeko's family and Taeko introduced her family in engrish.
In true Japanese "we don't have a lot of time to organise a wedding" style - the wedding planner ran through with Taeko and Sacha what they had to do during the ceromony (about two minutes before the actual ceromony)... A wedding rehersal two minutes before the wedding - so Japanese...
As Sacha and Taeko left the room - each of the parents followed their respective child and then everyone else joined the "conga line" which made a b-line for the nearby Shinto temple where the ceromony would take place.
The setting was pretty incredible - there was a quaint Japanese garden (complete with pond and cherry blossoms) and a beautiful temple. Sacha and Taeko (and the parents) started the procession from the pond and made their way past all of the guests - who then joined the procession and all headed into the temple. It was slightly strange - in that there were western tourists taking pictures of us doing the wedding procession. We have finally made it (being a tourist attraction in Japan).
The ceromony was a traditional Shinto affair. There were some monk dudes who did a few prayers, banged a few drums and played some trippy Japanese flute music. Sacha and Taeko were then forced to drink sake (three shots each). Sid was saying that Taeko is a light drinker and was probably pished after those shots. Then the parents were forced to drink more shots of sake... Then there was the exchange of the rings and of mucus (between Sacha and Taeko). It was a pretty incredible ceromony - which made the Aussie wedding at Jonahs look pretty laid back.
Everyone piled out of the temple for a group shot (of everyone). The cameraman was doing the "pre-school" trick of waving a hand puppet to get everyone's attention (as one does at a wedding).
The immediate family (which equals me but not Ant) were then rushed off to a "Studio Vogue/Pixi Foto" studio in the wedding complex. The family had to take some quick shots - unfortuneately - we didn't take any tacky shots (you know - those whacky Japanese pose-y shots with fingers) but it was all over pretty quickly.
Everyone (except for Sacha and Taeko) piled upstairs for a few (dry) drinks. Ant and I were getting a bit concerned about whether or not this was a dry wedding - but surely not - if the bride and groom (and their parents) were doing shots in the ceromony?!!
But thankfully - we were all ushered in (again) to another room - this time the reception room. Everyone's seats were pre-organised (in true western style wedding) and I was sitting with my parents, Taeko's parents and Taeko's brother (and his girlfriend) table (eg: Table No. 1). Although Taeko is the eldest sibling in her family - her brother is the top dog (as boys outrank girls in terms of priority in Japan) - hence the reason why he was sitting at the parents table. Meanwhile Ant had been relegated to the kid's table (with my cousins).
My mum and I were getting a bit concerned about the lack of grog at the wedding - but thankfully - they started to serve beer...
After not that long a wait - the MC of the wedding (a Sri-Lankan guy who is an ex-Japanese TV presenter - a sort of Darryl Sommers crossed with Kamal) introduced Sacha and Taeko to the room. Sacha - one for inappropriately dressing up - was wearing a Tina Turner circa 1980s wig (and Taeko was now wig-less).
We both woke up pretty early-ish (a recurring theme for this holiday). A bit of Japanese TV does wonders when waking up... although as we keep saying - Ant and I prefer the ads over the actual TV shows in Japan - they are just so outlandish. Although none have managed to top the Poccari Sweat Ad from a couple of years ago (urinating robot = gold).
We are on a bit of a Julie schedule today - as you can probably tell from the title of this blog - it is Sacha and Taeko's bogus Japanese wedding day... when I mean bogus I mean that they had their legal wedding back in Australia a month ago and that Taeko wanted to have her cake and eat it too by having a Western style wedding as well as a traditional Japanese wedding.... Not even David Hassellholf has 2 weddings...! Speaking of Julie Schedule - we were supposed to meet them at the Julie Crew Motel at midday so that we all catch a train to Harajuku (where my mum, dad, Sid and Pranav all get dressed up in their komonos for the wedding in time for a 3:30 wedding). So keeping the schedule in mind and wanting to kill a couple of hours - we headed (by foot) to Ueno. Although you would think there is 20km between Asasuka and Ueno (by looking at the subway maps) - it is only a couple of km's walk and only takes about 30-40mins max.
We walked past our find for this holiday so far - the 99 mart. It is a supermarket where just about everything costs 99 yen (104 yen after tax of course!). You can get bread, milk, fruit, veg even packets of meat for 99 yen... We bought some bread and some bananas and had bread and bananas for breakfast (as one does in Tokyo).
It was so quiet walking around the streets around Ueno - it seems to be a time-honoured japanese tradition of not walking anywhere and catching public transport instead (sort of like the Americans but with public transport).
After a quick, yet kind of gross coffee at the Andersens bakery at Ueno station (it was on par with Starbucks - which isn't exactly a high standard) we wandered around the fake/rip-off market area of Ueno. You got to love the Pachinko Parlors in Japan - there are hordes of japanese folk queuing up for ages to get in when they open at 10am. Most parlors even have security bouncer door bit#hes with "Michael Jackson concert" microphones - ushering people inside. Ant took a video of the 10 o'clock stampede into one parlor... I almost got my eardrums blown out by some Pachinko door b##th with a megaphone who blasted me from point blank range from behind... as one does!
Another highlight (or lowlight) was the Ueno "Adult Cinema" which looked like it was showing hard core pron right next door to a "Family Cinema" which was playing "Happy Feet"... Only in Japan.
We found a Japanese toy shop (right next to Ueno Station) which was about 6 floors big and full of every kind of "cult toy" you could think of. There were Transformer dolls, Robotech dolls, Chucky dolls, Freddie Kruger dolls, Freddie Mercury dolls - you name it they had it. Ant was thinking about buying a transformer doll for his friend Andy (who at 32 has an unhealthy obsession with Transformers). But the only thing for sale was a $100AUD Megatron which transformed into a "realistic" looking pistol... Probably not something we could get thru customs.
We made fast walking tracks back to Asasuka where we found a fine example of Japanese noise pollution. I was double dared by Ant to press the "walking across the street button for blind people" - because I'm hardcore extreme - I pressed it only for it to play some sadistic Japanese music tune which made our ears both bleed. Only in Japan
Back at our hotel - we both got changed into our wedding suits and raced over to the Julie Crew Motel. Ant and I started a bit of a bitching session to my parents - who wanted to catch the JR line from Shibuya to Harajuku... whereas Ant and I thought it would be easier to walk from a nearby metro station to save the JR tixs. After a bit of a battle-royale - we conceded and just went with my mum's plan (which sort of worked at the end). Harajuku station was a bit of a moshpit - as it was a Sunday which is also the same day the Harajuku girls are out to play - so too are all the interested onlookers and tourists.
The Julie Crew split up into two - those who were going straight to the Wedding Centre - and those who weren't. We were in the former group (as we wanted to see where the wedding was going to be held at before the ceromony).
We had lunch at a very nutritious place which served "Sugar and whipped cream... with crepes". After being told off by some Japanese woman for eating where we shouldn't have been eating - we dumped our suit bag off with my mum and did our own thing for a couple of hours (whilst my parents were getting changed into their kimonos for the wedding).
We were told to get back to the wedding centre (a big 3 story reception centre - chock full of Japanese staff) by 3:00pm sharp... and like the responsible people that we are - we got there at 2:55pm and no one recognisable was around.
We waited around for about five minutes until Taeko's dad rushed down the stairs and into the lobby and ushered us upstairs to a room where everyone was waiting. Apparently - we were both late and holding up the proceding. (Ant and I are officially blaming Sacha for us being late - as we were both there before the 3pm deadline as told by Sacha).
I was then whisked off by some Japanese wedding planner lady into a room where Sacha and Taeko (and my parents) were waiting. Sacha and Taeko were both decked out in the traditional Japanese wedding dresses (but I'm a lady!). Sacha and Taeko were both sitting at the centre of the room - and Taeko's parents and immediate family were sitting along one side of the room and my family was sitting against the other side of the room. Once all of the "immediate" family guests were ushered in (eg: the full Julie Crew) - Sacha began to introduce everyone in Japanese to Taeko's family and Taeko introduced her family in engrish.
In true Japanese "we don't have a lot of time to organise a wedding" style - the wedding planner ran through with Taeko and Sacha what they had to do during the ceromony (about two minutes before the actual ceromony)... A wedding rehersal two minutes before the wedding - so Japanese...
As Sacha and Taeko left the room - each of the parents followed their respective child and then everyone else joined the "conga line" which made a b-line for the nearby Shinto temple where the ceromony would take place.
The setting was pretty incredible - there was a quaint Japanese garden (complete with pond and cherry blossoms) and a beautiful temple. Sacha and Taeko (and the parents) started the procession from the pond and made their way past all of the guests - who then joined the procession and all headed into the temple. It was slightly strange - in that there were western tourists taking pictures of us doing the wedding procession. We have finally made it (being a tourist attraction in Japan).
The ceromony was a traditional Shinto affair. There were some monk dudes who did a few prayers, banged a few drums and played some trippy Japanese flute music. Sacha and Taeko were then forced to drink sake (three shots each). Sid was saying that Taeko is a light drinker and was probably pished after those shots. Then the parents were forced to drink more shots of sake... Then there was the exchange of the rings and of mucus (between Sacha and Taeko). It was a pretty incredible ceromony - which made the Aussie wedding at Jonahs look pretty laid back.
Everyone piled out of the temple for a group shot (of everyone). The cameraman was doing the "pre-school" trick of waving a hand puppet to get everyone's attention (as one does at a wedding).
The immediate family (which equals me but not Ant) were then rushed off to a "Studio Vogue/Pixi Foto" studio in the wedding complex. The family had to take some quick shots - unfortuneately - we didn't take any tacky shots (you know - those whacky Japanese pose-y shots with fingers) but it was all over pretty quickly.
Everyone (except for Sacha and Taeko) piled upstairs for a few (dry) drinks. Ant and I were getting a bit concerned about whether or not this was a dry wedding - but surely not - if the bride and groom (and their parents) were doing shots in the ceromony?!!
But thankfully - we were all ushered in (again) to another room - this time the reception room. Everyone's seats were pre-organised (in true western style wedding) and I was sitting with my parents, Taeko's parents and Taeko's brother (and his girlfriend) table (eg: Table No. 1). Although Taeko is the eldest sibling in her family - her brother is the top dog (as boys outrank girls in terms of priority in Japan) - hence the reason why he was sitting at the parents table. Meanwhile Ant had been relegated to the kid's table (with my cousins).
My mum and I were getting a bit concerned about the lack of grog at the wedding - but thankfully - they started to serve beer...
After not that long a wait - the MC of the wedding (a Sri-Lankan guy who is an ex-Japanese TV presenter - a sort of Darryl Sommers crossed with Kamal) introduced Sacha and Taeko to the room. Sacha - one for inappropriately dressing up - was wearing a Tina Turner circa 1980s wig (and Taeko was now wig-less).
Although I was a bit worried about the quantities of food (after the Jonah's wedding where I only ate a piece of steak all night) - I was pleasantly surprised when they started to bring out about 58 courses of food - all of which were fantastic. Plus the quantities of grog were incredible - Taeko's dad and brother kept topping me up the whole night. I was also very proud of Ant that evening - he ate all the fish that was served up to him (which admitedly was every second dish that night).
Being a Japanese wedding - everyone was obsessed with taking photos of the bride and groom. In fact - this was happening the whole night (and Sacha and Taeko didn't really get a chance to eat or drink anything).
Overall - it was an excellent reception. I sort of had my doubts leading up to the event (as I was told it would only run for a couple of hours) but it had felt like it was long enough to enjoy the night.
After the wedding - Ant and I got changed into our casual clothes and everyone met downstairs in the reception area to meet up. This place is like a "wedding factory" with weddings and receptions being churned out every couple of hours. They could even fit a couple of wedding per floor of the centre. It was very Japanese-y.
We (being the Julie Crew) and Taeko's family said our goodbyes and we all headed to the streets of Harajuku where Sacha's plan of "marital" karaoke was about to take place.
As this was being organised by Sacha and Taeko - it was a bit of a disorganised affair (as they were both arguing with some tout about the prices and deals they could get) - and all of the "adults" were getting tired of waiting (in the rain). However - Sacha did organise three separate rooms (all with unlimited grog). Ant and I were in the same room, together with Matthew and Pranav. Pranav made the first few (shocking) selections - playing one of his favourite Lenny Kravitz songs. When I had picked a Gorillaz song - he protested saying "how old is this song?"... probably not as old as his Lenny Kravitz song. Pranav and I started to have a bit of a karaoke war - but we finally found some common ground with Eminem and (I hate to admit it) Limp Bizcut. The highlights of the night (in my opinion) was Controversy by Prince (yes!), Don't Cry by the Gunners and Technologic by Daft Punk (my god that was a vocal workout)... Low lights was the Eminem "Kill You" duet I did with Pranav (who kept screaming out the vocals)...
After a couple of hours - we called it quits and all headed by train back to Ueno. We had done a deal with Sacha to take our suit bag back to Australia (with a bit of extra shopping hidden within the bag for good luck) and I said goodbye to my mum and dad (as we were leaving for England the next morning).
posted by NicknAnt @ 5:49 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home