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On my way to the Driving License Bureau in Shinagawa, I came across a few PCs with Internet access in the metro station. They were all there, working and there was no sign of an attempt to steal them. If you were to put such PCs in a metro station in Paris (or anywhere in Europe), how long before the PCs were gone or broken? Japan’s really another world…

A few months ago, I joined a Japanese cooking class taught in both Japanese and English. Classes focus on easy seasonal Japanese dishes, exactly what I was looking for! The teacher is quite famous and has a restaurant in Roppongi. She also works as a food consultant and knows a lot about traditional healthy ingredients, such as “amazake” (means sweet sake but actually does not contain alcohol) and “shiokoji” (salted rice malt).
The latest class was focusing on cooking Okinawa food, such as “taco rice” and “Goya champuru salad”.

In Japan, autumn starts on the 1st of September, no matter what! I say no matter what because I happened to be at the convenience store on the 1st of September and they were proudly advertising the fact that “oden” (soy flavored stew) was on sale from that day and it was 34 degrees that day, as it was the previous day, the “last” day of summer!

Another thing that comes with autumn is a thing I welcome: autumn mackerel!

Last month, we were invited to our friend Mayuko’s wedding and it was such an amazing experience! First, we got a chance to meet her husband, Shige, as well as all their friends. But then, we were lucky enough to witness all the cultural aspects of a Japanese wedding that make it so different from our occidental weddings.

The ceremony was held in a chapel in the New Otani hotel in Akasaka, Tokyo. The ceremony looked exactly like a Christian ceremony but was not an official religious ceremony because neither of the families are Christians. Mayu entered the chapel with her father who handed her off to Shige. Both men bowed at each other. Similarly, when the newly married couple left the chapel at the end of the ceremony, they turned around and bowed before exiting. The ceremony itself was pretty much like ours in Europe, with readings, music and exchange of vows and rings. Then, all the guests went to the desk to “register”; basically, we gave our present (an envelope containing money), ticked our names off the list, and then received a tag indicating which table we were going to sit at (Japanese process efficiency!). Next, we headed to an area where we were served a drink while waiting for the main room to be ready.

Then we were ushered to the main room and sat at our table, waiting for the bride and the groom to enter the room. Again, before entering the room, they bowed once. Then, they sat at a special table on a stage, just the two of them. While waiting, we were served a drink at the table and speeches started. The first speech was made by Shige’s company president, then Mayu’s boss and then much later, other speeches were given by the parents. It’s strange to think that it goes in that order. Then, we were served delicious food for the next two hours while the bride and the groom received their family and friends, group after group, on the stage to take photos. What I found really interesting was that the couple’s parents went around all the tables to formally thank Mayu and Shige’s friends for taking care of their kids so far and continuing to do so in the future. So, Mayu’s parents came to our table and gave their thanks to each on of the guests, while pouring a glass of beer to them. On the photo montage below, we can see Mayu’s mother serving beer to a good friend of her daughter.

After a good two hours, we were handed a bag containing a present from the groom and bride to thank us for attending their wedding. I had read that, typically, as a guest of a Japanese wedding, you receive tableware and/or food/tea. We received a lovely serving plate as well as some food. Mayuko and Shige officially thanked their parents with a closing speech and gave both their mothers beautiful flowers. Then the six of them exited the room and waited outside for the guests to come one by one to say goodbye.

It was 9:00pm at that stage and it was time for the “nijikai” (i.e. the second party), which was held in a restaurant. There, we had more food and drinks. It was the casual party after the official ceremony and reception. There, only friends were invited. It was great fun and we met a lot of Mayu and Shige’s friends. By 11:30, it was over and time for the “sanjikai” (i.e. the third party). To be honest, I should have gone home at that stage but I was enjoying myself too much! So we headed to the “sanjikai” which was karaoke and sang up until 3am. It was great fun but definitely drank too much… Overall, it was an amazing night! I am so delighted we got to go…

Still at the Nakameguro Summer Festival, we came across a food stall outside a convenient store where those two below were dressed up in some … funny costumes, to attract people’s attention and sell more, I guess. It has to be that, right? No one would wear that type of costume, otherwise, especially when it’s 32 degrees and humid as it was that day! Japanese sales techniques are amazing! Anyway, I’ll let you guess what they served at the food stall…

More photos on Flickr.