August 1st, 2005 15:55 hours
Currently listening to: "Your Song" by Love Psychedelico
Feeling: very much in love ^_^

Sunday, July 16th -- After triple checking that I had the rings with me, I took a cab to the airport. It was super hot and the idea of getting sweaty while walking to the train was not appealing. Actually, the entire idea of the TRAIN ITSELF was unappealing after that subway episode I went through earlier in the week. "Screw the train. I'm taking a cab." I met up with my parents at the airport. I was pleased that dad offered to get me a jack & coke when airplane people came by with the drink carts. Not even at cruising altitude and we're already drinking. Yee-haw. What was even cooler was that we didn't have to pay extra for alcohol. International flights rule.

Monday, July 17th -- My mom cracks me up. I gave her a muscle relaxer to help with her back. That, plus a bloody mary made her just a little bit sleepy. She was eating some ramen that was served as the mid-flight snack and she fell asleep, I kid you not, with her chopsticks an inch from her mouth. When we made her aware of this, she spilled noodles all over her lap, I cleaned them up and she went back to sleep. Hilarious.

Yuka helped check my parents into their hotel in Shinjuku. When Yuka and I saw the room, we immediately realized that this hotel had at one point been a Love Hotel. Love Hotels are basically hotels where couples can go for some privacy. I've read about some that have themed rooms (think the US moon-landing site) or even go so far as to give you a covering for your license plate to help guarantee your secrecy. We decided not to explain this to my parents, only because Yuka was a bit embarrassed. Personally, I thought it was awesome and I knew that my parents would find it as funny as I did. The cool thing for them was that their room had a bathroom easily 4 times larger than any hotel bathroom I've encountered while in Japan. Oh, and channel 2 had free porn. Awesome.

We equipped our umbrellas and walked through Shinjuku to find a place to eat. We settled on a yakitori place (grilled chicken on sticks). Japanese restaurants always impress me. Sometimes you'll find the most amazing place randomly. We ate some great food. Even though people were smoking, you couldn't really tell because of the heavenly smoke coming off of the grill in the kitchen. We said goodnight to my parents and I completely passed out on the train next to Yuka on our way back to Saitama. We ended up staying up late, going over our paperwork together for Wednesday. Finally we passed out in each others arms.

Tuesday, July 18th -- We crawled out of bed and made our way to the shopping areas at Omiya. We had to get groceries and also stuff to make a box lunch for my parents on Wednesday. We then made out way back to Shinjuku to meet my parents. Luckily they had found a relatively western restaurant to eat breakfast. Since dad can't have any wheat products, this trip was going to be tricky. Most soy sauce has wheat in it and most Japanese dishes have soy sauce somewhere in them. Dad happily described the breakfast he had of a hamburger patty with bacon. Take THAT, arteries.

The weather was pretty much crap all week long, so I'll leave out the "we got out our umbrellas" from now on. This was our only day for Tokyo sightseeing. We hit Akihabara first. I was hoping that Yuka and dad would find a cool camera shop, but Akihabara is really geared more towards flashy electronics, movies and games. Oh well. We took the subway to Asakusa next. Mom bought a couple of wind chimes and we went to the shrine at the end of the strip. The last time I was here was during a sunny day and this time I got to see the temple lit from the inside and it was beautiful. We stopped at a convenience store for rice balls and water, then made our way to Shibuya.

We found a shabu-shabu restaurant and it felt really good to sit down. I mentioned in my journal earlier that my dad mastered chop sticks in about 30 seconds. Well, mom was still having trouble. She was sort of draping the meat over her sticks and having a hell of a time. At one point she even put the meat in an ashtray. I should note, however, that the ashtray was perfectly clean. :P Well, the cook saw that she was having trouble and presented her with a pair of custom chopsticks that she was able to use. Similar to what Japanese children train with, it was a set of normal wooden chopsticks with a smaller piece of wood placed between them in the back and secured by a rubber band. This basically made it into a small set of tongs and it was perfect for mom. We all had a good laugh about it and thanked the cook.

Wednesday, July 19th -- Ooooooh what a busy day this was. We got up at 4 AM and I helped Yuka put together a lunch box for my parents. We made them teriyaki chicken, cabbage, salad and fruit. We bought this nifty cooler lunch box that fits in a backpack. Basically a deluxe bento box with cooler packs. We sent my parents on an all day tour that would take them to the Emperor's Palace, some very cool gardens and a museum or two.

Yuka and I went to the US Embassy and stood in a very long line. I noticed that there was a second, shorter line and that sign said "American Citizens, Other visitors, Notarization services". Woo hoo! We passed about 50 people and got through the security checkpoint a lot faster. The guy at the notary counter was funny and said something about my signature being about as awful as his. Not sure why I have such a terrible signature, but it's just a habit now. We got our marriage petition notarized and then took a cab over to city hall.

We sat at a desk while a man checked over our forms. I thought it was extremely funny that he was having some difficulty reading Yuka's katakana. She pinched me. :P After several minutes he said "congratulations". Apparently we just got married! Hahaha I didn't even know it. We waited a while longer for him to print out the marriage certificates. We got 2 small ones and 1 large one. The large one is absolutely beautiful and it rolls up into a container. It's kind of like a small poster tube but, you know, pretty and stuff.

Wow. Yuka and I were now husband and wife. ^_^

We had some time before our 2:00 appointment back at the embassy. We went back to that area and found a place to get ramen and gyoza. It was another cold and rainy day, so this was perfect. We went to a Starbucks and passed out on some very comfy chairs for about an hour.

Back in line at the embassy, we once again bypassed the main visa line and got in the shorter one for American citizens. We were third in line for the green card application appointments. The woman who took our forms had obviously done this countless times. She knew right away which forms she needed and which forms she needed to discard. She said everything looked good and she made a copy of our new marriage certificate. After I paid for the processing, we sat down for a few more minutes until we were called back to her window. "You application has been approved" she said. "Woo hoo!" I said. Hahahah. I knew that we had prepared very well for this application but I was still a little surprised that it was so simple. All that was left was for Yuka to schedule her appointment for her interview in August and then she will have her green card.

We had to swing by her doctor's office for the last set of her required injections. I took her to a dessert place for cakes and tea to celebrate. It was a very "if you're good at the doctor's office, I'll buy you some ice cream" kind of moment. :P We met up with my parents and went to Ebisu for dinner to celebrate. This restaurant was absolutely beautiful. We were all pretty tired and my stomach started doing it's thing and got revenge for the coffee and cake earlier in the day. I hate my digestive system. Despite the early end to our celebration, we were happy. Finally we were married.

Thursday, July 20th -- Yay! Hakone! After picking up my parents from the hotel, we went to the big food court underneath Shinjuku station. There is so much to choose from, it takes for ever to decide what to get for lunch. Dad got yakitori and salad. I forget what else mom got. They also bought a fruit dessert with yogurt. They kept asking where they should sit down and eat but I kept explaining that we would eat on the train and that it would be "really cool. Just wait."

(Video of train ride to Hakone. 10 MB MPG)

Yuka got us tickets at the front of the train, just like when she and I went to Hakone for my birthday in April. Mom and dad were really excited. This was also a brand new train and seemed to have a much bigger windshield. We all ate lunch and looked out the windows. Finally Yuka and I were able to relax. We decided to skip the bus to the hotel and just walk up the road. As we crossed the one of the bridges, I noticed that there were some large snails all over the place. We all stopped to take pictures. Mom found this crazy little bug that seemed to have fur.

I'm glad I brought my own slippers to Hakone. Once again all they had were the ones that didn't fit me. It felt great to be back in this hotel again. ^_^ My parents were amazed. Their room was on the 2nd floor and ours was on the 3rd floor. We had a corner room which gave us a beautiful view of the river. Yuka and I didn't waste any time and got into the hot spring. This time it wasn't too hot and it felt wonderful. Dinner was once again great, although dad couldn't eat much. We knew this would happen but he still like what he was able to eat. Mom and dad hung out for a bit on our room, but I mixed the drinks a bit strong and they went to bed sooner than later. Yuka and I got in the hot spring one more time and watched The Faculty, which is pretty funny to watch when it's been overdubbed in Japanese.

Friday, July 21st -- We finally got a full night of sleep. However, it was pretty much negated when we got on our train back to Tokyo. Our entire train car was filled with little school kids. I'm sure they were jealous as hell that we were all sitting in the front seats, but that didn't stop them acting like monkeys being electrocuted. They were somewhat quiet for a short while as they crammed themselves full of rice balls. Once that subsided, the noise came back to headache-level. I was thinking to myself "you know, whenever there's a large group of kids together like this, one of them always gets sick". Well, sure enough, I was right. The little boy behind mom puked, but the teachers were on it in the blink of an eye. I was impressed. The teachers were nice enough to apologize to us as we left that train at Shinjuku station. ^_^

(Crazy school kids on the train. 5.7 MB MPG)

After dropping my parents and our stuff at the hotel, Yuka and I ran back outside to pick up her parents. It was good to see them. We checked them into the hotel and then introduced them to my parents for the first time. It was so cute. I know they wanted to talk with each other, and they kind of did, but the you could tell that everyone was happy to finally meet each other in person. We exchanged some gifts and then went to a large department store to get some items for mom's kimono.

It's times like these that I really regret not studying my Japanese. My two dads and I were left together while the women went shopping. I got out my dad's copy of the Japanese "point and speak" book and tried to explain to Hidekazu what dad had eaten this week. I think I got the message across and explained that dad tried uni (sea urchin) and didn't like it at all. Heheh.

Dinner time. Yuka had made us a reservation at this fantastic yakitori place that was underground. Very cool decor. Dad got a kick out of eating edamame. He had harvested soy beans when he was growing up on a farm but had honestly never eaten them. Once again we ate lots of food. The fried garlic was awesome. Afterwards we went to a dessert shop that Yuka and I had gone to with Taka. We shared some massive parfaits.

(Hidekazu trying to teach my mom about chopsticks. 8.8 MB MPG)

Saturday, July 22nd -- We got up early and were pretty much on time. We all took cabs to a hair salon in Ebisu. The men in the group didn't have much to do while the women did their makeup. I spent most of that time going over my wedding vows in Japanese. The woman who helped us all with our kimono's was very nice and very helpful. The process for putting on my haori (top) and hakama (bottom) was interesting. I wore some ankle-length silk underwear and those spilt toe socks that I'm sure you've seen before. She wrapped a white towel around my stomach and one over each shoulder, making a v shape in front of my neck. Over each towel was a layer of sticky cotton. Then the robes started coming on. Three layers, I think. Any (lame) attempts I had undergone to lose weight for this week were nullified by the fact that I now looked like I'd bulked up by 20 pounds. But in a good way, I guess.

I tried not to move around too much. The weather was still really humid, but luckily it was just cloudy. Yuka and I got in a nice car and we were all driven to the shrine. Yuka and I went to the back of the shrine. I was lead downstairs and sat at a desk. I knew we had to submit the rest of the payment to the shrine, but I didn't know I was doing it by myself! I finally just handed the envelope to the woman and she took care of everything. I felt like an idiot. Anyway, I came back up and outside to join everyone else for photos.

We were all taken to a room to sit for a while. A woman in a pretty blue/green kimono came in and instructed us on the the procedure for the ceremony. I also signed a few things in a pen that I didn't like very much. Hahaha I chose the wrong one, basically. :P A few outfit adjustments later and we were all in line to go to the ceremony.

In September of 2004, Yuka and I visited this shrine together and we saw a wedding procession. I don't really believe in signs or omens, but I was very, very happy that it was our turn to be the ones walking through this courtyard together for a ceremony. Just like 2004, there were lots of tourists already out and they all gasped when they saw us under the big, red parasol. We made our way into the ceremony room and I jumped a little when someone banged on the large drum at the back of the room as we entered. Mom did the same thing, she told me.

The ceremony was wonderful. I regret not studying enough to understand what the priests said to us all. One of them chanted and I clearly remember hearing our names. I can't really describe this ceremony well in words. The smoky smell of the cedar, the cool dry air of the room, the taste of the sake. All of it was amazing. There were two girls who lead us into the room. One of them carried our rings on the ring pillow that Yuka made. The other did a dance close to the shrine and used those haunting-sounding bells. They also were the ones who gave us sake in the dish cups. When Yuka and I went towards the shrine, I got a little nervous. I read our vows out loud and I managed to screw up one word. Mom say the priests grinned when I did that.

The ceremony finished and we were lead outside to the courtyard again. The sun actually came out for the only time that week, which was really nice. More tourists were around and they took more photos. So did we. We were all a bit more relaxed at this point. It felt great. We got back into the cars and went back to the salon to switch back to normal clothes. Dad took us all out to lunch in Ebisu, which was really nice. The first half of the day was over. Now for part 2.

Yuka had to rush back to a salon in Harajuku to get her hair cut. I tired to take a short nap but was too excited to do so. Yuka's parents (my new in-laws!) went out to meet with some relatives that they would bring to our reception dinner. I managed to get me and my parents to Harajuku without much difficulty. "Harajuku eki, kudasai." ^_^

My parents loved seeing the other side of Harajuku. Dad tried to take a lot of "Yuka photos" but I was getting a little impatient and wanted to keep moving. That, and I was sweating like crazy and forgot to wear an undershirt. Grrrr. Aya met up with us in front of Kidiland toy store and showed us where the restaurant was. Shiho was also there helping things get ready for the party. I waited for Yuka's parents for a bit and we made sure everything was ready to go at the restaurant.

The party was SO MUCH FUN. Yuka looked absolutely beautiful. Her friends are so nice and were very happy for us. My face started to hurt from smiling so much. Hahaha. Dinner was great and everybody had a great time. I really can't say enough about how nice her friends are. Ogawa-san stood and made a toast to us, which was apparently hilarious. I think it was something about this being the 2nd time he'd ever seen Yuka not wearing a pair of jeans. Taka and Yukari from Hartfield showed up and so did Hiro, my counterpart at the Harajuku office.

Yuka and I honestly didn't get to eat much because we were walking around so much, thanking all the guests for coming. I felt a bit weird because I was holding both mine and her drink as well, making me look like a lush. These people LOVE to take group photos, as you can see. Ogawa-san was taking group photos with no less than 6 cameras around his neck. "hai! pos-o!" Mom and dad stood up and dad read a poem that he wrote just before dinner. Chachi, who did an excellent job translating for them all day, started to cry when dad started to cry. Lots of people cried, actually. It was really sweet of him.

Yuka stood to thank everyone and I was amazed at how fast everyone filed out of the restaurant. We hung out at the entrance for a while, thanking the guests as well as the restaurant staff. After the parents and relatives all took off, we decided it was high time to go out and get drunk. Yuka also decided it was high time she got rid of her heels. One of her college friends made a quick run to a store and bought her some kick-ass Paul Frank beach sandals to wear instead. They're sitting in my bedroom right now and I'm jealous as hell that they don't fit me.

Ogawa-san made a couple of quick phone calls and we were suddenly in a huge karaoke bar. This place was impressive. Black light paint jobs, huge TV screen and they served gin & tonics in PITCHERS. Only a few people sang and before we knew it, it was almost midnight and people had to get to their trains. I hope Yuka can get used to the idea of staying out until 4 AM..... on weeknights. Sometimes it really bugs me how late things start in Chicago. Anyway, I completely fell asleep in the cab on the way home and somehow managed to pay the driver the correct amount of money. We were exhausted. The trip had been memorable and also extremely busy and tiring.

Sunday, July 23rd -- We crawled out of bed. My parents, who had gone to bed early, were already fed and ready to go. We took a cab to Shinjuku station and got some food for me and Yuka. We boarded the Narita Express and even though I was exhausted, I still couldn't sleep. Yuka curled up on my lap and I watched the city go by.

I ate some really good curry, pork and rice for lunch and Yuka and I also split a strawberry sundae. There was a giant table of kids next to us and I thought about how cute it was that only kids eat pancakes in Japan. Pancakes are usually considered a dessert item there, also. I wonder when I'll get to visit Japan again. This time with my wife by my side. ^_^