Gingham Peplum + Japan Trip
Only one more day until it's Friday!!🙌🏼🙌🏼 Do y'all have any plans for tonight? I'm going to Sonoma wine bar to meet up with some sorority sisters so I'm excited for that! I've never been there though, I'm actually not a huge fan of wine so that could be why. I like Moscato and Prosecco and that's about it, but the Thursday special for Sonoma is 50% off pizzas so I'm looking forward to that!😋 Aria and I went to Napa Valley a year or two ago and we went on wine tour and tasting and I didn't like any of the wines😂 The cave tour was really cool though! Anyway, I'm finally sharing about my Japan trip with y'all so this is going to be a long post! I'll be talking about Japan in general, the wedding and the food, in that order. There will also be a ton of pictures for each section, hope y'all enjoy!
I absolutely loved Japan; it's an extremely clean and disciplined society. There's absolutely no trash on the streets, no weird smells and the rivers are actually clean. People give up their seats on the subway for older women/men and people with families. I wasn't disgusted sitting on the subway or holding on to the handles since it was so clean! Also, if you're going down the stairs/escalator and you're not walking, you must be on the left side- the right side is meant for people walking. It was quite hard for Aria to adjust to that😂
My brother (Paul) lives in Yokohama and his wife (Masami) lives in Tokyo, which is only 30 minutes apart, so we got to explore both cities. We went to the busiest intersection, Shibuya crossing one day and it is just like when you see it in the movies, filled with hundreds of people! It's crazy, somehow I didn't lose my family! On the last night we were there Aria and I went bike riding in Yokohama, that was one of my favorite things we did! I loved cruising around and just soaking everything in. It was a little chilly at night, but during the day the weather was absolutely perfect, mid 60s and the best part-no humidity!
The Wedding
Aria and I have wanted to go to Japan, but the wedding is the main reason we went. Paul has been living in Japan for a few years now and met Masami during his time there. She is full Japanese so they had a traditional Japanese wedding at the Hikawa Shrine in Tokyo. It was like nothing I've ever experienced, very interesting yet extremely cool at the same time. I haven't been to very many weddings, but this one was on a whole different level. I decided to wear the dress I wore to my derby party last year since I hadn't worn it since but that was a terrible decision. I was very upset with my brother because I kept asking him how formal the wedding was and what I needed to wear and he told me I didn't need to get a long dress and it wasn't super formal. He was definitely wrong, I was not dressed appropriately at all and I should've done my own research! I got over it quickly though, because he truly just didn't actually know and the wedding made me not think of it.
Paul and Masami wore traditional Japanese kimonos during the ceremony at the shrine. I thought that it was going to be a really long ceremony, but it turned out not to be. During the ceremony Paul and Masami drank a lot of sake, (not for the heck of it, it's a traditional ritual) it is believed to create a strong bond. Towards the end of the ceremony everyone in attendance drank a cup of sake to cement the bond between the two families. My mom wasn't aware it was sake so her thoughts were "the water is so sour"!😂😂
After the ceremony finished we took a bunch of pictures then heading to the reception, which was held at the Imperial Hotel. The hotel was outrageous and one of the nicest hotels I've been to. Masami and Paul changed midway through the ceremony in traditional western attire. I'm not sure if that typically happens or if it's because my family is American, so that's the reason why they did it? Either way, all of the guests loved it. Masami looked stunning in her wedding dress👰🏻 Paul looked great in his suit as well I suppose😂 We had a 7 course French cuisine dinner throughout the reception, which was overall very tasty. I took plenty of pictures during the wedding which are below. I met Masami the day before the wedding but my whole family and I love her. I forgot to mention that she speaks English very well, so my family and I didn't have trouble communicating with her! She's the sweetest and I'm so happy for her and my brother!
The Food
I've had sushi plenty of times in the past, but when you eat food in the country it originates from, it's ten times better. The sushi was seriously so delicious; the fish tasted so fresh! I usually don't eat wasabi, but I did in Japan! It tastes completely different there than here in the states. For our first dinner we ate at the restaurant where the Kill Bill fight scene was filmed. It was very cool in that aspect and the food did not disappoint! We had several different dishes there ranging from a whole fish to sushi to skewers. Another night for dinner we ate at this place called Pizzakaya. It's California pizza with various types toppings. We enjoyed it very much and it's one of Paul's favorites in Japan! For other meals we had udon, ramen, curry and other rice based dishes. Over the course of our trip we ate so much good food and there wasn't anything that I didn't like!
Japan is one of my favorite places I've been to yet, I was actually a little sad to be back in Houston. The only downfall is that hardly anyone speaks English, it's definitely a place I'd go back to though! I hope y'all enjoyed reading about my experiences! I'm going to try my best to have a post up tomorrow, but I'm not for sure if I will or not, in case I don't I hope y'all have a fun weekend!!