A Classy Day in Tokyo

This past November we had one of the best days I can remember (and know I will remember for a long time). It was so much fun from start to finish. It all started with an invitation to our friends wedding. Tony is an American who flies helicopters for the Army out of Camp Zama (another US military base here in Japan). His fiance is Saeko, a lovely Japanese woman who everybody adores. They both attend the same church as us in Tokyo and Tony is in Dereck's bible study group. We were so excited to attend their wedding- first of all because they are our friends so we'd love to be there to support them, but also because we've never been to a wedding in Japan. I was also happy because it meant we got to spend more time with friends and get all dressed up (yay!). We went with our good friends Joy and Anthony. Dereck got all decked out in his suit and I borrowed a great dress from a friend just for the day. The ceremony started at 11 and we made it to the wedding just in time... even if that meant poor Joy taking off her heels and walking hurried in stocking feet across the streets of Tokyo (since there was a bit of a language barrier that kept our Taxi driver from going to the right venue!). Once we arrived at the wedding, we knew it was going to be a beautiful event. The hall was decorated nicely and the sun was shining through the windows. The ceremony was translated into Japanese, in the style that our church done as well, and the music was fantastic. Saeko was stunning as a bride and took everybody's breath away as she walked down the aisle. The vows were heartfelt and very special, and Saeko even said her's in English and she did fantastic! I teared up, of course, thinking of how happy they are and remembering back to my own wedding!

After the ceremony we all went outside as the bride and groom took pictures and they turned the hall around for the reception. The day was spectacular- upper 60s and sunny- you couldn't have asked for a better day! After meeting Tony's family and talking a bit to other guests, we all made it back up to the reception. They had a wonderful spread of food and some champagne and wine to wet our whistles. We were all treated to a foxtrot performed by the groom's parents, who (surprise!) used to be competitive ballroom dancers! We were able to talk a bit to the happy couple and congratulate them. It was great to see them so happy together.

The wedding festivities ended about 1pm and so we had a whole day left to spend in the city. Since we were all dressed up, we decided to head to a very upscale neighborhood of Tokyo called Ginza. Joy and Anthony knew of a rooftop cafe they wanted to try. It was on top of the Bvalgari building (diamonds anyone??) and was fantastic. We had some comfy couches to sit on and it was so peaceful it was hard to remember there was a bustling city just 11 stories below. We sipped on our expensive drinks and appetizers and kept saying how this is a once in blue moon sort of day because our wallets couldn't have it be more often! I stuck to some fancy tea while Dereck chose a martini with extra olives. I also got an afternoon tea sampler of food- it was amazing! 5 little breads, 5 "main" course type of dishes, and 5 desserts. Totally worth the price tag... you could taste the quality with each bite. We finished up the afternoon with some coffee to warm us up, since by this time the sun was no longer beating down on us directly and the temp was starting to go down a bit. We ended up spending about 3 hours on the rooftop lounge just chatting with Joy and Anthony and enjoying the whole experience.

After the Bvulgari lounge we made our way to the New Sanno Hotel. This is a hotel in Tokyo for US Military members. Joy and Anthony had dinner reservations there that evening and were spending the night. Dereck and I wanted to get back that night so we planned to take the 9:30 Shuttle back to the base. We split up for dinner- Joy and Anthony to one restaurant, and Dereck and I to another. It was nice to have a little date night eating some traditional Japanese food. After dinner we had a few cocktails in the bar while waiting for our shuttle. By this point we were officially exhausted from the day and ready to crash! We dozed off a bit on the bus home and were so glad we took the shuttle instead of the train.

It was a perfect day and I loved every minute of it!