turning sadness around!

This day was all wrong..

I looked up a hostel and another and another. Everytime when I got there it turned out I could not park my bike and had to wait real long for check-in.

So from 11 to 14 I wasted time looking for a place...
I guess not planning in advance will sometimes lead to this...
The I finally found an ok place. I parked my bike illegally because appaerently thats the only way to get rid of it (you can't even park in garages for cars....) and went for some food because check-in was not happening within the next hours.

I got a chickensteak, 'cause it sounded cool. Then I found a meeting app called Stout. The first girl that spoke to me was very direct. She asked for my facebook right away and then my skype.
Once we were on skype she wanted a videocall asap. Next thing she asked was "can i see your cock". At this point I feared a con, this was very strange...
So expecting her to leave I asked for something in return. She got fully naked right away....
This is where I realised something was not right. I twisted the conversation into -work hard, get some. And suddenly she gave up....

I'm glad I realised it was probably a con and didn't end up in blackmail situations....
Nice nakedness though 😅😉

Then when I finally got to my hostel I felt sad. Like a bit depressed.
Maybe because I missed Vicky, maybe just random sadness. It was annoying anyway...

So I asked for advice from people I met while being here.
Someone came up with the lumeous idea to search for Asahi dream. This is, according to her, a great seasonal beer.

So I started walking and find it in the very first store.... So much for a challenge...
Awesome beer though! I really enjoyed it.
I walked on and ended up in a traditional japanese restaurant. i made sure I had a conversation with every guest there 😆😆
It was great fun and they had awesome sake which came in a cup in a small crate.
They fill it up and let it overflow into the crate. you basicly get 2 shots 😁

Afterwards I went back to the hostel. I Had a talk with a fillipinean girl, a japanese girl and a belgian girl all trough chatting and voicing. It was very nice!
I felt like the whole experience was meaningful to me. As if I had made some steps towards a brighter future... Eventually I fell asleep.
My sad day turned into a glorious one. I was so happy...

back to Tokyo

So the next day I got up real early and took the shinkansen back to Mishima, where I left my bike. On the way there I made this awesome picture.

Instead of staying there I decided to drive all the way back to Tokyo to cheer up Vicky. This german girl I met my second night in Tokyo, had been sick for almost her entire holiday. I felt sorry for her and decided to take her for a ride on the bike. On the way to Tokyo I passed by Mt. Fuji again, it was much nicer then the picture above but I was on the highway so no pictures.. 😯.
We went to Ueno park where I got to see the Sakura much better.

There was a spring event as well. So it was crowded, lots to eat (i had hot potato with butter and salt.. yummy). There was even an orchestra, and you could stand in line to play maestro! There was also a lane with marked places like parking lots but for.. people.
You could claim your parking space and sit for drinks, food and social conversation.

Because she was so happy that I came back for her, she booked us a ryukan.
Which is basicly a very traditional japanese hotel. No furniture, and special matrasses to sleep on. It was very good, I was very grateful. So once again I had girl company. No complaints!

Her previous relationship also went south. So we had a lot to talk about. It turned out te be a great evening of talking and sake.

I should also mention the bikeride was a lot more fun. It was much warmer, so I did not freeze. I really enjoyed the ride.
Also, I finally understand why japanese people speed so much on highways and less in cities. All highways demand toll and thus are expensive. A result of this is that they do not give tickets for speeding here. You pretty much drive as fast as you like.

Rules dictate that you drive 60 or 80 km/h on highways. The reality is everyone drives 100-120 km/h. Like it is in miles.... 😂

And thus I conclude another day.

Japanese wedding

Taa ta ta taa
Taa ta ta taaa

Ofcourse the ceremony is nothing like ours...

So this saturday I ended up at a wedding. Thomas, a guy I met years ago during our first interim jobs, is getting wed to Haruka, a japanese girl he met in India. (Or another country... I forgat.. sorry T.)

It is a total coincidence I was in Japan when he is having his wedding. By texting him for sleepovers I got invited 😆

So. The wedding!!

The wedding started at 2.30 in a waiting room. Which was basicly sitting uncomfortably at a table till all guests arrived.

Then the ceremony started. It all happened at a shrine decicated to the emperor.
The couple was placed in the middle, familt and friends on the side. There was a lot of getting up and sitting down, japanese mumbling and a 'band' that played the flute in a most horrendous way. 😂

At some point there was like a traditional dance and the ritual drinking of a sort sake and a fish-tasting string to be shared with the one next to you.

 don't mind the baby being murdered there...


The ceremony was concluded with the vows. Then outside of the shrine candy was tossed at the young ones and lots of grouppictures were taken.

Then taxi's drove us to the hotel for dinner. I met some very nice (and pretty) japanese girls in the taxi. They were very friendly and seemed single. I later found out they were married. But in Japan only the one befriended to the couple get invited. Sorry spouses!

The dinnerpart is very similar to our western traditions with a lot of american influences. Like cakecutting and the pouring of champagne on a champangeglass mountain. The surprise act was a cabaret band entertaining the guests. There were many speeches and some tears. Thomas lost his father to cancer...
All the western guests were overcome with emotion, the japanes seemed untouched. The grandparents showed it later in the form of gratitude and the sharing of drinks.

It was a great dinnerparty. Felt good to talk to belgians and share my love for japan.

Troughout the day Haruka had many outfits:

The dinner stopped at pretty much exactly 21.00. At which point the wedding was over. All the western folk stayed and went downtown for a karaoke party. The japanese folk went home... very odd habit if you ask me.

Karaoke in japan is in private rooms unlike in Belgium. Usually interesting for couples because it is dark and private...
But with this big group of friends it was amazing. Lots of beer and highballwhisky, food and laughs. Still being sick my voice was worthless but that did not stop me 😆

At the end I lost the group. Bought some drinks for a few japanese guys. They were overwhelmed by this 'kindness' and simply didn't understand it. Had some more talk outside with random people and took a cab back to my capsulehotel. Even though it was well in the night I had some wellness to relax and have a good detox 😂

And thus a very busy day with loads of new experiences come to an end.