Fun Weekend!

So this past weekend we had our first real outings in Japan. On Saturday we had a baseball game and then on Sunday we had a wedding party to attend. They were both wonderful experiences! We had a great time. I'm glad we were able to partake in these events.

Nagoya Dome

The Baseball Game : So to get to the game we had to get on the purple line train. (Trains and lines are color-coded. Ours is usually the yellow line.) And of course because it is on the other side of town, it took about 8 stops to get to. Then more walking. :) The Chunichi Dragons are a professional baseball team here in the city of Nagoya. The Nagoya Dome is an indoors baseball field and is gorgeous! Just like any other stadium, they take your tickets at the entrance and guide you to your assigned seats. They even handed out baseball caps to the kids for free. There is food and drinks and memorabilia stands before you enter the seating area as well.  Of course we purchased some tiny bats used for noise-makers during the game, for C.J. to play with. The game reminded me the entire time of being back home at a high school football game. There were cheerleaders and bands and half-time shows! It was amazing!

Go Dragons!

The pre-game show consisted of the cheerleaders getting the crowd riled up and performing a dance to the team song. The mascots would join them as well. (Really not sure what they were. There was a pink one and a blue one. They kind of looked like Yoshi from Super Mario.) Each team had their own band that would play throughout the game and would play the team song when someone would get a run. Through the entire game, there were many vendors walking up and down the stands with refreshments and food and snacks. I felt so bad for some of the girls! They carry mini pony-kegs on their backs the entire time!! Talk about a work out. It was easier for all of us being lazy not wanting to walk down to the concession stands to get a beer. (Laugh) We had a great time! And the Dragons won, 4 - 1! C.J. has been asking to go back so we will definitely make it to another one soon.

With the Bride & Groom

The Wedding Party: May I say, weddings in Japan are extremely expensive and extravagant! We were only invited to the wedding party but the bride and groom had the ceremony a day before and then had a formal dinner with family at the Tokyo Hotel a few hours before the party. Mariko wore 3 different gowns, I noticed this while we watched a video compiled of all three events up on a projector. Each more stunning than the one before. We were not required to bring gifts because according to the bride, gifts are given at the actually wedding ceremony and she did not invite us to that because "traditional" Japanese wedding gifts are priced at $2000 and more!!!! (Insane!)
So the party was actually at the Saru Cafe Aoi right downstairs from our apartment. (Literally, as you exit our building it is right next door.) You pay a certain price per male/female and it is for all you can drink for two hours. We were each also handed a Bingo card for a game played later in the party. The Bride and Groom were seated in a love seat at the entrance for guests to greet them as they arrived. We said hello and Erick introduced me. They were both super polite and they looked extremely happy - I LOVE Weddings! There was a variety of finger foods brought in throughout the night by waitstaff and the bar was open for anything your mind could think of. :)
After a couple of toasts, they brought in a large flat sheet cake for the couple to take photos with. Instead of a bouquet toss, the Bride got a few of her female friends, I think 7, to the front and they were each handed a pink ribbon attached to the bouquet. After the ribbons were unwound, the person with the longest ribbon gets the bouquet - very cute. We then played Bingo. The bride called out only numbers and once you got 5 in a row in any direction, you of course, called Bingo and then went to the front were you picked a number from a box. The number you got would then be the gift you received. They had over 20 gifts ranging from a $100 gift card to even snack foods. It was really fun! I won a toy set. :)
When all the prizes had been won, the game ended and we saw a few more videos of the bride and groom and the family and mostly just mingled with the other guests. We really enjoyed ourselves. The party only lasted a few hours but was a nice night out for Erick and myself.

P.S. I'm sure you are wondering where C.J. was through all this. He was with his "Uncle" Mike at the movies. :) Mike is one of Erick's work friends. He's a great guy who has nephews he can't spoil so he's taken a liking to C.J. and C.J. loves him! He took him to see Battleship, then to the toy store, and then to get a late dinner after their first dinner...hahaha They returned to the apartment just as the party was ending. C.J. asks to see "Uncle" Mike all the time now. It's sweet.