Asheville

We went to Asheville the weekend before our wedding with the dude's family. We went to the Biltmore Estate and did some shopping. It was supposed to be a relaxed weekend, but we did a lot of walking! The Biltmore Estate was huge and it took us a while to complete the tour. I thought it was so cool that they had a pool indoors, but apparently it leaks now. It was also not filtered or treated with chemicals, so they would fill it up for parties and then had to drain it after each use. That is insane! There are no photographs allowed inside the house, and I didn't think I'd get away with sneaking a few photos because of the sheer number of people around me. For shopping, I got a couple 50's style dresses. :)

Wedding & Visa Update

I still can't believe we're married! I feel so grown up! It does still sound funny to say husband or hear wife said aloud. I never thought I'd be married before 30, it just seemed so adult. Adult-ing is for adults, haha. Anyway, it was a great day, and I just got approved for my spouse visa. It was such a relief, because I was so anxious that somehow Japan would reject my application! Here are a few quick wedding-related photos:

Flowers from our Japanese language tutors



Traditional wedding tea



Vegan wedding cake #1 - chocolate, of course!



Cake people on vegan wedding cake #2 - again, chocolate!



The Umstead hotel in Cary, NC, did a great job whipping up a vegan meal without any advanced notice! They even poured on the mushroom jous at the table, so fancy!

The Sky

The Hangout - Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

We can walk here, it is going to become a favorite spot. They're only open at night though. We have enjoyed all the food we've tried there, including the gyoza, fries, fried gluten, sweet and sour soy nuggets, and the tofu tartar (my favorite). Tofu tartar at The Hangout in Shibuya

Eat More Greens - Azabu-juban, Tokyo, Japan

Curry and falafel plate at Eat More Greens in Azabu-juban area - the curry was better.

Super Secret Supper Club

The organizer of the shojin class held a small, "secret" supper club to say goodbye to Japan. The food was incredible. We had tofu "cheese" (tofu wrapped in cheesecloth, coated in miso, and allowed to age) as an appetizer. We had a tempura course. We had a sushi course. I remember there being a dessert, but I don't seem to have a photo of that.

Shojin ryori cooking class

We went to another cooking class, but this was hosted by a non-religious group. We learned how to make shojin ryori food. The potato salad is one of my favorites. The brown-purple squares are arrowroot powder made into a gel/jello thing. The stew had potatoes, burdock root, and other savory elements. The organizer was in Japan to learn shojin cuisine by working at various temples, but he has since returned to the UK. Boo.

80's roller-skating

The dodgeball meetup held an 80's themed gathering at the Tokyo Dome skating rink!! SO FUN!!

Queue-ing

Because Tokyo is FULL of people, standing in a line is practically a sport. When a restaurant or shop is featured in a local magazine, the lines form as people want to try the cool, new thing. We saw a french fry shop in a local mag, and we ended up standing in line for an hour just for fries! I got puffy potato tots. They were sold out of falafel, the vegetarian-looking option for a fried "meat" to go with the fries.

Sakura - Cherry Blossoms

Cherry blossom viewing is a HUGE social event. When we went to Yoyogi Park to check out the sakura, we were shocked by the sheer number of people. Japanese people are usually very reserved in public. We saw people bicycling and drinking wine, singing karoake, dancing salsa, doing marital arts with sticks, wearing costumes, and just generally being silly. It was really interesting to see people relaxed in public. We joined the Tokyo Giajin (foreigners) meetup group with some of the dude's coworkers. The sun was out, but it wasn't very warm. We had hoped some friends or family would visit for cherry blossom season, but we still had people to celebrate with thanks to the meetup group.

Plum Blossoms

Flowers are a big deal in Japan. People celebrate the blooming of various trees. Plum blossoms are an early spring bloom. I went with some of the dude's coworkers' wives to check them out. Gorgeous!

Nikko - Toshogu Shrine

The stairs up to the emperor's tomb were intense! We saw a little old lady going slowly up the stairs with a family member holding her hand. Japanese people are still very active when old. :)

Nikko - Taiyuinbyo Shrine

We walked through the Taiyuinbyo shrine while in Nikko, and we really enjoyed some of the artwork. When we were leaving, we saw some monks burning ema votive tablets.

Nikko - Rinnoji Temple

The Rinnoji temple was under construction when we were there. Some bugs ate the wood, so the temple was completely taken apart. Each piece was marked. The new temple will be really nice. We were still able to see statutes and artwork from the temple on display.

Nikko - Lake Chuzenji

This would be a beautiful spot to go in the spring or summer. There were paddle boats at the lake. We went up to the waterfall, but we only stayed long enough to take a selfie because it was so darn cold!

Nikko

We went to Nikko for the dude's birthday back in December, but it was rather cold! We should have known not to go north in the wintertime. We saw many World Heritage sites, a waterfall, and a sign that monkeys may bite us and steal our food if we carry plastic bags around the Lake Chuzeni area. We did not try going into an onsen (hot spring), even though these are quite popular. We just couldn't fathom being naked around strangers! Konbini lunch for the train ride

Married!

We've been back in Japan for a couple weeks after a very long trip to the States for our wedding. We saw his parents and my family, went to Portland for a mini honeymoon, and went to Houston to see friends. It was a long but fun 3 weeks. I will start updating here again. :)