Kota's Wedding Party

My Fourth of July weekend was spent in Tokyo with the Bleshing Family celebrating a wedding that had it all. There was loud music, booze, and blood. What more could you ask for?

Saturday morning at precisely 11am Richard Jordan, the British hooligan, arrived at my house. We hung out for a bit catching up and listening to a Neil Young bootleg before walking out into the scorching sun to make our way into Nagoya. From Nagoya we traveled by Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo for our friend Kota's wedding party.

We arrived in Tokyo without a hitch, but that was the easy party. Next we had to navigate our way through the labyrinth of Tokyo station to a bus terminal. Asking directions along the way, we finally got out side the station to a bus stop, but had no idea which bus to take. We tried reading the Japanese kanji characters on each bus map, but finally had to ask an idling bus driver which bus to take. Coincidentally, he smiled and said this was the correct bus.

Once on the bus, Richard was a like a little puppy dog; sticking his head out the window, looking around at all the buildings, bouncy around the bus, and generally taking in all the sights and sounds of Tokyo on a Saturday afternoon.

We arrived at our destination, the BUC Hotel, after about 20min on the bus. Kota, the groom, had reserved three rooms for out of town guests, but he neglected to tell us the name the rooms were under. After three or four attempts and thoroughly confusing the poor young girl at the front desk, we finally called Kota and got the correct name.

Richard and I were a little early, so we waited about 30mins in the room before we met our friends Watanabe (from Yokkaichi), Jodi (from Kyoto), Shusei (from Kyushu), and a few other people I didn't know. Then we all split up again on our way to the wedding. Watanabe, Richard, and I all hopped into a taxi, only to find out the taxi driver was a complete nut who didn't know where he was going and kept mumbling to himself for most of the drive.

We arrived at the place just in time for the wedding ceremony. Kota and his wife Hi-chan were married on an enclave of steps in front of an underground restaurant/bar called Africa located in a small shopping complex in the Daikanyama area of Tokyo.


Kota and Hi-chan

All of the family members were seated at the base of the steps in front of the restaurant, while friends were standing around the perimeter of the steps looking down. It was an interesting place for a wedding because it was possible to walk around the perimeter of the enclave and view the ceremony from all sides.

Once the vows were exchanged and the official service was over, a couple hundred people walked down the steps and into the African decor of the restaurant where our friend Daishi began to MC the party.


Daishi and the Duck

Daishi is an international model currently living in Byron Bay, Australia, but he makes trips to Tokyo fairly often, and occasionally can be seen on Japanese television commercials. He got everybody's attention with his costume and then introduced our good friends Big Frog, a popular Japanese jamband, as the wedding band.

Big Frog immediately launched into a roaring set that pulled everyone near the stage and away from the long food lines. Kota, Big Frog's road manager and the night's man of honor, was a guest vocalist for a popular number called 'Cappuccino Bastard.' After the song was finished, the rowdy flock of family and friends hoisted Kota into the air and passed him around the room like a crowd surfer.

One of the instigators in Kota's hoisted hip hip hoorah was Q. Q is one of the most generous people on the planet, and I consider him to be a true Japanese gentleman, but he's not always the sharpest knife in the drawer, so to speak. He wore a customary Japanese Yukata to honor his friend's marriage, but he also wore the traditional wooden geta sandals as well. Not a good idea when you're in a crowded room with broken champagne glasses all over the floor.


Q

Moments after this photo was taken, Q stepped on a shard of glass and gashed his foot wide open. He began spilling deep red blood all over the dance floor that was initially mistaken for wine. He hobbled to a side stage area where several people began to give him assistance, but the bleeding persisted, and he was finally carried out of the restaurant leaving a smeared crimson trail behind him.

Outside on the steps more people gathered and tried to mend his ailing foot, but nothing could stop the immense bleeding. It took about 45mins before Q finally agreed to be taken to a hospital for medical attention.

Meanwhile the party raged on. Big Frog finished their solid set and passed the reins over to an American DJ named Rob, but his stage name is DJ QuietStorm. He started spinning some hip hop records that got everyone's heads bouncing before giving way to another Japanese DJ who began playing more house and techno music.

Eventually the crowd thinned out as the complimentary champagne and beer began to run low. Q returned to the party with his foot bandaged just in time as the final goodbyes and congratulations were being given.


Bleshing Family

We took this group photo before everyone split up and went home for the night. The music was finished; beer all gone; and the drama over.

Congratulations Kota!