This group of guys has evolved their sound, their band members, and their technology prolifically since the days when I used to jam with Jon and Mat in a garage, making sound noise and drinking beer. When Jon Broadbent and Mathew Matsuki wanted to take their talents more seriously, they sought out the rest of the band, eventually adding Steven Nix, Victor Corrales, and Korie Hilliard, officially forming Wormwood Prophecy, an ever-changing and evolving band to the current.
To start, this was a bit less of a touristy day, and more of making sure that the wedding goes well and according to plan, as well as getting the instructions I so dearly needed.
I’m not going to pretend like I posting this at the end of the day either. Haha. It was taking too long for the photos to export to be uploaded ans posted so I just went to bed. So it’s about 8:45am Saturday and I’ll get through it quickly.
We needed to prepare ourselves for the big wedding that’s tomorrow, which is the main reason we’re here. So, we took a train and bus ride to the site that they’re having it, which is quite huge. Well, on our way out, we grabbed so First Kitchen (“FuKin” lol) for some grub, then hopped on the train.
First Kitchen, a city fast food joint. Has some unique food (to me). And one thing about these fast food joints, is that the people that work there still have pride in themselves and their jobs. No slacking, even for a McD’s job.
On to the train and off to Chinzan-so, which is the resort/hotel area that the wedding will be in. Inside the main building, they have salons, photo studios (using medium format Mamiyas with film backs, no less), and ballrooms. And it’s very upscale. Outside, there is a walking trail that will take you around to various landmarks within it: older buildings, gardens, bridges, and waterfalls.
Here’s a map of the grounds. You can see how big it is and how a photographer would have a great time shooting here, as I will be today. We took the tour of the walking path around the gardens. First stop was the waterfall:
Everyone except me. Cuz I took it, but that’s okay. From left to right: Hiroko (Mana’s mom), Brittany, Janis, Tyler, Mana, Steve, Cliff (blinking).
There were a few small Shinto shrines along the way also that have small sculpures dedicated to specific gods. By far my favorite was this kick-ass little fox with the meanest look on his face.
Grrrrrr. He looks so mean. And they say he likes fried tofu. 
It’s his favorite.
We wandered to a few more places with good photo opportunites, then back in side so Tyler and Mana can have a final fitting into their clothes for the next day. This is their western outfits that they will be changing into in the middle of the reception. They’re wearing more Japanese traditional outfits throughout the beginning, though they are not having any sort of ceremony, as they’re not Shinto, and they’re already married. Haha.
Though she looks like she’s a good height next to him, she’s really not. She’s got some good heels on. She’s 4’11″. 
But wow, she’s got some good tastes in dresses.
The only thing left on the agenda after this was to have dinner with Hiroko’s family a few hours later. By the time we got back to Shinjuku (where we’re staying), we only had about an hour left, so went through a few stores, but they were quite a bit too expensive.
But through the rail stations I saw some interesting ads:
Brittany actually pointed out this fact to me: In America, there is a bit of diversity in who is represented in the ads, but here in Tokyo, they are ALL Japanese. Well, I have seen a few white people in ads, but only to represent the fair skin and beauty of it. Or if it’s a foreign product. And this is pretty representational of the population. We have estimated that over 99% of the people we’ve seen are Japanese.
This is the large buildings we went into for shopping. Lumine is built like a mall, but vertically built rather than taking up more ground, which is what you have to do here. There were many many stores in there, but quite expensive. I’m talking 21,100Y for a skirt (about $210!). yikes. But it’s Tokyo fashion.
On to dinner, we met up with Bill and Cliff, which we intern met up with Hiroko and her side of the family at a Korean restaurant just a building over from Lumine. Now, when we had some off time and went browsing through the stores, I slipped back into the hotel for a minute (just two blocks away) and took some Dramamine pills because I felt a little motion sick from the bus ride. Yeah, way to go dumbass. By the time the food came and we were cooking it on the grill, I felt like I wanted to just lay down right there and go to sleep because of the pills (and for some reason, I didn’t realize that at the time). We all kept blaming it on jet lag, but that wasn’t the case.
This is a brief view from my corner of the table about 10 mins before my camera became way too heavy to lift. I’m telling you, this was a sleep-or-die situation.
After dinner, we all went our separate ways and I took a brief nap in the hotel room. Afterwards, with plenty of time to do stuff, Brittany and I went out through the smaller avenues of Shinjuku where it’s way more casual and fun and free.
There were arcades, electronic shops, bars, karaoke lounges, urban clothes stores… it was entertaining seeing all the casual night life of this place. I got a shirt and some toy capsules from the vending-machine like dispensers, which are some of my favorite things. Cheap and fun.
Oh yeah. And I’ve seen waaaaaay more lined up before. They range from 100-300Y each.
I took a peek inside one of the game plazas because I saw some people playing some IIDX machines and figured there would be a lot more. There were music games and fighter games, primarily.
There’s two IIDX Empress machines next to eachother. I’m not sure on how new these machines are in the lineup, but it’s IIDX 16. Anyone care to tell me? How gifted am I to see these as opposed to in the states? Suggestions on which songs to play when I go back to do so (though I will be leet suxor)?
Finally, with not much else to do and it getting late to us, we headed back to the hotel. Just before the hotel, there was a very nice-sounding street band playing for us with cds out for sale.
Toky Street Band in Shinjuku (Josh, any assistance with inserting an audio file?)
I took a recording of them and I’m actually quite impressed with the iPhone’s audio recorder. Trying to get it to post on the blog, but it’s not working…
Well, then I went to bed. The night ended on a good note. Once the wedding is finished this afternoon, we’re back to being a tourist. Haha. Expect a few awesome shots from the wedding today and I hope it all goes well on my end! I have a time line, but not as familiar with what to do and where to be and what to expect as I would an American wedding. It’s just all so busy and compressed in time.
None the less, till later.
Ben