facets of my life » masumi

Honeymoon in Greece

Alex — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:00:13 +0000

Finally Masumi an I did our honeymoon. Months of waiting and lots of expectations later we embarked on September 12th onto our trip. First we went to Athens, visiting the various sites (Acropolies among others). From there we took the ferry to Mykonos. The beach was ours – between a few hundred other tourists. Anyway, it being quite late in the season there were really not too many people; rather too few and the enormous amount of sunloungers seemed quite deserted.

Of course, we took the opportunity to visit Delos, the worlds largest assembly of ruins, and I enjoyed taking a few (hundreds) of photos.

A few days later our trip brought us to Naxos and we organised a small buggy with which we explored every corner of the small island. Fantastic views and quite a bit of original greek culture in the more remote places, very view tourist and overall, due to the very relaxed mood much more to our liking than touristy and chaotic Mykonos.

In the end, yet another ferry brought us to Santorini where we enjoyed the last few days of our holiday in a fantastic cave hotel looking down into the water filled caldera and the local volcano. While I liked the hotel in Santorini best, the relaxation on Naxos and ruins on Delos where my personal highlights and I can conly recommend all of you to take a trip on these fascinating islands! Just be careful to avoid the high season

international marriage… a bureaucrat’s paradise

Alex — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:34:40 +0000

woohoo… the lastÂ months were interesting – with the big day already having passed some time ago (23rd of December). And somehow I doubt anyone by now telling me: it’s so easy to marry. Also; I think it would be hard to believe you don’t know what you are getting yourself into after discussing the details on every level of German and Japanese bureaucracy.

Ok, the keyword is actually “international”. Japan… Germany… can’t be too hard. And actually it isn’t. But it takes a while to get all the info together, so in case you plan on marrying these days, here is a quick summary of what you need to do:

æˆ¸ç±è¬„æœ¬ã€€(kosekitouhon), copy of theÂ Japanese family register
æœªå©šè¨¼æ˜Žæ›¸ (mikonshoumei), a document stating you are still unmarried
apostilles of the Japanese Family register and the unmarried thing from the Japanese Foreign Ministry – this is actually optional and the person who decides is your local beaurocrat, piss himÂ off and off you go getting a few more documents, get it right in the beginning at there are critical time limits for getting an apostille in Japan!
translations of theÂ register, the unmarried thingÂ & the apostilles (approved and confirmed by e.g. the German embassy)
the German “EhefÃ¤higkeitszeugnis”, stating the German partner is not married either (for this you need all or most the Japanese documents from above and they may not be older than 6 months…)
appointment in the community center with the (optional) German “Aufgebot”, this includes theÂ physical presence of your to-be-wife (I write this as in Japan apparently this can be done without her presence…)
an interpreter (the expensive kind) if the Japanese partner does not speak German – in our case we agreed on a good friend of mine who is highly skilled in Japanese; this required some convincing of said bureaucrat…)Â
a saint of a bureaucrat behind the desk (which ours was… not…)
finally, to register everything in Japan as well, you have three months to get the German documents translated into Japanese and then run to a JapaneseÂ embassy or a kuyakusho to register… if you start the process in Japan, there is no such deadline for Germany – this was actually the easiest part

And then you are set. In Germany it takes approximately 2-3 months to get everything depending on the season. There are cases with the broom having doubtful relationships to the beaurocrat… those guys succeed in 1-2 weeks…Â We wereÂ not so lucky. The funny part wasÂ that theÂ bureaucrat may actually decide to need more or less documentation as there are – for once – no regulations/laws in Germany about this (e.g. apostille).

Oh… and one extra spot for last names…

I am really curious on how we are going to solve the issue of Masumi’s new last name being too long for the allotted space in her Japanese passport. The journey continues…

And yes. It’s worth it.

Sayonara Tokyoâ€¦

Alex — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:12:59 +0000

â€¦until next year. At least that’s the plan. A bit late, finally you get the photos from the Sayonara Party in June. I am sorry for the delay but I had to solve some issues with the internet connection first.

It was great having met you all once more before we left Japan. Masumi and I were deeply moved by how many of you came and we enjoyed every second of the evening. So once again, a big thank you for your coming, your presents, your time and, of course, your friendship.

We plan to visit Japan next year again and hope to have a decent party and Karaoke night with as many of you again as possible. Until then we look forward to hearing from your lives in Tokyo and will let you know about ours as well. Enjoy the photos and keep in touch!

Alex & Masumi

a trip to the four countries

Alex — Wed, 21 May 2008 08:29:10 +0000

or in other words: Shikoku. Masumi and I went there last weekend as a last short holiday before we both take the airplane to Europe. It was a fabulous trip have to say!
After arriving in Koji we went to our Hotel and shortly after that enjoyed some smaller dishes in a nearby Izakaya. It was incredible good and I am only sorry not to have tried the fried frog legs they offered there.
Next day was relaxing as well with a walk around town and picking up our rental car, we made it into the nearby mountains and enjoyed the fantastic view and weather. I took loads of pictures of Masumi and me on that trip; in the mountains, next to a river, in a small canyon, etc. Apparently I was one of very few foreigners coming to that area of the country so they were always very helpful, curious and motivated to tell about Shikoku. I can only say that even though it might not be on a regular backpacker’s list it is well worth every second spent.
Later that day Masumi and I finally reached the point I was pestering her about since months: a vine bridge (with hidden steel cables…). ONe of the famous three most beautiful landscapes of Japan. And the one of the three almost no Japanese knows about… beating the purpose somehow. Usually crowded with tourist we were lucky to find the place still half deserted and relaxed a few hours in the ravine below the bridge. After a recommendation and a 30 minute drive through small mountain streets we also found a small trail depicting the 88 temples of the Shikoku pilgrimage. We were the only people in that remote part (not even a monk there) and could walk the miniature path undisturbed. I definitely recommend that area to anyone coming to Japan! Not so much because of its cultural aspect as because of the countryside you can enjoy there.
Finally, next day, Masumi and I looked arund the city and visited the local castle and found a few very trusting birds, a cute looking wooden telephone booth, stone gardens, a number of great views and the “locks of love ” (ok… I am undoubtedly an idiot when it comes to poetic descriptions). We finished the day relaxing on the beach near Koji before we finally got the plane back home.
A fantastic weekend especially great with a partner due to all the romantic situations you are likely to encounter.

P.S.: And yes, in Japan it is common to write about the food as well… let’s put it like this: soba, udon, soba, udon… you gotta love it or suffer

Religious customs in Japan

Alex — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:40:32 +0000

Last weekend, part of the well known Golden Week in Japan, is today’s topic. I already uploaded some pictures from the days I spent in Chiba with Masumi and her family so you can get an impression. We did quite a few things, many of them completely new to me and, as I assume, interesting aspects of Japan.

Â First of all, the Golden Week is always around late April, early May and is nothing more than a number of national holidays in a very short period. In Japan, however, taking (long) holidays is espceially difficult in most companies, so the Japanese make ample use of these days to stretch their vacation a bit. It’s crazy travel time at its best.

In my case, we visited Masumi’s family, who I already grew to like a lot, and spent some time in Chiba (the prefecture east of Tokyo). The whole family got together and as I am already considered part of it, we went out for an amazing dinner in the former Swiss embassy building (relocated to a small park in Chiba). We had our own room and waitress and enjoyed a fabulous meal in the old building. Dining with style! And I am deeply thankful for Masumi’s parents to have invited me on this occasion, which is very different from the usual Gaikokujin (foreigner) world I grew to know in Tokyo.

The next day we went for a picknick in a – believe me… I was just as surpried -Â a cemetary. When one of us usually reads about Japan and that they are close to their ancestors and revering them to a certain degree it always sound a bit “yes, so what”-ish. Having a picknick surrounded by a couple thousandÂ graves, however,Â makes this theory a lot more tangible Apart from my first doubts it was in the end a veryÂ nice and relaxedÂ afternoon, we talked, enjoyed the food and in the end the whole family went to the grandparents’ grave.

Â There, the whole family carefully cleaned the grave, added some flowers and Masumi’s mother put some ricecake and greentea on a tiny altar and lit two small candles. It was a very private and somber ritual. Finally, all of usÂ paid our respects to the family’sÂ forefathers and each added a small prayer (usuallyÂ more an account of the past than a wish)Â before we departed home. I am still moved by how simply but strong this brief ritual was. So different from what I know from Germany that it is hard to explain how I felt. And I am once again surprised by how openÂ Masumi’s family is by letting me participate in this private part of their lives.

I hope you enjoy the pictures!