青葉が目に眩しいこの頃 皆様にはますますご清祥のこととお慶び申し上げます。
Mrs. Machiko Shimada requests the honor of your presence
at the marriage of her daughter
Miss Ruriko Shimada
to
Mr. Patrick McKenzie
Saturday, the twenty-third of June
Two thousand and twelve
at twelve thirty
at Ogaki Catholic Church
Ogaki, Japan
with celebration to follow on the fifth of July
at a location to be named on the south side of Chicago.
Where is that?
Ogaki Catholic Church is in Ogaki, Gifu, Japan. If you’re coming from overseas we will probably pick you up at the hotel and take you there, but if you need a map, see here.
How do we get there? Where will we stay?
Fly into Central Japan International Airport (NGO). Get on any train leaving the airport which is going to Gifu or Nagoya — this will be written in English. Get off the train at Nagoya. Switch at Nagoya to the JR Railways train line — get on any train going to Ogaki. Almost all of them leave at platform 6 and there is one every 15 minutes or so. Get off at Ogaki.
You are free to make your own reservations for accommodations if you want to. English speaking hotel staff in Ogaki are fairly rare, so if you’d rather Patrick booked your room for you, just send him an email, Facebook message, or write it on your formal RSVP. Plan on spending about 6,000 yen (~$70) per night for a room for two, but we’ll probably negotiate a lower block rate with the hotel.
What is the schedule?
on June 23rd:
noon get picked up from hotel
12:15 PM all guests gather at church
12:30 PM wedding Mass
4:00 PM wedding reception at Forty Three, Gifu City
7:00 PM after-party in Gifu City
9:00 PM shuttle bus back to hotel
What should we wear?
The Japanese wedding is a standard Catholic Mass — if you’re not in the wedding party, wear anything appropriate for church. (i.e. We’d appreciate it not being jeans and T-shirts, but formalwear is not required.) The same dress code goes for the reception.
The US reception (on July 5th, at a restaurant on the south side of Chicago, location and time TBD) is going to be fairly casual.
What should we bring?
Japanese and American norms for appropriate wedding gifts are very different. We want to avoid causing stress for anybody with regards to gifts.
Please only do gifts once even if you come to both the Japan and US events, and give according to whichever custom you’d feel like.
Do I need a visa?
In general, no. US citizens don’t need a visa to come for a short stay to Japan. You do need an up-to-date US passport — this takes about a month to get so if you don’t have one already get it now.
You’ll be asked why you’re coming to Japan and how long you’re staying at the airport. These questions will generally be pretty perfunctory, but if you’re worried, Patrick can write you a letter to show to the Immigration officer.
What else can we do in Japan?
Lots of things! Patrick will be organizing an outing for family and friends to Kyoto on the Monday following the wedding. We’re happy to give other sightseeing advice if you’d like to have a mini-vacation.
What about the celebration in Chicago?
Date: July 5th (Thursday), 2012
Time: Evening! But not exactly sure yet, still in negotiations.
Place: Japonais Restaurant
600 W. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60610
Event plan: Casual dinner with family and friends to celebrate our wedding. No particular dress code, copious amounts of delicious food to be provided, drinks available at a cash bar.