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Jen and Matt have been dating for over 10 years. We have shared a love of Japan ever since we met in first year at Waterloo. Over the years we have travelled to Japan together and separately, watched Japanese shows, attempted learning the language and taken Japanese cooking classes. Our passion for the culture and traditions of Japan is what we would like to share with all of you as we get married.
The following is a collection of photos, foods, and songs that we enjoy and hope you can experience during your time in Japan.
Trips to Japan
Visiting Seni Onsen Iwanoyu in Suzaka, Nagano
We have enjoyed a few trips to Japan together before getting engaged. Our first trip was in 2012 which was Jen’s first time in Japan. We spent our time seeing the major areas of Toyko before heading to Nagano with our friend Mikako to visit our first onsen. Our second time to Japan together was for Mikako’s wedding and we visited a different onsen in Nagano before the celebration.
Engagement Trip
Our engagement photo circa 1932
Our third time to Japan we embarked on a quest to Fukuoka so Jen could see her favourite Japanese musician, 椎名 林檎 (Shiina Ringo). We traveled for five hours to Kyushu under the pretence of a concert, but Matt had prepared a surprise. After the concert we drove up Mt. Aso, Japan’s largest active volcano, to stay at Kai Aso Onsen. It was there Matt proposed, on the deck of our private villa wearing 浴衣 (yukata).
Favourite Japanese Food
彼女/Her
I LOVE all japanese food. There isn’t a food that I have tried and did not enjoy (except for ginger). I grew up with a rice-based diet, which is what I also love in Japanese cuisine. You will see most of the food below is a combination of rice and veggie/meat. I also love light and clear soup, but it’s not shown here since miso soup is always included with rice.
彼/Him
I love most Japanese food but my favourites definitely lean more towards the meaty and heavy side. There is such a variety of great Japanese food but I love nothing more than a hearty meal on a cold day after skiing the slopes of Hirafu.
Favourite Japanese Songs
彼女/Her
My favourite Japanese artist is Shiina Ringo. I discovered her as a teenager and that pretty much launched my obsession with Japan. A lot of her songs reference Tokyo landmarks and subway stations (Marunouchi, Shinjuku, Yamamoto line) so it feels very nostalgic every time I come to Tokyo since I’ve heard them a million times in in her songs.
I also grew up listening to Teresa Teng (a famous pop artist from Taiwan in the 70s) who sang a lot of Japanese covers so I also love Japanese pop music from the 70s.
彼/Him
I limited this number to only five choices which made it very difficult to decide. I have more than five artists I want to list, let alone songs. Unfortunately not even my namesake SPITZ (yes its a real Japanese band) made the list. However here are five of my favourite Japanese songs that I have listened to in the past 15 years.
