First Anniversary
In a way, that is. Officially, Sachi and I were married on March 17th, 2008. But that was just a legal matter, doing the paperwork at city hall. What we consider our “real” wedding was… well, again, more than one occasion. We got married on September 20th last year in the United States, and then again on September 27th in Japan. So it’s kind of hard to tell when out actual anniversary is. In one way, I have three times the burden of the usual husband, having to remember three dates instead of just one. On the other hand, if I forget one, I have two more chances.
Today we kept the celebration modest (next week’s will be more elaborate); we went to a very nice local restaurant, one we went to once before, but only once as it opened just a few months ago. It’s just a few hundred feet away from our apartment building in Ikebukuro. It’s a great little plane, called “Danoi,” which we were told is Italian for “home” (though I could not confirm that with online dictionaries). It’s a very nice little Italian restaurant tucked back on a side street nearby, and we really like the place. The chief waiter is a Nepalese gentleman named Sabin who speaks Japanese and English very well, and we were served by a charming waitress named Keiko tonight.
The restaurant first serves you bread; tonight it was with butter, olive oil, and a cheese sauce, and was delicious. We ordered pizza first; though it’s not on the menu, we asked for Prosciutto pizza like we did last time, and they obliged us. Next we had a delicious pork dish (gently cooked, with tomato topped by cheese), a nice Caesar salad, and finished with salmon and broccoli pasta.
At one point I mentioned it was our anniversary, and so they gave us dessert for free; we got Tiramisu and chocolate cake (it was more like fudge!), which were both delicious.
A few more images of Sachi and I, alone, and with Sabin and Keiko.
We’d include the URL for the restaurant, but as the place is new, the web site isn’t up yet. If you’re interested in knowing where it is, comment (fill in your email address) and note the request and that you don’t want the comment published, and I will send you more info on how to get there.
Nice pics, looks like a good place. I enjoyed this Italian restaurant in Ikebukuro called “Grip” it was also good and they have pizza, as well as an “earl grey” cocktail which was interesting.
Google map: http://tinyurl.com/griprestaurant
Can you send the location of your place?
Alex:
I think the is the location:
http://tinyurl.com/ikebukuro-italian-place
Because it’s so new, Google Maps doesn’t show it yet. But if you go to that part of that street, it’ll be the only Italian restaurant around, and the sign is easy to see from the corner.
The restaurant is not too expensive, but neither is it dirt cheap; it’s maybe about 3500 yen per person if you ate like we did. Last night’s bill was just over 8000 yen, but we had 2 glasses of wine as well as 3 beers, and one of the glasses of wine cost 1100 yen on its own. We also ordered 3 entrees for 2 people. So it’s actually pretty reasonable, considering that the food is as good as stuff you’ll get in much pricier places.
Let me try…
View Larger Map
Hmm. Best I could do without spending more time futzing with it. Zooming in on the “A” spot actually zooms to the rear entrance of the restaurant–you can enter both sides–but its about the right place. The main entrance is on the parallel street to the east (right).
Happy anniversary to you both.
Dear Luis and Sachi,
Frances and I want to wish you both a happy anniversary!
It is interesting that Frances and I celebrated our most recent anniversary at one of our favorite Italian restaurants in Shanghai, and ordered food almost identical to yours [eg, Ceasar salad, pizza, salmon, great bread]! I guess nothing says “Romance” like Italian food!
In opposition to you guys, it’s also interesting that we normally celebrate our wedding anniversary on the day the papers got signed (Aug 1) rather than the day of the ceremony (March 22).
We were already married officially for about 18 months before the ceremony came along…
By the way, does Sachi drink wine? If so, we would love to take you guys to Napa next time you’re in Calif. [Frances cannot drink more than a sip or two without a strong reaction]
Again, congratulations to you both!
Tim: Thanks!
Ken: Wow, that is a coincidence–those are not our usual choices, especially for a special occasion! Going to Napa sounds great, but we haven’t yet decided what we’re going to do–Sachi isn’t even certain that she’s coming this time. We’re checking the prices after the holidays (ironically, Japanese tour agencies shut down all weekends and holidays, how dumb is that), but if the airfare is right, we could get over together this time. We might not be in for a whole day trip to Napa, but you never know!
Anyway, thanks for the offer and the congrats; belated congrats back to you two! I know that we’ll meet when I get back there, so let’s keep in touch about that.