As a little girl, I dreamed of getting married in a church amid beautiful European scenery -- or, if the wedding were held in Japan, then in the quiet setting of the woods of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture.
As it turned out, I was married in the heart of Tokyo in the middle of a blazing summer. The big day was July 28 last week, and earlier in the days before the mercury had soared to as high as 40 degrees. But, luckily, the day itself was just the right temperature, with low humidity and a gentle breeze.
Our nuptials were held at a chapel on the Yotsuya campus of Sophia University. We chose this chapel for two reasons. One was that we could keep to a small budget as the chapel does not charge a set fee, each couple instead making a donation to the chapel. The other reason was that, thanks to its central location, most of our family and friends could attend.