Last weekend I had the Perfect Date in Tokyo. The lady in question was a friend of a friend. She's tall (for a Japanese woman) beautiful, full of life, knows herself and what she wants. She really resonated with me. Her confidence, temperament, intelligence, confidence, rhythm, presence, everything just clicked. I planned the date carefully - the locations, the timing, the flow, my outfit. But then when I executed it, all the details faded into the background for me, and I simply needed to remember where to go next. All that groundwork paid off in that during the actual date everything seemed effortless to me - and hopefully to her as well. Even small hiccups like spilling eggnog on my shoe or not being able to get a cab easily later on made no difference. It felt like sprezzatura expressed as a date. Christmas isn't actually a holiday in Japan, but Japan really does the atmosphere well. We went to a Christmas market, got oriented with each other, and had a good time chatting there. Then we went to the Blue Note Place in Ebisu, for a Christmas show by a J-pop performer. Though I didn't know the artist, my date did - but she wasn't aware that was who was playing that evening, so it was a nice surprise for her. The food and music were excellent! After all that we went to a speakeasy bar. The good mood continued to flow along with some amazing cocktails and great conversation. My date was from Kyoto, and spoke the Kansai dialect, which is really honest and direct. I speak standard Tokyo Japanese, but I can keep up a conversation with almost anyone in Japanese. It was really fun talking to her! The night flew by. When it was time to go, I walked her back to the subway station. The streets were lit up with Christmas lights and the whole scene felt like a movie - just run whatever romantic music you like over it. At the station gate, we exchanged a long, warm hug, and I saw her off with a promise to meet each other again whenever I came back to Tokyo. Once I lost sight of her in the crowd, I turned away and walked off into the night. I just felt really good about it all.

A day late but wanted to share from my dad on the left and wife on the right.