On November 24, I teamed up with Shamayim Rose Gallery, located in the upscale area of Ashiya and the decorator of the Rose Christmas Tree in the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton Osaka, for a very intimate Thanksgiving & Christmas Party at the 36th floor presidential suite of the hotel. The night's festivities kicked off with the Director of the Western Japan office for Wall Street Associates and Kansai Representative for HOPE International Development Agency Japan, Paul Dupuis, speaking about the origin and meaning of Thanksgiving in addition to a brief explanation about HOPE and its charitable work.

While guests enjoyed the sumptuous feast prepared by the chefs at the Ritz-Carlton Osaka, a solo violinist and piano/vocal duo put on a performance like none other. To conclude the event, a prize raffle drawing was held to cap off a memorable evening.

On October 11, I held my 2009 Birthday & Halloween Party at the Ramada Osaka.  In total, more than 130 people came out for a night to remember with delicious food and free flowing drinks.  With many people dressed up in costumes and add to it my first attempt at being a geisha (please see the photo album for more clarity), the night was lively to say the least.  Now comes the hard part as to what to dress up as for next year?  Well, at least I have an entire year to contemplate...

Next up is my 2009 Xmas party in the beginning of December.  As always, there will be a Santa sighting on the night in Kobe.

From September 18 to September 24, I made my first visit to Singapore and Indonesia.  My reason for going to Singapore was to attend my friend from Ohio University, Angel Chan's wedding.  Since many of our other common friends were attending, the event marked a kind of reunion of sorts.  With everyone on vacation, the time spent in Singapore and Indonesia was very enjoyable.  As a must for everyone visiting Singapore, I visited the Night Safari and took a picture with the Merlion in the city center. 

After experiencing Singapore for a few days, we all got on a ferry and left for Bintan Island, Indonesia, which is located only 30 minutes away from Singapore.  Our place for relaxation was a private villa in the Bintan Lagoon Resort.  As we had the entire villa to ourselves, it was definitely an exciting time spent with everyone swimming, cooking on the grill, and catching up on what has been going on in each other's lives over the past few years.

As there was talk about getting together again, it may happen as soon as next year with the location possibly being Taiwan, a place I enjoyed when I was there in 2004.  With it being closer to Japan than Singapore, I will be sure to attend that reunion as well if it comes to form. 

On September 11, I went to the Moet & Chandon Party at Ashiya Garden Hills with four of my friends.  As I had not been to Ashiya, regarded as one of the most wealthiest places to live in Japan, in quite a long time, I was looking forward to the event.  I must say that Ashiya Garden Hills is a nicely laid out venue that has a very modern decor.  The slight issue that I have with the venue is that it takes a few minutes via taxi to get there from the nearest train station, but then again not all places can be located right next to the station.  As the venue is not only available for weddings but has a restaurant as well, I would be interested in visiting the place again to sample some of the food.

To say goodbye to Summer, I held the last yukata party of the year at one of the largest clubs in Osaka, Platinum.  After all was said and done, around 250 people came out on Sunday, September 6 for an enjoyable evening filled with an underwear fashion show produced by the brand Nigel Fever along with a special musical performance from the North American duo, Brent & Mike.  Also, a blackjack table was provided by Casino Dealers School to give the attendees a little taste of Las Vegas.

It is sad to see Summer go but I've got some things in store for Fall, so I, for one, am looking forward to the cooler temperatures and the changing colors of the tree leaves.

After a successful BBQ at the Hyatt Regency Osaka in 2008, I went back to the Hyatt this year for a second helping on August 21. 

Right before the BBQ was supposed to begin, the raindrops started to fall.  Luckily the rain was not heavy and it subsided 10 minutes into the party.  It was definitely noticeable as once the rained had stopped, people attacked the food and drink corners like there was no tomorrow.

With close to 100 people in attendance at the BBQ, I must say that it was a very successful evening once again!  I guess I just might have to make this an annual event after all.

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Also my company blog can be found at the following: JD CREATIONS Blog.

On August 9 & 10, I traveled with several of my friends an hour outside of Osaka by car to the largest lake in Japan, Lake Biwa.  Together with one of my friends, we biked around the lake (some 220 km) over the duration of two days while racking up 12 hours of riding time on the bike.  All I can say is that it was quite an experience as I did not partake in any training prior to going on the trip in addition to the weather conditions being mediocre at best with rain prevalent throughout the tour.  And to top everything off, I got a flat tire with only 35 km remaining, which slowed me down but did not take me out of the tour as I was able to find a bicycle shop a few hours later to take care of my busted tire.

Now having accomplished Lake Biwa, next up is probably a tour around Awaji Island in the fall before "putting" the bike away for next year.

With the main fireworks festival in Osaka being the Yodogawa version and not being present to see the last few years worth, I headed on over to the Ritz-Carlton Osaka on August 8 to watch the fireworks celebration this year from a very different point of view than in past years.  And I must tell you that I felt right at home with a small group of friends (20 +) and associates watching the fireworks from the 32nd floor of the hotel.  What a view!  It sure beats being on the riverside with all the other thousands of Kansai residents packed in like sardines to watch the show. 

After the party finished, there was talk about renting out the Presidential Suite of the hotel next year in order to house double or possibly even triple the number of guests that were in attendance this year.  With a live music act also on the docket, I'll be sure to mark next year's event down in my calendar!

On August 1st, I held my first yukata party of the year at a location ideal for a such a party - Taiko-en.  With 2009 marking the 50th anniversary of Taiko-en's establishment, a very colorful crowd of 80 plus came out to enjoy some great Japanese-like ambiance in a location not too far from the center of Osaka.  In addition, special guest Peter from California provided some fabulous entertainment to set the mood just right via his violin. 

On July 12, I joined forces with Casino Dealer's School to host a luxurious casino party at AMVETS in Osaka.  With it being summer and to make things 'festive', we asked attendees to dress in a yukata (summer style kimono).  In total more than 50 people came out to enjoy the night.  With prizes available such as a trip to Macau, hotel stay package for two, poker set, champagne and more for the top chip getters, it was really heating up towards the end of the night as emotions (highs and lows) were flying!  All-in-all, it was a fabulous night in Osaka.

On July 9, I held my first ever weekday party (Fridays don't count) at The Carat Osaka dining lounge located right in the heart of Osaka at Kita Shinchi.  As I really was not sure how many people would come, I was dumbfounded (in a good sense of course) that in total 70 people showed up to have a good time prior to kicking off the weekend. 

As I thought the party was a success, I hope to be able to host another weekday party again in the near future.

On June 20, I held my 2009 Summer Wine Party at the Swissotel Nankai Osaka located right in the heart of Osaka in Namba.  With some entertainment "punch" added to the event to give it even more color, roughly 130 people came out to enjoy the night filled with delicious wine and exquisite food. 

Utilizing the Swissotel was definitely a perfect way to kickoff Summer!  And as the pictures show, an enjoyable time was had by all.

On May 16, I held my first ever Casino Party.  The place of venue was the newly established Casino Dealer's School (CDS) located in Osaka.  Unlike my other parties, this one was limited to 50 people because of the space requirements at CDS.   The great thing about this party was that it provided a chance for the guests to refine their gaming skills and also pick up new ones as the dealers' instructed everyone on how to play each game including table manners.

This is definitely a party that I will want to organize again.  But for the time being, I need to focus on my wine party set for next month.

On the May 9-10 weekend, I headed off to Ishikawa Prefecture, which is located about 5 hours by car from Osaka with 5 of my friends to have a nice relaxing weekend away from the hustle and bustle of the city.  I must say that going in a group to a Japanese style hotel in the countryside to get some R&R is definitely a great experience!  Great food, great people, and of course great hot springs!  This time especially, we were blessed with some excellent weather, which really capped off an enjoyable weekend. 

As this was the first time for me to visit Ishikawa Prefecture, I was excited more than usual to be embarking on this weekend journey.  Our first destination was to our hotel at Wakura Hot Springs.  After taking in some of the sights (not much I must say), we had a very delicious dinner before heading off to the hot spring bath.  After becoming refreshed, we relaxed in our room for the remainder of the night.  The next morning, I got up early to go back into the hot spring bath as an awakener.  Following my soak, we had breakfast and prepared our things to check out and head off to the city of Kanazawa to do some "real" sightseeing.

Once at Kanazawa, which is located about an hour by car from Wakura Hot Springs, we visited Kenroku Park and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art before packing it up and heading back on the somewhat long journey to Osaka.

All in all, it was nice weekend getaway.  I must do more this in the months to come!

Building off the success of last year's Spring Garden Party at the Garden Oriental Soshuen located in the hills of Mikage (Kobe), I hosted this year's Garden Party installment at the same location.  However compared to last year I was not blessed with favorable weather as it rained throughout the entire day.  So much for an outside Garden Party!  But thanks to the fine preparation by the staff at the Garden Oriental Soshuen, my function was able to be held inside. 

In total over 130 people were in attendance compared to the 90 or so that showed up last year.  Of course it was disappointing that the event could not be held outside like it was originally planned; but nonetheless, based on the faces of the guests who came, it seemed like they enjoyed themselves. 

After having the experience of holding outside events, this was actually the first time for it to be a rainy day.  Let's hope the next time around that the weather will cooperate.  Maybe at next year's Garden Party??

Since today marked the final day of the two week Osaka sumo tournament (held annually), many hotel ballrooms across the city catered to the various sumo training camps.  I was lucky enough to be invited by my friend who got tickets to the event from another attorney in his law firm.   I am not sure if we were the only foreigners of the 200+ people who were in attendance, but one thing is for sure, we were the only Westerners. 

As the pictures will give you some idea about the ambiance of the evening, I feel very lucky to have had this opportunity to celebrate with the sumo community just like one of their own.  Truly a worthwhile experience.

Teaming up with Beams Night for the second time, we took over Onzi-eme on Friday, March 19 for a St. Patrick's Day version of Luxury Lounge.  With special guests, the Pirates of the Dotombori providing comic relief, over 240 people attended THE St. Patrick's Day party of the month. 

Different from past venues, Onzi-eme, which is a club, provided a more relaxed atmosphere for guests to interact with one another as DJs played in the background. 

After holding the past three events in Osaka, I am on the road to Kobe in April for my Spring Garden Party at the Garden Oriental Soshuen, which was one of the highlight parties of 2008. 

To celebrate Valentine's Day a little early, I held a private party at the Dojima Hotel in Osaka for 150 of my friends on Wednesday, February 11.   As this date was a national holiday in Japan, I knew that I could get a decent crowd to attend but never did imagine that in total 150 people would end up walking through the door!  As the capacity of the room was just right for 150, I was glad that so many people came out to enjoy the night amongst their friends. 

As I did with my Valentine's Day party in 2008, I gathered some prizes from sponsors to give away in the form of a prize raffle drawing to add some more excitement to the event.  With night stays in Tokyo to wine from Oregon, in total 27 guests were able to go home with something extra from the night. 

Once again, I would like to thank the sponsors (Kobe International, Oakwood, Osaka Evessa, Dojima Hotel, and Ramada Osaka) of the event for their generous contribution.

Last night I traveled to one of my favorite places in Japan, Nara, for its annual Mt. Wakakusa burning festival.  Little did I know that this festival existed until just a few weeks ago.  Quite interested in the fact that a mountain is set on fire for all to see, I set aside time to view this spectacle with several of my friends who live in Nara. 

The festivities began at 6:00 p.m. with some fireworks to illuminate the sky before the mountain was ignited.  I was there for about 30 minutes to take some pictures of the site and take in the cold surroundings before heading off to my friend Hiroyoshi's house for dinner. 

It was definitely worthwhile to experience this event, however there was nothing more to it than seeing a mountain being set on fire. 

For visuals, please visit my photo page.