Swoosh her aside with your arms, while screaming "GET OUT OF MY WAY, WOMAN, THERE ARE LIVES AT STAKE!" Must keep your head locked in the same position/viewing angle the whole time, and look as if you're in a rush.
This technique is somewhat less effective while seated at a table.
What's the best way to react when a girl catches you staring at her chest?
Invitations.
Invite people to talk about themselves by providing them a safe forum to do so – be neither disinterested clockwatcher, nor obsessed interrogator.
Focus on "how can I be of service to this lovely human being", and then radiate that. If you aren't good at radiating, try thinking it, and then slowly exhaling the thought out your nose(*).
Other good invitations to use:
Overall, just try to remember this: small talk is about engaging without offense… Hold back too much, and you won't ever engage.
(*Totally unscientific fact: Doing so releases subcommunicative pheremones that help convey your thoughts and wishes. Slow steady breathing also helps keep you calm and settled, which makes others feel more at ease. But, seriously, it's the pheremones. I promise.)
I'd use the more common "surprise, we're pregnant, let's all be universally happy about it" party format as a template, and simply rework various divergent details/balloon colors appropriately.
In all seriousness, I'd focus on the guest list, and try to make sure you won't be pissing anyone off by preventing them from showering you with childhood anecdotes or photos carefully crafted or sourced over months prior, and of course, gifts you can exchange for cash.
Another issue to consider are flakes and no-shows – that is, people who will bow out of a cookout, who would fight God in his Heaven to attend your wedding. Er, reception.
Both of the above cases basically happened at my own wedding – we invited a bunch of people to a surprise birthday party for my mother, where the real surprise was that she was getting her most desired and most unexpected gift of all time. I had an awesome uncle who broke his hip skiing just a month before, and no matter how much pressure I carefully applied, I couldn't get him there without spilling the beans – and, unfortunately, tell one of my mother's siblings, and they all know within ten minutes… Anyway, I think he's still a bit peeved that he didn't get to come.
Overall, I'd say this: most people who elope or get married without a big to-do want the event to be about them, not all the weird family stuff. Give them this one day, and then give each other a lifetime without their meddling interference. It's a much better deal in the long run.
http://www.japanballtickets.com/… looks fairly promising in terms of a simple solution requiring no assistance…
I must admit, the easiest methods are to either ask a Japanese friend who loves baseball to assist, or to use the concierge at a foreigner-friendly hotel. Difficulty level of either depends a lot on where you're staying, and which team(s) you want to see play.
Sellouts are… pretty rare, though – and scalping is far less common than in the West. It shouldn't be that difficult to get seats to any in-season game while you're there, unless it's during the playoffs. If you do go the hotel route, they are likely to suggest a whole tour package (especially in Tokyo), including door to door transport to and from your hotel, and possibly some other entertainment/meal/etc. Especially if you're travelling with some older or much younger tourists (elderly parents, children), such packages wind up being well worth it just for the hassle-free trip back.
A quick look at one of several radiation/disaster effect maps of Japan shows that the key areas to worry about are all North/Northeast of Tokyo. A wedding South of Tokyo would likely source the majority of its foodstuffs and other supplies from Southern-side sources, and of course the stigma of using foods and components from the affected Fukushima region will likely ensure that it is the case.
Overall, visiting Japan is safe as ever, perhaps in some ways more expensive, and even now still a bit harder to get from point A to B than it used to be, depending on where you're going. Outside Tokyo, especially to the South, things should be fairly "pre-tsunami" normal… But depending on the date of the wedding itself, the monsoon season, or the near-tropical summer clime might aggravate your experience a bit, or even cause direct safety issues (flooding, heat exhaustion, etc).
Long story short: if you can go, go. It'll be safe, and you'll be in one of the most amazing countries to visit as a tourist, for a once in a lifetime event with friends. What could be better?
deano.com 